Written questions by Perkins.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of cuts to the continuing professional development budget for science teachers on teacher retention rates.

This government is focused on fixing our economy after inheriting a £22 billion black hole in our public finances. That means we must take difficult decisions across our public services.All children should have high quality science teaching, which is why at the Autumn Budget education was prioritised with a £2.3 billion increase to core school budgets for the 2025/26 financial year. Schools can use this funding for continued professional development, which evidence suggests can support teacher retention.In addition, the department will continue to fully fund the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teachers programme to support the uptake and teaching of physics in the 2025/26 financial year.However, along with other tough decisions to support cross-government efforts to rebuild economic stability, the department has taken the difficult decision to cease funding the Stimulating Physics Network beyond the end of its current contract in March 2025.There is a range of other support for science education in schools, including free, optional materials from Oak National Academy in all three sciences.

How much funding her Department has allocated to continuing professional development for science teachers in the financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.

Support for high quality science teaching mainly comes from core school budgets which will increase by £2.3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.Funding allocations for continuing professional development in science were £8,385,649 for the 2022/23 financial year, £8,384,137 for the 2023/24 financial year and £4,455,281 for the 2024/25 financial year.

Whether his Department's upcoming consultation on updated environmental guidance for offshore oil and gas projects will include measures to enact the ban in primary legislation; and when he plans to launch that consultation.

On 30 October the Government launched a public consultation on draft guidance that will help offshore operators understand how to assess end-use (scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions associated with oil and gas extraction projects in areas that have already been licensed.    This is a necessary step following the Supreme Court Finch judgment. The consultation closed on 8 January 2025 and the finalised guidance will be published in the Spring. Separately, the Government will also shortly consult on the implementation of its manifesto position not to issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields.

How much revenue was raised from fines of oil companies for all oil spills occurring during offshore operations in each of the last five years.

OPRED issues fines for oil spills as an alternative to criminal prosecution for the more serious offences. A maximum fine of £50,000 can be issued for the most serious of spills. Revenue raised from fines of oil companies for all oil spills occurring during offshore operations in each of the last five years was £25,000 in 2020 and a £25,000 fine due to be issued for an oil spill in 2024. No fines for oil spills were issued in the other years. OPRED has a range of other enforcement options that can be taken to ensure compliance with the law.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the levels of yellow virus on sugar beet; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of Cruiser SB on sugar beet on wildlife.

Viruses transmitted by aphids can severely reduce yields of sugar beet crops. The degree of threat varies from location to location and from year to year. Decisions on emergency authorisation applications must be taken in line with legal requirements. In making these decisions, Ministers will take full account of the available evidence and expert advice.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the requirement for students studying Level 2 FE college courses to also study Maths and English GCSE if they have not already achieved that standard prior to enrolling on that course.

The department considers level 2 English and mathematics to be essential for enabling students to achieve and to seize opportunities in life, learning and work.The Curriculum and Assessment Review is looking at how best to support 16 to 19-year-olds who currently do not achieve level 2 in English and mathematics by the age of 16.The department is already strengthening the support offered to students under the mathematics and English condition of funding for students on 16-19 study programmes and T Levels who have not yet attained level 2 English and mathematics. This includes requiring providers to offer minimum hours of in-person, whole class, stand-alone teaching in English and mathematics, and for more students to be offered this.

How much funding her Department provides to the educating organisation as an annual per pupil rate for an A Level student studying at (a) school, (b) sixth form college and (c) further education college.

The department calculates the basic funding for institutions for students aged 16 to 19 or students up to the age of 25 when they have an education, health and care (EHC) plan using funding rates, which depend on the size of the student’s study programme.All students are funded at the same national funding rates per student, per year, regardless of which type of institution they study at. However, the department then applies the other elements of the 16 to 19 funding formula, such as programme cost weights, support for disadvantage and area costs, meaning average per student funding levels do differ between schools, sixth form colleges and further education colleges. Because the funding reflects the mix of programmes provided at each institution, the department does not have data on the rates of funding purely for A level students at these different organisations.

If he will take steps to implement a heart disease action plan.

We are committed to ensuring that fewer lives are lost to the biggest killers, such as heart disease, which includes cardiovascular disease (CVD), and stroke. That is why in our Health Mission to build a National Health Service fit for the future, we have committed to reducing deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter within ten years.We are taking steps to reduce heart disease. The NHS Long Term Plan set an aim to prevent up to 150,000 heart attacks, strokes, and dementia cases by 2029, and activity is underway. The NHS Health Check programme, England’s CVD prevention programme, engages over 1.3 million people a year and prevents approximately 500 heart attacks or strokes each year. To improve access and engagement with the NHS Health Check, we are developing a new digital service which people can use at home to understand and act on their CVD risk, providing people with a more flexible, accessible, and convenient service. We are also piloting a new programme to deliver more than 130,000 lifesaving heart health checks in the workplace. These checks can be completed quickly and easily by people at work across 48 local authorities until 31 March 2025.

What steps he is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.As a first step, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities

Whether any of the increased funding for the NHS, as announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, is ring-fenced for ambulance services.

The National Health Service’s funding increases have not been ring-fenced in that way. Ring-fencing funding restricts the freedom of integrated care boards to take decisions based on the specific circumstances of their local populations.

What information her Department holds on the number of (a) car rental car parking spaces and (b) car rental car parking spaces with electric charging points at each airport.

The Information requested is not held by the department.

How many public electric vehicle charging points there are in each local authority area on (a) local authority land and (b) privately owned land.

The information requested is not available. The Department for Transport does not hold information on whether the land on which a public charging device is located is (a) local authority land or (b) privately owned land.The latest statistics on the number of public charging devices broken down by local authority can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electric-vehicle-public-charging-infrastructure-statistics-july-2024.

How many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hybrid and (d) electric (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) other vehicles his Department hired in each of the last five years.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

How many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hybrid and (d) electric (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) other vehicles her Department hired in each of the last five years.

The Department for Transports vehicle hire contract provides hire services for the core department, agencies and some arms-length bodies for cars, vans and other vehicles. Over a period of 5 years (Jan 2020 – Oct 24) on average 28,087 are hired a year, however, we don’t centrally record information on fuel or engine type.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) petrol, (b) diesel, (c) hybrid and (d) electric (i) cars, (ii) vans and (iii) other vehicles his Department hired in each of the last five years.

The data for Defra has been provided by our supplier of hire cars “Enterprise”. Data from Enterprise shows the following: Hires:FuelNo of hires Petrol5,171Diesel660EV/Hybrid174 Due to time constraints, we have only engaged with our main vehicle hire suppliers and not where vehicle hire will be supplied as a supplementary service on other contracts, i.e. Welfare Vans through the Plant Hire framework.

What steps he is taking to increase the number of GP appointments.

We know that patients are finding it harder than ever to see a general practitioner (GP) and we are committed to fixing the crisis in GPs. Our plan will require both investment and reform. Firstly, we will increase the proportion of funding for GPs, starting with a commitment to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. This will increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and take pressure off those currently working in the system. Additionally, we will deliver a modern booking system to end the 8:00am scramble for GP appointments and bring back the family doctor by incentivising GPs to see the same patient.We have committed to develop a 10-Year Health Plan, to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our stakeholders as we develop the plan. More information is available at the following link:https://change.nhs.uk/

What steps her Department is taking to (a) minimise disruption resulting from the transition to e-Visas and (b) ensure that older applicants are not disadvantaged by the move to an online system.

An extensive communications campaign is being delivered in support of the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas, to raise awareness of eVisas, build understanding of how it applies to visa holders and checkers, and encourage them to take action. This includes activity and messaging specifically targeting biometric residence permit (BRP) holding customers to register for a UKVI account by the end of 2024, when most BRPs expire, if they were not automatically provided with a UKVI account and eVisa when their most recent immigration application was approved.We continue to take steps to reduce the number of circumstances where individuals need to provide evidence of their immigration status, by making relevant immigration status information available automatically through system to system checks with public authorities and government departments. Organisations with access currently include the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), DVLA, Social Security Scotland, NHS England and Wales, Border Force, and some local authorities.In addition to these organisations, we have also developed technology to enable airline carriers to check immigration status automatically via systems checks. If for any reason the carrier does not receive confirmation of the passenger’s immigration status, they will be able to check this using the ‘view and prove’ service, or the carrier can contact the 24/7 Carrier Support Hub for advice. Our communications explain that customers with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, will still be able to use their legacy document where permitted to prove their rights and when travelling, as they do today. However, we encourage those individuals to transition to an eVisa, which offers a range of benefits to customers and status checkers. All communications activity has directed visa holders to www.gov.uk/eVisa, and, where appropriate, has highlighted the range of available support.The Home Office is committed to ensuring everyone, including the elderly and the most vulnerable, are properly supported as we transform our immigration system. We have a range of support in place. This includes our Assisted Digital service (https://www.gov.uk/assisted-digital-help-online-applications) which is available in the UK to provide support by phone and email to those who need help with IT-related aspects of creating a UKVI account. Customers can also contact the UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre (https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk) for support via email and webchat, and telephone. They also support people through the online journey by:helping them to access or recover their accounthelping them to update their personal detailssharing status on behalf of people if they are unable to do so themselves. The UK Visas and Immigration Resolution Centre can also help people with any technical issues with their online immigration status, and, where necessary, verify the person’s status through alternative means. On 18 September 2024, we announced that the Government is providing up to £4m in dedicated grant funding to a UK wide network of voluntary and community sector organisations to deliver valuable support to those who need it, during the transition from physical immigration documents to eVisas. To date, grant funding agreements are in place with four organisations that will provide national coverage.