Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) high, (2) medium, and (3) low, secure beds in mental health units were available in every region of England in each of the last five years.

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

Neither the Department nor NHS England holds centrally validated information on the number of secure beds in each region.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the student loans system over the next 12 months.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The government is taking decisive action to better support disadvantaged students, make things fairer for graduates, and create a more flexible, responsive post-16 education system through the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in January 2027.

Since 2024, we have raised the Plan 2 repayment threshold twice, protected borrowers from the risk of inflation shocks by capping interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans at 6% for the 2026/27 academic year, and future-proofed maintenance loans by committing to increase them every year in-line with forecast inflation. Further, we are making care leavers automatically eligible for the maximum rate of maintenance loan, and we will be reintroducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants in the2028/29 academic year, funded by a levy on providers for international students.

We will continue to look for ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers in a financially sustainable way.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many Psychiatric Intensive Care Units there were in every region of the country in each of the last five years.

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

The information requested is not held centrally by NHS England.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support unpaid carers over the next 12 months in the light of increases to the cost of living.

Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government recognises the vital contribution made by unpaid carers and is committed to ensuring they receive the support they need.

The cross-government Unpaid Carers Action Plan, published on 14 July, sets out our work to improve how unpaid carers are recognised, how support is offered, and how they can be helped to reach their full potential and live fulfilling lives.

Financial support is available from the Department for Work and Pensions through Universal Credit, Pension Credit, and – in England and Wales – Carer’s Allowance. The Universal Credit Act 2025 introduced, for the first time ever, a sustained above-inflation increase to the Standard Allowance to rebalance support for those on low incomes. This increased by 6.1% in April 2026. The Universal Credit carer element, which is payable in addition to the Standard Allowance for those providing unpaid care of 35 hours a week or more for a severely disabled person, was increased in line with the increase in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) by 3.8%.

The Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit was increased in line with average earnings growth by 4.8%. The Pension Credit carer addition, which is payable in addition to the Standard Minimum Guarantee, was increased in line with the increase in the CPI by 3.8%, as was Carer's Allowance.

The weekly earnings limit in Carer's Allowance was increased to £204 per week, aligned with 16 hours at the National Living Wage. This continues the policy we introduced last year, which saw the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer's Allowance was introduced, and means over 60,000 additional people are expected to receive Carer's Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish an integrated workforce plan for health and social care.

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

On 29 July, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care set out the Government’s plans to fix the social care system, so that it gives people dignity, security and support when they need it most. This includes integrating the social care workforce with the National Health Service workforce, creating routes for progression, better pay, training and job security.

We will provide an update on the 10 Year Workforce Plan in due course.

Found: Hon. the Lord Bradley Chair, House of Lords Public Services Committee By email 24 July 2026

Found: Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 22 July 2026 Present: Lord Barber of Chittlehampton Lord Bradley

Found: Yours sincerely, Lord Bradley Chair of the Public Services Committee 22

The Inquiry will be looking into a broad range of issues regarding children’s social care, including the changing demand for care and local authority funding, the supply of residential placements and the impact of market management measures within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. Additionally, the inquiry will seek evidence on fostering, workforce, and regulations, and finally the outcomes for care-experienced children.