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Written Question
Israel: Hamas
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Permanent Representative of the UK to the UN attended the ‘Hear Our Voices: Sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7th Hamas terror attack’ event on 4 December at the UN headquarters; and if not, why.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Three representatives of the UK Permanent Representation to the United Nations attended this event. The UK unequivocally condemns the reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli women and girls and other civilians; conflict-related sexual violence is an abuse of human rights and when perpetrated in the context of an armed conflict, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law such as a war crime. We are regularly engaging with partners, including the UN, on this issue and call for these reports to be fully investigated to ensure justice for victims. The UK is committed to strengthening the global response to conflict-related sexual violence. Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) strategy, launched in 2022, sets out the work I am leading globally as the PMs Special Representative for PSVI, to prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and strengthen justice and support for all survivors.


Written Question
Cost of Living: Women
Friday 14th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support vulnerable girls and young women given the increased cost of living.

Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government understands the pressures people, including vulnerable women and girls, are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help.

Everyone who receives a state benefit or pension will have seen their benefit rates increase by 10.1% this month. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the benefit cap levels have also increased by the same amount.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

Households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments, paid in three separate payments of £301, £300 and £299 across the 2023/24 financial year. The first payment of £301 will be paid to the majority of those eligible between 25 April and 17 May. In addition, people on qualifying disability benefits will receive a separate Disability Cost of Living payment of £150 in the summer.

For people who require additional support, whether they receive benefits or not, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The guidance for Local Authorities for this next iteration has now been published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-guidance-for-local-councils/1April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This sets out that the fund should be used to support households in the most need, particularly those who are not eligible for other cost of living support such as Cost of Living Payments. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.

More broadly, tackling violence against women and girls is a Government priority. The Government is committed to ensuring victims have the support they need and we are conscious that the cost of living may generate additional challenges for victims and survivors.

Our Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests over £230 million of cross-Government funding into tackling this crime, including over £140 million to support victims and over £81 million to tackle perpetrators. This includes trialling a £300,000 ‘flexible fund’, that could make direct payments to domestic abuse victims.

In addition to the direct impact on victims, the Government also acknowledges the cost of living will have an impact on charitable organisations who work to support them. To help mitigate these challenges, where possible the Home Office has provided multi-year grants to support organisations to make maximum use of their funding, by providing greater stability and predictability on their budgets.


Written Question
Education: Girls and Women
Thursday 13th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and protect at-risk girls and young women in education settings, including against poor mental health and sexual harassment.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to helping education settings provide the safe, calm, and supportive learning environments that promote good wellbeing and reduce risk of harm. This includes considering how we can best support girls and young women who may be at higher risk of sexual harassment or poor mental health.

The government’s Tackling Violence against Women and Girls Strategy sets out the actions that we are taking and the progress that we have made to prevent violence and harassment and protect victims. It includes the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Enough communications campaign, and changes to the law to introduce new criminal offences, including up-skirting and revenge porn. We will also be publishing non-statutory guidance specifically focused on teaching about sexual harassment and sexual violence.

As part of the strategy, we are determined to make sure the right resources and processes are in place across the education system to support any victims of abuse who come forward. The department published strengthened statutory school safeguarding guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education in September 2021. The guidance has been further strengthened for 2022, ensuring schools have even clearer guidance on how to deal with reports of sexual abuse. Revised guidance includes the ‘Sexual violence and sexual harassment advice’, putting this on a statutory footing to give the issue the prominence it deserves. The department is also trialling the impact of supervision for designated safeguarding leads, with a particular focus on supporting them to respond to sexual abuse issues.

As well as supporting pupils to understand their mental health, the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum in schools ensures all pupils are taught about respectful relationships. This includes learning that some types of behaviour within relationships are criminal, what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual violence, and why these are always unacceptable. The department has started a review of the RSHE statutory guidance and continues to develop standalone non statutory guidance to support schools to teach about these issues effectively.

Further education providers also have flexibility to offer aspects of RSHE. Providers should support students to access the support they need to have healthy relationships. The Ofsted Further Education and Skills inspection handbook includes personal development in its judgements, including students’ understanding of healthy relationships and how to keep themselves mentally healthy.

In higher education (HE), the department expects all providers to have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, including the Equality Act 2010, and to swiftly address reports of harassment and sexual misconduct. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill includes a clause banning the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements to silence victims in cases of sexual misconduct in HE. The Office for Students (OfS) has also launched a consultation to make mandatory measures that will require providers to address student harassment.

The department supports education settings to take effective approaches to supporting wellbeing and mental health. In schools and colleges, we are providing grants to train Senior Mental Health Leads and rolling out Mental Health Support Teams which can improve access to support. In HE, we have an ambition for all providers to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by 2026. The OfS have funded the online platform Student Space. The department has asked them to allocate £15 million to establishing better partnerships between universities and local NHS service and support transitions into university.


Written Question
Pupil Exclusions: Girls and Women
Thursday 13th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to understand the drivers behind young women and girls’ official and unofficial school exclusions, in order to tackle the over-representation of ethnic minorities among those excluded.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Continuing to improve behaviour in schools is a priority for the government. Head teachers use suspensions and permanent exclusions when required as part of creating calm, safe and supportive classrooms. Schools should only use permanent exclusion as a last resort, and the Department supports teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools.

Informal or unofficial exclusions are unlawful, and the department has previously written to schools to remind them of the rules on suspension and permanent exclusion.

Analysis from the Timpson Review of School Exclusion (2019) illustrated a complex picture but, on the whole, there is no substantial difference in permanent exclusion rates when comparing all ethnic minority children as a whole with white British children. More information on the Timpson Review of School Exclusion can be found attached.

The updated 'School suspension and permanent exclusion’ guidance sets out that schools, local authorities, and local partners should work together to understand what lies behind local trends.

The department’s ‘Understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees’ guidance also makes clear governing boards should carefully consider the level and characteristics of pupils who are leaving the school, and challenge the school and academy trust management teams on any permanent exclusions to ensure it is only used as a last resort.

Schools also have a clear duty not to discriminate against pupils under the Equality Act 2010. Ofsted’s assessment of behaviour in schools includes specific consideration of rates, patterns and reasons for exclusions, as well as any differences between groups of pupils.


Written Question
Health: Women
Thursday 13th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the particular mental health and wellbeing of ethnic minority girls and young women.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Whilst we are not taking steps nationally to address specifically the particular mental health and wellbeing of ethnic minority girls and young women, we are expanding access to mental health services through the NHS Long Term Plan, which commits to investing an additional £2.3 billion a year for mental health services by 2023/24, so that an additional two million people, including girls and young women from minority ethnic groups, can access National Health Service-funded mental health support.

NHS England launched its first Advancing mental health equalities strategy in October 2020 to support the ambition of reducing mental health inequalities outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan. The strategy summarises the core actions that NHS England will take to bridge the gaps for communities faring worse than others in mental health services, including black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, and women in secure care settings. A copy of the strategy is attached.

The Government and NHS England are also taking forward non-legislative work to address racial disparities, including the piloting of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy services by the Department. These are exploring approaches to identifying, supporting, and advocating for the specific cultural needs of people from ethnic minority groups.


Written Question
Victim Support Schemes: Women
Wednesday 12th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address geographical areas where there is a shortfall in specialist community support for girls and young women, particularly those with protected characteristics, informed by age, gender, culture, and trauma of those in need.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Local authorities are supported by a range of grants from central government. The Department of Health and Social Care are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs across England, so that women can get better access to care for essential services such as menstrual problems, contraception and the menopause.

The Government Equalities Office are responsible for equalities legislation, but all public authorities are bound by public sector equality duties.


Written Question
Mental Health: Women
Tuesday 11th April 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their Women’s Health Strategy for England, published on 30 August 2022, what steps they are taking to address the high rates of poor mental health amongst girls and young women.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Long Term Plan commits an additional £2.3 billion a year for mental health services in England by 2023/24, supporting an additional two million people, including girls and young women, to get the National Health Service-funded mental health support that they need.

We also continue to make progress on rolling out mental health support teams to schools and colleges, with 287 in place in over 4,700 schools and colleges across the country, offering support to children experiencing common mental health issues. The number of teams is expected shortly to have increased to 399.

We know that girls and women are more likely to experience an eating disorder, so as part of the NHS Long Term Plan investment, we are putting an extra £1 billion into community mental health care for adults with severe mental illness by 2023/24. This will give 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illnesses, including eating disorders, greater choice and control over their care and will support them to live well in their communities.

Since 2016, extra funding is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, with £54 million per year from 2022/23. This extra funding will enhance the capacity of community eating disorder teams across the country.

The NHS Long Term Plan also includes measures to improve safety, quality and continuity of care and a commitment for a further 24,000 women to be able to access specialist perinatal mental health care by 2023/24. This care will also be available from preconception to 24 months after birth, which will provide an extra year of support. This expansion includes 33 new Maternal Mental Health Services, which bring together psychological therapy, maternity services and reproductive health for women who have mental health needs following trauma or loss related to their maternity experience. These will be available across England by March 2024.

As outlined in the Women’s Health Strategy, women are one of our priority groups when promoting our Every Mind Matters resource, which includes content to support issues affecting women’s mental health, including life changes such as pregnancy.


Written Question
Out-of-School Education
Wednesday 8th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total spend on unregistered alternative provider education placements in England, broken down by (1) school, (2) local authority, and (3) region of England.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Data is collected in the alternative provision census on the placement of pupils in unregistered alternative provision providers by local authorities. Since 2022, this data is also collected on arrangements made by schools. This is collected via the schools census.

Information on the total spend on unregistered alternative education placements by school, local authority, or region, is not collected by the department, and cannot be derived from this data.


Written Question
Out-of-School Education
Wednesday 8th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many pupils registered with a state-funded school spend (1) less than two days per week, (2) two or more days per week, (3) three or more days per week, and (4) four or more days per week, in an education placement with an unregistered alternative provider.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Via the alternative provision census, the department collects information on pupils aged 2-18 who local authorities have placed in unregistered providers.

Since the 2022/23 academic year, the department has also collected information on placements made by schools via the school census, with the first mandatory collection being in the spring census. The information is not currently available whilst the spring census is collected and returns validated.


Written Question
Out-of-School Education
Wednesday 8th March 2023

Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) mean, and (2) median, amount spent on an unregistered alternative provider place in England by (a) Pupil Referral Units, (b) state-funded schools not classified as a Pupil Referral Unit, and (3) local authorities.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Data is collected in the alternative provision census on the placement of pupils in unregistered alternative provision providers by local authorities. Since 2022, this data is also collected on arrangements made by schools. This is collected via the schools census.

Information on the mean or median amount spent by Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), state funded schools not classified as PRUs, or local authorities is not collected by the department, and cannot be derived from this data.