Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure specialist domestic abuse training across the family courts.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to delivering long-term reform of the Family Courts to better support and protect both adults and children, including those who are victims of domestic abuse or serious violence.
All court staff within HM Courts and Tribunals Service undertake mandatory safeguarding and domestic abuse awareness training as part of their induction and refresher training.
Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru each deliver mandatory domestic abuse practitioner training, which they design and maintain. This ensures Cafcass and Cafcass Cymru practitioners can effectively identify, assess and respond to domestic abuse in Family Court proceedings, and that they maintain up to date, trauma informed, evidence-based skills.
To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for the training of the judiciary in England and Wales rests with the Lady Chief Justice and is conducted by the Judicial College. Domestic Abuse training forms part of both induction and continuation training for all judges, magistrates and legal representatives who sit in the Family Courts. This training is routinely evaluated and refreshed by the Judicial College.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds information on the number of children who have not been granted contact with their mothers on the basis of reports by unregulated psychological experts in private family law proceedings.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not hold data on the number of cases, or their outcomes, where allegations of “parental alienation” were made or where unregulated psychological experts were instructed in Family Court proceedings. This information is not held centrally. It may be held in court records but to obtain this data would require a review of individual case files at disproportionate costs.
The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not believe it is capable of diagnosis.
The Family Justice Council’s guidance on “responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour” provides a comprehensive overview of the reasons a child may reject a parent, including from witnessing domestic abuse and harmful parenting. The guidance also outlines the appropriate timing, scope, and nature of expert witness evidence.
The Government shares the concerns that unregulated experts, often using the title psychologist, have been instructed in Family Court proceedings to give evidence on “parental alienation”. We are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to prevent the instruction of these experts.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children his Department estimates have been separated from their mothers in private proceedings on the basis of parental alienation allegations.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not hold data on the number of cases, or their outcomes, where allegations of “parental alienation” were made or where unregulated psychological experts were instructed in Family Court proceedings. This information is not held centrally. It may be held in court records but to obtain this data would require a review of individual case files at disproportionate costs.
The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” syndrome and does not believe it is capable of diagnosis.
The Family Justice Council’s guidance on “responding to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent and allegations of alienating behaviour” provides a comprehensive overview of the reasons a child may reject a parent, including from witnessing domestic abuse and harmful parenting. The guidance also outlines the appropriate timing, scope, and nature of expert witness evidence.
The Government shares the concerns that unregulated experts, often using the title psychologist, have been instructed in Family Court proceedings to give evidence on “parental alienation”. We are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to prevent the instruction of these experts.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of expanding the Boulby Underground Laboratory to host the XLZD experiment on the economy in (a) Yorkshire and (b) the North East.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has not made a specific assessment of the potential economic impact of expanding the Boulby Underground Laboratory to host the XLZD experiment on the economies of Yorkshire or the North East.
The Department recognises the role of Boulby Underground Laboratory as the UK’s deep underground science facility, and the contribution it makes to the local area. STFC have invested over £30 million in the laboratory and the research taking place there over the last ten years alone.
All investments are based on an analysis of scientific and economic impact, as well as wider portfolio balance. Broader UKRI investment decisions will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the rollout of mental health professionals into schools in Scarborough and Whitby constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such specific assessment has been made. Mental Health Support Teams work with young people and parents across wide areas of England, including Scarborough and Whitby, to support the mental health needs of children and young people in primary, secondary, and further education, providing early, evidence-based interventions that follow recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Up to 900,000 additional children and young people will have access to a National Health Service funded Mental Health Support Team in their school or college by Spring 2026, or 60% of pupils, and we are accelerating the rollout to reach full national coverage by 2029.
In 2025, 4,570 children and young people aged under 18 years old received at least one contact with an education-based mental health support team in the NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board’s area.
In July 2025, the National Children’s Bureau published an independent Mental Health Support Teams evaluation report, Evaluating the implementation of the Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision Green Paper programme. The impacts and other details are set out in the report, which is available at the following link:
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department will be assessing the impact of new developments in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Long Covid research, such as the findings of the LOCOME project, on health policy towards those living with long term health conditions.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
On 6 November, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) jointly hosted a showcase event for post-acute infection conditions research, which included a review of the DecodeME research project and the PrecisionLife study on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and long COVID research. PrecisionLife is leading on the LOCOME, or LOng COvid and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis Diagnostics Stratification, project. The showcase event was attended by speakers from a range of disciplines, including researchers, people with lived experience, ME charities, NIHR and MRC representatives, as well as Government officials.
The Department is always very keen to reflect newly emerging research findings in its policy-making.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to support the use of combinatorial genomic analysis techniques, such as those used by Precision Life to identify novel ME genetic associations, within government-funded research programmes.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds a broad portfolio of health research, including researcher led proposals using combinatorial genomic analysis. MRC has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and continues to welcome high quality applications in this area.
UKRI supports collaboration between Government funded bodies and private sector researchers across its councils and Innovate UK. This includes funding the LOCOME study led by Precision Life, through Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme, which supports the development of digital and data tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. MRC also enables academic-industry partnerships through its Industry Collaboration Framework.
UKRI does not typically maintain disease‑specific research strategies, instead providing open funding routes for the most impactful research across disciplines. Targeted work can be supported where needed. For example, in 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR), the Scottish Government and MRC funded the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify ME/CFS research priorities.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans her Department has to develop a long-term research strategy into under-researched health conditions that reflects the scale of emerging genetic evidence identified by private-sector research organisations, including Precision Life’s LOCOME study.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds a broad portfolio of health research, including researcher led proposals using combinatorial genomic analysis. MRC has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and continues to welcome high quality applications in this area.
UKRI supports collaboration between Government funded bodies and private sector researchers across its councils and Innovate UK. This includes funding the LOCOME study led by Precision Life, through Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme, which supports the development of digital and data tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. MRC also enables academic-industry partnerships through its Industry Collaboration Framework.
UKRI does not typically maintain disease‑specific research strategies, instead providing open funding routes for the most impactful research across disciplines. Targeted work can be supported where needed. For example, in 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR), the Scottish Government and MRC funded the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify ME/CFS research priorities.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what mechanisms are in place to support collaboration between Government-funded bodies and private-sector researchers following the identification of multiple biological pathways implicated in ME by the LOCOME study.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Medical Research Council (MRC), which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), funds a broad portfolio of health research, including researcher led proposals using combinatorial genomic analysis. MRC has prioritised research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) for many years, investing over £4.65 million since 2020, and continues to welcome high quality applications in this area.
UKRI supports collaboration between Government funded bodies and private sector researchers across its councils and Innovate UK. This includes funding the LOCOME study led by Precision Life, through Innovate UK’s Advancing Precision Medicine programme, which supports the development of digital and data tools to improve diagnosis and treatment. MRC also enables academic-industry partnerships through its Industry Collaboration Framework.
UKRI does not typically maintain disease‑specific research strategies, instead providing open funding routes for the most impactful research across disciplines. Targeted work can be supported where needed. For example, in 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHCR), the Scottish Government and MRC funded the James Lind Alliance Priority Setting Partnership to identify ME/CFS research priorities.
Asked by: Alison Hume (Labour - Scarborough and Whitby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that public research investment into health conditions like Myalgic Encephalomyelitis keep pace with recent private sector advances, including the publication on 4 December 2025 by Precision Life of their identification of core genes and 7,555 associated genetic variants linked to the disease.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for post-acute infection conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and long COVID.
On 6 November, the NIHR and the MRC hosted a showcase event for post-acute infection conditions. This brought together people with lived experience, researchers, clinicians, and funders to help stimulate further research in this field. This included representatives from Precision Life and the LOCOME study, as well as the DecodeME study, which is co-funded by the NIHR and the MRC. Emerging evidence from projects such as LOCOME and DecodeME will be reviewed to ensure future research reflects both scientific progress and patient needs.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including ME/CFS and long COVID. Research funding is available, and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.