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.

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Dorking and Horley) Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat; Carshalton and Wallington) John Glen

Found: present: Dame Meg Hillier (Chair); Dame Harriett Baldwin; Rachel Blake; Chris Coghlan; Bobby Dean; John Glen

Found: Q16 John Glen: But it is not really explicit, is it?

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Dorking and Horley) Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat; Carshalton and Wallington) John Glen

Found: (Liberal Democrat; Dorking and Horley) Bobby Dean (Liberal Democrat; Carshalton and Wallington) John Glen

Found: Q13 John Glen: I am just a bit confused, really.

Found: From 25 October 2022 to 5 July 2024 Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office Rt Hon John Glen