Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how Operation VALOUR will support (a) veterans in Croydon East constituency and (b) the creation of a new veterans hub in Croydon.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer the Minister for Veterans and People gave on 12 May to Questions 50185, 50186, 50187, 50189, 50190, and 50191 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Cartlidge), and Question 50424 to the hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr Jopp).
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of funding grassroots bowls on (a) tackling loneliness and (b) public health.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to providing support for grassroots clubs who provide access and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Bowls has a unique and important role to play in tackling loneliness through supporting people to have the social connections they need and in driving positive public health outcomes.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England has a long-term partnership with the Bowls Development Alliance. It has awarded them over £1.8m (since 2022) in investment and funding. Sport England also provides free resources and support to grassroots sports clubs and volunteers through its Buddle tool. Furthermore, Sport England’s Movement Fund also offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most which includes the refurbishment or upgrading facilities.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what support she provides to grassroots bowls clubs.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We are committed to providing support for grassroots clubs who provide access and opportunities to participate in sport and physical activity. Bowls has a unique and important role to play in tackling loneliness through supporting people to have the social connections they need and in driving positive public health outcomes.
Our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England has a long-term partnership with the Bowls Development Alliance. It has awarded them over £1.8m (since 2022) in investment and funding. Sport England also provides free resources and support to grassroots sports clubs and volunteers through its Buddle tool. Furthermore, Sport England’s Movement Fund also offers crowdfunding pledges, grants and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most which includes the refurbishment or upgrading facilities.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her planned timetable is for (a) decision-making and (b) funding allocation for embedded youth work in A&Es to support young victims of (i) violence and (ii) exploitation.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Halving knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s Safer Streets mission. Prevention and early intervention to stop young people being drawn into crime is an integral part of that mission. That’s why the Government’s manifesto committed to offering young people a pathway out of violence by placing youth workers and mentors in A&E units and Alternative Provision Schools.
A&E navigator programmes are currently funded by Violence Reduction Units that are located in the areas worst affected by serious violence. These programmes place navigators, such as youth workers, in hospital emergency rooms to support children and young people with a violence-related injury and offer a pathway out of violence. We have provided £49.7m in 2025/6 for the continuation of the VRU programme, which includes provision for A&E navigators in VRU areas.
This year (25/26), we will continue to build on, and learn from, the work already underway on A&E navigators as well as working with the Youth Endowment Fund to further strengthen provision and ensure victims of violence and exploitation are supported.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of youth services on (a) preventing exclusions, (b) increasing school attendance and (c) educational attainment.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to live safe and healthy lives, and the positive impact youth services can have on young people, including in educational settings.
That is why we are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy will better coordinate youth services and policy at a local, regional and national level, moving away from siloed working - ensuring we are better coordinated and more than the sum of our parts.
We have commissioned an evidence review alongside our engagement with young people and the youth sector, to inform the development of the National Youth Strategy. An interim report will be published this Spring.
We know that youth services will help deliver the government’s missions, and the National Youth Strategy will work alongside the work on development of Young Future hubs, the Curriculum and Assessment Review and further work across government to fulfill our commitment to improve young people’s lives.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much Croydon council will receive for family hubs in this financial year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In 2024/25, Croydon Council were allocated £1.619 million for the delivery of Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
In 2025/26, the department and the Department of Health and Social Care will provide a £126 million boost to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Funding will support local authorities to deliver Family Hubs and Start for Life services in areas with high deprivation, including Croydon, which has provisionally been allocated £1.709 million for the 2025/26 financial year. Final figures will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the use of short-term accommodation for homeless families.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected.
We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to deliver the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to develop a long-term strategy.
We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services has been increased by £233 million compared to last year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total Homelessness spend to nearly £1 billion in 25/26, a record level of funding.
The £1.2 billion Local Authority Housing Fund will provide capital funding directly to English councils and is expected to provide up to 7,000 homes by 2026. It will create a lasting asset for UK nationals by building a sustainable stock of affordable housing for local communities.
The Government is also working with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the financial viability of (a) single and (b) two-form entry schools in (i) urban areas and (ii) Croydon East constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has allocated £242 million in growth and falling rolls funding to local authorities through the 2024/25 dedicated schools grant (DSG). Local authorities’ allocations of growth and falling rolls funding for 2025/26 was confirmed in December 2024 and information for Croydon is published here: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/local-authority/statement/306.
Local authorities can use their growth and falling rolls funding allocations to repurpose surplus space to create SEND units, resource bases, or wraparound childcare provision in mainstream schools, activity which the department knows some local authorities already undertake. This is intended to support schools with falling rolls where planning data shows that the surplus places will be needed. Local authorities now have additional flexibility to support schools through such falling rolls funds.
The forthcoming Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce new duties for mainstream state schools and local authorities to co-operate regarding their respective school admissions functions and for mainstream, special and alternative provision state schools to co-operate with local authorities regarding their place planning functions. The onus will be on schools and local authorities to work together constructively on these issues so that their statutory responsibilities can be fulfilled.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, What proportion of the (a) Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant and (b) Children and Families Grant will be allocated to Croydon East constituency.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government will bring forward its proposals for the Local Government Finance Settlement 2025-26 in the usual way towards the end of the calendar year. This will set out provisional allocations for local authorities and invite views via a formal consultation.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Windrush commissioner will consider the reimbursement of legal costs for the victims of the Windrush scandal.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We are establishing a Windrush Commissioner to act as an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review and act as a trusted voice for communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.
On appointment, the Commissioner will engage with Windrush stakeholders and communities to understand what they need and how the Commissioner can drive delivery of that change.
To ensure claimants are supported, we are also allocating £1.5million in government grant funding, which will be used to increase advocacy support for victims applying for the Windrush Compensation Scheme.