theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect supermarket delivery drivers from (a) threats, (b) abuse and (c) violence. \p Dame Diana Johnson: This Government recognises the dedicated work delivery drivers do, especially when their efforts support the most vulnerable in our society. We are determined to protect them from any form of assault, whether verbal or physical, as part of our wider work to combat retail crime.

We are strengthening neighbourhood policing to better protect our communities and target offenders. As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, the Government has allocated £200 million to forces for 2025-26 to deliver additional personnel into neighbourhood policing. The Home Office is also providing £66.3millon funding in 2025-26 to forces in England and Wales to deliver high visibility patrols in the areas worst affected by knife crime, serious violence and anti-social behaviour.

Where assaults against delivery drivers do occur, they can be prosecuted as an offence (Common Assault) under the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The Offences against the Person Act 1861, also covers assaults, alongside more serious violence, including actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.

Section 156 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 created a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing cases of assault against public facing workers. It applies where an assault is committed against those providing a public service, performing a public duty or providing a service to the public, including delivering goods to customers. This aggravating factor ensures the courts treat the public-facing nature of a victim’s role as an aggravating factor when considering the sentence for an offence and sends a clear message that violence and abuse towards any worker, including supermarket delivery drivers, will not be tolerated.
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Dan Norris:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce shoplifting in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Through our Safer Streets Mission, we are committed to key reforms to ensure people feel safe on our streets and in their communities, including reducing shop theft.

We are providing £5 million over the next three years to continue to fund a specialist analysis team within Opal, the National Policing Intelligence Unit for serious organised acquisitive crime.

We are also investing £2 million over the next three years in the National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) which provides a resource for both police and businesses to learn, share and support each other to prevent and combat crime.

Via the Crime and Policing Bill we will repeal the legislation which makes shop theft of and below £200 a summary-only offence. This will send a clear message that any level of shop theft is illegal. Also included in the Bill is a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect the hardworking and dedicated staff that work in stores.

I chair the Retail Crime Forum which brings together the retail sector, security providers and law enforcement agencies to ensure we understand the needs of all retailers and to promote collaboration, share best practice and to work collectively to tackle the serious issue of retail crime. This includes the development of a new strategy to tackle shop theft published by policing, retail sector representatives and industry as part of collective efforts to combat shop theft.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with (a) local authorities and (b) police to (i) prevent repeat offences and (ii) ensure effective safeguarding measures are in place to protect communities from sexual (A) violence and (B) harassment. \p Jess Phillips: We expect sexual violence to be treated seriously by all police forces from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity and every investigation and prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

Baroness Casey’s 2023 review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) highlighted a number of areas for improvement, including the MPS’s handling of VAWG. Since the review’s publication, the MPS commissioner has set out his ‘New Met for London’ plan to improve confidence in the force and address the concerns raised in Baroness Casey’s review and other cases of failing in the MPS. The Home Secretary will continue to work with the MPS Commissioner and Mayor for London as they take action to deliver those improvements.
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Esther McVey:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department collects the DNA of people who arrive illegally in the UK. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office currently collects biometric data of small boat arrivals in the form of facial images and fingerprints, but keeps the nature of such checks under regular review.
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Imran Hussain:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support community-based knife crime prevention programmes in Bradford. \p Dame Diana Johnson: Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets Mission. Driving down youth-related violence across the UK, including in Bradford, will play a key role in meeting this ambition.

Through the Young Futures Programme, the Government will introduce Prevention Partnerships across the country, including in West Yorkshire, to intervene earlier and ensure that children and young people vulnerable to being drawn into crime are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.

As we design the Young Futures Programme, we will ensure that it learns from and builds on the work of the Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). VRUs bring together partners, including from the voluntary and community sector, to understand and tackle the drivers of serious violence in their area.

In 2025/26 the Home Office is investing over £4.3m in grant funding to the West Yorkshire VRU, alongside £169k to continue the implementation of the Serious Violence Duty. This funding will support delivery of a range of early intervention and prevention programmes.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) detect and (b) prevent illegal immigration in Northern Ireland. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.

Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet the UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle (a) extremist radicalisation and (b) forms of non-ideological violence. \p Dan Jarvis: The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, and that radicalise others into terrorism. To understand such threats, we maintain expertise and capabilities to understand terrorist and extremist online communications, in order to produce rapid, high-quality assessments designed to support the Prevent programme.

The Prevent programme tackles the ideological causes of terrorism and provides early intervention for people at risk of radicalisation. The programme deals with all forms of terrorist ideology, including Islamist, Extreme Right-Wing, other threats.

We work closely with law enforcement and multi-agency partners to respond to any such activity which may pose a threat.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help protect places of worship in Greater Manchester. \p Dan Jarvis: This Government is absolutely committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion at their chosen place of worship, and to making our streets and communities safer, including providing funding through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant and the Protective Security for Mosques scheme.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that its fraud strategy provides consumers with protection from all types of fraudulent advertising. \p Dan Jarvis: As part of the requirements of the Online Safety Act (2023), large social media and search services will be required to use proactive systems and processes to prevent the public from encountering fraudulent adverts, and minimise the length of time any such content is present on their platforms.

Ofcom is scheduled to consult on the Fraudulent Advertising Duty by early 2026. This consultation is part of the broader framework for ‘Additional Duties’ on the largest in-scope companies.

This Government committed in our manifesto to introduce an expanded Fraud Strategy, and details of that strategy, including the approach to tackling fraudulent advertising, will be set out in due course.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle online radicalisation in Northern Ireland; and whether she plans to introduce region-specific counter-extremism initiatives. \p Dan Jarvis: This Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that divide communities and inflame tensions across the entirety of the UK.

Alongside the Online Safety Act, the Home Office encourages industry partners to increase action to tackle online content used to radicalise, recruit and incite terrorism by providing threat assessment, insight and support.

We also work closely with like-minded international partners both bilaterally and through multilateral fora such as the Global internet Forum to Counter Terrorism to collaborate on tackling online radicalisation, and influence and align policies where possible.

In addition, Youth Diversion Orders (YDOs) are being introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill to provide a new counter-terrorism tool for police to manage the risks posed by young people involved in terrorism-related activity, including online. The new legislation will apply across the whole of the UK.
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Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle expressions of support for (a) Hamas and (b) Hezbollah at universities. \p Dan Jarvis: I refer the Hon Member to the answer that I gave to the Rt Hon Member for Fareham and Waterlooville on 7 May in response to Question 48984.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had discussions with (a) O2, (b) Vodafone, (c) EE and (d) other mobile network providers on tackling (i) SMS and (ii) calls-based scams; and whether she has plans to introduce stronger safeguards to protect consumers from mobile fraud. \p Dan Jarvis: We work extremely closely with mobile network providers, regulators, law enforcement and consumer groups to close the vulnerabilities that criminals exploit, and stop scam messages and calls reaching the UK public.

We are currently developing a second Telecommunications Fraud Charter to build on previous success, and go further in identifying, preventing and disrupting this type of fraud.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the reporting rate is of failed asylum seekers to her Department. \p Dame Angela Eagle: There is no specific figure available of the type described in these questions.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many deportations have taken place to Somalia since 8 July 2024. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Statistics on returns from the UK by nationality and destination are published on a quarterly basis. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, and are currently available to the end of March 2025, available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.
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Carla Lockhart:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) prevent illegal migration into Northern Ireland via the Common Travel Area. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.

Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress she has made on closing contingency hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers in Warrington. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.

There are now fewer hotels open than there were before the election, with more due to close by the end of August.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of asylum seekers being housed in hotels in (a) Bournemouth and (b) the UK. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office continues to work with a range of stakeholders to fulfil our statutory obligations and deliver our commitment to reduce the overall cost of asylum accommodation, including ending the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of hotels as accommodation for asylum seekers on the (a) hospitality and (b) tourism sectors. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Home Office works closely with local authorities and other key stakeholders across the UK to ensure that any asylum accommodation is successfully and securely managed and that the impact upon the local community is minimised.
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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposals by the French Government to allow the interception of small boats﻿ up to 300 metres from shore on the number of small boats crossing the Channel. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The Government acknowledges France’s commitment to review its maritime strategy and it will continue to engage with French counterparts to support any changes arising from that review with the intention of reducing the number of dangerous small boat crossings.
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Sir Mark Hendrick:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average processing time was for asylum applications in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the time taken to process asylum applications. \p Dame Angela Eagle: Available data on processing of asylum claims is published in table ASY_01 of the ‘Immigration and Protection data’. The latest data is as of 31 March 2025.

The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement, to speed up decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our work.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with his Irish counterpart on illegal immigration to the United Kingdom via that country. \p Dame Angela Eagle: The UK and Ireland have a close and collaborative working relationship on a range of issues, including migration and border security. That collaboration includes a joint commitment to protect the Common Travel Area (CTA) from abuse while preserving the rights of British and Irish citizens.

Everyone entering the UK, regardless of where they enter from, is required to meet UK’s immigration requirements. Anyone identified attempting to circumvent UK border controls is liable to be detained and, if they are not lawfully present within the UK, removed.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support people with childcare costs in Eastbourne constituency. \p Stephen Morgan: The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity.

From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months. From September 2025 this will extend to 30 hours, matching the three and four-year-old offer to support children right up until starting school.

In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements. This represents a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25 as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.

As announced at Spending Review 2025, the government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents.

Additionally, the Universal Credit childcare offer supports claimants with the costs of childcare, no matter how many hours they work.

Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children.
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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) ensure that AI sources used in schools are (i) accurate and (ii) credible and (b) support children to use AI effectively. \p Stephen Morgan: The department has published product safety expectations for generative artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure AI tools are safe for classroom use. The expectations set out clear technical safeguards, including prioritising child-centred design and enhanced filtering of harmful content.

The Education Content Store pilot aims to generate high-quality underpinning content and data needed for high-quality AI tools. By making pre-processed educational content available, the store aims to improve the accuracy of AI tools.

Additionally, online resources and guidance materials are also available to help teachers and leaders use AI safely and effectively, and these materials were published in June 2025.

Finally, the department recently appointed a task and finish group to advise on digital, AI and technology. We will consider how best to develop and implement any of their recommendations. This includes those which aim to prepare children and young people to be ready for an AI and tech-enabled world.
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Jodie Gosling:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered including supported internship provision in Skills England. \p Janet Daby: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, so that every young person can follow the pathway that is right for them. The department recognises that high-quality supported internships are an important pathway to improve the life chances of young people with special educational needs and disabilities by supporting them into sustained, paid employment. As an executive agency of the Department for Education, Skills England will work across government to ensure that there are clear education and training pathways. It will do this by engaging employers and other partners to identify skills gaps in key sectors and using this insight to drive improvements in the skills offer to boost economic growth.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of school career services in (a) highlighting and (b) encouraging apprenticeships. \p Janet Daby: The department has introduced a ladder of support and intervention, as set out in our careers statutory guidance, to support compliance with the provider access legislation which requires schools to offer pupils encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships. We will continue to monitor compliance, the support in place and the impact on young people.

We will also continue to monitor progress against the Gatsby Benchmarks, especially benchmarks 5, 6 and 7 which are relevant for highlighting and encouraging apprenticeships take-up.

Alongside this, the Careers and Enterprise Company’s (CEC) future skills questionnaire shows a move from 38% understanding of apprenticeships in year 7 to 88% by year 13.

There are multiple resources available to schools and young people to highlight and encourage apprenticeships participation:
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Katie White:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to improve student access to apprenticeships. \p Janet Daby: There is a range of support available to increase access to apprenticeships for students across England.

The department promotes apprenticeships to young people through the Skills for Life campaign and the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN). The AAN, which has around 2,000 volunteers, aims to champion apprenticeships for young people by aligning an ambassador to every state-funded secondary school and further education college by March 2026. As of May 2025, the AAN covers 75% of schools and colleges in England.

We are further increasing access to apprenticeships for young people by introducing new foundation apprenticeships from August 2025. Foundation apprenticeships, which are jobs with training at level 2, will support young people to transition from full-time education to work, providing entry level competence in sectors such as construction and engineering.

Foundation apprenticeships are underpinned by an employer incentive payment of £2,000 to contribute to the costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career. Additionally, the government provides £1,000 to employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18, or 19 to 24 for care leavers or those with an education, health and care plan. We also offer a bursary of £3,000 for apprentices under 25 who are care leavers.
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Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the provision and availability of vocational educational programmes for pupils across Eastbourne. \p Janet Daby: As announced in the Spending Review, the government is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29.

This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages across the country including in Eastbourne. This includes:

We have also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.
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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of calculating student loan repayments on an annual basis to prevent overpayments. \p Janet Daby: Student loan repayments for borrowers resident in the UK are collected by HMRC through the UK tax system, which is an efficient approach that minimises the burden on borrowers. Employers deduct repayments each pay period for employees with a student loan when their earnings are above the relevant student loan repayment threshold for that pay period.

At the end of the tax year, a borrower with total earnings below the annual student loan repayment threshold may reclaim any repayments made where a pay period threshold was exceeded. A borrower will be able to apply for a refund of these repayments at the end of the tax year: https://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/getting-a-refund. This offers additional protection to the lowest earning borrowers. Alternatively, they may decide not to apply for a refund, which will allow them to repay their loan more quickly.

For those borrowers who are close to fully repaying their student loan, the Student Loans Company provides borrowers with the option to switch to repayments via direct debit, which prevents over-repayments entirely.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with StandWithUs UK on its report entitled Voice of Students 2024-25, published on 7 May 2025. \p Janet Daby: The antisemitic incidents detailed in StandWithUs UK’s Voice of Students report are wholly unacceptable and the wellbeing and safety of our Jewish students remains a priority. That is why last month, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, brought together Vice Chancellors and community leaders to hear testimonials from Jewish students and to discuss next steps to ensure safer, more inclusive campuses for all.

The department remains committed to working with universities, sector partners and stakeholder groups to continue our efforts to tackle antisemitism on our campuses.
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Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of job losses at (a) Bournemouth University and (b) the wider higher education sector on the (i) quality of education and (ii) range of courses available to (A) existing and (B) future students. \p Janet Daby: The department recognises that some higher education (HE) providers are making difficult decisions around staffing in order to safeguard their financial sustainability. Ultimately the sector is independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.

However, we expect providers to work with staff, using their knowledge and experience to help identify how best to operate efficiently. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for students, staff and the country.

The government provides funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) on an annual basis to support teaching and students in HE. This includes funding to support teaching of expensive-to-deliver subjects such as science and engineering, access and participation of students from under-represented groups, and world-leading specialist providers.  The total SPG for the 2025/26 financial year will be £1.348 million in recurrent programme grant and £84 million for capital to support teaching and learning.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support journalism training that helps future journalists deal with AI-generated content and misinformation. \p Janet Daby: Higher education providers are independent bodies responsible for designing their own journalism qualifications. However, the quality of courses is regulated by the independent regulator the Office for Students (OfS). Courses must be up-to-date and teach students skills relevant to the subject and level of the course. Relevant skills could include, but not be limited to, cognitive skills, practical skills, transferable skills and professional competences.

A course designed to lead to a particular profession should require students to demonstrate the skills necessary for success in that profession, including where specific skills are required for accreditation by a professional body.

For example, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council accredit courses delivered by providers in the UK. In addition, the NCTJ offers its own popular journalism diploma, which is also delivered in some further education colleges as well as other level 3 provision. It is for employers, providers and sector bodies to ensure that content meets learner and employer needs.
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Andrew George:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many UK universities that are registered with the Office for Students publish the (a) quantity and (b) type of contact hours for courses advertised to prospective students. \p Janet Daby: The Office for Students (OfS) does not routinely collect or publish data on the number of registered higher education providers that disclose the quantity and type of contact hours for courses advertised to prospective students.

However, all registered providers are expected to comply with consumer protection law, including providing clear and accurate information to students about their courses. The Competition and Markets Authority has issued guidance to support providers in meeting these obligations, which includes transparency around contact hours and modes of delivery. The OfS expects providers to have due regard to this guidance as part of their registration conditions.

Where students believe that information provided has been misleading or insufficient, they are encouraged to raise concerns through their provider’s complaints process and can escalate complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education if necessary. Additionally, any students, staff or members of the public who feel a university is not meeting the OfS’ registration requirements may submit a notification to the OfS.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the (a) identification and (b) support for neurodivergent girls at school. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children with special educational needs receive the right support to succeed in their education.

We have established a neurodivergence task and finish group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg from Birmingham University, to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings. Additionally, the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for inclusion, led by Tom Rees, is providing sector-led advice on inclusive education practice.

The department introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme in 2024. The programme deploys health and education specialists to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream primary schools and was delivered in over 1650 (around 10%) of all mainstream primary schools in its first year.

Building on this success, the programme has been extended for the 2025/26 financial year to a further cohort of around 1200 additional mainstream primary schools.

The programme is being evaluated, and learning from delivery of PINS approach is informing policy development around how schools support neurodivergent children.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_147
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_147

Sammy Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Child Poverty Taskforce on family hubs, in the context of the development of the Child Poverty Strategy. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. member for East Antrim to the answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63139. The information given in the linked response relates to England only.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_148
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_148

Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support Surrey County Council to improve support for children who go missing or are at risk of exploitation. \p Janet Daby: Following support from the department and others, Surrey County Council's children's services were judged by Ofsted to be ‘Good’ in March 2025.

Statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2023), is clear that children at risk of or experiencing harm from outside their home should receive a multi-agency safeguarding response, recognising threats may arise from school, peer groups, online or the wider community.

In 2023, we published a set of multi-agency practice principles to guide local areas in their response to keeping children and young people safe from child exploitation and extra-familial harm. The principles bring together the best available evidence in this area and have been developed through extensive consultation with professionals, children, young people, parents and carers. These principles are available here: https://tce.researchinpractice.org.uk/.

Our Families First Partnership Programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection, including where harm is outside the home.

We expect safeguarding partners to work together to reduce the chances of children going missing, to respond effectively when they do and understand why.

We have provided clear guidance about responsibilities for all children who go missing.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_149
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_149

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support research into dyscalculia. \p Catherine McKinnell: High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and we are committed to ensuring that all pupils receive excellent support from their teachers, including those with dyscalculia.

We have commissioned evidence reviews from University College London to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people (age 0-25) with different types of needs, including cognition and learning needs such as dyscalculia.

The ‘What Works in SEND’ programme will soon begin researching educational needs assessment tools used by schools to identify the needs of neurodivergent children.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_150
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_150

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the breadth of subjects students study at A-Level on (a) life chances, (b) employability and (c) the economy. \p Catherine McKinnell: High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give children and young people the best life chances. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE.

The Review aims to ensure that the assessment system captures the strengths of every child and young person and the breadth of curriculum and prepare children with the skills for future life and work.

The independent Review’s interim report sets out that many areas of the curriculum and assessment system are working well, including A levels.

During the panel’s next phase of work, it is addressing subject-specific challenges, aiming to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work.

The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_151
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_151

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to introduce a GCSE on British Sign Language. \p Catherine McKinnell: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is in the process of developing a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE. This landmark GCSE is an important step towards greater recognition of BSL as a language and will foster better communication between deaf and hearing communities.

The department published subject content for the BSL GCSE in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, the independent qualifications regulator, Ofqual, recently ran a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements and expects to confirm its decision on the qualification rules in autumn 2025. At this point, any exam board that chooses to offer the GCSE will be able to start developing specifications.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_152
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_152

Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Centre for Young Lives report, entitled Everything to Play For, published in June 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of decline in the duration of free playtime during school breaktimes on children's (a) development and (b) wellbeing. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department supports active lunch and break times, and government guidance sets a minimum school week of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks, to allow time for play.

The early years foundation stage framework is clear that play is essential for learning and development, with schools and providers responsible for ensuring the school day includes opportunities for social interaction, physical activity and enrichment.

The department also values understanding pupils’ school experience and has recently committed to publishing annual data on, amongst other things, pupils’ sense of belonging, enjoyment and safety at school. In 2026, we will also publish a national best practice framework to support pupil engagement, offering guidance and case studies for schools.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_153
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_153

Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people accessed the Music and Dance Scheme in each of the last five academic years; and how many students will be supported by the scheme in the academic year 2025-26. \p Catherine McKinnell: The Music and Dance Scheme operates on an academic year basis.

Information is available for the final number of students with a Music and Dance Scheme bursary after the end of the academic year, in order to account for in-year starters.

The information for the 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years is in the table below. Please note the information for the 2024/25 academic year 2024/25 is provisional.

Academic year

Number of students with a Music and Dance Scheme bursary

2020/21

2,139

2021/22

1,153

2022/23

2,056

2023/24

2,044

2024/25

2,074
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_154
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_154

Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish her Department's White Paper on reforms to the SEND system. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

We are clear that the current system is difficult for parents, carers and young people to navigate and simply not delivering the outcomes we want to see for our children.

Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_155
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_155

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether investment in family hubs will be included in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 63139.
wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_156
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-09 conversation_156

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) a hub and spoke model and (b) the utilisation of detached youth work within Young Futures Hubs on (i) outreach and (ii) access for young people. \p Janet Daby: The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.

Officials from across several departments are already working jointly, using evidence of what works to start to shape the Young Futures Hubs model. We are engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities, and other stakeholders, including assessing evidence they have supplied, to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery. This includes considering how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from support.

Across Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, the government is adopting a phased approach to learn from what works. To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, we will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas and will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.

Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.