Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the report by Key Cities Innovation Network entitled Civic partners in Net Zero, published in April 2024, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of local civic partnerships with universities in achieving net zero targets.

Answered by Justin Tomlinson

The Government recognises that both local organisations and universities can, and do, play an important role in driving local action on net zero and is supportive of them working together to do so. We provide a range of support for Local areas to decarbonise, for example through our Local Net Zero Hubs which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing free bus passes for homeless (a) adults and (b) children.

Answered by Guy Opperman

The Department for Transport has made no such assessment. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six, and was set up primarily to help older and disabled people. ENCTS costs around £1 billion annually and any changes to the minimum statutory scheme would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

Local authorities in England have the power to go beyond their statutory obligations and extend free bus travel to other groups that are eligible under ENCTS, which includes children under the age of 16 and 16-18 year olds in full time education. However, these discretionary concessions are not funded by central government but by local authorities from local resources, such as council tax. Since 2010/11, almost all of the travel concession authorities in England have offered some form of discretionary concession. Bus operators are also able to provide discretionary concessions on a commercial basis.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing targeted support for (a) infant and (b) parental mental health while a family is experiencing homelessness.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

As part of NHS England’s Maternity and Neonatal Three-Year Delivery Plan, NHS England is working to rollout Maternal Mental Health Services for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to loss or trauma in the maternity or neonatal context. This may include those who experience post-traumatic stress disorder following birth trauma, perinatal loss, or severe fear of childbirth, known as tokophobia.

As of February 2024, 39 Maternal Mental Health Services have been established, which provide psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to their maternity experience. Every integrated care system area will soon have these services in place.

In December 2023, NHS England published new guidance for general practice (GPs) on the postnatal appointment women should be offered six to eight weeks after giving birth. This provides an important opportunity for GPs to listen to women in a discrete, supportive environment.

We also continue to engage with a number of other departments and representative groups to discuss what can be done to mitigate the effect of housing insecurity and homelessness on mental health and wellbeing.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to promote parental mental health (a) during pregnancy and (b) in the first two years of infancy.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

As part of NHS England’s Maternity and Neonatal Three-Year Delivery Plan, NHS England is working to roll out Maternal Mental Health Services for women experiencing mental health difficulties, related to loss or trauma in the maternity or neonatal context. This may include those who experience post-traumatic stress disorder following birth trauma, perinatal loss, or severe fear of childbirth, also known as tokophobia.

As of February 2024, 39 Maternal Mental Health Services have been established, which provide psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties related to their maternity experience. Every integrated care system area will soon have these services in place.

In December 2023, NHS England published new guidance for general practices (GPs) on the postnatal appointment women should be offered six to eight weeks after giving birth. This provides an important opportunity for GPs to listen to women in a discrete, supportive environment.

The guidance asks family doctors to provide personalised postnatal care for the mother’s physical and mental health, and to support them with family planning.  This will include information and resources on assessing and addressing mental health needs and importantly sets out practical initiatives to improve access, experience, and outcomes.

Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, £100 million is being invested in bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support for the 1,001 critical days from pregnancy to a baby’s second birthday, in 75 local authority areas in England.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve educational outcomes for homeless children in temporary accommodation or experiencing rough sleeping.

Answered by David Johnston

DLUHC is investing £1.2 billion through the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, including a £109 million top-up for 2024/25, to ensure that families can move out of temporary accommodation and into stable accommodation, as well as reducing the need for temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness before it occurs.

To help schools tackle the challenges facing disadvantaged pupils, including pupils who might be in temporary accommodation or experiencing homelessness, and to improve children’s educational outcomes, the department has provided pupil premium funding since 2011. Pupil premium funding is increasing to over £2.9 billion this financial year which will ensure that the most disadvantaged pupils receive the support they need to succeed at school.

In 2024/25, the department has targeted a greater proportion of schools’ National Funding Formula towards deprived pupils than ever before with over £4.4 billion of the formula allocated according to deprivation in 2024/25, and over £7.8 billion through additional needs factors based on deprivation, low prior attainment, English as an additional language and mobility. This is alongside various support programmes including free school meals, the National School Breakfast Club programme and the Holiday Activities and Food programme. The department is also targeting support at young people who most need help with the costs of staying in post-16 education and training, through the 16-19 bursary and has extended free meals to disadvantaged 16 to 18 year old students attending further education institutions.

The department is prioritising the attendance of vulnerable children in education, including those who are in temporary accommodation, by introducing stronger expectations of schools, trusts, and local authorities to work together to tackle absence set out in guidance that will become statutory in August 2024, including an expectation on schools to identify at-risk pupils and work with families to support absent students and, from September 2024, introducing a mandatory attendance data tool, allowing them to identify pupils at risk of persistent absence and to enable early intervention.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of creating an NHS Never Event for discharging newborns home to temporary accommodation without a cot.

Answered by Maria Caulfield

No assessment has been made of the potential merits of creating an NHS Never Event for discharging newborns home to temporary accommodation without a cot. A consultation on the future of the Never Events Framework was conducted by NHS England, and ran between 5 February and 5 May 2024. The consultation sought views on whether the existing Never Events Framework remains an effective mechanism to drive patient safety improvement. NHS England will respond to the consultation in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of children that have lost their place on waiting lists for health and care services as a result of relocating out of area due to housing pressures, in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson

It is important that the correct start date is captured for patients who transfer from a referral to treatment (RTT) pathway between providers. For patients that move between different areas of England and transfer to a new provider, including children who may relocate out of an area due to housing pressures, there is an established Inter Provider Transfer process which ensures that the patient is transferred with the same RTT clock start date, so that the new provider considers the amount of time the patient has already waited. This is detailed in Section 11.3 of NHS England’s Recording and reporting RTT waiting times for consultant-led elective care guidance, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Recording-and-reporting-referral-to-treatment-RTT-waiting-times-for-consultant-led-elective-care-v4-1.pdf

Data on the number of children that have lost their place on waiting lists for health and care services as a result of relocating out of area due to housing pressures is not collected, therefore no estimate has been made.

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an estimate of the number of children unable to continue in their existing educational placements as a result of being housed out of area (a) for temporary accommodation and (b) after being homeless, in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Felicity Buchan

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Ending the two-child benefit cap

Border Force staff at Heathrow Airport

Imperial War Museums and union derecognition

Found: 100.0%) Katherine Fletcher (Conservative, South Ribble) (added 9 Jan 2023) 15 of 21 (71.4%) Rebecca

Found: Long Bailey Stephen Metcalfe 1.

Found: James Davies MP (Conservative, Vale of Clwyd ) Katherine Fletcher MP (Conservative, South Ribble ) Rebecca

Found: Madden , Chair, Jane Cowley , Campaign Director , Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), Rebecca

Found: James Davies MP (Conservative, Vale of Clwyd ) Katherine Fletcher MP (Conservative, South Ribble ) Rebecca

Found: Long Bailey; Stephen Metcalfe; Graham Stringer.

Found: Long Bailey; Stephen Metcalfe; Carol Monaghan; Graham Stringer.

Found: Long-Bailey and Peter Aldous.

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Rachael Maskell John Penrose Damian Green Mick Whitley Mary Kelly Foy Kate

Found: Long Bailey Jo Gideon Caroline Nokes Nadia Whittome Debbie Abrahams Charlotte Nichols Lloyd

No description available

No description available