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1417494

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Autism: Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for autism assessments; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	113249
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>We are investing over £13 million of additional funding in 2021/2022 to improve assessments and diagnosis of autism and address waiting times for assessments in England. This includes £10.5 million through the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Action Plan and £2.5 million to reduce diagnosis waiting times for children and young people. In addition, we are funding the expansion of an early identification pilot for healthcare and education staff to assess children who may be autistic within schools.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 02/02/2022 10:30:57 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417015

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of staff absences on pupils who require one-to-one assistance in SEND education settings.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112680
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>We know that special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings are often more impacted by staff absences, and less able to manage these absences using their existing staff and resource. The department has set a lower threshold for these settings to access the COVID-19 workforce fund, which provides financial support to eligible schools and colleges where needed. This fund has been extended until spring half term to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 18 February 2022.</p><p>This fund can be used by schools to employ supply staff to manage absences, increase the hours of part-time teaching or education support staff, or make amendments to support staff terms and conditions so they can take on additional responsibilities. Any changes should be discussed with the employee first, and schools should consider workload and wellbeing.</p><p>All schools, including special schools, benefit from the full range of measures the government has put in place to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, minimise disruption to education and limit absences. These include regular testing and continuing the booster rollout for adults and vaccinations for secondary age pupils. Special schools were also able to apply for our funded air cleaning units earlier than other settings, with the first 1,000 units reserved for special educational needs and disabilities and AP settings, enabling them to reduce airborne contaminants in poorly ventilated spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 112682 112683 112684 question first answered 02/02/2022 16:29:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417016

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities who are not in schools that adequately meet their needs; and for what reasons those pupils are not in suitable schools.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112681
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2022 answer text <p>The information requested is not held. However, the department publishes data on the number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and education health and care plans (EHCPs) awaiting provision once a year. Our last published figure in May 2021 for the number of children with SEND who have an EHCP who are not in schools and are awaiting provision was 1,460. We have recently announced an additional £2.6 billion over the next three years for school places for children and young people with SEND, more than tripling current capital funding levels to over £900 million by 2024-25.</p><p>We are conducting a review of the SEND system and will publish proposals for public consultation as a green paper in the first three months of this year.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/02/2022 13:49:06 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417017

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to mitigate support staff having to take on work that should be done by teachers in SEND education settings, in response to staff shortages resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>We know that special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings are often more impacted by staff absences, and less able to manage these absences using their existing staff and resource. The department has set a lower threshold for these settings to access the COVID-19 workforce fund, which provides financial support to eligible schools and colleges where needed. This fund has been extended until spring half term to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 18 February 2022.</p><p>This fund can be used by schools to employ supply staff to manage absences, increase the hours of part-time teaching or education support staff, or make amendments to support staff terms and conditions so they can take on additional responsibilities. Any changes should be discussed with the employee first, and schools should consider workload and wellbeing.</p><p>All schools, including special schools, benefit from the full range of measures the government has put in place to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, minimise disruption to education and limit absences. These include regular testing and continuing the booster rollout for adults and vaccinations for secondary age pupils. Special schools were also able to apply for our funded air cleaning units earlier than other settings, with the first 1,000 units reserved for special educational needs and disabilities and AP settings, enabling them to reduce airborne contaminants in poorly ventilated spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 112680 112683 112684 question first answered 02/02/2022 16:29:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417018

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Non-teaching Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of staff shortages on support staff in SEND education settings.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>We know that special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings are often more impacted by staff absences, and less able to manage these absences using their existing staff and resource. The department has set a lower threshold for these settings to access the COVID-19 workforce fund, which provides financial support to eligible schools and colleges where needed. This fund has been extended until spring half term to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 18 February 2022.</p><p>This fund can be used by schools to employ supply staff to manage absences, increase the hours of part-time teaching or education support staff, or make amendments to support staff terms and conditions so they can take on additional responsibilities. Any changes should be discussed with the employee first, and schools should consider workload and wellbeing.</p><p>All schools, including special schools, benefit from the full range of measures the government has put in place to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, minimise disruption to education and limit absences. These include regular testing and continuing the booster rollout for adults and vaccinations for secondary age pupils. Special schools were also able to apply for our funded air cleaning units earlier than other settings, with the first 1,000 units reserved for special educational needs and disabilities and AP settings, enabling them to reduce airborne contaminants in poorly ventilated spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 112680 112682 112684 question first answered 02/02/2022 16:29:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417019

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Non-teaching Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of recent reports that support staff in SEND education settings are being asked to take on roles outside of their core competences.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2022 answer text <p>We know that special schools and alternative provision (AP) settings are often more impacted by staff absences, and less able to manage these absences using their existing staff and resource. The department has set a lower threshold for these settings to access the COVID-19 workforce fund, which provides financial support to eligible schools and colleges where needed. This fund has been extended until spring half term to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 18 February 2022.</p><p>This fund can be used by schools to employ supply staff to manage absences, increase the hours of part-time teaching or education support staff, or make amendments to support staff terms and conditions so they can take on additional responsibilities. Any changes should be discussed with the employee first, and schools should consider workload and wellbeing.</p><p>All schools, including special schools, benefit from the full range of measures the government has put in place to break the chain of COVID-19 transmission, minimise disruption to education and limit absences. These include regular testing and continuing the booster rollout for adults and vaccinations for secondary age pupils. Special schools were also able to apply for our funded air cleaning units earlier than other settings, with the first 1,000 units reserved for special educational needs and disabilities and AP settings, enabling them to reduce airborne contaminants in poorly ventilated spaces where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 112680 112682 112683 question first answered 02/02/2022 16:29:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1417020

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of the spread of the Omicron variant of covid-19, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of support provided to SEND schools for (a) compensating support staff for overtime worked and (b) ensuring provision of training.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	112685
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2022 answer text <p>Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, schools have continued to receive their core funding regardless of any periods of reduced attendance. Schools have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources and activities that will best support their staff and pupils. Schools will be able to use their existing budgets to help with the costs associated with COVID-19 related absences.</p><p>The department re-introduced the COVID-19 workforce fund in the autumn term to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges. The fund has been extended until spring half-term to cover the cost of term-time staff absences experienced between 22 November 2021 and 18 February 2022.</p><p>We recognise that special schools, alternative provision, and special post-16 institutions are often more impacted by staff absences and are less able to manage these absences using their existing staff and resources than mainstream schools and colleges. That is why we have set a lower threshold for special schools, alternative provision and special post-16 institutions for short-term teacher absences. We have also been more flexible in our criteria for support staff claims in special schools and alternative provision in recognition of this critical role in these providers in particular.</p><p>As well as covering funding for schools to employ supply staff to manage absences, the fund can also be used to increase hours of part-time teaching or education support staff, or to make amendments to support staff terms and conditions to enable them to take on additional responsibilities. Schools should give due consideration to workload and wellbeing and discuss any changes with the employee first.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 03/02/2022 11:01:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1415794

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Air Conditioning
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's portal to purchase air filtration units for education and childcare settings, if he will define the suitable standard of specification for their use in education settings.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	110568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2022 answer text <p>All air cleaning units provided by the department have met an approved technical specification, including units available to purchase via the marketplace. The department’s technical specification used to assess the units was developed through a rigorous consultation with industry wide experts in both air cleaning and ventilation from academia, professional bodies, and industry, including chartered engineers, scientists and several government departments. Through this consultation we have developed a specification specific to education.</p><p>The specification included a wide range of factors appropriate to an education environment to determine overall suitability. This included clean air delivery rates, noise levels, filtration capability, technical certification, ease of use and maintenance, warranty, and strength of evidence for manufacturer claims. The primary considerations were around the standard of filtration which is high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration technology; the minimum standard was specified to HEPA H13/ISO35H, which is a medical grade of filter which helps to remove airborne contaminants, including viruses such as SARS‑CoV‑2. HEPA technology is a mature technology and removes the risk of any less well tested technology being implemented into classrooms. Acoustic performance was also a major consideration due to the units needing to go into a classroom environment. All these criteria formed part of our technical specification used to assess and select units that meet our high specification and are suitable for teaching environments.</p><p>Any procurement that we undertake must comply with the Public Contract Regulations (2015). The procurement of air cleaning devices was undertaken using the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Framework (RM6157) which can be accessed by central government departments including the Department for Education and the wider public sector. We have selected a range of products which meet our high specification criteria to provide education and childcare settings with high quality air cleaning units.</p><p>The department has published details of the contract for air cleaning units provided to SEND and alternative provision settings, including the technical specification for these units, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d2955fc4-b281-45dd-9203-5c37df79dfda" target="_blank">https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/d2955fc4-b281-45dd-9203-5c37df79dfda</a>. The department will publish details of further contracts for air cleaning units, which will include the technical specification criteria, on contracts finder in line with the government’s transparency agenda.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 28/01/2022 10:10:29 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1405189

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Pesticides: Pollinators
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness of the authorisation process for pesticides and (b) the effect of that matter on (i) honey bees and (ii) wild pollinators.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	109329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The UK is a world leader in developing greener farming practises and upholds the highest standards of environmental and health protection. Our first priority is to ensure pesticides have no unacceptable effects on the environment and no harmful effects on human health.</p><p> </p><p>The authorisation of pesticide products, including those containing neonicotinoid active substances, is based on a detailed and robust scientific risk assessment. This is carried out by the regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), using studies and information provided by the applicant to address the extensive data requirements. The regulatory process is constantly updated so that it advances with scientific knowledge, and pesticides are reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet the latest standards. HSE’s assessment includes consideration of what happens to a pesticide after it is applied. This includes determining whether it breaks down, its persistence and mobility in soil and water, as well as effects on a range of non-target organisms.</p><p> </p><p>Linking pesticide usage directly to changes in both managed and wild pollinator populations remains challenging because of the range of pressures which affect pollinators, such as habitat loss and climate change, in addition to the complexities of assessing and attributing pesticide usage and risk to impacts.</p><p> </p><p>However, research suggests that the EU moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) seed treatments on mass-flowering crops in 2013 was effective at reducing exposure of honeybees to these pesticides over the subsequent years.</p><p> </p><p>We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides, both over time and at national scale, through chemical analysis of pesticide residues found in honey samples. Using genetic techniques, such as DNA metabarcoding, this research can assess the plants foraged by exposed bees and highlight common pesticide exposure routes for this key pollinator species. We expect the results of this work to be published in the coming months.</p><p> </p><p>We are also funding research exploring how we could further develop our monitoring to better understand the effects, and the impacts, of pesticides on pollinators, such as expanding residue assessments to include wild pollinator species of bumblebees and solitary bees.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, Defra is developing a Pesticide Load Indicator which takes account of both the chemical properties of pesticides used and the weight applied. This uses pesticide usage data, ecotoxicity and environmental data to better understand how the pressure from pesticides on the environment, including bees, has changed over time. Much of this research will be published this year.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 109330 109331 question first answered 31/01/2022 16:38:30 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1405194

registered interest
date	21/01/2022
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bees: Pesticides
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to investigate the impact of currently authorised pesticides on honey bees.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	109330
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The UK is a world leader in developing greener farming practises and upholds the highest standards of environmental and health protection. Our first priority is to ensure pesticides have no unacceptable effects on the environment and no harmful effects on human health.</p><p> </p><p>The authorisation of pesticide products, including those containing neonicotinoid active substances, is based on a detailed and robust scientific risk assessment. This is carried out by the regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), using studies and information provided by the applicant to address the extensive data requirements. The regulatory process is constantly updated so that it advances with scientific knowledge, and pesticides are reviewed regularly to ensure that they meet the latest standards. HSE’s assessment includes consideration of what happens to a pesticide after it is applied. This includes determining whether it breaks down, its persistence and mobility in soil and water, as well as effects on a range of non-target organisms.</p><p> </p><p>Linking pesticide usage directly to changes in both managed and wild pollinator populations remains challenging because of the range of pressures which affect pollinators, such as habitat loss and climate change, in addition to the complexities of assessing and attributing pesticide usage and risk to impacts.</p><p> </p><p>However, research suggests that the EU moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) seed treatments on mass-flowering crops in 2013 was effective at reducing exposure of honeybees to these pesticides over the subsequent years.</p><p> </p><p>We have funded research into the exposure of honeybees to pesticides, both over time and at national scale, through chemical analysis of pesticide residues found in honey samples. Using genetic techniques, such as DNA metabarcoding, this research can assess the plants foraged by exposed bees and highlight common pesticide exposure routes for this key pollinator species. We expect the results of this work to be published in the coming months.</p><p> </p><p>We are also funding research exploring how we could further develop our monitoring to better understand the effects, and the impacts, of pesticides on pollinators, such as expanding residue assessments to include wild pollinator species of bumblebees and solitary bees.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, Defra is developing a Pesticide Load Indicator which takes account of both the chemical properties of pesticides used and the weight applied. This uses pesticide usage data, ecotoxicity and environmental data to better understand how the pressure from pesticides on the environment, including bees, has changed over time. Much of this research will be published this year.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis grouped question UIN 109329 109331 question first answered 31/01/2022 16:38:30 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan