Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of access to 15 hours of government-funded childcare support by (a) single and (b) disabled parent families.
Answered by David Johnston
Working parent entitlements are aimed at supporting parents to get back into work, or to work more hours if they wish to. This is available to both two parent families and single parent families who meet the eligibility criteria.
The department is expanding the free childcare offer from September 2025 to enable eligible working parents in England to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school.
Since April 2024, eligible working parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year from the term after the child’s second birthday. Over 210,000 two year olds are now confirmed to have places for 15 hours a week of free childcare, as part of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England. Applications are now open for the September phase of the expansion, which will see the offer extended to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months.
The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year will be eligible. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits such as carers allowance, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. Single parents in receipt of specified benefits will also need to be working and meet the income requirements in order to be eligible for the working parent entitlement.
Parents who claim Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment for themselves or their child may be eligible for this entitlement, if they are working and meet the income requirement. More information is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working.
However, parents who are already receiving some additional forms of government support can receive 15 hours of funded early education, including childcare, for two year olds. This is separate from the new entitlement for working parents and is available to parents whose child is entitled to Disability Living Allowance. All parents regardless of employment status or income levels are eligible for the universal 15 hours for three and four year olds.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase access to 15 hours of childcare support for (a) single and (b) disabled parent families.
Answered by David Johnston
Working parent entitlements are aimed at supporting parents to get back into work, or to work more hours if they wish to. This is available to both two parent families and single parent families who meet the eligibility criteria.
The department is expanding the free childcare offer from September 2025 to enable eligible working parents in England to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school.
Since April 2024, eligible working parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year from the term after the child’s second birthday. Over 210,000 two year olds are now confirmed to have places for 15 hours a week of free childcare, as part of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England. Applications are now open for the September phase of the expansion, which will see the offer extended to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months.
The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year will be eligible. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits such as carers allowance, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. Single parents in receipt of specified benefits will also need to be working and meet the income requirements in order to be eligible for the working parent entitlement.
Parents who claim Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment for themselves or their child may be eligible for this entitlement, if they are working and meet the income requirement. More information is available at https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working.
However, parents who are already receiving some additional forms of government support can receive 15 hours of funded early education, including childcare, for two year olds. This is separate from the new entitlement for working parents and is available to parents whose child is entitled to Disability Living Allowance. All parents regardless of employment status or income levels are eligible for the universal 15 hours for three and four year olds.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours inmates spent out of their cell was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in April 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during April 2024 is shown in the table below.
| Cookham Wood | Feltham | Parc | Werrington | Wetherby |
Weekdays | 4:16 | 4:28 | 8:20 | 4:40 | 5:05 |
Weekends | 4:19 | 3:51 | 6:28 | 3:30 | 3:40 |
We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.
The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time-out-of-room, creating as open a regime as can safely be managed, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting. Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time-out-of-room.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in March 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during March 2024 is shown in the table below.
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We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.
The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting. Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what information his Department holds on what the average rental costs were for houses in multiple occupation in Lewisham East constituency in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL2677 on 6 March 2024 and the answer to Question UIN 22233 on 22 April 2024. We are abolishing Section 21 evictions as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
No information is held centrally on the average rental costs of houses in multiple occupation in Lewisham East.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of section 21 evictions in Lewisham East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN HL2677 on 6 March 2024 and the answer to Question UIN 22233 on 22 April 2024. We are abolishing Section 21 evictions as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill.
No information is held centrally on the average rental costs of houses in multiple occupation in Lewisham East.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in February 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during February 2024 is shown in the table below.
| Cookham Wood | Feltham | Parc | Werrington | Wetherby |
Weekdays | 3:24 | 5:02 | 8:30 | 4:06 | 6:25 |
Weekends | 2:01 | 3:49 | 5:47 | 3:10 | 4:33 |
The average time spent out-of-room each day by children and young people at Oakhill Secure Training Centre in February 2024 was 13 hours. As information about Oakhill Secure Training Centre is collated on a different basis from information about young offender institutions, it is not possible to provide the requested breakdown between weekdays and weekends.
We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.
The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting. Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report by Lay Observers entitled 2022-23 Annual Report, published on 10 April 2024, and the response from the Minister of State published on the same date, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the report's recommendations on ensuring that children and young people are (a) always transported in vehicles without adult detained persons and (b) looked after and managed by suitably trained staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are very grateful to the Lay Observers for their invaluable work. We have thoroughly considered their annual report and its recommendations.
Timeliness is a key consideration when conveying children and young people to and from court and, in certain circumstances, transport in vehicles with adults may be the appropriate solution. In these cases, the children and young people would be collected and supervised by staff who normally work with adults. This is provided for in the contracts, and our focus is on ensuring that the service provided for in the contracts is delivered.
On all occasions when children and young people are transported with adults, the cellular accommodation in the vehicle must be separated by a screen to ensure that the children and young people are kept apart.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in Oakhill Secure Training Centre in February 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during February 2024 is shown in the table below.
| Cookham Wood | Feltham | Parc | Werrington | Wetherby |
Weekdays | 3:24 | 5:02 | 8:30 | 4:06 | 6:25 |
Weekends | 2:01 | 3:49 | 5:47 | 3:10 | 4:33 |
The average time spent out-of-room each day by children and young people at Oakhill Secure Training Centre in February 2024 was 13 hours. As information about Oakhill Secure Training Centre is collated on a different basis from information about young offender institutions, it is not possible to provide the requested breakdown between weekdays and weekends.
We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.
The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting. Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of miles of hedgerow that has been (a) created and (b) restored since January 2023.
Answered by Mark Spencer
We have made no such assessment regarding the total number of hedgerows created or restored since 2023, however, there are now approximately 56,000 miles of hedgerows being managed through 16,000 agreements in the Government’s Countryside Stewardship and Sustainable Farming Incentive schemes. Under Countryside Stewardship approximately 20,680 Miles of Hedgerow have been created and restored since January 2023.