Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with the Department of State for Education on the recognition of the Pathological Demand Avoidance profile within assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has regular discussions on a wide range of matters, including with other departments.
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is most often understood as a characteristic of, or observed in, some autistic people, but professional consensus on its status is still required. PDA is not a recognised and ‘stand-alone’ diagnosis within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Disease.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including assessment services for autistic people, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.
The NICE guideline Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis, recommends that as part of autism assessments healthcare workers should consider PDA and carry out appropriate referrals.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Home Office on the number of children in care going missing due to child exploitation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.
The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.
The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.
The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.
Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is her Department taking to help reduce the number of children in care that go missing.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.
The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.
The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.
The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.
Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has her Department made of the number of children in care that have gone missing annually since 2015.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.
The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.
The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.
The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.
Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department on trends in the level of children going missing in care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.
The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.
The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.
The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.
Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the service provider Missing to address the number of children going missing in care.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government takes the issue of any child going missing, from home or care, extremely seriously. Local safeguarding partners should work together to reduce the chances of children going missing and respond effectively when they do. The department has provided statutory guidance about responsibilities for children who go missing. Our ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance sets out the importance of sharing information and that practitioners should be alert to those who frequently go missing.
The latest relevant publication covers 2021 to 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025 (data for earlier years is in previous releases, changes in the way data is reported means comparisons over time should not be made). In 2025, 86,900 missing incidents were reported for 12,720 looked after children (11%), an average (mean) of 6.8 missing incidents per child who went missing. Most (91%) missing incidents lasted for two days or less.
The department also published ad hoc statistics, which indicated that going or being missing may be a co-occurring factor for some children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Just over a third (34%) of children assessed as having been affected by sexual exploitation were also assessed as at risk of going missing.
The department is working to reduce the number of children who go missing. Measures from the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, reforms being delivered through the Families First Partnership Programme (supported by £2.4 billion), updates to the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance, and oversight from the Keeping Children Safe ministerial board will ensure that we better respond when children go missing and intervene earlier to tackle the underlying drivers.
Officials engage with stakeholders, including Missing. A senior civil servant from the department attended the recent All-Party Parliamentary Group for Missing Children and Adults interactive parliamentary session.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what guidance HM Revenue and Customs provides to charities on the classification of educational activities for the purposes of VAT exemption.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC provides detailed guidance on how VAT applies to education on GOV.UK and in VAT Notice 701/30: Education and vocational training. This covers all aspects of the exemption, including services provided by charities.
Additional guidance is published when significant changes are made, such as the changes to the VAT treatment of private schools. The guidance can be found online here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vat-on-education-and-vocational-training-notice-70130
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of freezing fuel duty again in September 2026, in the context of volatility in global oil prices.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Budget 2025, the Government extended the 5p-per-litre cut for a further five months, until the end of August this year. The Government has also cancelled the increase in line with inflation for 2026/27. The 5p cut was introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when prices reached a peak of over £1.90 per litre.
Since Budget 2024, the Government's decisions to freeze fuel duty will save the average motorist over £90 – or 8-11 pence per litre – compared to the plans inherited from the previous government.
As the Chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep prices low at the pump, but the Government will also take the necessary decisions to help families with the cost of living and protect the public finances.
As with all taxes, the Government keeps fuel duty under review; and any changes will be announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many pensioners living in the Chichester constituency are currently in receipt of Pension Credit.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest Pension Credit caseload statistics show that as of August 2025, there were 2,134 people in receipt of Pension Credit in Chichester.
The latest Pension Credit caseload statistics show that as of August 2025, there were 1,437 female recipients of Pension Credit in Chichester.
Using the latest Pension Credit caseload statistics, it is estimated that there were around 400 women born in the 1950s in receipt of Pension Credit in Chichester, as of August 2025.
This data is available via: DWP Stat-Xplore
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women living in the Chichester constituency are currently in receipt of Pension Credit.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The latest Pension Credit caseload statistics show that as of August 2025, there were 2,134 people in receipt of Pension Credit in Chichester.
The latest Pension Credit caseload statistics show that as of August 2025, there were 1,437 female recipients of Pension Credit in Chichester.
Using the latest Pension Credit caseload statistics, it is estimated that there were around 400 women born in the 1950s in receipt of Pension Credit in Chichester, as of August 2025.
This data is available via: DWP Stat-Xplore