Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the number of 16 and 17-year-old looked-after children and care leavers (a) awaiting suitable supported accommodation, (b) in temporary accommodation while waiting for supported accommodation, (c) placed outside their home authority because no suitable local placement was available and (d) living in accommodation assessed as unsuitable for each local authority.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The available information relates to 17 and 18-year-old care leavers and whether their accommodation is deemed suitable or unsuitable by local authority. This is published in the annual statistical release which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025.
The latest information relating to the reporting year ending 31 March 2025 can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a794424e-8e83-46a0-4c69-08df251b5373.
The department does not hold information centrally on the number of looked after children and care leavers (a) awaiting suitable supported accommodation, (b) in temporary accommodation whilst waiting for supported accommodation or (c) placed outside their home authority because no suitable local placements were available.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of NATS funding for operational resilience relative to dividend distributions in each of the last five financial years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
NATS is a private company, run by its own board. The Transport Secretary appoints three non-executive directors to NATS’ board to look after the Government's stake but does not run the company on a day-to-day basis.
NATS is required to submit plans relating to its investments in its systems and critical infrastructure upgrades to the CAA on a regular basis. This allows the regulator the opportunity to scrutinise these, and to ensure that safety and the efficiency of NATS operation is always prioritised. However, decisions made in relation to dividends for shareholders are a matter for NATS Board.
As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the difference in industrial energy costs between UK automotive manufacturers and their principal international competitors.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the impact that high energy costs are having on the automotive sector. Through the launch of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) the Government is committed to helping eligible businesses, including many from the automotive sector, to reduce their electricity costs to bring them more into line with other European economies.
Applications for BICS are now open until the 30th November 2026. If approved, a business will begin to receive exemptions from April 2027. They will also receive an additional payment in 2027 to cover costs approximately equivalent to an extra year’s benefit.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the difference in industrial energy costs between UK automotive manufacturers and their principal international competitors.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the impact that high energy costs are having on the automotive sector. Through the launch of the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) the Government is committed to helping eligible businesses, including many from the automotive sector, to reduce their electricity costs to bring them more into line with other European economies.
Applications for BICS are now open until the 30th November 2026. If approved, a business will begin to receive exemptions from April 2027. They will also receive an additional payment in 2027 to cover costs approximately equivalent to an extra year’s benefit.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of supported accommodation places that are ready to open but unavailable because the provider’s Ofsted registration remains undetermined.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.
No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.
The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.
Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional staffing and resources have been provided to Ofsted to process supported accommodation applications; and by what date the backlog will be cleared.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.
No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.
The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.
Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what interim measures and additional funding are available to local authorities when suitable supported accommodation cannot be secured; and how many young people are being supported through each measure.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring they have sufficiency in their area. The government is providing £560 million to refurbish and expand children’s home placements. To enable the supported accommodation reforms, £123 million was provided to local authorities between 2023 and 2025. This has been incorporated into the Revenue Support Grant for 2026/27 to support local authorities in meeting their statutory duties, which includes supported accommodation.
No specific funding is given to local authorities where Supported Accommodation cannot be secured. As of 31 March 2026, there were 370 ongoing applications from supported accommodation providers, down from 616 in 2025. While registered providers have capacity for a total of 24,700 places, only 7,520 looked after children live in supported accommodation.
The department does not hold information regarding the number of placements ready to be offered by providers who are awaiting registration. While Ofsted has introduced a prioritisation policy for new children's home applications, no such policy currently applies to supported accommodation, although this remains under review.
Programme funding from the department has enabled Ofsted to continue its registration and inspection activities to support compliance with regulatory requirements. It can take several months for Ofsted to process and come to a decision on an application, with timescales sometimes affected by factors outside of Ofsted’s control, such as incomplete applications.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances she has sought from NATS that qualified engineers are available on site at its operational centres at all times to respond to critical system failures.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I recognise the significant disruption this outage caused for passengers, airlines, and airports. The Government is taking steps to ensure the right lessons are learnt. This includes asking the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an independent review into the incidents.
As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, which will include the adequacy of the resilience requirements, governance and assurance arrangements applied to NATS existing critical operational systems and supporting infrastructure. The review will also complete a broader assessment of NATS’ capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027. As a significant shareholder of NATS, the Government expects appropriate accountability and will consider the findings of the ongoing investigation carefully.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will commission a review of options to provide airlines with financial redress for costs incurred as a result of NATS technical failures.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
I recognise the significant disruption this outage caused for passengers, airlines, and airports. The Government is taking steps to ensure the right lessons are learnt. This includes asking the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an independent review into the incidents.
As part of the independent review into NATS’ performance following the incidents that occurred on 8 and 21 September this year, the CAA will complete a broader assessment of NATS' resilience, which will include the adequacy of the resilience requirements, governance and assurance arrangements applied to NATS existing critical operational systems and supporting infrastructure. The review will also complete a broader assessment of NATS’ capital investment and modernisation plans, as well as the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight. An initial findings report is due to be completed by end of January 2027, with a final report submitted by the end of March 2027. As a significant shareholder of NATS, the Government expects appropriate accountability and will consider the findings of the ongoing investigation carefully.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the number of (a) outstanding applications proposing premises for supported accommodation, (b) existing accommodation places available for supported accommodation and (c) applications for supported accommodation outstanding for more than 12 months for each local authority with children’s social care responsibilities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
These are matters for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for South West Devon and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.