Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Children's Society's The Good Childhood Report 2023, published on 20 September, what steps the Department of Health and Social Care's Major Conditions Strategy will take to prevent poor mental health and promote wellbeing in children and young people.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

As part of the development of the Major Conditions Strategy, we are considering the most effective ways to prevent and treat poor mental health and promote wellbeing for people of all ages. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders, the public and the National Health Service to identify actions that will have the most impact.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimation of the number of care-experienced young people in contact with the youth justice system.

Answered by Lord Bellamy

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of careers advice in increasing the number of apprenticeships taken on.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

There is encouraging evidence that careers advice is increasing young people’s awareness of apprenticeships and other technical options. In the 2022/23 academic year, 92% of schools reported that most students had information about the full range of apprenticeships. 86% of schools reported that most students had meaningful encounters with further education colleges. In a 2021/22 survey of 35,000 young people, responses show that awareness of apprenticeships doubles from 39% in year 7 to 81% by year 11.

There is some evidence that increased awareness can, in turn, lead to higher take-up of apprenticeships. In 2021/22, analysis found that uptake of apprenticeships was 16% higher in the schools that provided information on apprenticeships to most or all of their students compared with the schools that provided information to a small minority.

The government has introduced a range of measures that are driving this increased awareness of apprenticeships and technical options and giving them parity of prestige with academic routes.

On 1 January 2023, the strengthened provider access legislation came into force which specifies that schools must provide at least six opportunities for providers of technical education or apprenticeships to speak to all pupils, during school years 8-13. In addition, the department actively promotes apprenticeships and T Levels in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge Programme (ASK). The programme has reached over 3 million students in the past eight years, as well as over 230,000 parents and 100,000 teachers.

For post-18 options, the department has partnered with the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), which has expanded their service so that young people can see more personalised options, including apprenticeships. From 2024, students will be able to apply for apprenticeships alongside degrees on UCAS, developing a one-stop-shop for young people to find the right option for them.

The department is also promoting ‘Career Starter Apprenticeships’ suitable for young people looking for their first role after leaving full-time education. Get the Jump, a digital campaign provided by the National Careers Service, brings together all the different education and training pathways open to young people at post-16 and post-18. The campaign helps to support informed choice.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for allowing local authorities to set their own right-to-buy discounts to reflect local circumstances.

Answered by Baroness Penn

The Government remains committed to the Right to Buy, which has helped over 2 million social housing tenants to become homeowners.

The Right to Buy is a statutory right for eligible local authority tenants across England, with the discount formulae set in regulations. This approach already recognizes higher property prices in London with a higher maximum discount for any sales inside London. This ensures a consistent offer for tenants across the country.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional support required for social housing landlords as a result of the consumer regulation measures announced by the Regulator of Social Housing, including the Tenant Satisfaction Measures Standard, which are to be implemented from April 2024.

Answered by Baroness Penn

The Government recognises that there are demands on social landlords at this time, some of which relate to the introduction of revised consumer standards. It is essential that providers manage resources effectively to deliver for their residents.

All social landlords are responsible for providing safe and decent homes for their tenants and should be prioritising repairs and improvements where required. Landlords should not be looking to Government to fund bringing their social housing stock up to the required standards.

The Tenant Satisfaction Measure standard was introduced on 1 April 2023 and will come into force in April 2024. The Government has agreed to provide Local authorities with funding to meet the requirements of the Tenant Satisfaction Measure standard.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce a national wellbeing measure for children to provide local authorities and national policymakers with data for the purpose of improving the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

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

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, giving mental health the same attention as physical health. We are reforming the National Health Service and have committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. The Government will also be putting in place new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and will recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.

There are no current plans to introduce a national wellbeing measure for children. The Office for National Statistics publishes a range of children’s wellbeing measures. The Department maintains ongoing monitoring of the national data landscape and research on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, to support its policy making.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, as part of Anti-Bullying Week, what steps they are taking (1) to collect, record and monitor data on reports of bullying in schools and subsequent responses, and (2) to improve the availability and quality of anti-bullying training and support for teachers

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department collects and monitors data on bullying of children and young people through robust national surveys such as the National Behaviour Survey, the Health Behaviours of School-aged Children Study and the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Schools should develop their own approaches for monitoring bullying and exercise their own judgement as to what works best for their pupils. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Schools have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.

Decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rests with schools, headteachers and teachers. They are in the best position to judge their requirements and access development.

The department published advice in 2017 to support schools with addressing incidences of bullying. The guidance is clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. The guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/625ee64cd3bf7f6004339db8/Preventing_and_tackling_bullying_advice.pdf.

In 2016, the department also published a practical tool to help schools, which can be found on the Educate Against Hate website, here: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.

The department is currently reviewing the impact of these previous programmes and considering next steps to tackle bullying in schools.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the remit of the Minister for Women and Equalities specifically to include girls’ wellbeing.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The Minister for Women and Equalities considers the interests of all groups as part of her portfolios, including the interests of girls. This is also the case for other Equalities Ministers and other Government Departments and their Ministers, who consider relevant groups when formulating policy as part of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.

In addition to the general responsibility all ministers have, the new Government has a specific Minister for Children and Families at DfE, currently Janet Daby MP. The Children's Commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, also represents children’s interests. Officials at the Office for Equality and Opportunity regularly meet stakeholders representing girls to make sure the needs of girls are understood across government.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the success of Anti-Bullying Week 2024, and what initiatives they have in place to eradicate bullying.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Schools must take a strong stand against all forms of bullying and should tackle bullying at the earliest opportunity to prevent it from escalating, particularly given the impact it can have on pupils, both emotionally and physically. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour.

Anti-Bullying Week is an annual event, co-ordinated externally by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. As such, the government has not made an assessment of it.

The department has published advice to support schools with addressing incidents of bullying. The guidance is clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. The guidance is attached and is also available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/625ee64cd3bf7f6004339db8/Preventing_and_tackling_bullying_advice.pdf.

The department has also published a practical tool to help schools, which can be found on the Educate Against Hate website. It is available here: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.

Found: affairs, are excellent when it comes to the contributions made by our colleague Bishops. 44 The Lord Bishop of Derby

Found: affairs, are excellent when it comes to the contributions made by our colleague Bishops. 44 The Lord Bishop of Derby

Found: football governance Stuart Andrew 2023-10-18 Omaze Introductory meeting Stuart Andrew 2023-10-24 Lord Bishop of Derby

Found: of State for Justice Lord Farmer Baroness Tyler of Enfield Baroness Meyer The Lord Bishop of Derby