Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the average number of people throughout 2025 aged between 18 and 24 years old that were not in education, employment or training in (a) Norwich North constituency and (b) Norfolk.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Labour Force Survey publishes estimates of the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England. For the East of England, there were approximately 55,000 NEET young people in Quarter 1 of 2025 (January to March), 68,000 in Quarter 2 (April to June), 78,000 in Quarter 3 (July to September) and 75,000 in Quarter 4 (October to December). The available data does not provide estimates at county or parliamentary constituency level.
This Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.
Young people in Norwich North and Norfolk will benefit from the full breadth of Youth Guarantee Support. This includes an expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobcentres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six-month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve response rates and reduce communication delays from the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is delivering the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) Modernisation Programme to improve customer access, efficiency and transparency. This includes integrated online application services, the My Child Maintenance Case (MCMC) service, which provides customers with online access to case information and payment schedules, allows changes to be reported at times convenient to the customer and Customer Connect, which enables secure online communication between parents and caseworkers. Telephone and assisted digital support remain available for customers who need additional assistance.
The programme has also introduced improved digital communications, enhanced data sharing and automation to support faster maintenance calculations and case progression, and predictive analytics to help identify cases at risk of non-compliance. This enables earlier intervention, allowing cases to be reviewed more quickly and appropriate action taken to support ongoing compliance. Through these improvements, the Department is working to provide a more efficient, responsive and accessible service for customers.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to make the 2027 Global Summit on Violence Against Women and Girls a key milestone of the UK’s G20 presidency; and when the Summit will be held.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office will host a global summit on ending violence against women and girls next year, when the UK assumes the chair of the G20. The Summit will be designed to bring together governments, businesses, civil society and survivors to turn momentum into lasting change. It will take place in the first half of 2027, with the exact date to be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of knife crime in a) the East of England, b) Norfolk and c) Norwich; and what steps she is taking to tackle knife crime in i) Norfolk and ii) Norwich.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Knife-enabled offences in Norfolk have reduced by 5% and knife-enabled offences in the East of England have reduced by 3% since the start of this parliament in June 2024 to March 2026.
To support the effective targeting of resources within local areas, the Home Office has developed an innovative hyperlocal crime mapping tool to visualise where crime concentrates across England and Wales and accurately identify crime hotspots, including for Knife Crime.
We have recently provided these tools to Police Forces, including Norfolk to help inform delivery planning, collaboration with local partners and targeted intervention activities. This would allow a granular view of knife crime hotspots, including for Norwich.
This year, the Home Office is investing over £450,000 in grant funding to the Norfolk Community Safety Partnership to support their implementation of the Serious Violence Duty. The funding supports a range of early intervention and prevention programmes, for example targeted mentoring interventions for young people in Norwich and Kings Lynn at risk of being drawn into violent crime.
In 2026-27, Norfolk Police will receive up to £250.3 million of funding, an increase of up to £9.8 million compared to 2025-26, which equates to a 4.1% cash increase and 2% real terms increase.
Additionally, we are supporting forces to increase the overall number of neighbourhood policing personnel, with a total expected growth of 4,750 neighbourhood officers by the end of March 2027 compared to March 2025. As at 31 March 2026, Norfolk Constabulary had grown by 39 FTE neighbourhood officers since March 2025.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure there is a joined-up response by his Department to organised transnational efforts to roll back gender equality, human rights and democratic freedoms.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending gender equality, human rights and democratic freedoms against growing global rollback. Across the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, we are using our diplomatic and development levers to defend established international commitments, build coalitions with partners and embed gender equality and support for rights and democracy, across our diplomacy, development, security and trade work.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 51 of his Department's document entitled UK International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls, published on 20 May 2026, what his planned timetable is for completing the delivery plan; and what steps his Department plans to take to report publicly on its implementation.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work is underway across the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to implement the UK International Strategic Framework on Women and Girls and put in place arrangements to monitor progress and establish governance mechanisms. As set out in the Framework, rigorous reporting and governance will monitor delivery against our goals on women and girls and support transparency and accountability.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what support she will provide to parents and carers ahead of the implementation of the social media ban for under 16 year-olds.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The government recognises the vital role that parents and carers play in supporting children's online safety. Alongside the social media ban, the government will provide a package of support for parents and carers.
This includes an expanded media literacy campaign and Kids Online Safety Hub, providing advice, practical tools and support to help parents and carers support their children in navigating the online world safely and confidently.
We will also work closely with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care as they develop guidance on the safe and positive use of devices for parents of children aged 5 to 18.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support young people with SEND into work.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking action to support disabled young people and those with long-term health conditions into work, including young people with Special Educational Needs (SEND). Pathways to Work and the Youth Guarantee will provide disabled young people and young people with long-term health conditions tailored support that meets their needs, helping them to move into and stay in work.
Backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade, Pathways to Work is building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. Some Pathways to Work support is available irrespective of benefit entitlement.
Through Pathways to Work, disabled young people have access to tailored support, including help into supported employment through Connect to Work. Our Local Economic Inactivity and Youth Guarantee Trailblazers are also offering targeted support for disabled young people.
We know supported internships break down barriers to opportunity for disabled young people. Our recent investment has increased numbers and improved programme quality, supporting more young people to transition into employment. We are providing £9 million to continue our supported internship pilot reaching hundreds more young people without an Education, Health and Care plan, to support them into sustained employment.
Finally, the Access to Work Scheme can also provide grant funding to disabled young people. Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised discretionary grant which supports workplace adjustments that go beyond what would normally be expected from an employer through their duty to provide reasonable adjustments as outlined in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department is taking steps to regulate airport drop off charges.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The department has no plans to regulate car parking and drop-off charges at UK airports. Decisions on the provision and pricing of airport parking remain a commercial matter for individual operators.
Parking revenue, including that from drop-off charges, is an important source of income for airports, supporting investment in future infrastructure and upgrades, enhancing public transport options, and helping to manage congestion around airport sites.
Many airports across the UK offer free drop-off alternatives, either within walking distance of the airport or via a complementary shuttle bus service.
The department will continue to engage with operators to ensure that, where airports choose to charge, they are implemented in a way that is fair and transparent.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's planned timetable is for completing its assessment of the provision of NHS-commissioned fertility services currently in place across Integrated Care Boards.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
The Government recognises that access to National Health Service funded fertility services is variable in England and is looking into achievable ambitions to improve access to fertility services. This includes understanding the offer made by fertility services across the country with a view to assess the data collected from integrated care boards to evaluate next steps in due course, working to ensure there is equitable access.