Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve the education of children and young people on risks associated with online gambling.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Children and young people are taught about the importance of online safety and the risks associated with it as part of the statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum.

The statutory RSHE guidance sets out that that young people should be taught about the risks related to online gambling, including the accumulation of debt, how advertising and information is targeted at them and how to be a discerning consumer of information online. These subjects support young people to develop their ability to self-regulate, as well as providing strategies for doing so. Young people are also taught how to seek help and support if they have concerns.

The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum for primary and secondary pupils and is analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence before setting out next steps, including whether any additional content is needed on the risks associated with online gambling.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the threshold for intervention from children's services to protect children.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Keeping children safe from multiple forms of abuse and harm is the foundation of giving every child the best start in life, ensuring they can achieve and thrive as they grow up. In our Plan for Change, this government set out its ambition to ensure every child is kept safe, regardless of their background or where they live across the country.

The Children Act 1989 is the legislative framework for local authorities in terms of investigating child protection concerns (under section 47 of the Act) and providing support and services for children in need (under section 17 of the Act). The statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children' (2023) is clear that local authorities and their partners should publish a threshold document for support and services under section 17.

As a child-centred government, keeping children safe is a priority. The department has made £500 million available this year to support the national rollout of the Families First Partnership Programme. We envision a transformed system, where practitioners from social work, police, health, education and beyond work together to promote the wellbeing of children and keep them safe from harm. Through this end-to-end system reform, families will receive the help and support they need, at the earliest opportunity and more children will be protected at the right time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with local government to tackle abuse faced by women working in local government.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

This government is clear there is no place in local government for bullying, intimidation or harassment, including abuse faced by women. Such behaviour causes great personal distress to those affected, particularly as the current local government standards and conduct framework lacks effective sanctions to hold perpetrators to account.

In December we launched a consultation seeking views on proposals that will apply to all types and tiers of local authorities in England to strengthen the standards and conduct framework, including proposals to introduce the sanction of suspension. We are now in the process of analysing the responses to the consultation, and the Government Response will be issued in due course.

We also continue to fund the Local Government Association’s sector support offer, including its Civility in Public Life programme, which offers training for councillors related to personal safety, handling abuse, and intimidation online.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention in local government children's services.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local government children’s services provide vital support and protection to society’s most vulnerable children. The department is grateful for the work that children’s social care workforces do every day.

In November, we published ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’ setting out our strategic vision to children’s social care reform. The department is confident these reforms will result in a more effective system that more people will want to work and stay in.

The department is directly supporting the recruitment and retention of child and family social workers, including training around 850 new social workers annually through our fast-track programmes and has also provided funding to support up to 461 new social work apprenticeship places. We are working with local authorities to improve working conditions through our ‘Support for social workers’ platform and are reviewing the National Workload Action Group’s report on reducing unnecessary workload.

On 20 March, we also launched a public consultation on new post-qualifying standards for child and family social workers and a new social work induction programme to strengthen early career support and improve retention.

On 30 September 2024, there were 34,300 full-time equivalent child and family social workers in post, which is the highest number since data collection began. This reflects the combined efforts of local authorities, and departmental investment, to improve recruitment and retention in children’s services.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that open spaces and the green belt are protected during house building.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out the government’s policies for safeguarding the Green Belt from inappropriate development.

The Framework also allows local areas to identify local green space which is protected in a similar manner to the Green Belt.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Dan Carden

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Dan Carden

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Dan Carden