First elected: 7th May 2015
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Helen Hayes, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Helen Hayes has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Helen Hayes has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to give social housing tenants the right to continuity of secure tenancy in circumstances when they have to move because of a threat to the personal safety of the tenant or someone in their household; to place associated responsibilities on local authorities and social housing providers; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to make provision about the weapons to which section 141 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 applies; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to make provision about the branding, promotion and advertising of electronic cigarettes, for the purpose of preventing electronic cigarettes from being marketed in a way which appeals to children; and for connected purposes.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to define affordable housing in relation to household incomes; to amend the law relating to land valuation and compensation; and for connected purposes.
Brain Tumours Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Siobhain McDonagh (Lab)
Plastics (Wet Wipes) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Fleur Anderson (Lab)
Disposable Barbecues Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Robert Largan (Con)
Carbon Emissions (Buildings) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Duncan Baker (Con)
Supported Housing (Regulation) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Kerry McCarthy (Lab)
House of Lords Reform (Exclusion of Hereditary Peers) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - Lord Hanson of Flint (Lab)
The total cost of special payments for the Cabinet Office, which includes - but is not limited to - any out of court settlements for Employment Tribunals is provided in the department’s annual report and accounts each year, which is published on gov.uk.
The Government will consult shortly on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030.
As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to next year. Additional funding will be considered in Phase 2 of the Spending Review, as the Warm Homes Plan is further developed.
In addition, the Government is exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements and low carbon heating. This includes the Green Home Finance Accelerator Programme which has made £20 million available to support in developing green finance products.
Community energy will play an essential role in meeting our mission for clean power by 2030.
Great British Energy will provide support to deliver the Local Power Plan, putting communities at the heart of restructuring our energy economy. Through partnering with and providing funding and support to Community Energy Groups, the Local Power Plan will roll out small and medium‑scale renewable energy projects, using established technologies to develop up to 8GW of cheaper, cleaner power. This will include shared ownership projects in partnership with private developers.
Some suppliers already offer local tariffs, and other products and services are available that provide community benefits. Small-scale generation sites can benefit from an exemption, which means that they do not require a licence from Ofgem to generate electricity or to supply to local customers. Ofgem has further flexibility to award supply licences to generation sites that are above the exemptions threshold when they are restricted to specified local area.
The Government announced a device donation pilot on the 26th February, running to August 2025. We will be working with Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) to refurbish end-of-life laptops from DSIT, DESNZ and DBT and distribute them to those who need them most.
The Government uses an accredited partner with ADISA certification to sanitise devices, meaning each is wiped securely before being collected.
DPA conducts additional verification for recipients of devices, including offering Data Erasure and Data Destruction Reports for processed devices.
We are looking into solutions for standardising protocols for disposal of data to encourage device donation by industry.
Government announced on 26 February in our Digital Inclusion Action Plan a device donation pilot. We are working with the Digital Poverty Alliance to refurbish end-of-life laptops from DSIT, DESNZ and DBT and distribute them to those who need them most. We are ensuring no unsuitable devices are donated but instead are stripped for parts and recycled according to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) guidelines.
We are also working with industry on a device donation charter to encourage more organisations to set up device donation schemes. We hope to publish the charter in Spring 2025.
The Government does not ringfence funding for specific cancers. DSIT invests approximately £200 million into cancer research annually via UK Research and Innovation, including the Medical Research Council (MRC). The average annual funding awarded by UKRI to breast cancer research (including diagnosis and treatment) between 2018 and 2022 was approximately £10 million. The MRC invests approximately £125 million into cancer annually. DHSC spent £121.8 million in 2022/23 on cancer research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research infrastructure funding supports Biomedical Research Centres and the NIHR Research Delivery Network, which has enabled the delivery of 10 lobular breast cancer studies.
Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. Users are prompted to follow the step-by-step instructions on the defibrillators at the time of use.
As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies. By providing defibrillators and raising awareness, this programme will help to produce a generation of young people who feel able and confident to use this life saving equipment.
The department recognises that using a defibrillator could be a distressing experience. Individuals are advised to contact their GP, who will be best placed to assess their needs after an incident and provide access to the appropriate support.
All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put £500 back into families’ pockets in respect of each child each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, helping to break down barriers to opportunity and tackle the scar of child poverty across our country.
Giving children access to a nutritious lunchtime meal every school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM with our new Eligibility Checking System. This will allow parents to check their own eligibility and helps the local efforts we have seen to ensure children receive this support. Improvements we are making to the process for reviewing eligibility for meals will make it simpler than it has ever been to receive this entitlement.
Departmental officials are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on further data sharing that can get more families signed up for their entitlements.
Departmental officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore options on supporting enrolment through the Universal Credit claims process. The department will engage with local authorities to monitor and assess the impact that these changes are having on the uptake of FSM.
We will closely monitor the impact of the rollout on take-up and are carefully considering measures for improving enrolment in light of the recent announcement.
All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put £500 back into families’ pockets in respect of each child each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, helping to break down barriers to opportunity and tackle the scar of child poverty across our country.
Giving children access to a nutritious lunchtime meal every school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM with our new Eligibility Checking System. This will allow parents to check their own eligibility and helps the local efforts we have seen to ensure children receive this support. Improvements we are making to the process for reviewing eligibility for meals will make it simpler than it has ever been to receive this entitlement.
Departmental officials are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on further data sharing that can get more families signed up for their entitlements.
Departmental officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore options on supporting enrolment through the Universal Credit claims process. The department will engage with local authorities to monitor and assess the impact that these changes are having on the uptake of FSM.
We will closely monitor the impact of the rollout on take-up and are carefully considering measures for improving enrolment in light of the recent announcement.
All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put £500 back into families’ pockets in respect of each child each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, helping to break down barriers to opportunity and tackle the scar of child poverty across our country.
Giving children access to a nutritious lunchtime meal every school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM with our new Eligibility Checking System. This will allow parents to check their own eligibility and helps the local efforts we have seen to ensure children receive this support. Improvements we are making to the process for reviewing eligibility for meals will make it simpler than it has ever been to receive this entitlement.
Departmental officials are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on further data sharing that can get more families signed up for their entitlements.
Departmental officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore options on supporting enrolment through the Universal Credit claims process. The department will engage with local authorities to monitor and assess the impact that these changes are having on the uptake of FSM.
We will closely monitor the impact of the rollout on take-up and are carefully considering measures for improving enrolment in light of the recent announcement.
All children in households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals (FSM) from September 2026. This unprecedented step will put £500 back into families’ pockets in respect of each child each year and lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty, helping to break down barriers to opportunity and tackle the scar of child poverty across our country.
Giving children access to a nutritious lunchtime meal every school day also leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning they get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life. That is why this government is taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for FSM with our new Eligibility Checking System. This will allow parents to check their own eligibility and helps the local efforts we have seen to ensure children receive this support. Improvements we are making to the process for reviewing eligibility for meals will make it simpler than it has ever been to receive this entitlement.
Departmental officials are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on further data sharing that can get more families signed up for their entitlements.
Departmental officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to explore options on supporting enrolment through the Universal Credit claims process. The department will engage with local authorities to monitor and assess the impact that these changes are having on the uptake of FSM.
We will closely monitor the impact of the rollout on take-up and are carefully considering measures for improving enrolment in light of the recent announcement.
Officials and Ministers from seven government departments (Department for Education, Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Department for Health and Social Care) have been working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape Young Futures Hubs.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located. The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Officials and Ministers from seven government departments (Department for Education, Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Department for Health and Social Care) have been working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape Young Futures Hubs.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located. The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Officials and Ministers from seven government departments (Department for Education, Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Department for Health and Social Care) have been working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape Young Futures Hubs.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located. The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Officials and Ministers from seven government departments (Department for Education, Home Office, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department for Work and Pensions, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and Department for Health and Social Care) have been working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape Young Futures Hubs.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located. The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
The government recognises that lifelong learning is a core part of a sustainable higher education system which provides opportunities for all and offers learners greater flexibility in an ever-evolving economy. We are committed to supporting lifelong learning as part of our wider commitment to skills.
Since the general election, we have been working to ensure that our approach to lifelong learning is as effective as possible, enabling people to gain the skills they need to support their careers.
We are currently working through the outcomes of the multi-year Spending Review on policies and programmes across the department. We recognise the importance of communicating our Lifelong Learning Entitlement policy detail and plan to share this as soon as possible.
This government is taking a collaborative approach to the design of Young Futures Hubs, meeting regularly with a variety of relevant stakeholders including children and young people, charities, local authorities and experts.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located.
The government will set out more details on this in due course, including confirming funding allocation.
This government is taking a collaborative approach to the design of Young Futures Hubs, meeting regularly with a variety of relevant stakeholders including children and young people, charities, local authorities and experts.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located.
The government will set out more details on this in due course, including confirming funding allocation.
This government is taking a collaborative approach to the design of Young Futures Hubs, meeting regularly with a variety of relevant stakeholders including children and young people, charities, local authorities and experts.
To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. This will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located.
The government will set out more details on this in due course, including confirming funding allocation.
This government’s ambition is that all families with children and young people with disabilities receive the right support, regardless of socio-economic background. The Supporting Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to around 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child to support with the additional costs that families can face.
Where families experience challenges, the department signposts available support from the family’s local Information, Advice and Support Service. This is independent of the local authority and can provide impartial advice about local special educational needs and disabilities arrangements and support for children’s needs.
In addition, the department also signposts families to Contact, a national charity for families with disabled children, which provides information, advice and support, and brings families together to support each other.
The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.
The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.
The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.
The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.
The department recognises the challenge that many kinship carers face in continuing to work alongside the pressures of taking in and raising a child.
‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’ sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to best meet the needs of kinship carers. The department encourages all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes can be made.
The department employs more than 7,500 public sector workers and has recently joined a small number of private sector employers, including Card Factory, Tesco and John Lewis, in offering a pay and leave entitlement to all eligible staff who become kinship carers.
This government has also committed, in the Plan to Make Work Pay, to review the system of parental leave to ensure that it better supports working families.
It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place at Cabinet and its committees is not normally made public.
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.
The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.
The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.
In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.
The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.
Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is currently running a business planning exercise which will conclude with funding for programmes announced shortly.
Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.
The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.
The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.
Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.
The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.
The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.
Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.
The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.
The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.
Information on the numbers of pupils in schools in England with education, health and care (EHC) plans, and special educational needs (SEN) without an EHC plan, by the type of school attended in the academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/18296cee-15b6-4a0d-e280-08dd5a6d191a.
Further information on the numbers of pupils with SEN is available in the statistical publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/special-educational-needs-in-england.
High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. We know that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits, with strong links to attainment.
The department welcomes the Reading Agency’s work on the Summer Reading Challenge, which has been going from strength to strength now for a quarter of a century. This has helped thousands of young people to read more and to improve their reading skills.
The government has implemented a range of measures to support reading for pleasure. The English Hubs programme supports the teaching of phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure, with £23 million committed for the 2024/25 academic year to support this work. Furthermore, the government’s reading framework provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading, to ensure that every child is not only able to read proficiently but also develops a genuine love of reading.
On 5 February, the government announced a £2 million investment to drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. Building on the success of phonics, teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in reception and year 1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme.
In secondary schools, teachers will be offered new training and resources this year to help them support readers at all levels, and next year the department will commission further training that will be focused specifically on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind.
The current national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, in line with the government’s ambition for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.
This government is committed to supporting schools to deliver on the opportunity mission, as shown by the funding increases seen in the core schools budget grant for 2024/25 and at the Autumn Budget 2024, in the context of a challenging fiscal picture. Planning for the multi-year spending review is taking place across government, and the department will provide further updates on funding for schools in due course.
Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Each year the STRB recommends a pay award based on different factors, including the economy, school workforce data and evidence from organisations including the department, employers and the teaching unions. The government then considers the recommendations in depth and decides on the pay award teachers receive for the coming year.
Final decisions on the teacher’s pay award for 2025 will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process.
Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.
The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.
The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.
All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.
As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.
The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.
Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.
The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.
The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.
All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.
As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.
The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.
Information on the number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum who were not in school is not collected or held by the department. Data collected by the department on children not in school does not indicate whether children are asylum seekers.
The department published a response to the public call for evidence, ‘Improving support for children missing education’, in December 2024. This response outlines current best practice approaches and next steps for how local authorities, schools and others can be empowered to go further to identify and support children missing education (CME) and to tackle the pattern of children falling through the cracks. The response can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6749c6faebabe47136b3a25b/Children_missing_education_-_call_for_evidence_response.pdf.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, includes proposals for compulsory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England, to enable authorities to better identify all children not in school in their areas and, where these children are not receiving a safe, suitable education, to take action to support them. The department is also committed to introducing a single child identifier, so all children can get the right support from education, health and care services.
The department’s annual published children looked after data shows that only 4% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) are girls and that 89% of all UASC are aged 16 and over.
All UASC will be looked after by their local authority. All state-funded schools are required to give relevant looked after and previously looked after children top priority for admission once their corporate parent, the local authority, applies for a place.
As looked after children, local authorities have the same duties to UASC as all other looked after children, which includes support received in school.
The government is committed to ensuring that all children, especially the most vulnerable in our society, are safe and have access to an excellent education. Where children are not on a school roll or receiving suitable education elsewhere, the department has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outlining their duty to make arrangements to identify and support into education all CME. The guidance specifically references that children of new migrant families may be at particular risk of missing education. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf57a4dcb0757928e5bd39/Children_missing_education_guidance_-_August_2024.pdf.
The requirement for all schools to publish Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Information Reports was introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014. Information Reports must contain details of a school’s provision for pupils with SEND and must be reviewed annually.
As part of the department’s work on long-term options for improving the SEND system, we will explore the role of SEND Information Reports.
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
As set out in Social Work England’s board report dated 19 July 2024, the current median time to conclude a fitness to practise case is 128 weeks and the maximum time is 319 weeks.
The department and Social Work England have taken several steps to reduce processing times including making changes to legislation in 2022 for operational efficiencies and providing additional funds of £7.1 million to clear the backlog of cases inherited from the previous regulator. Further activities being undertaken by Social Work England are set out in its annual business plan and in reports to Social Work England’s board.
As at 31 August 2024, 113 Social workers are currently subject to an interim suspension order and unable to practise whilst awaiting the conclusion of their fitness to practise case.
On 9 May, the department published the consultation ‘Strengthening Protections in Unregistered Alternative Provision (AP)’ which sought views on proposals intended to improve practice and raise standards in unregistered AP. The consultation closed on 5 July.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who are in AP, including those in unregistered AP, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Departmental officials are currently analysing the responses of the consultation, and the department will set out the next steps in due course.
Profiteering from vulnerable children in care is unacceptable. As part of the Children’s Wellbeing Bill, the department will strengthen the regulation of the sector to return children’s social care to delivering high quality outcomes for looked after children at a sustainable cost to the taxpayer.
The department does not hold or collect data on the profit levels of children’s social care providers. However, the Competition and Markets Authority detailed in their 2022 report that the largest fifteen providers made, on average, 19.4% profit on fostering provision, 22.6% on children’s home provision, and 35.5% on supported accommodation provision. The full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-market-study-final-report/final-report.
We do not currently set targets for the reuse of digital devices in the waste electricals producer responsibility regime. The Circular Economy Taskforce will consider evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate which interventions are required as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England.
Officials are currently evaluating a number of options to reduce emissions of air pollutants, in particular fine particulate matter, from domestic burning, which I anticipate will be completed in spring this year. The Government launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to revise our plan for significantly improving the environment and deliver legally binding targets including for Air Quality and PM2.5. The Government concluded the review of the EIP at the end of last year and will publish a summary of findings in early 2025. This will be followed by publication of a revised EIP.
This government recognises the importance of supporting care leavers, and is keeping public transport affordable having announced a new £3 cap on single bus fares in England outside London throughout the entirety of 2025.
Any change to the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) would require careful consideration for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability. However, local authorities in England have implemented a wide range of their own local fares initiatives, including some discount schemes for care leavers, utilising alternative funding, such as Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding. On 17 November, the government confirmed £712 million funding for local authorities in 2025/26 to deliver their BSIPs and protect services, as part of an over £1 billion investment in buses confirmed at the Budget.
The volume of Personal Independence Payment claimants in England who scored fewer than four points in all daily living activities but scored a total of 8 – 11 (inclusive) points for their daily living activities was 1,039,150. The volume who scored fewer than four points in all daily living activities but scored a total of 12 points or higher for their daily living activities was 184,780.
A breakdown of the volume of PIP claimants in England who scored fewer than 4 points in all daily living activities by their total daily living activity point scores is provided in the table below.
Daily Living Points | Volume |
less than 8 | 106,000 |
8 to 11 | 1,039,000 |
12 to 15 | 180,000 |
16 to 18 | 5,000 |
19 to 21 | - |
More than 21 | 0 |
The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.
No one will lose access to PIP immediately - and most people will not lose access at all. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval and will only apply at a claimant’s next scheduled award review, which on average occurs every three years. At that point, a claimant will be reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional based on their individual needs and circumstances.
After accounting for behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 out of 10 PIP recipients at the time of policy implementation are expected to be unaffected by the PIP 4-point change in 2029/30. Despite the reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to increase by 750,000 by the end of this Parliament and spending is projected to rise from £23 billion in 2024/25 to £31 billion in 2029/30.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Notes:
- The volumes provided are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
- Where a value above 0 has been rounded down to below 1,000, a “-“ has been used.
- The volumes provided exclude claimants over State Pension age and Special Rules for End of Life claimants.
For information on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants who did not score 4 or more points in any daily living activity by aggregated point scores please see table 1 below.
Table 1: volume of PIP claimants who did not score 4 or more points in any one daily living activity by their total daily living point score for Dulwich and West Norwood Parliamentary Constituency
Total Daily Living Point Score | Volume of PIP claimants |
Less than 8 | 150 |
8-11 | 1,710 |
12-15 | - |
16-18 | - |
19-21 | 330 |
21+ | - |
Notes:
There are 330 PIP claimants who scored more than 12 points in the daily living activities, but did not score more than 4 in any single criteria, in the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency.
The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.
No one will lose access to PIP immediately - and most people will not lose access at all. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval and will only apply at a claimant’s next scheduled award review, which on average occurs every three years. At that point, a claimant will be reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional based on their individual needs and circumstances.
After accounting for behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 out 10 PIP recipients at the time of policy implementation are expected to be unaffected by the PIP 4-point change in 2029/30. Despite the reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to increase by 750,000 by the end of this Parliament and spending is projected to rise from £23 billion in 2024/25 to £31 billion in 2029/30.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I am leading. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.