Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what restrictions are placed on people convicted of a criminal offence who seek employment in education.

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

The government has a robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE) statutory guidance, which all schools and colleges must have regard to when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The KCSIE guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

This guidance clearly sets out the requirements regarding safer recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks, that schools and colleges should undertake for all staff, including external staff, and visitors, to ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.

Employers must assess whether a conviction deems an individual to be suitable for a role, taking into account the nature of the offence, its relevance to the role and any safeguarding risks.

However, KCSIE stresses the importance of creating a culture of safer recruitment, ensuring that schools and colleges have robust processes and policies in place to ensure people who might pose a risk to children are not employed in education.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government (1) which prisons in England and Wales have commissioned speech and language therapy services, and (2) how many speech and language therapists are employed in each prison.

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

The information requested is not held centrally by NHS England, regarding prisons in England. Prison healthcare in Wales is devolved to the Welsh administration.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the role of intermediaries in the criminal justice system.

Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Ministry of Justice completed a review of intermediary provision in 2023 which was summarised in the 2023 Witness Intermediary Scheme (WIS) Annual Report.

The review recommended actions to enhance the role, accessibility, and quality of intermediary services, including:

• Revising the definition of registered intermediaries and devising a communication plan to build better understanding of the intermediary role.

• Seeking improved data collection and analysis around intermediary usage; and

• Building relationships with stakeholders to ensure consistent quality of intermediary services across criminal, family and civil jurisdictions as well as continuing to increase understanding of vulnerable users’ needs.

We have no plans to conduct a further review at this stage, as we are progressing the above actions.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many speech and language therapists are employed in each integrated care board area in England, and how many of these work in criminal justice settings.

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

The Department does not hold information on the total number of speech and language therapists employed in each integrated care board area in England. Therapists will be employed by National Health Service trusts, where data is held, but will also be directly employed by other providers, including schools, local authorities, and third sector or charitable organisations, for which data is not held centrally. The following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) speech and language therapists employed by NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England, as of January 2025, by integrated care board area:

These staff will provide services in a range of settings, but the Department does not hold information on how many may work in criminal justice settings.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 6 May (HL6997), which organisation holds the information requested regarding speech and language services in prisons in England.

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

This information would be held at a local level by the prison healthcare providers.

Found: am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley (The Chair); Lord Blencathra; Lord Bradley

Found: am Watch the meeting Members present: Baroness Morris of Yardley (The Chair); Lord Blencathra; Lord Bradley