Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will include Previously Looked After Children in the definition of disadvantaged children, in regard to the core eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activity and Food programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme provides free nutritious meals, enriching activities, and safe environments to eligible children during the school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and readiness to learn. The core purpose of the programme is to support children and young people who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) given that children from low-income households are more likely to experience food insecurity, reduced physical activity, and fewer opportunities for enriching experiences during the school holidays.
Local authorities have discretion to allocate 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for school-age children who do not meet the eligibility criteria but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies there are for (a) neuro-phsyiotherapists, (b) occupational therapists, and (c) speech and language therapists in NHS stroke units.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold vacancy rates that are granular enough to identify rates for neuro-phsyiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists in National Health Service stroke units.
NHS England publishes quarterly vacancy statistics for total staffing, registered nurses, and medical staff across the NHS. Data is not available at a more detailed staff group level or by the setting in which staff work. The latest published data can be found at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-vacancies-survey
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed SEND reforms on care-experienced children whose needs arise from early trauma and attachment disruption, particularly where those needs span education, health and social care and may not meet the highest threshold within any single category.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Care-experienced children will benefit from our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms and vision to create a more inclusive education system. A strengthened universal offer, grounded in high‑quality adaptive teaching and earlier support, will enable additional needs to be identified and met more quickly. For children with SEND, our £1.8 billion ‘Experts at Hand’ service will give settings access to specialist input earlier, even where needs may be masked by trauma, and individual support plans will help ensure those working with children understand their needs and how best to support them. For those with the most complex needs, education, health and care plans will remain in place, underpinned by strengthened specialist provision packages that make expectations clear and consistent across the system.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of the children in their care. Looked-after children also have highest priority for school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus of £2,690 per child, up to age 16.
And for the first time under their new framework, Ofsted now assesses all settings for inclusion. Collectively, these reforms seek to ensure all children who can achieve and thrive in mainstream education will be supported to do so, and children and young people who need specialist support will receive it promptly and with dignity, clarity and care. The consultation for these reforms is underway and we encourage anyone with views, including on how reforms will affect care-experienced children, to participate.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what action has been taken since she met with a group of bereaved families on 19th January to stop UK users accessing a suicide forum responsible for over 135 UK deaths.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Secretary of State has been clear Ofcom has full backing to use its enforcement powers and welcomes its investigation into extremely harmful suicide forums.
Ofcom’s provisional decision published on 27 February is clear that unless its concerns are fully addressed, it will consider using all of the powers available to it, including, in most serious cases of non-compliance, imposing business disruption measures.
One of the first things the Secretary of State did in the job was to make self-harm a priority offence under the Online Safety Act, triggering the strongest possible legal protections. She has been clear she will not hesitate to go further if needed and regularly talks to Ofcom about ensuring enforcement is strong.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff have (a) had their employment contract terminated and (b) resigned in (i) Jobcentre Plus, (ii) the Pension Service, and (iii) the Child Maintenance Service since January 2025.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The data relates to DWP leavers within Child Maintenance Service, Retirement Services, and Universal Credit Operations. It includes both paid and unpaid leavers and covers the period from 1 January 2025 to 31 March 2026.
Directorates | Dismissal | Resignation | Grand Total |
CHILD MAINTENANCE SERVICE | 41 | 206 | 247 |
RETIREMENT SERVICES | 53 | 151 | 204 |
UC OPERATIONS | 441 | 1579 | 2020 |
Grand Total | 535 | 1936 | 2471 |
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average response time is for the a) Child Support Agency and b) Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Support Agency (CSA) does not publish a standalone Annual Report and Accounts. Information regarding the performance of the Child Maintenance Service can be found in the Annual Reports and Accounts 2024-25 linked here - DWP Annual Report and Accounts 2024 to 25
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential planning costs for the delivery of a third runway at Heathrow.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the importance of making sure that any scheme for Heathrow expansion is both deliverable and affordable. It is for potential promoters to develop plans for expansion as part of their Development Consent Order application. As the independent economic regulator for expansion, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will determine the recovery of costs incurred by potential promoters of expansion.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the economic and environmental review of Heathrow expansion has been completed.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The economic and environmental review of Heathrow expansion is ongoing. We intend to consult on a revised Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS), which will include the proposed outcomes of the review, in summer this year. The review will not be complete until the final ANPS (post-consultation) is laid in Parliament, which we intend to do by the end of the year.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Heathrow Airport's debt on her policies on a third runway at Heathrow.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As a private company, Heathrow Airport's financing decisions are a matter for the airport. Since this is a private sector project, it is up to the potential promoters to develop and finance expansion proposals, and to demonstrate that any scheme is financially viable.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of Heathrow Airport's debt.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As a private company, Heathrow Airport's financing decisions are a matter for the airport. Since this is a private sector project, it is up to the potential promoters to develop and finance expansion proposals, and to demonstrate that any scheme is financially viable.