Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they have offered to Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean to strengthen resilience during the current hurricane season, and what is the nature and value of that support for each country.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
UK support to Caribbean countries following a major hurricane is well tested. It includes pre-positioned humanitarian relief supplies in the region and access to a central humanitarian crisis reserve to deliver life-saving assistance. The UK also has a Royal Navy patrol vessel in the region for the hurricane season to provide further support as required.
The UK is a leading supporter of 'disaster risk finance', which provides Caribbean countries with funding around disasters which can support faster recovery for communities. Jamaica was able to mobilise $662 million immediately following Hurricane Melissa in 2025.
The UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund has provided £350 million in grant financing in the last 10 years, supporting 13 climate-resilient infrastructure projects across eight Caribbean countries and one UK Overseas Territory and leveraged financing from governments/development banks to bring the overall portfolio value to around US$1 billion.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes to the ability of those on student visas to bring dependants to the UK on the ability of those in the Caribbean to access higher education in the UK.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Nationals of Caribbean countries remain able to apply for permission to come to the UK to study at our higher education institutions, including through the Student route. The change referred to has no direct impact on the ability of any national to apply for the Student route.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the requirement for Saint Lucian nationals to obtain a visa to visit the UK on the bilateral relationship between Saint Lucia and the UK.
Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Visa policy is set by the Home Office and is a matter of border security. We acknowledge the importance of the UK - Saint Lucia relationship and remain committed to working together on many shared priorities including climate resilience, security cooperation, and economic development.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial sustainability of universities; and what measures they intend to take to ensure that institutions can maintain teaching and research excellence without reducing academic provision or workforce capacity.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department remains committed to creating a secure future for the higher education (HE) sector. The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our commitment to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthening financial resilience, and adopting more effective operating models. We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in 2025/26 and are doing the same in 2026/27 and 2027/28.
HE providers are independent from government and are responsible for managing their finances. We encourage providers to work with their staff to develop sustainable business models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution.
The department continues to work closely with the Office for Students to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.
The International Education Strategy has confirmed our continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the long-term financial sustainability of universities, particularly in the light of rising operating costs, the declining real-terms value of tuition fees, and changes in international student recruitment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department remains committed to creating a secure future for the higher education (HE) sector. The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our commitment to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthening financial resilience, and adopting more effective operating models. We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in 2025/26 and are doing the same in 2026/27 and 2027/28.
HE providers are independent from government and are responsible for managing their finances. We encourage providers to work with their staff to develop sustainable business models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution.
The department continues to work closely with the Office for Students to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.
The International Education Strategy has confirmed our continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent children in care from being moved to areas that do not reflect their cultural, racial, linguistic, or religious identity or community.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.
While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.
For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.
Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.
The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure girls in care who have been moved far from their home communities receive consistent and regular oversight and support from social work professionals.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.
While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.
For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.
Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.
The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of girls in care moved far from their communities in circumstances where it is not in their best interests.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.
While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.
For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.
Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.
The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Become, Gone Too Far: How being moved far away puts care-experienced girls at risk, published in July 2026; and what assessment they have made of the risks posed by distant placements in the children's social care system to (1) children's enduring relationships, and (2) the safety of girls from exploitation and sexual abuse.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.
While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.
For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.
Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.
The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.
Asked by: Baroness Benjamin (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between out-of-area placements for girls in care and the risk of exploitation, sexual abuse, or other forms of violence against women and girls.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.
While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.
For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.
Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.
The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.
Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.