Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the fitting quality of electronic monitoring tags.

Answered by Lord Timpson

The field and monitoring service contract, with the provider Serco, has clear contractual requirements governing the delivery of the Electronic Monitoring service, including the fitting of electronic monitoring tags. The latest performance data from Serco evidenced continued improved performance with all contractual KPIs met.

The relevant contract can be found on contract finder via the following links, and have also been attached for ease: Electronic Monitoring Field and Monitoring Service (FMS) - Contracts Finder and Electronic Monitoring - MDSS contract - Contracts Finder.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the education budget for (1) women's prisons, and (2) men's prisons, in each of the last five years.

Answered by Lord Timpson

To provide figures that show education budgets broken down by men’s and women’s prisons over the period requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The budget encompasses various different services which are managed in different ways and are not all apportioned on a per-prison level.

Figures for the budget across both men and women’s prisons are shown in the table below. This only covers education, it does not cover broader skills training and employment work, for example that is delivered through prison industries and workshops.

Budgets for locally commissioned services are allocated to individual prisons based on size of population, type of establishment and geographic area. Other services are commissioned nationally, such as Higher Education provision through the Open University and Distance Learning through the Prisoners’ Education Trust. We are focusing on improving attendance and driving up quality to ensure that every pound spent has greater impact on learners.

Both contracts through which core education was delivered during the period allocated a greater per-prisoner amount to women's prisons.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure the financial stability and development of Appropriate Adult services across the criminal justice system in the next three years.

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

The Government recognises the important role that Appropriate Adults play in safeguarding the rights and welfare of children and vulnerable adults within the criminal justice system, ensuring they are treated fairly and able to participate effectively in police processes.

Appropriate Adult services are delivered locally through a range of partnership arrangements, including local authorities, police and crime commissioners and voluntary sector organisations, enabling provision to reflect local need and demand.

The Home Office provides grant funding to support Appropriate Adult services, including through funding to the National Appropriate Adult Network

The Government is committed to upholding the safeguards set out in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and its Codes of Practice, which requires that children and vulnerable adults are supported by an Appropriate Adult during police interactions.

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 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.

Found: COMMITTEE Minutes of the 6th Meeting, held at 10:00am on Wednesday 30 June 2026 Present: Lord Bradley

Found: COMMITTEE Minutes of the 7th Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 1 July 2026 Present: Lord Bradley

Found: Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 24 June 2026 Present: Lord Barber of Chittlehampton Lord Bradley

Found: Falling primary school rolls Wednesday 1 July 2026 11.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Bradley

Found: Lord Bradley (Chair) Member of the Connect Alliance Trust Baroness Coffey (Member of Committee until

Found: Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 17 June 2026 Present: Lord Barber of Chittlehampton Lord Bradley

Found: Falling primary school rolls Wednesday 24 June 2026 11.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Bradley

Found: 3rd Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 10 June 2026 Present: Lord Barber of Chittlehampton Lord Bradley

Found: Falling primary school rolls Wednesday 17 June 2026 11.05 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Bradley

Found: Yours sincerely, Lord Bradley Chair of the Public Services Committee Members’ interests Committee

Found: Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 03 June 2026 Present: Lord Barber of Chittlehampton Lord Bradley

Found: COMMITTEE Minutes of the 1st Meeting, held at 11:00am on Wednesday 20 May 2026 Present: Lord Bradley

Found: In August 2024, in response to a written question from Lord Bradley on the barriers which prevent children

Found: In August 2024, in response to a written question from Lord Bradley on the barriers which prevent children

Found: evidence session - House of Lords Public Services Committee 22 April 2026 For the attention of Lord Bradley

Found: Page 1 of 2 28 April 2026 By Email Dear Lord Bradley, Thank you for the opportunity to

Found: 24 April 2026 The Rt Hon Lord Bradley Chair of the Lords Public Services Committee

Found: www.swast.nhs.uk Our ref: JM169.as Your ref: N/A 17 April 2026 The Rt Hon. the Lord Bradley

Found: capacity Wednesday 29 April 2026 11 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Mott (The Chair); Lord Bradley

Found: Interests declared: Lord Bradley (Chair) No relevant interests to declare.

Found: In the absence of Lord Bradley, Baroness Pidgeon was called to the Chair.

Found: Innovation and Technology 22-26 Whitehall London, SW1A 2EG www.gov.uk/dsit The Rt Hon. the Lord Bradley

Found: services and A&E capacity Wednesday 15 April 2026 11.10 am Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Bradley

Falling pupil numbers drive budget pressures for schools, most of whose funding is provided on a per-pupil basis, as facilities and senior staffing costs are relatively static. In 2023/24, 14.7% of local authority-run schools were in debt, up from 7.9% six years earlier. The IfG estimates that empty school places account for almost two-fifths of that rise.