Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the number of deaths associated with pro-anorexia coaches operating online.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what guidance he plans to issue on whether seeking a suicide partner online is regulated under the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) implications for his policies of the number of pro-anorexia coaches and (b) impact of such coaches on mental health services.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has set a target for reduction in the numbers of deaths by suicide associated with suicide forums following full implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) suicide and (b) eating disorder forums accessible to UK internet users.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

DSIT published an impact assessment for the Online Safety Act which contains estimates on the number of firms in scope. DSIT has not made a specific estimate in these areas nor has set specific targets.

The Act will require in-scope services to prevent all users from accessing illegal suicide and self-harm content including illegal eating disorder content, as well as protecting children from legal content which encourages, promotes or provides instruction for suicide, self-injury or eating disorders online.

Ofcom, responsible for the Act’s implementation, will provide guidance or codes of practice relating to the safety duties.

DSIT is developing a framework to evaluate the Act’s implementation and core outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish his Department's final delivery plan on myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The final myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan is a priority for the Department, and we aim to publish it in March 2025. We cannot comment on the exact content of the final delivery plan at this time, but it will be shaped by the consultation responses, along with continued close engagement with ME/CFS stakeholders, with three broad themes of attitudes and education, research, and living with ME/CFS.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of deaths associated with online suicide forums in each of the last five years.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of UK deaths associated with suicide forums in 2025.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions her Department has had with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on coroners’ reports of deaths associated with online suicide forums.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice has worked closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on measures to support coroners when investigating child deaths, including those by suicide.

Measures in the Online Safety Act 2023 give OFCOM the power to require regulated online platforms to provide them with information on a child’s use of their platform, when a coroner gives notice that such information is required for an investigation into the death of a child.

The Data (Use and Access) Bill, which is currently before Parliament, contains provisions to enable coroners to require relevant online services to retain data relating to a child’s online activity, where the coroner considers this may be relevant to an investigation into a child’s death. This is facilitated through the coroner giving notice to OFCOM, enabling them to direct the relevant services to secure the data so that it will be available upon request, should the coroner later require it as part of their investigation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether officials of the UK Mission to Afghanistan have asked the Taliban to reconsider its decision to ban women from accessing midwifery education.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is deeply concerned at reports of a ban on women accessing medical training in Afghanistan, including midwifery education. We strongly condemn the decision and officials from the Doha-based UK Mission to Afghanistan have met with Taliban leaders to urge them to reverse this decision. We have made clear that this is yet another affront to girls' right to education and will threaten the lives of countless women and girls who will be denied critical medical care, as well as their children. Officials continue to press the Taliban on human rights abuses in Afghanistan.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations by Resolution in its report entitled Domestic Abuse in Financial Remedy Proceedings, published in October 2024.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government, which includes addressing issues of domestic and economic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. The Government will consider Resolution’s recommendations alongside the Law Commission’s recently published scoping report on financial remedies.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her planned timescale is for responding to the Law Commission's scoping report on Financial remedies on divorce and dissolution, published on 18 December 2024.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is grateful to the Law Commission for its work on this important and complex area. We will carefully consider the details and will provide a response in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of skills training for the (a) construction, (b) planning and (c) architecture sectors.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working closely with the construction sector to ensure its skills offer meets the needs of employers. We are working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG), industry leaders and other government departments, to help more people access high-quality training and careers in construction. The CSDG has been instrumental in bringing together partners from industry, and across different government departments, to identify barriers to growth in construction and feed intelligence on how the skills offer can be shaped to best meet the needs of the industry.

This government has announced £140 million industry investment in Homebuilding Skills Hubs. These will be established by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) on a demand led basis, in areas where large scale homebuilding projects lead to a surge in demand. The hubs are projected to deliver over 5,000 fast track apprenticeships per year by 2027/28, in shortage occupations including Bricklaying and Groundwork, making use of the existing flexibilities in our apprenticeships system to help businesses get the skilled workers they need more quickly. This initiative represents £100 million investment from the NHBC and the CITB, an executive non-departmental public body.

The department continues to support the take-up of construction and construction-related subjects in further education. Skills, including construction, planning and architecture are crucial for the delivery of the government’s missions. The department is building a coherent, flexible, high-quality skills system to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth, underpinned by a new post-16 skills and education strategy.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and free courses for jobs.

There are currently 91 high-quality apprenticeship standards in the construction and the built environment sector, with a further two standards in development, including in occupations like level 2 scaffolder, level 3 bricklayer, and level 6 construction site manager.

The department has introduced innovations to support growth of training programmes in the sector. For example, we are making apprenticeships more flexible through flexi job apprenticeships. There are Skills Bootcamps around the country that offer courses in different areas of construction.

T Levels provide an excellent option for 16 to 19 learners and include valuable workplace experience through an industry placement of at least 45 days. Thousands of young people have benefited from T Levels such as Design, Surveying and Planning, and Building Services Engineering, which can lead to rewarding careers in the construction sector.

There are 21 ​Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) currently available in the Construction and the Built Environment occupational route, with a further 19 becoming available from September 2025. Examples of HTQs currently available in these areas include a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Modern Methods of Construction, HND in Architectural Technology and a Higher National Certificate Construction Quantity Surveying.

Following the Review of Qualifications Reform, which looked at level 3 qualifications due to be defunded by 31 July 2025, the department is retaining 12 level 3 qualifications in Construction and the Built Environment until 2026. The department’s expectation is that, at this point, the combination of A levels, T Levels and reformed qualifications will meet the needs of learners in this route.

As part of this review, the department announced that new enrolments onto the T Level in Onsite Construction will cease. Although this T Level is providing valuable education and industry experience, on the whole, its success and uptake has been limited due to the overall lack of demand for a large level 3 qualification in this area. Moving forward, the needs of learners will best be met through apprenticeships and other classroom provision as set out here.

The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to help meet the skills needs of the next decade. Aligned to the government’s industrial strategy, this work will also be underpinned by local skills improvement plans, which help make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs, including employers in the construction section.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure adequate numbers of skilled workers in the (a) construction, (b) planning and (c) architecture sectors.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working closely with the construction sector to ensure its skills offer meets the needs of employers. We are working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG), industry leaders and other government departments, to help more people access high-quality training and careers in construction. The CSDG has been instrumental in bringing together partners from industry, and across different government departments, to identify barriers to growth in construction and feed intelligence on how the skills offer can be shaped to best meet the needs of the industry.

This government has announced £140 million industry investment in Homebuilding Skills Hubs. These will be established by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) on a demand led basis, in areas where large scale homebuilding projects lead to a surge in demand. The hubs are projected to deliver over 5,000 fast track apprenticeships per year by 2027/28, in shortage occupations including Bricklaying and Groundwork, making use of the existing flexibilities in our apprenticeships system to help businesses get the skilled workers they need more quickly. This initiative represents £100 million investment from the NHBC and the CITB, an executive non-departmental public body.

The department continues to support the take-up of construction and construction-related subjects in further education. Skills, including construction, planning and architecture are crucial for the delivery of the government’s missions. The department is building a coherent, flexible, high-quality skills system to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth, underpinned by a new post-16 skills and education strategy.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and free courses for jobs.

There are currently 91 high-quality apprenticeship standards in the construction and the built environment sector, with a further two standards in development, including in occupations like level 2 scaffolder, level 3 bricklayer, and level 6 construction site manager.

The department has introduced innovations to support growth of training programmes in the sector. For example, we are making apprenticeships more flexible through flexi job apprenticeships. There are Skills Bootcamps around the country that offer courses in different areas of construction.

T Levels provide an excellent option for 16 to 19 learners and include valuable workplace experience through an industry placement of at least 45 days. Thousands of young people have benefited from T Levels such as Design, Surveying and Planning, and Building Services Engineering, which can lead to rewarding careers in the construction sector.

There are 21 ​Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) currently available in the Construction and the Built Environment occupational route, with a further 19 becoming available from September 2025. Examples of HTQs currently available in these areas include a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Modern Methods of Construction, HND in Architectural Technology and a Higher National Certificate Construction Quantity Surveying.

Following the Review of Qualifications Reform, which looked at level 3 qualifications due to be defunded by 31 July 2025, the department is retaining 12 level 3 qualifications in Construction and the Built Environment until 2026. The department’s expectation is that, at this point, the combination of A levels, T Levels and reformed qualifications will meet the needs of learners in this route.

As part of this review, the department announced that new enrolments onto the T Level in Onsite Construction will cease. Although this T Level is providing valuable education and industry experience, on the whole, its success and uptake has been limited due to the overall lack of demand for a large level 3 qualification in this area. Moving forward, the needs of learners will best be met through apprenticeships and other classroom provision as set out here.

The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to help meet the skills needs of the next decade. Aligned to the government’s industrial strategy, this work will also be underpinned by local skills improvement plans, which help make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs, including employers in the construction section.

Water quality in Sri Lanka

Parks Police

Afghan women and girls

Peace, democracy and accountability in Syria

Protecting children from sexual abuse

Domestic Abuse Offences

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Found: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-25 65 Commons Library Research Briefing, 3 January 2025 Munira Wilson

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