Baroness Maclean of Redditch

We are working across government and with regulators to meet our ambitious target to reduce the administrative burden of regulation to business by 25%. As a down payment on this work, we announced reforms as part of the Industrial Strategy that will contribute. This included harnessing the potential of new technology to make compliance with money laundering regulations simpler using digital identity verification checks and removing requirements and increasing the permissible size for air source heat pumps. We will continue to work with business and stakeholders to identify further administrative savings. We will set out more detail in due course.

We have committed to reduce bureaucracy for businesses by cutting the administrative costs of regulation for businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament. We are working with taking a whole of government approach toward achieving this by asking all government departments to work with us to meet this ambitious target.

We are aiming to achieve our employment ambitions by reforming the system to enable greater participation, progression and productivity in the labour market. This requires action to reverse the trend of rising economic inactivity, support people into good quality work, help people to get on in work and increase their earnings and develop the skilled workforce that key sectors need to grow.

We set out our plan in the Get Britain Working White Paper, with three pillars:

• Reforming Jobcentre Plus into a Jobs and Careers Service which is more focused on skills and career progression, responsive to the needs and challenges of local labour markets and aligned with the needs of employers.
• Tackling economic inactivity due to ill health through joined up work, health and skills support and the Pathways to Work guarantee of tailored support for those with health conditions who claim out of work benefits.
• Delivering a Youth Guarantee so that all young people have access to education, training or help to find a job or apprenticeship.

Reforming the skills system is also essential to deliver this change. The recent Machinery of Government change provides new opportunities to align our labour market and skills objectives.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, published in October 2025, outlined our plan to deliver the skilled workforce our economy needs now and in the future.

For Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC), the specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Information on the volume of 18- to 24-year-old ESA claimants with main disabling condition ‘mental and behavioural’ disorders is held and is provided below. Note that Income-related ESA has not been available to new claimants since January 2021 as this benefit is being replaced by UC.

ESA 18 -24-year-old caseload with main disabling condition ‘mental and behavioural disorders’ by year:

• All figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
• New Style ESA is a contributory benefit. Normally, it is only available to those who have been paid or been credited with enough National Insurance contributions in the 2 full tax years before the year they are claiming in.

1. Removal of the two-child limit policy costs £2.3 billion in 2026- 27 and £3.0 billion in 2029-30 as set out in table 3.2 of the Economic and fiscal outlook (November 2025) published by the Office for Budget Responsibility, on 26 November 2025. EFOs - Office for Budget Responsibility

https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_November_2025.pdf

Table 3.2: Costing of the removal of the two-child limit

2. Universal Credit is primarily reserved for people settled in the UK, and overall, the proportion of claimants in this country who are foreign nationals has fallen since October 2024.

We have announced plans to double the standard time most migrants have to wait before they can access benefits to 10 years, reducing the burden on the taxpayer and making sure settlement rights are earned.

Data is not available on the number of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) because they are waiting for mental health, attention deficit hyperactive disorder or autism services or diagnosis.

The Department funds research into mental health via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Through the NIHR, the Department is investigating a wide range of factors that contribute to the increase in mental health prevalence across England, including social, environmental, demographic, and biological factors. The Department also funds several population surveys that measure the national prevalence of mental health disorders.

The Department recently launched an independent review led by Professor Peter Fonagy into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. This review will examine the evidence on rising demand for mental health, autism, and ADHD services so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place. The review will produce a short report setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to the rising need, both within the Government and across the health system and wider public services.

The Government has not issued formal guidance as such. The Every Mind Matters campaign is the National Health Service’s national platform for mental health and wellbeing, and it offers advice and information to help people look after their mental health, including managing stress, low mood, and improving sleep. The aim is to guide the public to understand how they can manage their own mental health, and when they may need to seek support.

In educational settings, Mental Health Support Teams work in schools and colleges to offer early intervention for mild-to-moderate issues. They also support the whole school community to build a culture of mental wellbeing through training for staff, educating parents, and developing a whole-school mental health approach. This approach focuses on prevention and improving overall emotional wellbeing, as well as building awareness of when a child or young person may need to access to specialist services.

There is a range of guidance available to healthcare pathways on mental health, such as the NHS Talking Therapies guidance on the pathway for people with long term conditions and medically unexplained symptoms. Primary care services can act as the first point of contact for people with a mental health need, supporting with identifying and managing diagnosable mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Primary care also plays a role in coordinating care and helping service users to navigate mental health support in their local area.

The review will look to understand the similarities and differences between mental health condition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism, regarding prevalence, early intervention, and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation, and treatment improve outcomes for individuals.

This will include exploring the evidence around clinical practice and the risks and benefits of medicalisation. The review will also seek to identify opportunities to provide different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the National Health Service, that promote prevention and early intervention, supplementing clinical support. The full terms of reference have been published on the GOV.UK website.

No assessment has been made between the months in which children are born and the rate of mental health problems or neurodivergence diagnosis in those under 18 years old in each of the past five years.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools and colleges in England, to reach full national coverage by 2029.

In addition, the Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December the launch of an independent review into prevalence and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. We are launching this review to understand the rises in prevalence and demand on services, so people receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.

In 2022, the latest available data, there were 152,405 abortions where both abortion medications, mifepristone and misoprostol, were taken at home by residents of England and Wales. Of this, 16 abortions, or 0.01%, were recorded as having occurred at 10 weeks gestation or over. Cases containing inconsistent information, such as at-home abortions over 10 weeks gestation, are returned to clinics for confirmation. At the time of publication of the 2022 statistics, five, or 0.003%, of these abortions were confirmed as having occurred at 10 weeks gestation or over, with the remaining 11 cases being unconfirmed.

Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and abortion providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults accessing their services. Before an early medical abortion can be undertaken at home, women are given the choice to have either an in-person consultation or a virtual consultation. However, if the doctor has any concerns, the woman will be asked to attend a clinic.

As laid out in the Department’s required standard operating procedures for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy in England, staff should be able to identify those who require more support than can be provided in the routine abortion service setting, such as those with a mental health condition, and have appropriate referral pathways to support services in place.

The following table shows the number of people in contact with National Health Service funded secondary mental health, learning disabilities and autism services, in each financial year between 2020/21 and 2024/25:

Source: Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS)

Notes:

1. In contact means either being seen by NHS Talking Therapies services or having an open referral to NHS Talking Therapies services.
2. The MHSDS covers all NHS funded activity related to patients of any age who receive secondary care for a suspected or diagnosed mental health, learning disability, autism, or other neurodevelopmental condition.
3. In contact means either being seen by mental health services or having an open referral to mental health services, which includes referrals still waiting for a first contact at the end of the year.
4. Date of birth is not a mandatory data item in the MHSDS, therefore, there will be some unknown values.

The following table shows the number of people known to be in contact with NHS Talking Therapies in each financial year between 2020/21 and 2024/25:

The independent review into the prevalence of and support for mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism will appoint an Advisory Working Group. This will be a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities, and people with lived experience to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.

As this is an independent review, it is for the Chair and vice-chairs to consider who to consult and the relevant forums for engagement, that are relevant to deliver the terms of reference, set by the Department. It would not be appropriate for the Department to comment or influence further.

The Home Office does not hold data on crime reduction attributable to the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). These are not criminal offences; they are recorded by police forces as intelligence to help monitor patterns of behaviour and community tensions that could escalate into serious harm. This practice, recommended by the Macpherson Inquiry following the murder of Stephen Lawrence, is intended to support safeguarding and public safety. Recording NCHIs enables police to capture information on incidents motivated by hate which, while not criminal, may present safeguarding risks or contribute to rising tensions within communities. The National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing are currently conducting a review of NCHIs. We look forward to receiving the review’s recommendations shortly.

We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.

Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.

We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.

Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.

We engage with stakeholders, including faith leaders, to ensure asylum claims based on religious persecution, including those based on religious conversion, are well considered, that those in genuine need are supported, and that there are no loopholes to claiming asylum in this country. Our guidance for considering claims based on religious conversion is publicly available on GOV.UK and we do not consider it is appropriate to place detailed discussions with stakeholders in the Library of the House.

Detailed Home Office policy instructions are regularly reviewed and provide a framework for considering asylum claims. All caseworkers receive extensive training to consider claims objectively and impartially and receive mentoring support before interviewing claimants and making such decisions. Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims are properly considered, decisions are sound, fake claims are rooted out, and protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.

Every asylum claim admitted to the UK asylum system, including those based on religion or belief, and including those from claimants who were accommodated on the Bibby Stockholm, is determined on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. People may become refugees ‘sur place’ due to activities they engage in or beliefs they have come to hold since leaving their country. As with all asylum claims, claims involving sur place activity are carefully considered on a case-by-case basis. In some circumstances it is appropriate to revoke protection status where evidence emerges that status was obtained by deception; where protection is no longer needed; or where someone commits a serious crime, represents a threat to our national security or demonstrates extremist behaviour.