Manuela Perteghella

The Government recognises that care leavers have some of the worst long-term life outcomes in society. We are therefore committed to ensuring children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships and are engaged in education, employment and training. Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill we will be driving forward our commitments on children’s social care, including improved support for care leavers. We have also established a care leaver Ministerial Board, which brings together Ministers from key Departments, to improve support for care leavers across Government.

We are determined to tackle stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced young people. We want to create a culture where all those who play a role in the lives of children in care and care leavers are ambitious for them to reach their full potential. While we do not have plans to make care-experience a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010, we are committed to extending corporate parenting responsibilities to government departments and relevant public bodies to ensure that services and support to children in care and care leavers better take account of the challenges they face.

There are multiple targeted schemes to deliver energy efficiency measures to low-income and fuel poor households. The Warm Home Discount schemes also provide a £150 rebate off bills to eligible low-income households across Great Britain.

The Government has kickstarted delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years, helping around 225,000 households reduce their energy bills by around £200.

We will consult shortly on proposals for privately rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We are also reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy.

The government remains committed to delivering economic growth across all regions of the UK. We are working with local leaders in the West Midlands to develop their local growth plans, through which we will seek to make research and innovation the foundation of future growth in the region.

DSIT’s Innovation Accelerator programme is empowering local businesses, universities, and civic leaders in the West Midlands to work together to catalyse innovation-led local growth, supported by around £33 million of public funding that is supporting projects in health and clean technology such as the Biochar Clean Tech Accelerator.

We are committed to giving British creators increased security at work and providing the creative industries with a regulatory and fiscal environment where their imagination and innovation can flourish.

A significant proportion (28%) of the creative industries workforce is self-employed. As outlined in the Plan to Make Work Pay, we will support and champion self-employed workers by strengthening rights and protections to help them thrive. This includes the right to a written contract; action to tackle late payments; and extending health and safety and blacklisting protections to self-employed workers. Self-employed workers will also benefit from our plans to strengthen trade union rights. We will also explore how to implement the targeted and specific manifesto commitments to enhance protections for self-employed workers through consultation.

We are working with creative industry stakeholders to consider the recommendations of the Good Work Review, a sectoral deep dive funded by DCMS into job quality and working practice. This sets out a number of priorities, including developing dedicated support and guidance for self-employed creators. We are working closely with the sector as it responds to these recommendations.

DCMS and its public bodies, including Arts Council England and the British Film Institute, are taking proactive steps to support self-employed workers in the creative industries with Arts Council England supporting more than 1,200 individual practitioners through National Lottery Project Grants totalling almost £30 million, and more than 1,200 individuals through the £14.5 million Developing Your Creative Practice Programme.

This Government is working collaboratively across departments to look at how best to help touring artists, and improve arrangements for musicians, performing artists and their support staff being able to tour across the EU.

The Government provides support for UK artists through initiatives such as the Music Export Growth Scheme, co-funded by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and the International Showcase Fund, which is funded by the DBT. These schemes are designed to help artists access international markets, expand their reach, and promote the UK’s creative talent globally.

We will engage with the new European Commission and EU Member States, seeking improved arrangements across the European continent without a return to free movement. Our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to thrive on the global stage.

I refer the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits. There are a number of strong links with attainment, such as the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study report, which found a 34 point difference in reading performance between pupils in England who “very much” liked reading and pupils who “do not” like reading. Additionally, the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment study found that enjoyment of reading links to pupils’ reading engagement, and that reading engagement was strongly positively correlated with reading performance. There is also a strong evidence base linking reading for pleasure with other positive effects, such as expanding pupils’ knowledge about the world and about language, as well as their understanding of subject-specific academic and technical vocabulary.

Furthermore, pupils who read regularly report heightened levels of social and emotional wellbeing. For many, reading is a form of relaxation, a place to escape everyday challenges, or a source of entertainment. Reading allows readers to adopt new perspectives, develop empathy and become more socially conscious.

In recognition of this, the department has implemented a range of measures to support reading for pleasure. The English Hubs programme supports the teaching of phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure, with £23 million committed for the 2024/25 academic year to support this work. Furthermore, the government’s reading framework provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading, to ensure that every child is not only able to read proficiently but also develops a genuine love of reading.

On 5 February, the government announced a £2 million investment to drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. Building on the success of phonics, teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in reception and year 1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme.

In secondary school, teachers will be offered new training and resources this year to help them support readers at all levels, and next year the department will commission further training that will be focused specifically on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind.

The current national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, in line with the government’s ambition for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.

The government’s first mission is to kickstart economic growth. Across the country skills gaps are holding back business growth and the government has committed to widening the apprenticeships offer into a levy-funded growth and skills offer.

Our levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England, aligned with our industrial strategy creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country, and providing high-quality entry pathways for young people.

In addition, as Skills England have highlighted, employer demand for higher technical skills at levels 4 and 5 is growing. The department is supporting employers to meet the need for higher technical skills, with over 150 apprenticeship standards approved for delivery at levels 4 and 5. Skills England will also help to ensure that there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need.

In December the government published its Plan for Change, which outlines the priority deliverable for the Opportunity Mission is for a record number of children to be starting school ready to learn, measured by attainment against the early learning goals. This is key to breaking the link between young people’s background and their success. The department is hugely ambitious for the early years because we know how important this is for parents and their children.

It is important that the funded childcare hours are accessible and affordable for all families that need them. That is why the government is taking action to tackle reported instances of parents facing very high additional charges on top of the funded entitlement hours. These could include extra charges for nappies, lunch or other ‘consumables’, which should not be made a condition of accessing a funded place. It is also important that any additional charges are completely transparent to parents.

As part of the department’s regular review of the early years statutory guidance for local authorities, we have engaged with local authorities, providers and groups representing parents to clarify our statutory guidance on charging, including on so-called ‘top up fees’, and are considering how the department can better support local authorities to protect parents from overcharging.

The department will publish its updated statutory guidance in due course.

In December the government published its Plan for Change, which outlines the priority deliverable for the Opportunity Mission is for a record number of children to be starting school ready to learn, measured by attainment against the early learning goals. This is key to breaking the link between young people’s background and their success. The department is hugely ambitious for the early years because we know how important this is for parents and their children.

It is important that the funded childcare hours are accessible and affordable for all families that need them. That is why the government is taking action to tackle reported instances of parents facing very high additional charges on top of the funded entitlement hours. These could include extra charges for nappies, lunch or other ‘consumables’, which should not be made a condition of accessing a funded place. It is also important that any additional charges are completely transparent to parents.

As part of the department’s regular review of the early years statutory guidance for local authorities, we have engaged with local authorities, providers and groups representing parents to clarify our statutory guidance on charging, including on so-called ‘top up fees’, and are considering how the department can better support local authorities to protect parents from overcharging.

The department will publish its updated statutory guidance in due course.

An enhanced risk-based approach is already undertaken at the UK border, where regulated plants and plant products have been categorised into high, medium, and low risk categories. The principle of risk-based controls, as previously applied under the EU regime, remains unchanged, but the GB regime now focuses on risks to Great Britain, rather than risks to the EU. Controls are then appropriately weighted against the risks posed – so the higher the risk category of a plant or plant product, the more biosecurity assurances we need, in the form of import controls. There are also plants and plant products which are not regulated at all, and those that are prohibited entirely.

We undertake systematic, proactive screening of plant health risks. Risks are reviewed monthly by an expert group and Ministers, and prioritised for actions such as surveillance, enhanced inspection, regulation, national measures, import controls, research and awareness raising.

Ensuring the most appropriate risk categorisation and rate of inspection is important, from a biosecurity perspective, but also to avoid unnecessary disruption to our critical supply chains and ports. Risk categorisation will remain dynamic and Defra will monitor import and interception data and Inspection rates may change in response to changes in risk, for example, an upsurge of interceptions of pests or a new threat emerging.

Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM), including the Border Control Post at Sevington. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity. The effectiveness of the import controls has been demonstrated throughout September and October by the interception at Sevington of 34 consignments of plants infested with Pochazia Shantungensis, a fruit tree pest native to China but now present in mainland Europe. The consignments were destroyed, preventing the potential for a damaging outbreak for UK fruit growers.

The BTOM is designed to assure the biosecurity of commercial imports. Illegal imports of products of animal origin are dealt with through intelligence led checks, conducted at the border by Border Force, in Border Force facilities, with the assistance of Port Health Authorities.

The Government has taken immediate and substantial action to address water companies who are not performing for the environment or their customers. In July, we announced swift action to begin resetting the water sector, including ringfencing vital funding for infrastructure investment and placing customers and the environment at the heart of water company objectives.

In September, the Government introduced the Water (Special Measures) Bill to give regulators new powers to take tougher and faster action to crack down on water companies damaging the environment and failing their customers. 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.

The Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was published last year. A GB-wide farmed trout joint Government and industry working group is now examining the issues raised in the report to explore the potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. The Scottish Government are also working closely with the salmon industry.

In line with the Fisheries Act 2020 the Government is making progress delivering Fisheries Management Plans which maintain or restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. Through fisheries negotiations with coastal states our objective is to set Total Allowable Catches in line with the best scientific advice to make sure that stocks are managed over the long term within sustainable limits whilst ensuring stock-building initiatives account for socio-economic considerations.

The previous Government weakened the regulators and failed to hold water companies to account.

The new Government’s water (Special Measures) Bill will give Ofwat tough new powers to hold water companies to account where they do not deliver for customers and the environment.

This Bill is just the start of the fundamental and much broader transformation that the Government will lead for the water industry.

The Government will carry out a review to shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

We recognise the role small airfields play in General Aviation as a gateway for individuals to develop their career aspirations in the aviation sector. Ministers do not routinely intervene in local planning and any consideration of directions to modify local plans including the closure of airfields will be made by the local planning authority in accordance with relevant legislation.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the independent aviation safety regulator and as part of their role oversee the approval of training organisations who may operate from small training airfields. In circumstances where a flying training organisation ceases operation, the CAA would work with affected trainees to find new training solutions for each of them where required.

The Government is responsible for setting the regulatory structure within which licensing authorities in England administer the taxi and private hire vehicle licensing regime. Under this system licensing authorities have the flexibility to set standards they consider appropriate.

The Department for Transport has however issued statutory and best practice guidance to assist licensing authorities with this function, to promote safe and accessible services through proportionate regulation. This should increase consistency in requirements and policies for taxis and private hire vehicles.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, often at significant profit. The agency encourages all customers to book a test through the official channel on GOV.UK where customers can book, change and cancel tests. The agency does not license any service to resell test slots.

DVSA is deploying enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.

DVSA has had a number of external reviews of its bot mitigation methodology and approach. To date, none of the reviews have indicated any improvement was necessary or suggested changes in approach.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests, often at significant profit. The agency encourages all customers to book a test through the official channel on GOV.UK where customers can book, change and cancel tests. The agency does not license any service to resell test slots.

DVSA is deploying enhanced bot protection on its public facing booking system to stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing and DVSA continues to take steps to block cancellation services from accessing the booking system.

DVSA has had a number of external reviews of its bot mitigation methodology and approach. To date, none of the reviews have indicated any improvement was necessary or suggested changes in approach.

Chiltern’s current timetable offers a service between London and Stratford Upon Avon with one change.

Whilst noting that this is not a direct service, timetable decisions are for operators to make, balancing passenger demand, track availability, infrastructure constraints, and operational considerations. With these considerations in place, the operator has no current plans to offer a direct service from London Marylebone.

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers.

The Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with Ministerial colleagues on a range of issues affecting those receiving social security benefits, including those which may bring with them an entitlement to additional support from other Departments, and how such services can be delivered more effectively.

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

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.

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were restored to the 30th percentile of local market rents from April 2024 for one year.

Decisions on LHA for future years will be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, housing priorities, and the fiscal context.

As not all new UC customers require the same level of immediate support, replacing every new customer’s advance with a UC grant would lead to significantly increased expenditure and the potential for increased fraud and error in the social security system.

We are committed to reviewing Universal Credit, to make sure it is doing the job we want it to. We will set out the details of this in due course.

The Secretary of State has an obligation to protect public funds and to ensure that, wherever possible, an overpayment is recovered. It is our policy to recover all debt where it is reasonable and cost effective to do so. Debts should be recovered as quickly and cost effectively as possible without causing undue financial hardship.

There are no plans to write off overpayments made in error.

Individual employers are responsible for the health and safety of their staff, and they put in place many measures to ensure their health and safety, including appropriate security, training, and emotional support for staff affected by violence.

To support them, NHS England is working on initiatives to prevent and reduce violence and aggression from patients, their families, and the public. In December 2024, NHS England updated its violence prevention standard. This sets out guidance for employers to help them identify risks and develop local policies for dealing with violence and supporting staff.

Regulation 238 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 provides an exemption from certain requirements related to the administration of medicines and allows administration of adrenaline for the purpose of saving a life in an emergency. The provision under Regulation 238 should be reserved only for exceptional circumstances that could not have been foreseen.

In November 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Commission on Human Medicine’s Adrenaline Auto-injector Expert Working Group, with wide-ranging input from patient groups, leading allergy experts and healthcare professionals, published a report which outlined recommendations for the safe and effective use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), including quicker treatment, to help save lives. MHRA has worked alongside the Department and wider health system to take forward these recommendations, some of which are already in place.

In June 2023, MHRA, with the support of allergy awareness advocates, launched a safety campaign to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and provide advice on the use of AAIs. MHRA produced a toolkit of resources for health and social care professionals to support the safe and effective use of AAIs. Alongside this, MHRA produced guidance, which states that prescribers should prescribe two AAIs to make sure patients always have the second dose and that those who are prescribed AAIs should carry two AAIs at all times.

Ambulance staff are trained in how to treat a range of conditions, including anaphylaxis. Treatment options may include a dose of adrenalin via a syringe or use of AAIs.

A public consultation would be needed before a decision can be made on the wider availability of AAIs in public places, including with first aid organisations, together with legislative change.

The Community First Responder (CFR) programme enables volunteers trained by the ambulance service to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work. CFRs have had first aid training but are not medically trained. CFRs are trained in the administration of a patient’s own AAI, which would ensure the correct medication and dose for that patient. In general, CFRs do not carry medication.

In November 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Commission on Human Medicine’s Adrenaline Auto-injector Expert Working Group, with wide-ranging input from patient groups, leading allergy experts and healthcare professionals, published a report which outlined recommendations for the safe and effective use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), including quicker treatment, to help save lives. MHRA has worked alongside the Department and the wider health system to take forward these recommendations, some of which are already in place.

In June 2023, MHRA, with the support of allergy awareness advocates, launched a safety campaign to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and provide advice on the use of AAIs. MHRA produced a toolkit of resources for health and social care professionals to support the safe and effective use of AAIs. Alongside this, MHRA produced guidance, which states that prescribers should prescribe two AAIs to make sure patients always have the second dose and that those who are prescribed AAIs should carry two AAIs at all times.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced guidance on assessment and referral for anaphylaxis. It aims to improve the quality of care for people with suspected anaphylaxis by detailing the assessments that are needed and recommending referral to specialist allergy services after emergency treatment.

Most community pharmacies offer vaccinations. As part of offering this service, pharmacy contractors are expected to recognise and treat anaphylaxis. They must have immediate access to an anaphylaxis pack, including adrenaline. They are required to undertake training to administer adrenaline from an ampoule using a needle and AAIs in case of anaphylactic reactions.

Data regarding all anaphylaxis-related deaths in England and Wales are documented by the Office for National Statistics, and the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology also holds a register to capture and learn fatal cases of anaphylaxis which has been operational since 1992, the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Register (UKFAR).

Regarding the reporting of anaphylaxis in hospitals, NHS England’s National Patient Safety Team is working with the UKFAR to develop a mechanism for sharing relevant patient safety anaphylaxis incidents. The aim will be for the UKFAR to extract and share patient safety incidents reported to the national databases, the National Reporting and Learning System and Learn from Patient Safety Events, relating to severe allergic reactions.