theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on the legal recognition of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Promoting the rights of religious minorities is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024, and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. The British High Commission regularly raises the issue of Ahmadi Muslim rights at the highest levels, including lobbying the Government of Pakistan against regressive legislation. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in accordance with international standards.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Marsha De Cordova:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterparts on Israeli settler attacks on (a) schools, (b) higher education facilities and (c) cultural institutions in the West Bank. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We remain very concerned at the disproportionate impact of violence on children, including in the West Bank: education is a priority sector. Any destruction of cultural facilities is also highly concerning. We engage regularly with non-governmental organizations and civil society, who are best placed to communicate needs and rebuild their communities. The Foreign Secretary and I have emphasised the importance of stability throughout all the Occupied Territories to our Israeli counterparts. The Foreign Secretary raised Israel's ongoing operation in Jenin and highlighted the risk that this undermines the Palestinian Authority when he spoke to Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January. The Foreign Secretary also noted the need for violent settlers to be held accountable.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to secure help peace between Kurdish forces and the Syrian government; and what support he is providing to the Kurdish diaspora in the United Kingdom. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We support a Syrian-led political transition process leading to an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government that includes representative figures from across Syria, including Kurds. We emphasise this in our diplomatic engagement with the interim Syrian authorities, through Ministers as well as our Syria Envoy. We will judge them by their actions.

More broadly, the UK supports Kurdish communities in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, as well as diaspora groups, promoting their rights and integration within their home countries. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office maintains engagement with a range of Syrian groups and individuals, including Kurds, in the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government's policy towards UK arms trade with Israel in complying with Criterion 2a and Criterion 2c of the Strategic Export Licencing Criteria. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government is committed to maintaining a robust and transparent export control system. We will not grant an export licence if to do so would be inconsistent with the Criteria, including respect for human rights and International Humanitarian Law. The Criteria provide a thorough risk assessment framework and require us to carefully consider the impact of the export of items and their capabilities.  As soon as the Foreign Secretary took office, he ordered a review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law, which concluded that there is a clear risk that UK export items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. On 2 September 2024 we suspended export licences to Israel for use in military operations in the Gaza Conflict. This does not, however, include exports to the global F-35 programme.
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Mary Glindon:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Oral Statement from the Minister for Development of 28 January 2025 on Gaza: Humanitarian Situation, Official Report, Column 185, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of supply of (a) tents, (b) mattresses and (c) medical equipment in Gaza; and what diplomatic steps he is taking to increase that supply. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Despite the welcome ceasefire, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains extremely challenging.  The UK is pressing Israel to increase the volume and type of goods, like shelter items and medical equipment, entering Gaza. The Foreign Secretary raised this with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar in a call on 22 January. On 31 January, we joined with Germany and France to call on Israel to abide by its international obligations and live up to its responsibility to ensure full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian assistance and the provision of basic services to the civilian population. The Minister for Development also announced £17 million in humanitarian funding on 28 January to ensure healthcare, food and shelter reaches tens of thousands of civilians, and to rebuild vital infrastructure across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
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Bob Blackman:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart in relation to reports that Hindu students in Karachi have faced disciplinary action and legal proceedings for celebrating Holi. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Promoting freedom of religion or belief is a key part of the UK's diplomatic engagement overseas. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024 and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. The British High Commission regularly raises the rights of religious minorities, including Hindus, at the highest levels. However, we are not prepared to discuss the detail of individual cases where to do so could endanger individuals and their families. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people, including those of religious minorities, in accordance with international standards.
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Brendan O'Hara:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether UK surveillance drones have been flown from Jordan over (a) Gaza and (b) the West Bank in Occupied Palestine. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: We are unable to comment on the detail of intelligence matters, for operational security reasons.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Middle East on (a) the territorial integrity of the West Bank and (b) the steps that will be taken to ensure the establishment of a free, safe, independent and secure Palestine alongside a safe and secure Israel. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign Secretary raised this issue when he spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 January. Stability in the West Bank is crucial to ensure the fragile ceasefire in Gaza can last. All sides should work to ensure a lowering of tension in the West Bank at this time. We are of the clear view that Israel should bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) as rapidly as possible - but this must be done in a way that creates the conditions for negotiations towards the two-state solution. The UK will continue to work with Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the US, and regional partners to build consensus for a post-conflict Gaza governance and security framework that supports conditions for a permanent and sustainable peace. We must give the people of the West Bank and Gaza the political perspective of a credible route to a Palestinian state and a new future, and it needs to be irreversible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on taking steps to help prevent the desecration of Ahmadiyya burial sites in Pakistan. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK is aware of the desecration of Ahmadi burial sites in Pakistan and continues to monitor the situation. I raised the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024, and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. The British High Commission continues to raise this issue at the highest levels, including the need for swift action in response to incidents of hate and violence. UK programmes promote the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan through facilitating interfaith dialogue and combatting online hate speech.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the desecration of Ahmadiyya mosques in that country. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK Government is aware of the desecration of Ahmadi Mosques in Pakistan and continues to monitor the situation. I underlined the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024 and also discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. In response to the desecration of an Ahmadi Mosque in Daska on 16 January, the British High Commissioner raised the issue of Ahmadi Muslim rights with the Punjab Minorities Minister. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people, including those of religious minorities, in accordance with international standards.
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Mr James Cleverly:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance funding has been spent on countering people smuggling in North Africa in each of the last five years. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The North Africa Cooperation on Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (NACSAT) project provided £3.1 million for a UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) anti-people smuggling programme across Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt in the three years up to November 2021. Across fiscal years 2022 to 2025, the UK has provided a further £490,000 to UNODC programmes training North Africa law enforcement and border officials to identify and respond to cases of suspected people smuggling. The Foreign Secretary is clear that migration, including the disruption of people smuggling and organised immigration crime, is a top Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office priority.
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Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has met with pro-democracy campaigners in Iran since 4 July 2024. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Foreign Secretary has not visited Iran. The Islamic Republic's human rights record is unacceptable. The UK helped deliver a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran at the UN Third Committee in November 2024. In January, the Foreign Secretary raised human rights directly with his Iranian counterpart. We will continue to raise rights issues directly with the regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to (a) protect and (b) promote the freedom of religion or belief in Iran. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). We are championing the right to FoRB and promoting tolerance and mutual respect through our engagement in multilateral fora, our bilateral work, and our programme funding.

We condemn Iran's restrictions against FoRB. We were proud to help deliver the Iran Human Rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2024, which called on Iran to cease monitoring individuals on account of their religious identity and to ensure rights are upheld. We will continue to raise the issue directly with the Iranian government, including through our Ambassador in Tehran.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the rights of Ahmadi Muslims in that country. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: Promoting the rights of religious minorities is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement in Pakistan. I raised the deteriorating situation for Ahmadi Muslims when I met Pakistan's Human Rights Minister on 19 November 2024, and discussed this issue in Parliament on 28 November 2024. On 3 March, our High Commissioner in Islamabad raised the issue of Ahmadi rights in a meeting with Prime Minister Sharif. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people, including Ahmadi Muslims, in accordance with international standards.
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Chris Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help international aid agencies provide (a) humanitarian aid and (b) assistance to Syrian communities within areas occupied by Israeli forces since 8 December 2024. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK continues to provide vital support to Syrians in need in Syria and across the region. Since the fall of Assad, we have announced a further £62 million, bringing UK commitments to over £4.3 billion since the start of the conflict. Through the United Nations (UN) and other international Non-Governmental Organisations, we are providing food, healthcare, protection, and other life-saving assistance. We continue to fund UN programmes that support Syrians, including in areas which currently have an Israeli presence. We call on all parties to support humanitarian access and prioritise the protection of civilians, as well as humanitarian workers, in all regions of Syria.
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation of Christians in (a) Gaza and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and whether he has made representations on that issue to the Palestinian Authority. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The UK is pressing for a Palestinian-led process for recovery and reconstruction in Gaza and a strong role for civil society. This is crucial to lay the groundwork for inclusive governance, accountability, and transparency so that the needs, desires, rights and freedoms and voices of all Gazans are protected, including Christians. The Foreign Secretary has spoken with President Abbas and the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority Mohammad Mustafa, and offered the UK's support as his government implements much-needed reforms. An effective Palestinian Authority is vital for lasting peace and progress towards a two-state solution. Officials from the Consulate General in Jerusalem have regular engagements with the Christian community in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, to understand the impact of the conflict and Israeli occupation on Christian Palestinians. The UK remains strongly committed to freedom of religious belief for all abroad. No one should live in fear because of what they do or do not believe in.
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Brendan O'Hara:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions the Prime Minister has had with his Israeli counterpart on adhering to international law in the Occupied West Bank. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: This Government is clear that International Humanitarian Law (IHL) must be upheld, and civilians protected, and the Government continues to press Israeli counterparts on issues of international law compliance. Stability in the West Bank is crucial to ensure the fragile ceasefire in Gaza can last.
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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to provide a legal right to consular assistance to all British nationals facing arbitrary detention overseas. \p Mr Hamish Falconer: The Government takes allegations concerning the arbitrary detention of British nationals - including journalists - very seriously. We examine the circumstances of each case individually and develop tailored strategies based on careful judgements on what is likely to be most effective. Where appropriate, we seek to raise concerns with the local authorities and press for specific violations to be remedied or investigated. We expect all States to comply with their human right obligations. The Government is committed to strengthening consular services, including introducing a right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is considering a package of measures to achieve this, which we will announce in due course.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with local authorities to ensure adequate educational provision for schoolchildren with an education, health and care plan. \p Catherine McKinnell: For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve, particularly through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes.

The department is working closely with experts on reform, including a strategic advisor for SEND who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider next steps.

The department has also listened to parents, local authority colleagues, and partners across education, health and social care and are considering carefully how to address and improve the experience of the EHC plan process for families and reflecting on what practice could or should be made consistent nationally.

We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so that more children and young people can achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement.

The department will strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive and support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise. Many mainstream settings are committed to delivering specialist provision locally including through resourced provision and special educational needs unit. Alongside this, we recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the continuation of funding for (a) the Holiday Activities and Food, (b) School Games and (c) the Primary PE and Sport Premium programmes. \p Catherine McKinnell: The government recently announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food programme for the 2025/26 financial year. Funding for the primary PE and sport premium has been committed to the end of the 2024/25 academic year.

The School Games are the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care. The government has confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers until the end of the 2024/25 academic year.

Information on future budgets will be made available in due course.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of specialist school placements available within Slough. \p Catherine McKinnell: For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve.

We recognise the vital role that special schools play in catering to those with the most complex needs. We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with SEND. If a local authority identifies a shortage of special school places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating or expanding local provision to meet that need. The department’s officials in Regions Group will continue to work closely with Slough to provide support and advice to the local authority in meeting its statutory duty to provide sufficient places for pupils with SEND.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, or to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, as well as continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs. We will confirm local authority allocations to Slough for high needs capital funding in the spring.
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Ian Lavery:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the workload of teachers. \p Catherine McKinnell: Teacher and leader workload is unacceptably high. This is why the department is committed to working with the sector to eliminate unnecessary workload.

We know that reducing teacher workload will play a key role in recruiting and retaining excellent school staff and will support the government’s mission to transform the education system so that all children and young people get the skills, care and opportunities they deserve.

Work is underway across the department to help reduce burdens, including through the reform of accountability, curriculum and assessment and the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system and through the government’s child poverty taskforce.

We are working with the sector to identify where we can go further to address unnecessary workload, including through the Improving Education Together agreement.

Our ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, developed alongside school leaders, contains a range of supportive resources for schools to review and reduce workload, and improve staff wellbeing.

The department worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to develop the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter.

The charter sets out commitments from the department, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff, including an explicit commitment to continue to support schools to drive down unnecessary workload. Over 4,000 schools and colleges have signed up to the charter.

In addition, we are working with a group of colleges to pilot a suite of funding and audit simplifications to make the system more efficient and less bureaucratic to support the further education (FE) workforce to reduce burdens. We have given these colleges more flexibility by reducing FE funding rules, simplifying funding calculations, and removing some individual ringfences within adult skills funding and 16-19 funding. We are testing how we can make audit and assurance processes simpler, make it easier for colleges to deliver Skills Bootcamps, and are testing improvements to apprenticeships.
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Chris Hinchliff:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of special educational provision in North East Hertfordshire constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources. The department is also working closely with experts on reforms who will play a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families as we consider the next steps for the future of SEND reform.

The department is providing support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership. In July 2023, Ofsted’s inspection of local arrangements in Hertfordshire for children with SEND concluded that there were widespread and/or systemic failings, leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently.

Since then, the department has been using a SEND expert adviser to monitor progress against Hertfordshire’s priority action plan and improvement plan. In January 2025, the department sent the local area partnership a letter following a stocktake into their progress. This letter outlines that improvements are being made at pace, including on governance arrangements and quality assurance. However, there are still areas for the local area to address, for example on the impact and sustainability of improvements. The letter can be accessed here: https://sendnews.hertfordshire.gov.uk/31-january-2025#stocktake.

The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, which is independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing individual health plans for every child with epilepsy. \p Catherine McKinnell: Statutory guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. The guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ce6a72e40f0b620a103bd53/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf. Healthcare plans can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate.

The department will keep the statutory guidance under review as we take forward our commitment to delivering an inclusive mainstream system.
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Yasmin Qureshi:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Together Trust and National Star entitled What comes after education? Transitions to adulthood for disabled young people, published on 8 December 2023. \p Catherine McKinnell: The report raises concerns around the challenges young people face when transitioning from education into adulthood, including uncertainty around post-16 options, employment and transitions to adult services. The department will consider these themes and the issues raised in the report and discuss with stakeholders as we progress our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform work.

The department knows that successful transitions must be well-planned. Preparing all children and young people with SEND for adulthood is a key part of the SEND system and should begin from the earliest point. All local authorities must set out the support available to help children and young people with SEND prepare for and transition to adulthood as part of their local offer. This includes support to help children and young people move between phases of education and preparation for adult life.

For those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, there must be a focus from year 9 onwards on preparing the young person for adulthood as part of their plan’s annual review. This focus must continue until the young person’s EHC plan ceases. Planning for the transition to adulthood should result in clear outcomes being agreed that are ambitious and stretching, and which are tailored to the needs and interests of the young person.
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Jess Asato:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing school-based whole family support practitioners to support the SEND system. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government wants to create a high-quality system that places children and families at the centre of its design, providing meaningful and consistent support for families as their needs change over time.

Schools, colleges, early years and childcare settings, and other educational providers, including alternative provision, all have a pivotal role to play in safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. Their insight and co-operation are vital to the successful delivery of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. People working in education settings play an important role in building relationships, identifying concerns and providing direct support to children.

The Children’s Social Care National Framework sets out the purpose, principles and enablers of good practice and the outcomes that should be achieved. The guidance describes what everyone working with families should do and helps everyone come together with a clear vision for how to transform the support that families receive.

Services should prioritise supporting the whole family, recognising that problems do not exist in silos and are often interconnected and intergenerational. Intervening to provide support at the earliest opportunity can help prevent challenges from escalating and improve outcomes.

Family hubs play an important role helping families access vital services to improve the health, education and wellbeing of children, young people and their families. As part of the family hubs’ ‘Start for Life’ programme, there are now over 400 family hubs open across 88 local authorities, creating a welcoming place where families with children aged 0 to 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), can be connected to a wide range of services.

Programme guidance outlines the minimum expectation that local authorities should be delivering in their family hubs for SEND support Family Hub Service Expectations.

This support includes the staff in the family hub being knowledgeable about the SEND services available and being able to connect families to SEND services within the family hub network.

Over the last three years, many of the local authorities on the programme have chosen to focus on improving SEND services, bringing local offers together in one place and funding early identification/intervention on speech, language and communication needs.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children living in temporary accommodation to ensure their access to a stable education in (a) Thurrock and (b) England. \p Janet Daby: The Opportunity Mission will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success across Thurrock and the whole of England, by ensuring family security and providing the best start in life. It will ensure all children are achieving, thriving and building skills for opportunity and growth.

High and rising standards in every school are at the heart of this mission, driving better outcomes for every child, and delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning which hold too many children back.

We know that disadvantaged young people in particular face barriers to engagement with education, including insecure housing. If children are unable to engage with education, then no matter how good teaching and learning is, they are much less likely to succeed.

From April 2025 the department will be rolling out Family Help Services that will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating. Lead practitioners will undertake assessments of all needs of the family, including those who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness and work to support families where this may be part of a more complex set of needs.

As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26.

The Child Poverty Taskforce has also started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy. The Strategy will tackle overall child poverty including a focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.

Homeless children are included in the Fair Access Protocol, which is a mandatory mechanism developed by local authorities in partnership with all schools in their area. Its aim is to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children's services in Lincolnshire. \p Janet Daby: For the 2025/25 financial year, the government is providing Lincolnshire with £7.5 million of funding specifically for children’s services, made up of £4.3 million through the Children and Families Grant, and £3.2 million though the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant.

More broadly, the government announced major reforms which will support all local authority children’s services in the department’s policy statement ’Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive‘, published in November. This sets out the government’s approach to creating a children’s social care system that prioritises the needs of children and families, with a focus on prevention, high standards of care, and tackling systemic issues like profiteering in the care market and workforce instability.

As part of the delivery of Children’s Social Care reforms the department has been working closely with Lincolnshire as a 'Families First Pathfinder', funding the local authority to test the delivery of new ways of working.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what obligations local authorities have to provide state-subsidised housing to people with refugee status; and what priority they have. \p Matthew Pennycook: Eligibility for social housing in England is tightly controlled.

If a person’s visa means that they cannot access state benefits or local authority housing assistance, they are not eligible for an allocation of social housing.

Among those eligible for social housing, priority is determined according to need. Refugees are not automatically granted a priority need.

If an asylum seeker receives a positive decision on their claim, asylum-pathway refugees have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other eligible applicants in accordance with the local authority’s housing allocation scheme.

Local authorities supporting resettled refugees who arrive in the UK via the UK Resettlement Scheme do so on a voluntary basis.

The previous government consulted on changes to social housing allocation tests. This government’s response was published on 2 September and can be found on gov.uk here.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the legal status of (a) Local Plans and (b) Neighbourhood Plans will be impacted in circumstances where the planning authority in question is subsumed into a new unitary authority as part of local government reorganisation. \p Matthew Pennycook: The legal status of local plans and neighbourhood plans is not impacted by local government reorganisation. Where reorganisation occurs, existing local and neighbourhood plans remain in force as part of the development plan for their area until they are replaced by new local or neighbourhood plans.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the Minister for Housing and Planning will meet with the hon. Member for Newton Abbot. \p Matthew Pennycook: My private office has contacted the hon. Member by email to offer a meeting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of rent increases on recent trends in the level of tenants being evicted. \p Matthew Pennycook: The English Housing Survey found that in 2023-24 just under a third of private renters (32%) reported finding it either fairly or very difficult to afford their rent. This is an increase on the proportion seen in 2022-23 (29%), and pre-pandemic (27%).

The English Private Landlord Survey in 2023-24 also found that one of the most common reasons for a landlord evicting a tenant was rent arrears (42%).

The government recognises that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Renters’ Rights Bill empowers private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, with all rent increases taking place via an existing statutory process.

Tenants who receive a rent increase that they feel is not representative of the market value will be able to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. This will prevent unscrupulous landlords using rent increases as a backdoor means of eviction, while ensuring rents can be increased to reflect market rates.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Catherine Fookes:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including housing associations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government is committed to increasing transparency in the social rented sector. We intend to direct the Regulator of Social Housing to introduce new Social Tenant Access to Information Requirements (STAIRs) for private providers of social housing, including housing associations, to enable residents to request information about their housing management.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to table 1b of Homes England's report entitled 2016 to 2021 Shared Ownership and Affordable Homes Programme summary: end of March 2021, published in December 2021, what the average funding per unit of affordable housing was in each region for an (a) affordable home ownership home, (b) affordable rent home and (c) social rent home. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Department delegates delivery of the Affordable Homes Programme to Homes England outside London and to the Greater London Authority (GLA) in London. The government agrees budgets and targets with both agencies to deliver the programme’s overall targets for additional homes and specific types of tenure, as well as types of home, including those built using of Modern Methods of Construction and Supported Housing.

In awarding contracts under the programme Homes England and the GLA assess the need for grant on a site-by-site basis. In agreeing how much grant a project requires they will take into account the costs for building out the site with how much grant is needed to make that project viable, and the overall value for money for the programme. The most recent publication, with data reflecting grant allocations to the end of March 2023, can be found on gov.uk here
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-03-10)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-03-10 conversation_151

Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase funding for social housing, in the context of the forthcoming spending review. \p Matthew Pennycook: The government will set out set details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for social rent.

Since October 2024, we have announced £800 million in new funding for the current Affordable Homes Programme. This will support the delivery of up to 7,800 new homes, with more than half of them being Social Rent homes.