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.
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, how will funding for local youth transformation pilots be distributed to local authorities; and what funding can Croydon Council expect to receive.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
On 12 November, the DCMS Secretary of State announced the launch of the Local Youth Transformation pilot in 2025/26 to start building back local authorities’ lost capability in the youth space, sowing the seeds for a much-needed rejuvenation of local youth services. We will be designing the programme and confirming delivery approaches over the coming months and will share more information in due course.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional SEND funding will be allocated to Croydon.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Croydon Council is being allocated a provisional high needs funding amount of over £97 million through the national funding formula (NFF), which is a 7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation. The allocations have been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.
Croydon Council will also be allocated extra funding for pay and pensions costs in special schools and AP. This funding is additional to the allocations through the high needs NFF, and the department will confirm shortly how the funding allocations will be calculated.
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 steps her Department is taking to improve access to youth services.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people. The Secretary of State recently announced our plans to create a new National Youth Strategy, designed to put the views of young people at the centre of decision-making on policies that affect them. As the new National Youth Strategy is developed, the Government will continue to support access for young people to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and volunteering opportunities.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the police have adequate resources to tackle knife crime in (a) Croydon East constituency and (b) other constituencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are personally committed to halving knife crime over the next decade. It is a key part of the Government’s mission to take back our streets.
This Government is committed to ensuring that the police have the resources they need to tackle all crime effectively. The 2024-25 police funding settlement provides the Metropolitan Police Service with funding of up to £3.5 billion in 2024-25. This includes £185.3 million in recognition of the demands the force faces in policing the capital city.
The Home Office will also provide £175m of additional funding in 2024-25 to police forces to help with the cost of the pay award, of which the Metropolitan Police will receive a further £37.4 million for support with those costs.
As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, the settlement will increase the core government grant for police forces and help support frontline policing levels across the country. Further details and force level allocations will be set out at the forthcoming police funding settlement.
The Home Office is also providing £66.3m funding this financial year (2024/25) to police forces in England and Wales for hotspot policing to tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence. This includes £8.1m allocated to the Metropolitan Police.
Asked by: Natasha Irons (Labour - Croydon East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle antisocial behaviour in (a) Croydon East constituency and (b) other constituencies.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities and we will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers, including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.