Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will give an update on her progress of appointment of an expert advisory group for the development of CCTV guidance for the early years sector.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The ‘Early years foundation stage’ statutory framework requires early years providers to have safeguarding policies that address the use of mobile phones, cameras, and other electronic devices with imaging and sharing capabilities. Decisions about installing and using CCTV are for individual providers, subject to safeguarding and data protection requirements.
As part of the department’s ongoing review of safeguarding requirements in early years settings, an expert advisory panel will be appointed to inform sector guidance on the safe and effective use of digital devices and CCTV within safeguarding. This guidance will consider whether CCTV should be mandated and will set out best practice, technical advice and clear expectations.
The department is working at pace to establish the expert advisory panel and ensure we have the most suitable experts and groups represented to ensure that the guidance is high quality and evidence informed. We will provide more details in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Rochester and Strood constituency.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age.
Estimates can be made with ONS 2022 Census Data of how many women born in the 1950s were resident in each constituency in that year.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what information his Department holds on the reasons that the findings of the 2007 research report did not lead to a targeted public communications campaign to affected women.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age.
This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time.
The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Written Statement UIN HCWS1044 on Pensions Update of 11 November 2025, what estimate his Department has made of the potential costs of delivering compensation in line with the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report on Women’s State Pension age communications; and what mechanisms for delivering that compensation he is considering.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Secretary of State set out on 11 November 2025, we are retaking the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that the government give this full and proper consideration.
Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that they should award financial redress.
We will update the House on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure adequate workforce capability to deliver (i) infrastructure and (ii) construction projects, in the context of recent cuts announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to the availability of funding for skills development and training in the built environment sector.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 23 March 2025, the Government announced a construction support package worth £625 million to address the shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector. This investment forms a key part of our broader strategy to advance national infrastructure projects, achieve ambitious housing targets, and facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy.
The changes announced by the Construction Industry and Training Board to its funding and grant system are intended to maximise the value for industry of the levy funding it receives from employers, in response to a significant increase in demand for its services over recent years. The changes prioritise training with the greatest level of impact on skills gaps, including maintaining support for apprenticeships.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how people will access professional careers advice within the new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are committed to continuing the delivery of high quality, impartial careers advice in the new Jobs and Careers Service through professionally qualified careers advisers and recognise that their expertise is essential to enabling the government’s mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. We will ensure that anyone will be able to access support, including through the channel that best meets their needs.
In spring 2026, we will publish a report setting out more detail on how we will deliver the new Jobs and Careers Service. This report will bring together the evidence available and show how it has informed, and will continue to inform, the design and development of the new service. We will set out how we will focus on providing genuine, personalised employment support and careers advice, along with a clear outline of the support that people might expect to receive under the new service.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many professionally qualified Level 6 and 7 careers advisers the National Careers Service employs; and how this number will change under the planned new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Accurate information on the number of level 6 and 7 qualified careers advisers employed by the National Careers Service is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Following a Written Ministerial Statement made on 16th September 2025 (HCWS930), responsibility for adult skills in England transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The current National Careers Service contracts with the Department for Education (DfE) are due to expire on 30th September 2026 and adult careers advice will be brought in house to DWP from 1st October 2026.
The implications of this change in service arrangements will be worked through carefully with the relevant organisations, and where the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) TUPE Regulations apply, they will be followed.
Consequently, we will not know the number of level 6 and 7 advisers under the new Jobs and Careers Service until the process is complete and the new service starts.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
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 10 October 2025 to Question 80707 on Hospitals: Special Educational Needs, if he will publish a breakdown by region of the over three million people who have completed the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. The Government is rolling out its preferred package, the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training (Oliver’s Training) on Learning Disability and Autism, to the health and adult social care workforce.
Oliver’s Training is delivered in two tiers, depending on the level most appropriate for staff. Tier 1 is for general awareness and Tier 2 is a more detailed understanding of learning disability and autism. Each tier is comprised of an e-learning module and either a one-hour webinar, which is Tier 1, or a full-day in-person session, which is Tier 2, delivered alongside people with a learning disability and autistic people.
Information about uptake of Oliver’s Training is collected locally by employers. Over three million people have completed the e-learning package, the first part of the training, which is the same for both tiers. More than 2,700 people have been trained to deliver the second, interactive part of the training nationwide.
Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to families whose relatives have died abroad in suspicious circumstances.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise how heartbreaking it is for families in Britain when their loved ones die in suspicious circumstances overseas, and they are left desperate for support and for answers. When the worst happens, Foreign Office staff are available around the clock, with dedicated teams ready to help families navigate local legal systems, to advise on repatriation and connect them to professional support services But we know there is always room to improve this service, and my door is always open to members of this House to discuss specific cases on behalf of their constituents.Asked by: Lauren Edwards (Labour - Rochester and Strood)
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 ensure that hospice contracts reflect (a) the cost of the services they provide and (b) the needs of their local populations.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. NHS England has developed a palliative care and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative care and end of life care needs of their local population.
Whilst the majority of palliative care and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
The Government and the NHS will closely monitor the shift towards the strategic commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services to ensure that services reduce variation in access and quality, although some variation may be appropriate to reflect both innovation and the needs of local populations.
The Department and NHS England are currently looking at how to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of all-age palliative care and end of life care in line with the 10-Year Health Plan.
Additionally, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for eligible adult and children’s hospices in England to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
We are also providing £26 million in revenue funding to support children and young people’s hospices for 2025/26. I can also now confirm the continuation of this vital funding for the three years of the next Spending Review period, from 2026/27 to 2028/29 inclusive. This funding will see approximately £26 million, adjusted for inflation, allocated to children and young people’s hospices in England each year, via their local ICBs and on behalf of NHS England, as happened in 2024/25 and 2025/26. This amounts to approximately £80 million over the next three years.