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 applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund were awarded where (a) local authorities and (b) regional adoption agencies were required to match-fund the application due to an exceptional case involving urgent need for higher-cost support exceeding the fair access limit in the financial year 2024–25 by (i) whether the child has been adopted, (ii) whether the child is subject to a (A) special guardianship and (B) child arrangements order and (iii) region.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The available information is detailed in the tables below.
Number of applications* approved in the 2024/25 financial year with therapy service costs totalled by placement type:
Placement type | Less than £3,000 | Between £3,000 and £5,000 |
i. Adoption (Domestic and Inter Country) | 8,369 | 7,091 |
iii. Special Guardianship Order | 2,179 | 1,895 |
iv. Child Arrangements Order/ Residency Order | 34 | 27 |
*The data presented is the number of approved applications with therapy service costs. Please note that an individual application could have multiple recipients with multiple placement types and access the Fair Access Limit from multiple years.
** No data for ‘(ii) children waiting to be adopted’ as adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) doesn’t include this as a placement type.
There were 3069 approved applications and 3319 funded recipients for Specialist Assessments in the 2024/25 financial year.
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 applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund were awarded for therapy support costing (a) less than £3,000 per year per child and (b) between £3,000 and £5,000 per year per child to (i) adopted children, (ii) children waiting to be adopted, (iii) children subject to a special guardianship and (iv) children subject to other arrangement orders in the financial year 2024–25.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The available information is detailed in the tables below.
Number of applications* approved in the 2024/25 financial year with therapy service costs totalled by placement type:
Placement type | Less than £3,000 | Between £3,000 and £5,000 |
i. Adoption (Domestic and Inter Country) | 8,369 | 7,091 |
iii. Special Guardianship Order | 2,179 | 1,895 |
iv. Child Arrangements Order/ Residency Order | 34 | 27 |
*The data presented is the number of approved applications with therapy service costs. Please note that an individual application could have multiple recipients with multiple placement types and access the Fair Access Limit from multiple years.
** No data for ‘(ii) children waiting to be adopted’ as adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) doesn’t include this as a placement type.
There were 3069 approved applications and 3319 funded recipients for Specialist Assessments in the 2024/25 financial year.
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 applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund were awarded for specialist assessments of children in the financial year 2024–25.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The available information is detailed in the tables below.
Number of applications* approved in the 2024/25 financial year with therapy service costs totalled by placement type:
Placement type | Less than £3,000 | Between £3,000 and £5,000 |
i. Adoption (Domestic and Inter Country) | 8,369 | 7,091 |
iii. Special Guardianship Order | 2,179 | 1,895 |
iv. Child Arrangements Order/ Residency Order | 34 | 27 |
*The data presented is the number of approved applications with therapy service costs. Please note that an individual application could have multiple recipients with multiple placement types and access the Fair Access Limit from multiple years.
** No data for ‘(ii) children waiting to be adopted’ as adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) doesn’t include this as a placement type.
There were 3069 approved applications and 3319 funded recipients for Specialist Assessments in the 2024/25 financial year.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any funding his Department has provided for Greater Lincolnshire devolution is ringfenced for net zero initiatives.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the important role of local places, including Greater Lincolnshire, in driving action to help realise our national net zero targets. The English Devolution Whitepaper sets out the Departments approach to English Devolution.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what guidance he has issued to local authorities on reporting requirements for net zero targets.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the important role of local places in driving action to support net zero targets. Whilst we do not require Local Government to report on their net zero work, we run a Local Net Zero Delivery Group to discuss key net zero policy and delivery issues - this helps to inform our understanding of net zero action and share best practice at the local level.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps her Department has taken to help ensure that individuals carrying out jury duty do not experience financial hardship.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jury service is a vital civic duty, and the Government is committed to ensuring jurors feel supported throughout their service. Jurors can claim subsistence and travel expenses, as well as a loss of earnings allowance from the court. The jury summoning process provides for applications for deferral or excusal from service based upon financial hardship.
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 need for Commissioner intervention in Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, in the context of the absence of senior leadership.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently temporary senior leadership arrangements in place at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and NHS England’s North East and Yorkshire Regional Team continue to provide ongoing support to the trust, ensuring that the temporary acting arrangements are successfully in place and offering any additional support that is required.
NHS England will continue to provide ongoing support to the trust and its senior leadership team to ensure that our patients and public continue to receive the highest quality of care possible across the Humber region.
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 guidance his Department has issued on when the absence of senior leadership may necessitate intervention by a commissioner in an integrated care board.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care board (ICB) chairs are appointed by NHS England subject to the approval of my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in line with NHS England’s guidance, where the ICB chair position has become vacant before a successor can be approved by the Secretary of State, the ICB board may be chaired by an acting chair, which is normally, but not always, the deputy chair. The ICB governance guidance, updated in July 2024, made it a requirement for all ICBs to have a deputy chair. Information on further related requirements is available in the guidance at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/guidance-on-integrated-care-board-constitutions-and-governance/
ICB chief executives are appointed by the ICB chair subject to the approval of NHS England. All ICBs are required to have an Accountable Officer; an Acting CEO can cover temporary periods of absence.
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 information his Department holds on whether the (a) Chair and (b) Chief Executive of Humber and North Yorkshire integrated care board remain in post.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chair of the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) resigned from the post on 12 March 2025. The ICB is currently identifying a Non-Executive Member to act as Chair for a short period. The Chief Executive is currently taking a leave of absence, and acting CEO arrangements are currently in place.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to involve young people in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituency in the development of the National Youth Strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Secretary of State was pleased to announce the new National Youth Strategy, stating the Department’s commitment to delivering a strategy by and for young people through the most ambitious listening exercise in a generation. We have launched our nation-wide survey, with over 10,000 responses to date, and are holding events across all regions with young people and the youth sector. Our Youth and Expert Advisory Groups are now established and guiding us in our development. We will publish the strategy in the summer, with an interim report in the coming months.