Claire Hazelgrove

Employed adoptive parents have broadly the same rights and protections as birth parents. Paternity Leave and Pay already enables employed fathers and partners (including same sex partners) to take up to two weeks leave during the first year following their child's placement for adoption.

Depending on the nature of the individual’s employment, victims of sexual assault may be able to access a range of leave entitlements allowing them to take time off from work when they need it. There is also practical support employers can offer which can make a real difference, such as signposting, financial assistance and supporting safety in and around the workplace.

Ensuring every child has the best start for life is a central priority for this government, including putting in place early family support services to help families to thrive in children’s first crucial months of life.

Children under 9 months are not eligible for government-funded childcare hours. Since September 2024, eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 15 hours of government-funded early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks a year. This is available the term after the child turns nine months and the child's parent has a positive determination of eligibility from HMRC. So far over 200,000 parents have secured a place, and the department expects this to continue to rise in the coming weeks.

Defra monitors animal welfare offences on a national basis based on data provided by the Ministry of Justice. Defra regularly meets the RSPCA and other stakeholders to discuss animal welfare issues affecting the sector including any trends in animal welfare offences.

Causing unnecessary suffering to an animal is an offence under section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. In 2021, the maximum sentence for this offence was increased to five years imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

In addition, the Online Safety Act 2023 requires social media firms to remove online content that could facilitate animal cruelty. Ofcom is currently consulting on how these new requirements should be implemented.

The Government does not provide an exhaustive list of recognised or protected disabilities. Rather, the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. The Act describes “long-term” as an impairment that has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least 12 months, or where the impairment is likely to last for the rest of a person’s life; while “substantial” is defined as an impairment that is more than minor or trivial.

The Act is clear that it is not necessary for the cause of the impairment to be established, nor does the impairment have to be the result of an illness. A disability can therefore arise from a wide range of impairments, and any person that falls within this definition - which may include those with ulcerative colitis - will already be protected as having a disability.

People with brain tumours have access to various treatment options on the National Health Service, including surgery, radiotherapy and systematic anti-cancer therapies, depending on the nature and stage of the tumour.

The Government is committed to improving waiting times for cancer treatment, so that people with brain tumours can get access to the care they need more quickly. We will start by delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.

Lord Darzi is currently undertaking an independent investigation into the state of the NHS, the findings of which will feed into the Government’s 10-year plan to build a health service that is fit for the future.

In 2021, the English Private Landlord Survey showed that almost half of landlords were unwilling to let to tenants with pets. The Government wants to ensure more tenants can experience the benefits of pet ownership – including the benefits to mental and physical health. The Renters’ Rights Bill will give tenants the right to request a pet and ensure landlords cannot unreasonably withhold consent. Landlords will be required to respond to any requests by a tenant to keep a pet within 28 days, instead of the 42 that had been proposed by the previous Government. Tenants will be able to challenge unfair decisions.

The Government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that transactions falling through can contribute to this.

On average, around one in three transactions fall through before completion, costing consumers around £400 million in direct costs alone.

We continue to consider how to drive improvements most effectively across home buying and selling for both consumers and the sector.