Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what his planned timetable is for responding to the recommendations of the report entitled Creating a safer world: the challenge of regulating online pornography, published on 27 February 2025.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Services in scope of the Online Safety Act are already required to take action to tackle horrific illegal pornographic content and will be required prevent children accessing all pornographic content.
The Secretary of State has met Baroness Bertin to discuss her review. The review’s findings continue to be assessed by the Government and an update will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of unfurnished homes on (a) prison leavers, (b) people escaping domestic violence and abuse and (c) people that cannot afford to furnish a home.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not collect data on the number of households living without essential furniture.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide appropriate support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims who need to flee their homes.
Emergency domestic abuse safe accommodation is furnished, and sources of financial support to furnish safe longer-term housing exist if needed.
The Accommodation for Ex-Offenders scheme launched in July 2021 assists ex-offenders to access the private rented sector, focusing on supporting them into sustainable accommodation with an expected tenancy of 12 months.
All others in need can apply for help in securing essential furniture from their local authority through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other local services. The social security system includes provision to help eligible people with intermittent furniture expenses that may be difficult to budget for.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of counsellors trained to support children who have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As commissioners of National Health Services, integrated care boards are responsible for making available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. Service delivery models are determined by service providers at a local level, in response to commissioners’ requirements.
The Ministry of Justice provides funding for vital victim and witness support services. This includes community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services, in addition to the core funding the Ministry of Justice provides to Police and Crime Commissioners to allocate at their discretion, based on their assessment of local need. This includes support for children and young people.
In December 2024, the Ministry of Justice confirmed grant awards for the provision of domestic abuse and sexual violence services in 2025/26. Grant recipients provide services, including trauma-informed counselling, based on their local assessment of need.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that counselling for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence includes culturally competent and specialist support for diverse communities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England cannot comment specifically on services which are commissioned by local providers, however work is continuing to address mental health inequalities and attract more professionals from other backgrounds.
The Ministry of Justice and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners published the Victim Services Commissioning Guidance in December 2024, which includes a chapter focused on commissioning appropriate and tailored support for marginalized victims. This includes ensuring that ‘by and for’ services are invited and encouraged to apply for funding opportunities.
We recognise that Police and Crime Commissioners and specialist support organisations are best placed to make local decisions on the services that are required locally. However, it is our expectation that providers adhere to standards, including ensuring services adhere to the Equality Act 2010 and are accessible, inclusive, and address the needs of the community. These expectations are outlined in Grant Funding Agreements.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing school-based whole family support practitioners to support the SEND system.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to create a high-quality system that places children and families at the centre of its design, providing meaningful and consistent support for families as their needs change over time.
Schools, colleges, early years and childcare settings, and other educational providers, including alternative provision, all have a pivotal role to play in safeguarding children and promoting their welfare. Their insight and co-operation are vital to the successful delivery of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. People working in education settings play an important role in building relationships, identifying concerns and providing direct support to children.
The Children’s Social Care National Framework sets out the purpose, principles and enablers of good practice and the outcomes that should be achieved. The guidance describes what everyone working with families should do and helps everyone come together with a clear vision for how to transform the support that families receive.
Services should prioritise supporting the whole family, recognising that problems do not exist in silos and are often interconnected and intergenerational. Intervening to provide support at the earliest opportunity can help prevent challenges from escalating and improve outcomes.
Family hubs play an important role helping families access vital services to improve the health, education and wellbeing of children, young people and their families. As part of the family hubs’ ‘Start for Life’ programme, there are now over 400 family hubs open across 88 local authorities, creating a welcoming place where families with children aged 0 to 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), can be connected to a wide range of services.
Programme guidance outlines the minimum expectation that local authorities should be delivering in their family hubs for SEND support Family Hub Service Expectations.
This support includes the staff in the family hub being knowledgeable about the SEND services available and being able to connect families to SEND services within the family hub network.
Over the last three years, many of the local authorities on the programme have chosen to focus on improving SEND services, bringing local offers together in one place and funding early identification/intervention on speech, language and communication needs.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) reduce consumption amongst children and (b) encourage reformulation of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt that are targeted at children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the childhood obesity crisis and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We have revised the National Planning Policy Framework for local government which has provided stronger powers to local authorities to block new fast-food outlets near schools.
We are implementing legislation to ban junk food advertising on TV before 9pm and paid for advertising online. This will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000.
Mandatory and voluntary measures are also in place which aim to reduce consumption and encourage reformulation of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy has reduced sugar levels in drinks in scope by 46% between 2015 and 2020, removing 46,000 tonnes of sugar. As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, both the lower and higher tax rates of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will increase each year over the next five years. A review is also underway of the sugar thresholds at which the levy rates apply, and the current exclusion for milk-based drinks. These changes will ensure that the levy remains effective, protects its value in real terms, and will deliver further reformulation.
The voluntary reformulation programme requires the food industry sector to reduce levels of sugar, calories and salt in food and drink products that contribute substantially to poor diets.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) tackle, (b) prevent and (c) monitor child poverty in the form of malnutrition.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most cases of malnutrition are clinical and will be secondary to another health condition which may impact on nutritional needs or impact on a person’s ability to eat and drink, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. The term malnutrition is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to a poor diet; although this may put someone at increased risk of malnutrition, this would not necessarily meet the criteria for a clinical diagnosis.
The National Health Service provides Hospital Episode Statistics figures for malnutrition, broken down by age group, for the period 2007/08 to 2020/21, which are available at the following link:
The relationship between food poverty or food insecurity, nutritional intake and health in the United Kingdom is currently unclear. However, international evidence suggests that in the long-term, food insecurity may be associated with poorer diets and poorer health, including higher risk of overweight and obesity. The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs’ UK Food Security Report 2024, which pulls together data from a range of sources including the Department of Work and Pensions Family Resources Survey, found that 90% of UK households were food secure in the financial year ending 2023. The report is available at the following link:
The Government is rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school, with an early adopter scheme launching in April 2025, so children start the day ready to learn, helping to break down barriers to opportunity and confront child poverty. Additionally, all children in Reception, year 1 and year 2 in England's state-funded schools are already entitled to universal infant free school meals and disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools, as well as students aged between 16 and 18 years old in further education, receive free meals based on low income.
The existing Healthy Start scheme aims to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children under four from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula; beneficiaries also have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins. The Child Poverty Taskforce, made up of ministers from across Government, will be publishing its strategy to reduce child poverty in spring 2025.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to screen for malnutrition in (a) children and (b) adults across the country in a consistent manner.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The diagnosis and detection of malnutrition are key, and health staff are trained to spot the early warning signs so that effective individual treatment can be put in place. Tools and guidance are available through a range of organisations for health and social care professionals to identify and treat malnutrition and access appropriate training.
The Healthy Child Programme in England is a universal programme for children aged zero to 19 years old. When there is a concern raised about a child’s growth, either a health visitor or a school nurse will monitor this and assess the child for signs of under or overweight, including as a possible sign of neglect and faltering growth, and will work with families to support them in addressing the family and child’s needs.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline Faltering growth: recognition and management of faltering growth in children, code NG75, for healthcare professionals, providers of children's services, commissioners of children's services, and parents and carers of children with faltering growth covers the recognition, assessment, and monitoring of faltering growth in infants and children. This guideline is available at the following link:
All National Health Services across the country are recommended to adhere to the NICE’s clinical guideline, Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, code CG32, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32
This sets out the recommendations, based on the best available evidence, for the organisation, screening, and delivery of nutritional support in hospitals and the community. This includes screening for malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition. The NICE guidelines recommend that all hospital inpatients on admission and all outpatients at their first clinic appointment should be screened for malnutrition. Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients, and when there is clinical concern for outpatients. People in care homes should be screened on admission, and when there is clinical concern.
All people who are identified as being malnourished or at risk of malnutrition should be assessed by an appropriately qualified health professional, such as a dietitian, to receive an individualised care plan in line with their individual circumstances, dietary preferences, and medical needs.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of updating the decent homes standard to ensure that at least 10% of homes for social rent are offered furnished.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025. As part of the development of the strategy, the Taskforce is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing.
People in need may be able to get help for essential furniture from their local council through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.
Asked by: Jess Asato (Labour - Lowestoft)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had engagement with the Child Poverty Taskforce on (a) furnished tenancies and (b) the potential impact of the decent homes standard on trends in the level of furniture poverty.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.
The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025. As part of the development of the strategy, the Taskforce is considering the impacts of living in poor quality housing.
People in need may be able to get help for essential furniture from their local council through the ‘Household Support Fund’ and other services available locally.