Mary Robinson

Getting children and young people back into education, with settings devoting time to supporting wellbeing, will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The return to school will allow social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. The department has now published detailed plans?for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance for schools is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

We have been working hard to ensure that all pupils and learners will return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion Covid catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.

As pupils return to school, staff need to be equipped to understand that some children and young people may be experiencing feelings in such as anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and that these are normal responses to an abnormal situation. Our Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Advice includes information about what to look for in terms of underlying mental health issues, linked to the graduated response and the support that might be suitable. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2.

From September, the Government is investing £8 million to launch the new Wellbeing for Education Return training programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This is additional to?longer term work to improve support, including?the?new?mental health support teams that we are rolling out?across the country,?linked to schools and colleges. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing.

The department in collaboration with Public Health England and NHS England, delivered two webinars in July to provide further mental health support. The first webinar was for schools and colleges?to support?teachers in?promoting?and supporting?the?mental wellbeing?of children and young people?during the COVID-19 outbreak.?The second event was for?stakeholders?across the local system?to?support?strengthening of local partnerships?to?further?support?children and young people’s mental health as they return to school. We had around 10,000 sign up to the first webinar and around 1,300 to the second, and they are now available online for wider use.

We continue to working in partnership across education, health, the voluntary sector and local authorities to ensure that children and young people, parents and carers, and the professionals supporting them:

• can access good-quality resources
• are confident in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing (as well as their own) and

• ensure access to specialist services when they’re needed.

Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS mental services remain open. All NHS mental health trusts are providing 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. The Government has also provided over £9 million to mental health charities to ensure they can continue to support people experiencing mental health challenges throughout the outbreak.

We are increasing funding to improve participation for 16 to 19 year olds, introducing T-Levels, investing in further education (FE) and providing support for college improvement.

The Office for Students and Ofsted hold higher education and FE providers to account for delivering quality and successful outcomes.

The Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework incentivises quality teaching, and new digital tools support student choice.

The UK government is deeply concerned about the allegations of incitement in the Palestinian Authority’s school textbooks.

The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns in a call to the Palestinian Authority’s Education Minister just last month, where they also discussed the Palestinian Authority’s own textbook review.

The Pension Schemes Act 2021 provides The Pensions Regulator with new powers to target people who intentionally or knowingly mishandle pension schemes, or put workers’ pensions at risk.

There is currently no agreement in place specifically for the purpose of UK nationals buying homes in Croatia and vice versa. The FCDO is actively working to try and find a solution to ensure that British Nationals who wish to purchase property in Croatia are able to do so.

As amended in the other place, the Financial Services and Markets Bill protects free access to cash by requiring the Financial Conduct Authority to seek to ensure that, in the United Kingdom, there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities for personal current accounts with relevant providers.

The UK is working with Allies to ensure NATO continues to protect the Euro-Atlantic area from current and future threats. At the Summit on 14 June, leaders agreed new proposals on deterrence and defence, emerging and disruptive technology, resilience, strengthening relationships with NATO Partners and climate security. NATO remains the cornerstone of our defence and the UK is the leading European Ally in the Alliance.

All tenants should have access to a good quality and safe home, which is why we have for the private rented sector strengthened councils’ enforcement powers, introducing penalties of up to £30,000, extending rent repayment orders and introduced banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders.

We published our white paper in June setting out plans to deliver a Fairer Private Rented Sector, raising the bar on quality. In September we consulted on the introduction of a Decent Home Standard in the private rented sector. The consultation closed on 14 October, and we are considering responses.

Each application we receive to the fund is assessed against its potential for community benefit and how this will be sustained through community ownership.

Each of the 22 bids funded so far will be closely monitored to assess their impact on community cohesion. My department will run a full evaluation of the four-year programme.