Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will publish the data her Department collected on the costs of applications for (a) therapeutic interventions and (b) specialist assessments funded by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department published management data from the adoption and special guardianship support fund for the first time in September 2024 and is planning to publish updated data for 2024/25 in the autumn. This will include cost information data.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the (a) financial and (b) related professional services industry is represented on the Defence Industrial Joint Council.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) aims to harness a wide and diverse set of expertise to shape the future of Britain's defence manufacturing, supply chain and innovation. The DIJC's top-level council is comprised of experts from across the sector, including representatives from the finance and investor community (Kerry Baldwin, IQ Capital and Dame Fiona Murray, NATO Innovation Fund). The membership of the DIJC runs on a principle of rotation, with all appointments for an initial tenure of 12 months. The financial sector will have opportunities for participation in DIJC initiatives as these are stood up.

The DIJC has strong links through its membership to the CBI-led Defence Economic Growth Taskforce, an initiative that is mobilising defence and finance leaders, to shape the UK's future prosperity and is co-chaired by the Chancellor and Defence Secretary.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of top-up funding for therapeutic support over the Fair Access Limit from (a) local authorities and (b) adoption agencies in this financial year.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not collect information from local authorities and regional adoption agencies on whether, and if so, to what extent, they are adding financial top-ups to the therapeutic support available through the fair access limit.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of disputes involving religious communities in the Bukovina region of Ukraine; and what steps he is taking to support freedom of religion or belief in the area.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Ukraine. Ukraine's democracy is well known for its commitment to religious pluralism. The UK regularly engages with Ukrainian religious groups and the Government of Ukraine on this issue, including on Law 8371 which mandates that religious organisations must cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. The Ukrainian Government and religious leaders have offered reassurances that the law responds to clear national security threats. In February, a delegation of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches met Parliamentarians and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials to discuss religious persecution in the temporarily occupied territories, and Law 8371.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of hours of therapy an applicant to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund would receive using this year’s Fair Access Limit should they also require a specialist assessment costing the average amount calculated by her Department; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of this.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The number of hours of therapy available to a child after a specialist assessment funded by the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) is dependent on a variety of factors. This includes the cost of the therapy and in which financial year the specialist assessment was completed. It is also important to note that additional funding may be made available by the local authority or regional adoption agency beyond that provided by the ASGSF, therefore increasing the amount of therapy available, should the specialist assessment recommend this.

Specialist assessments vary in cost, although the maximum the department can fund is £2,500 and the current average spend is slightly below this. If the maximum is used on a specialist assessment, this will clearly limit the amount of therapy which can be funded under the Fair Access Limit in the same financial year.

Outcomes measurement tool (OMT) data enables the adequacy of ASGSF-funded support to be monitored at local and national level. The department started to collect data from OMTs for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment concludes, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies. We are currently developing tools and methods for assessing this emerging information.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58204 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF), what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the provision of updated guidance local authorities on the provision of adoption support services.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues over a range of important matters.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 62928 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will place in the Library a copy of the equalities impact assessment for the changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund before the summer recess.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The equalities impact assessment for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses shortly.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic démarches his department has delivered to advance religious freedom during bilateral visits to Vietnam.

Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I pressed the Vietnamese Government to respect people's rights to speak freely, to meet in groups, and to practice their religion during my October 2024 visit to Vietnam. I followed up with my counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Hang, on 17 March and will keep raising this with Vietnam alongside our Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion and Belief, David Smith MP. The UK-Vietnam Strategic Partnership includes cooperation on human rights, including concerns about religious freedom.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question HL9069 on Epilepsy and Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate, how many women prescribed Valproate (a) received the pregnancy prevention programme and (b) signed the acknowledgement of risk form.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

There is no central record of the number of women who have ‘received’ the Pregnancy Prevention Programme, nor whether they have signed the Annual Risk Acknowledgement Form.

Responsibility for the implementation of the new regulatory measures relating to valproate was assigned to integrated care boards (ICBs) in November 2023, via a National Patient Safety alert, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/national-patient-safety-alert-valproate-organisations-to-prepare-for-new-regulatory-measures-for-oversight-of-prescribing-to-new-patients-and-existing-female-patients-natpsa-slash-2023-slash-013-slash-mhra

ICBs across the country have taken action in response to this alert. The Cheshire and Mersey ICB is a particular exemplar. NHS England monitors primary care prescribing and the exposure to valproate during pregnancy using the Medicines in Pregnancy Registry, with further information available at the following link:

https://tabanalytics.data.england.nhs.uk/t/Public/views/MedsPreg/TitlePage?%3Aembed=y&%3Aiid=1&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y

This shows a significant reduction in the number of pregnancies during which valproate may have been taken. In the last six-month reporting period, the data indicates that there were up to 11 pregnancies during which valproate may have been prescribed. This is across a population of approximately 15,000 women between the ages of 13 to 54 years old who are prescribed valproate each month.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 65744 on Special Educational Needs: Foetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder, if her Department will take steps to include the number of children with foetal valproate spectrum disorder in future statistic reports.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not have any plans to collect information on the numbers of children with special educational needs (SEN) who have foetal valproate spectrum disorder.

The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with foetal valproate spectrum disorder. The SEND code of practice makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the decline of freedom of religion or belief for religious minorities under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Afghanistan is a focus country in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) new approach to freedom of religion or belief, announced by the UK Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, on 8 July. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, most recently in July. We continue to support the UN Special Rapporteur and his mandate to document human rights abuses in Afghanistan, including against minority groups. Without truly inclusive governance that reflects the religious, ethnic, gender and cultural diversity of Afghanistan, we will never see an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to make a decision on the future of (a) UKHSA Porton Down and (b) the single science hub at Harrow.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

On 17 July 2025, my rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced that the Government will proceed with plans to develop new state-of-the-art scientific facilities at Harlow, Essex. The move to Harlow will only affect UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) staff and therefore anyone on the site employed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory will be unaffected.

The Harlow site, with its proximity to the Oxford-Cambridge Investment Corridor, also represents a significant growth opportunity. Moving UKHSA facilities to the area will unlock opportunities for partnerships with industry and academia.

This process will not be immediate. We expect the new site at Harlow to open in stages, beginning in the mid-2030s and concluding by 2038, and therefore given the criticality of the work carried out at both Colindale and Porton Down, these two sites will remain open until that time. UKHSA staff will receive extensive support throughout the next decade on this transition.

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