Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children ceased being looked after as of 31 March 2025 because (a) they returned home to live with parents or other person with parental responsibility, (b) are subject to a special guardianship order and (c) a residence order or child arrangement order was granted, broken down by local authority.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on children looked after is published in the annual statistical release available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024. The latest available data on children ceasing care and the reasons they left care for the reporting year ending 31 March 2025 can be found in table ‘CLA ceasing during the year - characteristics - by local authority’ in the latest statistical release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6095935f-9f20-411c-35c4-08de9a2bfa8c.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2025 had also previously been in (a) an unrelated foster placement, (b) another family and friends care placement, (c) a children's home and (d) other provision for looked-after children; and if she will provide this data at (i) national, (ii) regional and (iii) local authority area level.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on children looked after is published in the annual statistical release available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024.
Full information on the former placement arrangements of children looked after who are in a relative or friend foster placement is not held in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, analysts in the department would not be able to provide this information you have requested without exceeding the cost threshold applicable to central government.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2020, in each local authority; and in each year prior as far back as comparable statistical information is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2025, in each local authority.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency's complaints procedures for candidates who experience inappropriate behaviour from driving examiners.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has a published complaints process which enables driving test candidates to raise concerns about the standard of service they have received, including the behaviour of driving examiners. Complaints about driving tests and the conduct of examiners are considered and investigated in line with this procedure.
Candidates who are dissatisfied with DVSA’s response after completing the final stage of the Agency’s complaints process may ask for their complaint to be reviewed by an Independent Complaints Assessor.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what measures the Government is considering to lower the cost of building new properties in marsh land areas in order to ensure they can be competitive in low value areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has no current plans to directly intervene to lower the cost of building new properties in marsh land areas.
We are taking decisive action across a wide range of areas to support housebuilding across the country, including in lower value areas.
The Brownfield Land Release Fund provides funding to local planning authorities to help address market failures and viability gaps on small to medium sized brownfield sites.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made on developing the Able Humber Ports site at Killingholme following the awarding of the Industrial Strategy Zone Site Accelerator Grant funding.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As one of the twenty-two Industrial Strategy Zones across the UK, Humber Freeport was awarded £490,000 of Site Accelerator Grant to progress vital work to unlock a new quay and offshore wind supply‑chain hub at Immingham.
Alongside the private sector investment at Killingholme – this will unlock wider benefits for the region that will create jobs, support decarbonisation, and deliver long‑term economic growth across the Humber.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent to which foster carers approved by independent fostering agencies receive equivalent support from local authorities compared with in house foster carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Fostering is a challenging role that requires skills and dedication from those who foster, and it is crucial that foster carers receive the support they need to enable them to fulfil this role.
The National Minimum Standards (NMS) for fostering sets out the minimum expectations for the support, supervision and training that all fostering services must provide to foster carers, ensuring consistently high quality care for children. The NMS sets out the expectation that each foster carer receives at least the national minimum allowance for the child in their care.
We have committed to reviewing and updating the NMS as part of our wider programme of reforms. The government’s action plan published in February 2026, ‘Renewing Fostering: Homes for 10,000 More Children’, sets out our approach to recruiting more foster carers, and strengthening support for foster families. This includes the development of an enhanced training and support package for foster carers, which will be rolled out from 2026/27.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the dissolution of NHS Protect on levels of violence against NHS workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Violence Prevention and Reduction (VPR) Standard was initiated in 2019 following the cessation of NHS Protect in 2017.
The VPR standard provides employers with guidance and resources to support them in their development of local strategies to prevent and reduce violence. The standard was refreshed in partnership with the Social Partnership Forum in December 2024. Additionally, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, accepted all recommendations related to additional action on violence prevention and reduction on 9 April 2025, as part of the Agenda for Change Pay Deal. These measures will be further strengthened by the introduction of a new set of staff standards at the national level, as detailed in the 10-Year Health Plan.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what methodology his Department used to calculate tariffs set out in the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service for (a) joint injections and (b) minor surgical excisions.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Practices sign up to deliver the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service. The Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) Directions 2025 set out the national requirements for the Minor Surgery Directed Enhanced Service, with further information available at the following link:
However, please note that the service specification and payment arrangements for this directed enhanced service are determined locally by commissioners.