Jacob Collier

The National Youth Strategy includes a shift from national to local. This will renew focus on the role, capability, and leadership of local authorities, with a place-based approach to funding to empower local communities and young people in designing their local youth offers. Through this approach, we are committed to ensuring funding reaches those most in need across the length and breadth of England.

The £70m Local Youth Transformation programme is improving local authorities’ capability to rebuild a high-quality youth offer and develop a network of 50 Young Futures Hubs. We are also simplifying local authority grant funding across government and consolidating local funding for young people and families where possible. This provides greater local flexibility and sustainability.

Co-produced with 14,000 young people, ‘Youth Matters: Your National Youth Strategy’ is a 10 year plan to ensure every young person across the country has somewhere to go, someone who cares for them and a community they feel part of.

A key focus of the Strategy is to empower young people, placing them in the driving seat of designing local youth services. We are ensuring local authorities co-design their local youth offers with young people to meet their needs.

There are multiple sources of evidence on loneliness including research on the economic and social impact of loneliness.

The economic impact of loneliness

DCMS research estimates that the costs associated with loneliness based on the impact on subjective wellbeing, health and productivity of the chronically lonely individual can be represented as a yearly sum of £9,537 per person. Chronic loneliness refers to loneliness that occurs frequently over a period of time, this has been shown to have a negative effect on health and wellbeing.

This figure is our current best estimate. It is challenging to understand the economic impact of loneliness as it can be difficult to disentangle this from the impact of other drivers of low wellbeing. Further research is underway to enhance our understanding of these nuances.

The social impact of loneliness

DCMS research shows a bidirectional and cyclical relationship between chronic loneliness and mental health, with people experiencing chronic loneliness 3.7 times more likely to experience mental health distress compared to those who do not experience chronic loneliness. Furthermore, external research in the US and the Quartet Community Foundation Health and Wellbeing report demonstrate the negative impact chronic loneliness can have on physical health.

Loneliness has also been linked to poorer educational and employment performance by external research and DCMS research suggests those who are unemployed and economically inactive are more likely to experience chronic loneliness.

The department is working closely with the scheme administrator to process Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) as quickly and efficiently as possible. Several factors have affected the original delivery timeline, including technical dependencies, regulatory requirements, coordination with external partners and preparation for a transition of contractor.

The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.

The administrator will keep affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available at: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx.

As responsibility for this work transitions to the new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in summer 2026, the department is working with the new administrator to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to relevant members.

Tackling child poverty, everywhere, is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.

Child poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. This not only harms children’s lives now, but it also damages their future prospects, and holds back our economic potential as a country.

On 17 July 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of the Secretary of State for Work and Pension and the Secretary of State for Education to be the joint leads of a new ministerial taskforce to begin work on a Child Poverty Strategy. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start at life.

The proposed Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England.

The department will remove barriers to opportunity to ensure the school system is fair for every child. Every primary school, including those in Burton and Uttoxeter, will be required to provide free breakfast clubs. To ensure that every child, no matter their background, is well prepared for the school day, the department will limit the number of branded uniform items that a school can require.

In addition to free school meals and the over £2.9 billion pupil premium funding, the department has also provided over £200 million of funding this year to all local authorities across England to deliver the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in their area. This is to ensure that over summer holidays children from disadvantaged backgrounds and low-income families are able to take up free childcare spaces, which offer healthy meals and enriching activities, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. This summer, the department anticipates that over 3 million HAF places will be provided young people in this country.

The department has positive and open engagement with the local authority, Staffordshire County Council, through its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Lead and wider partners. The local authority has been approached to participate in the education, health and care (EHC) plan template pilot, which is led by the Change Partnership Programme.

The department continues to prioritise:

• Implementing the improvements identified in the Accelerated Progress Plan.
• Monitoring progress and improvements made through the Enhanced Assess, Plan, Do, Review Programme, and through the Staffordshire Enhanced District Inclusion Support (SEDIS) Model.
• Monitoring 20-week timeliness on an ongoing basis.
• Providing support to improve EHC plan quality through the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence (RISE) consortium.
• Continuing to meet regularly with the wider SEND partnership along with monthly meetings with the local authority, children’s social care and schools.

Department for Transport ministers and officials hold regular discussions with representatives from the logistics and haulage industry to understand the sector’s priorities, including for improving driver welfare and rest facilities.

The Freight Council met on the 11 February under the chair of the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security and was an opportunity for the industry to raise concerns, including on welfare facilities for HGV drivers.

More recently, on the 25 February the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security and the Policing Minister Sarah Jones jointly hosted a freight roundtable with representatives from the haulage sector, trade bodies and police in attendance. Ministers heard directly from the sector on their concerns relating to freight crime including HGV parking and drivers' welfare.

The Department recognises that a shortage of secure HGV parking can have impacts on the haulage industry, including on driver welfare.

A national survey of lorry parking is underway which will provide a fresh baseline on the availability of secure lorry parking and HGV driver welfare provision. The 2026 survey is scheduled to be published in the autumn.

The survey was last conducted in 2022 and provided the evidence base for the design of the HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme. With industry, this scheme is delivering up to £35.7 million in joint investment to enhance truck stops across England. The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the scheme to consider its application and delivery process, the role of the scheme in improving lorry driver facilities, including security, in England and the impact of the site improvements for drivers. This analysis is underway and due to be finalised in Summer 2026.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has accepted the resource of Defence Driving Examiners (DDEs), to be based at the driving test centres with the highest demand near their MOD base or home location.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) understands the impact, including the financial implications, the reselling of practical driving tests is having on learner drivers.

On 28 May, DVSA launched a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. The consultation closed on 23 July. DVSA is reviewing the feedback given and will announce the next steps as soon as possible.

Further information on the consultation can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-car-driving-test-booking-rules/improving-car-driving-test-booking-rules.

The consultation is about changing the rules on how car driving tests can be booked and managed. It looks at how to make test booking fairer, including the possibility of stopping people charging extra fees to book tests and simplifying the system for learners and approved driving instructors. Any additional measures will only be introduced if it is considered appropriate to do so to support the continued delivery of the driver testing service and following public consultation.

All available driving test appointments are shown on DVSA’s live booking system, and as well as releasing tests on a rolling 24-week basis on a Monday, additional appointments are released throughout the week. As new test appointments appear on the booking service at different times of the day and through the week, DVSA advises candidates to continue to check for earlier appointments.

DVSA encourages learner drivers to only use the official GOV.UK website to book and manage their driving test. DVSA has published advice aimed at learner drivers warning them of the risks of using third party services/apps to book a practical driving test. Further information can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-warned-about-the-risks-of-driving-test-cancellation-finders.

The Connectivity Tool was launched on 26 June and is free to use by all local authorities via the gov.uk website. The tool is jointly badged with the MHCLG and has been explicitly designed in collaboration with local authorities to help inform their plans, strategies and decisions. This landmark platform will serve as the new national metric of connectivity, transforming how we plan for new development and the transport infrastructure needed to support it.

The Department undertook a mixed-method, multi-strand evaluation of the Restart Scheme, delivered by external research providers Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and Ipsos. The research comprised three strands: a longitudinal cohort study, a survey of Restart Scheme providers, and case study research of 12 geographic areas. The report was published in May 2024 and can found on gov.uk here The Evaluation of the Restart Scheme - GOV.UK.

Official Statistics on the Restart Scheme are published bi-annually and can be found on gov.uk here Restart Scheme statistics - GOV.UK.

Our Pathways to Work Green Paper set out why we are scrapping the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). We want to end the binary categorisation of groups and labelling as either ‘can or can’t work’. Instead, any extra financial support for health conditions in UC will be assessed via a single assessment – the PIP assessment – and be based on the impact of disability on daily living, not on capacity to work. This will de-couple access to the health element in UC (current LCWRA rate referred to as UC health throughout) from work status, so people can be confident that the act of taking steps towards and into employment will not put their benefit entitlement at risk.

We are considering how any change of this kind could affect individuals who currently meet limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) criteria due to non-functional special circumstances; for example, those affected by cancer treatment, people with short term conditions that get better, women with a high-risk pregnancy and those currently classed as having substantial risk. Individuals in these categories may not be eligible for PIP, and therefore the UC health element, in the reformed system.

In the reformed system these groups will still be eligible for UC and for the proposed new higher rate Unemployment Insurance if they meet relevant eligibility criteria. Individuals who are nearing the end of their life with 12 months or less to live will continue to be able to access PIP through the existing fast track route (Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) to ensure we protect those who are nearing the end of their life, irrespective of the duration of their illness.

Further details on these changes will be set out in a White Paper in the Autumn.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for alcohol and drug prevention and treatment in their area, including residential treatment, and for commissioning services to meet these needs. The Department set an ambition that 2% of the drug and alcohol treatment population should be accessing residential treatment. We remain committed to this ambition and continue to work with the sector to achieve this. We have asked every local authority to set a local target that contributes to this ambition.

Earlier this year, the Department launched the self-assessment toolkit to help local areas to improve the residential drug and alcohol treatment that they commission, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/residential-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-self-assessment-toolkit

The Department of Health and Social Care facilitates a residential treatment provider forum and engages in annual planning for local authorities and partners, including target-setting for residential episodes. The Department also maintains regular engagement with the English Substance Use Commissioners Group and holds joint meetings with the Ministry of Justice to explore improved pathways from the criminal justice system into residential treatment.

We are providing local authorities with £3.4 billion ringfenced funding over the next three years for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. This first multi-year settlement in over a decade gives local authorities the certainty to plan and invest for the medium term.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.

The JCVI has advised that population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.

The focus of the JCVI’s advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed. The Government has accepted the JCVI’s advice for autumn 2025 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:

• adults aged 75 years old and over;
• residents in care homes for older adults; and
• individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed.

The COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book on immunisation against infectious disease sets out guidance on the eligibility criteria above. This is signposted to all providers to ensure consistency. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance that recommends several antivirals for the treatment of COVID-19, both in the community and for patients in hospital. This guidance sets out the eligibility criteria and ensures that patients who are at the highest risk of developing severe disease from COVID-19 have access to clinically- and cost-effective treatments.

I know firsthand how complex and debilitating long COVID can be, and I am committed to improving support for people affected.

Since 2020, specialist long COVID services have been made available. This includes setting up over 100 long COVID services across England.

We have also invested over £57 million in long COVID research, and I recently co-chaired a roundtable on strategies to stimulate further research into treatments.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges patients face when trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population was delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. NHS dentists are required to keep their profiles on the NHS.UK website up to date so that patients can find a dentist more easily. This includes information on whether they are accepting new patients. In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through an NHS dental practice, they should contact NHS111.

The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.

We are now reviewing and analysing all responses received.  This analysis will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model, including consideration of any transitional measures for those already on a pathway to settlement.

Once the final model has been decided, the Government will communicate the outcome publicly.  As with all significant policy changes, the proposals will be subject to both economic and equality impact assessments.

I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to Question UIN 11383 on 31 October 2024.

The English Housing Survey does not collect data on the number of sofa surfers, but does collect data on households who hosted someone in the previous 12 months who would have otherwise been homeless, and publishes these statistics annually.

The total number of households that hosted someone homeless in the past 12 months was 521,000 (2% of households).

By tenure, 3% of private renters (122,000 households) and 3% of social renters (120,000 households) hosted someone homeless in the past 12 months. This proportion was higher than for owner occupiers (2%, 279,000 households).

See The EHS 2022-23 rented sector report, Annex Table 3.21.