Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the recommendations set out in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and whether the ministerial child protection group will issue a report on those recommendations.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is working closely with departments across Government, including the Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Justice, to identify where progress can be made against the recommendations made in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and will provide further detail in due course.

The Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips MP, has convened ministers from across departments to discuss the recommendations and has met victims and survivors, child protection charities and Professor Alexis Jay, former Chair of the Inquiry, to ensure their views on this important issue are considered.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish any legal analysis supporting their assertion in paragraph 77 of the Mental Health Bill: Memorandum on European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), published on 14 November, that the Mental Health Bill complies with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The measures in the Mental Health Bill will give patients greater choice, enhanced rights, and support, and will ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect throughout treatment. The Government’s view is that the Mental Health Bill is compatible with both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and does not plan to publish further legal analysis.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings set out in the report Eroding the right to family life: human rights violations in Britain’s child protection systems, published by the Children and Families Truth Commission on 15 November, and whether they will produce guidance to ensure that local authorities intervene early, fulfil their duty to provide support services to families in need, and regularly review care plans to ensure that children in the child protection system can be reunited with their families at the earliest possible opportunity.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

Local authorities are required to provide services for children in need for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting their welfare.

All local authorities must adhere to statutory guidance including ‘Working together to safeguard children 2023’, which is attached and can also be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. The guidance is clear that safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children relies on providing help and support to meet the needs of children as soon as problems emerge.

Ofsted inspects whether local authorities are delivering appropriately for children.

On 18 November 2024, the department published ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, which is attached and can also be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67375fe5ed0fc07b53499a42/Keeping_Children_Safe__Helping_Families_Thrive_.pdf. This sets out this government’s approach to reforming the system of support for children and families, including rebalancing the system toward earlier intervention through the national roll out of family help and child protection reforms. The local government finance policy statement published on 28 November 2024, by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed that the rollout of these reforms will be supported by £500 million of funding from April 2025. The statement is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026.

Family Help is a seamless, non-stigmatising offer of support delivered by multi-disciplinary community-based teams. It combines the strengths of targeted early help and section 17 work, with an emphasis on whole-family working and greater flexibility on who leads work with families, ensuring children and families receive the right support at the earliest opportunity, crucially improving their outcomes and also reducing costs to public services.

Through the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme and Family Networks pilot running in ten local authorities, the department is testing models and approaches to parental support and advocacy, so that parents feel empowered to have a strong voice when navigating the child protection process. Through the same programme, we are also testing stronger multi-agency approaches to support families. This includes new Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams and Lead Child Protection Practitioners, who are qualified social workers with strong expertise in child protection and assessments. These teams will see local authority, police, and health and other relevant agencies work together in an integrated way to help families overcome challenges, stay together wherever possible, and thrive whilst keeping children safe.

The introduction of Family Help and reforms to child protection from April 2025 will produce a fundamental shift in the way the department is able to respond to children and families who need help. The changes will form part of an improved end-to-end system that offers a seamless system of support, ensuring children and families access the right support at the right time, delivered by the right person.

More detailed guidance on these reforms will be published in the new year which will confirm the changes we expect local authorities and their partners to deliver, including minimum expectations for delivery and opportunities for local flexibility.

Found: Nevertheless, even for wheelchair users, refusals to carry are still common (the experience of Baroness Grey-Thompson

Found: Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Grey-Thompson

Found: BARONESS PIDGEON LORD HAMPTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON 49_ After Clause 27, insert the following new

Found: years. 17 Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] After Clause 27 BARONESS PIDGEON LORD HAMPTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON

Found: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] 18 After Clause 27 BARONESS PIDGEON LORD HAMPTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON

Found: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [HL] 8 After Clause 27 BARONESS PIDGEON LORD HAMPTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON

Found: Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse) Bill [HL] is a private member’s bill introduced by Baroness Grey-Thompson

Found: LORD BASSAM OF BRIGHTON BARONESS TAYLOR OF BOLTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON 178_ Clause 26, page 19,

Found: After Clause 14 LORD BASSAM OF BRIGHTON BARONESS TAYLOR OF BOLTON BARONESS GREY-THOMPSON BARONESS

Found: Letter from Baroness Twycross to Baroness Grey-Thompson regarding the need to include the Regulator within

Found: former rower and chair of UK Sport Katherine Grainger, former athlete and television presenter Baroness Grey-Thompson

Found: Letter dated 19/12/2024 from Baroness Twycross to Baroness Grey-Thompson regarding women's football and