Jessica Toale

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon Lady’s Parliamentary Question of 30/09/24 is attached.

Our priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act so that children benefit from its wide-reaching protections.

The Act requires all services in scope to take steps to protect users, including children, from illegal content and criminal behaviour. In addition, services likely to be accessed by children are required to risk assess their service and provide safety measures, including the use of highly effective age assurance, to protect children from harmful content.

Ofcom has duty to promote media literacy to help the public understand the nature and impact of where harmful content and online behaviour affects certain groups.

Dorset had their Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection in March 2024, which identified positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The report, published on 15 May 2024, included no Areas for Priority Action (APAs), and highlighted that leaders in Dorset are ambitious and focused on improving the lives of children and young people with SEND. The report also stated that children and young people with SEND and their families are placed at the heart of all that leaders do. Effective co-production across the partnership ensures that the needs of children and young people lead decision-making.

The department has been working closely with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local area partnership since their Area SEND Inspection in June 2021, where Ofsted and CQC identified eight areas of significant weakness. The department has since been holding regular monitoring meetings with the local area, in partnership with NHS England, focussing on the impact of actions taken on improving the lives of children and young people with SEND and their families. The latest monitoring meeting highlighted that the local authority and partners are taking positive steps to improve services, with some evidence of early impact. However, there are still ways to go to ensure that all children and families receive the service they require and deserve.

The department has put in place a wider range of support for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and local area partners through the appointment of a Sector Led Improvement Partner and SEND advisor support. The department will continue working with the local area to ensure they deliver further improvements in services for all children and families in the local area, including those in the constituency of Bournemouth West.

Dorset had their Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection in March 2024, which identified positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The report, published on 15 May 2024, included no Areas for Priority Action (APAs), and highlighted that leaders in Dorset are ambitious and focused on improving the lives of children and young people with SEND. The report also stated that children and young people with SEND and their families are placed at the heart of all that leaders do. Effective co-production across the partnership ensures that the needs of children and young people lead decision-making.

The department has been working closely with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole local area partnership since their Area SEND Inspection in June 2021, where Ofsted and CQC identified eight areas of significant weakness. The department has since been holding regular monitoring meetings with the local area, in partnership with NHS England, focussing on the impact of actions taken on improving the lives of children and young people with SEND and their families. The latest monitoring meeting highlighted that the local authority and partners are taking positive steps to improve services, with some evidence of early impact. However, there are still ways to go to ensure that all children and families receive the service they require and deserve.

The department has put in place a wider range of support for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and local area partners through the appointment of a Sector Led Improvement Partner and SEND advisor support. The department will continue working with the local area to ensure they deliver further improvements in services for all children and families in the local area, including those in the constituency of Bournemouth West.

Impact Risk Zones (IRZs) are a digital geographical information tool developed by Natural England to help Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) assess the potential risks to Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) from development proposals. They also cover Habitat Sites that are underpinned by a terrestrial SSSI designation, including Special Areas of Conservation.

Natural England supports the delivery of sustainable development by providing advice to LPAs on how to protect and enhance the natural environment. The IRZ tool helps LPAs know when to consult Natural England for advice and is designed to aid better spatial planning and early consideration of the risks to SSSIs to reduce delays in the planning process.

Natural England is satisfied that the zones provide appropriate advice to LPAs but continues to review the evidence that underpins the IRZs to ensure it reflects the latest understanding of SSSI sensitivities.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Wessex Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

There is only one permitted discharge into the sea within the area of the Bournemouth West constituency, which is a water industry pumping station at Pier Approach. The discharge for this pumping station is through a pipe out to sea and should only operate during storm conditions or in an emergency. With respect to Bournemouth, the Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. Wessex Water now publishes its spill data in near-real time online and this can be viewed here.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Wessex Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

There is only one permitted discharge into the sea within the area of the Bournemouth West constituency, which is a water industry pumping station at Pier Approach. The discharge for this pumping station is through a pipe out to sea and should only operate during storm conditions or in an emergency. With respect to Bournemouth, the Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. Wessex Water now publishes its spill data in near-real time online and this can be viewed here.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Wessex Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

There is only one permitted discharge into the sea within the area of the Bournemouth West constituency, which is a water industry pumping station at Pier Approach. The discharge for this pumping station is through a pipe out to sea and should only operate during storm conditions or in an emergency. With respect to Bournemouth, the Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. Wessex Water now publishes its spill data in near-real time online and this can be viewed here.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Wessex Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to reduce sewage pollution and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

I would also refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 18 July, HCWS3.

There is only one permitted discharge into the sea within the area of the Bournemouth West constituency, which is a water industry pumping station at Pier Approach. The discharge for this pumping station is through a pipe out to sea and should only operate during storm conditions or in an emergency. With respect to Bournemouth, the Environment Agency will publish the 2024 Event Duration Monitoring data, showing how long and how often storm overflows have been used, in March 2025. The data for previous years is available here. Wessex Water now publishes its spill data in near-real time online and this can be viewed here.

The Government keeps all policies under review and is aware that neurodiverse people can face inadequate or discriminatory treatment when using taxis and private hire vehicles. We recognise the role of effective training in equipping drivers and operator staff with the knowledge, skills and confidence to support passengers appropriately. The latest best practice guidance for licensing authorities in England confirms our expectation that all drivers undergo training which should include, among other topics, how to engage with people with different communication needs.

The Government continues to consider how to improve the regulation of the sector to enable the provision of safe and accessible services that meet a wide range of passenger needs.

This Government wants everyone to have access to public transport and is committed to improving services, so they are more inclusive and enable people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. This includes making sure that all passengers, whether adults or children, can make the journeys that they want and need to make.

As we bring forward bus reform, Great British Railways and a new Passenger Standards Authority, as well producing our vision for the future of transport through the Integrated National Transport Strategy, we will listen carefully to all people and their representatives as we make transport safe, inclusive and accessible for all.

We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement.

We have made no such assessment. It is not possible to make direct, like for like comparisons between State Pension amounts received under the pre 2016 State Pension system and the new State Pension. Under both systems, the amount people are entitled to varies according to their National Insurance record. It is not the case that everyone in the new system receives more than everyone in the pre 2016 system.

The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support to those who’s ability to work is constrained by providing care for someone else for at least thirty-five hours per week. The eligibility conditions for the benefit use income as a proxy for ability to work.

We know that some carers are keen to maintain contact with the labour market, so we want to encourage carers to combine some paid work with their caring duties wherever possible.

This is why the Government has announced that from April 2025 the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit will be pegged to the level of 16 hours work at the National Living Wage (NLW) and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. This means that unpaid carers will be able to earn up to £196 per week net earnings and still receive Carer’s Allowance compared to £151 now.

The DWP has a dedicated Trauma Informed Approach Integration Programme and we are at the start of an ambitious journey. Our integration programme applies the six core pillars of the approach; safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration within the framework of, our colleagues, our customers, our culture and the context of our interactions (whether that is physical, telephony, digital or postal). Alongside internal and external experts, we have established an eight-stage roadmap for implementation. We anticipate we will have completed the eight stages of design by 2030, making trauma informed approaches fundamental to our business-as-usual approach.

With response to the query around what training is provided, as part of a wider trauma informed training framework we have piloted an introductory module for all colleagues to develop awareness of the pervasive impacts of trauma and to develop the skills required for trauma informed interactions with customers. This product is currently in iteration to align with the wider trauma informed framework of learning that becomes more intensive depending on the colleague’s role. This module is part of a wider roll out within the framework which will be coproduced with customers, colleagues and experts. Supplementary learning products will also be made available to support embedding trauma informed principles into our business-as-usual approach.

The Trauma Informed Approach recognises the pervasive impacts that trauma may have on an individual’s life; these impacts can span social, emotional, physiological, neurological and spiritual functioning. The impacts of trauma can make interacting with services a difficult and potentially retraumatising experience, the trauma informed approach is a way of trying to avoid and mitigate this risk whilst creating a safe and empowering environment for all colleagues and customers. The approach has six core pillars: safety, trustworthiness, choice, empowerment, collaboration and cultural consideration (Office for Health Improvements and Disparities, 2022).

The DWP has a dedicated Trauma Informed Approach Integration Programme and we are at the start of an ambitious journey. Our integration programme applies the six core pillars of the approach within the framework of, our colleagues, our customers, our culture and the context of our interactions (whether that is physical, telephony, digital or postal). The design of the programme has been informed by close working with operational teams across the department and is being tested in our Trauma Informed ‘Pulse points’ and innovation hubs. Alongside internal and external experts, we have established an eight-stage roadmap for implementation across the DWP with a core focus on co-production with colleagues, customers and stakeholders. We anticipate we will have completed the eight stages of design by 2030, making trauma informed approaches fundamental to our business-as-usual approach.

DWP and our assessment providers are committed to providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service, with an approach aimed at continual improvement.

We recognise that attending a consultation can be a stressful experience for some people, which is why where there is sufficient available evidence, Personal Independence Payment assessments are carried out via a paper-based review. Where an assessment is required, claimants are encouraged to include another person where they would find this helpful, for example, by reassuring them or helping them during the consultation. The person chosen is at the discretion of the claimant and might be, but is not limited to, a parent, family member, friend, carer or advocate.

The Department’s Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising benefit services to improve customer experience, build trust in our services and the decisions we make, and create a more efficient service.

The Government believes there is a strong case to change the system of health and disability benefits across Great Britain so that it better enables people to enter and remain in work, and to respond to the complex and fluctuating nature of the health conditions many people live with today.

We will bring forward a Green Paper in spring 2025. We will listen to and engage with disabled people as we develop proposals for reform in this area and across the employment support system.

The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025

Between 2019 and 2023, the number of new HIV diagnoses increased slightly from 2,801 to 2,810, an increase of 0.3%. However, there was a 35% fall in new diagnoses in gay and bisexual men, from 1,242 in 2019 to 811 in 2023.

A monitoring and evaluation framework was published on 1 December 2024 to summarise progress, and this framework is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hiv-monitoring-and-evaluation-framework/hiv-action-plan-monitoring-and-evaluation-framework-2024-report#progress-towards-the-hiv-action-plan-ambitions-1

A new HIV Action plan will be published by the end of 2025.

The following table shows the number of HIV diagnoses, and the number of those diagnoses that were first diagnosed in the United Kingdom, for Bournemouth and the South West region, from 2019 to 2023:

Further information on the number of people diagnosed with HIV by local authority and health region is publicly available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth/data#page/4/gid/1938133286/pat/15/par/E92000001/ati/6/are/E12000009/iid/91818/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-do-0

The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. A new HIV Action Plan will be published in 2025.

The HIV Action Plan was written to be implemented at both the national and local level. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. Monthly figures for the number of people on the digital Healthy Start scheme are published on the NHS Healthy Start website, which is available at the following link:

https://www.healthystart.nhs.uk/healthcare-professionals/

The NHSBSA does not hold data on the number of families receiving Healthy Start, or on local constituencies specifically. The number of people on the scheme in March 2025 for all ward areas within Birmingham, Christchurch, and Poole was 1,507.

It is the responsibility of integrated care board (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, and should consider how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published national framework and operational guidance to help ICBs and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, and adults referred to an autism assessment service. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation, and how they might overcome these.

NHS England is also working with research organisations to explore evidence-based models that support improved outcomes for those people waiting for an autism assessment.

The NHS Dorset ICB advises that it has conducted a review with local partners and people with lived experience to help develop plans to improve services. The ICB plans to introduce a local tool, which will be available to people working with children and young people, to identify their individual needs and provide support ahead of assessment. The ICB further advises that it is looking at creating additional assessment appointments over the next two years, while it develops a longer-term plan to create neurodiversity services which are fit for the future and provide all local people with the support they need.

County lines is the most violent and exploitative model of drug distribution nationally, and a harmful form of Child Criminal Exploitation. We committed in our manifesto to go after the gangs who lure young people into violence and crime, and we will deliver a new offence of Child Criminal Exploitation in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill.

While the the majority of lines originate from the areas covered by the Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands Police, Merseyside Police, and Greater Manchester Police, county lines is a national issue which affects all forces. This is why, through the Home Office-funded County Lines Programme, we fund the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to monitor the intelligence picture and co-ordinate the national law enforcement response.

The County Lines Programme taskforces regularly conduct joint operations with other forces, and we have established a dedicated fund which provides local forces with additional funding to tackle county lines, including Dorset Police.

Between July and September 2024, policing activity delivered through the County Lines Programme has resulted in over 400 deal lines being closed, 500 arrests (including the arrest and charge of over 260 deal line holders) and 800 safeguarding referrals for children and vulnerable people. Over 220 children and young people have also received dedicated specialist support through our county lines support service since July.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.

​We will put thousands of neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.

We will introduce tougher powers to tackle antisocial behaviour via a Crime and Policing Bill, including a new Respect Order to tackle repeat offending. The introduction of Respect Orders will be announced when parliamentary time allows.

We know that drugs drive crime and cause harm to individuals and society. We will take action as part of our Safer Streets Mission to drive down crime and anti-social behaviour across the country including cracking down on the drug gangs profiting from this harmful trade.

This Government will treat tackling violence against women and girls as a national emergency and that includes improving the criminal justice system response to sexual assault and rape.

The Home Office publishes information on the number of sexual offences and rapes reported to and recorded by the police in England and Wales at Community Safety Partnership Area, Police Force Area and Region in our police recorded crime and open data tables which can be found here: Police recorded crime and outcomes open data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The data requested is also summarised in the tables below:

The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes identifying a range of options to reduce the use of hotels over time and ensuring efficiency and value for money across all accommodation arrangements.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Information on the location of individuals awaiting a decision on their asylum application is not published.

The government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly. This includes identifying a range of options to reduce the use of hotels over time and ensuring efficiency and value for money across all accommodation arrangements.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation, including hotels, can be found within the Asy_D11 tab for our most recent stats release: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Information on the location of individuals awaiting a decision on their asylum application is not published.