Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of time spent in Gibraltar counting towards the 90-day limit for Schengen short stays on British citizens with (a) residential, (b) family and (c) personal times to EU countries.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To unlock the benefits of a fluid border, everyone arriving at Gibraltar's airport will undergo dual immigration controls, allowing them to move freely into the EU if they wish to. As visitors will be free to cross into Spain without checks, time spent in Gibraltar will count towards the EU's 90 in 180 requirement. This approach reflects the unique situation in Gibraltar, ensuring a fluid border and delivering certainty for Gibraltar's people and businesses.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many full time equivalent permanent staff were assigned to work in the Office for Investment in June (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of staff (FTE) in the Office for Investment (OfI) was approximately 30. The target operating model for the expanded OfI, which launched on the 5th of June 2025, includes approximately 230 FTE (including overseas OfI representatives). This will be subject to revisions in line with Government policy.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that complaints submitted online are not prematurely disregarded due to a lack of submission evidence.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Once a customer has submitted an online complaint, they will be contacted by the department regarding the issues raised, at which time the customer can offer evidence to support their complaint; therefore, no additional steps have been taken in this area.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken with his German counterparts to facilitate more bi-lateral school visits since July 4 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
During the Prime Minister's successful visit to Berlin on 28 August 2024, Chancellor Scholz and he agreed to work on a once-in-a-generation bilateral treaty between our countries, rooted in our shared values and common goals. Within the context of wider and strengthened migration cooperation, we agreed to develop arrangements with Germany similar to those we already have with France on school group travel. Significant progress has been made at working level on both the wider agreement and school group arrangements. The Government will provide updates on the rules regarding school groups travel in advance of any change.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to further develop the Trinity House Agreement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Since the signing of the landmark Trinity House Agreement, the Ministry of Defence has worked with our German counterparts to take the first steps towards turning the words of the text into real, practical co-operation. The Secretary of State met with Minister Pistorius on 15 May 2025 to hold the first Defence Ministerial Council under the agreement; detail on progress was set out in a Joint Statement, available on GOV.UK entitled ‘Joint statement on UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement progress - 15 May 2025’. My Right Hon Friend the Foreign Secretary is also driving forward a new bilateral Treaty with Germany, building on the success of the Trinity House Agreement. Due to be signed later this year, this new Treaty will underline the full breadth of the partnership between our countries.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) reduce the potential impact of a parent's imprisonment on the educational attainment of their child and (b) ensure that children with a parent in prison are being considered in school safeguarding assessments.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has a key mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, which is why we are committed to identifying children affected by parental imprisonment and ensuring they get the community support they need to thrive.
The department also recognises that support should be based on the individual needs of the child, not solely on having a parent in prison. That is why our approach is focussed on equipping early years settings, schools and local authorities to respond to children’s needs in a trauma-informed way, with compassionate support from trained professionals.
Improving attendance in educational settings, to enable all children to achieve and thrive, is a top priority for the government. We are providing schools and teachers with world-leading data tools, empowering them to identify quickly children who are at risk of non-attendance and put the right support in place.
The ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance is clear that anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should make a referral to local authority children’s social care. Children’s circumstances vary considerably, and local agencies are best placed to determine what support is needed.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had the (a) Ministry of Justice, (b) Home Office, (c) ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on improving information sharing between (i) prisons, (ii) the police, (iii) courts, (iv) social services, (v) local housing authorities and (vi) schools when a parent is sentenced to custody.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Officials at the Department for Education (DfE) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are working closely to deliver on the government’s manifesto commitment to identify children affected by parental imprisonment so as to ensure they get the support they need to achieve and thrive.
In April 2025 a Ministerial roundtable meeting brought together those with lived experience of parental imprisonment, expertise on local authority family support, safeguarding, prisons, housing, social work, courts and schools.
A cross-government workshop in June 2025 brought together officials from several other government departments. Officials from both the DfE and MoJ have visited local authorities, met with children and their families in the community, with parents and social workers in prisons, and participated in several focus groups.
The department will continue to engage external stakeholders with a broad range of expertise to help shape our policy to better identify and support children affected by parental imprisonment.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2024 to Question 16525 on Guardianship and Parents: Prisoners, what recent progress her Department has made with the Ministry of Justice to effectively identify children of prisoners.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Officials at the Department for Education (DfE) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) continue to work closely together to deliver on our manifesto commitment to identify children affected by parental imprisonment and ensure they get the support they need to thrive.
We recognise that our approach to identification must be a sensitive one and link to an informed, consistent and sustainable nationwide support offer.
Our departments have engaged a broad range of external stakeholders with a variety of expertise to help inform our policy development and will continue to do so as our work on this commitment progresses.
In April 2025 DfE and MoJ Ministers co-chaired a roundtable meeting and brought together those with lived experience of parental imprisonment, expertise on local authority family support, safeguarding, prisons, housing, social work, courts and schools.
A cross-government workshop in June 2025 gathered officials from a range of government departments.
Officials from both DfE and MoJ have also visited local authorities, met with children and their families in the community, with parents and social workers in prisons, and participated in several focus groups.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on introducing a formal duty to the criminal justice system to notify (a) schools and (b) local safeguarding boards when the parent of a child aged 18 or under is imprisoned.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice are working closely to deliver our joint manifesto commitment to identify children affected by parental imprisonment and ensure they get the support they need to thrive. We understand the importance of driving action on this important agenda and we are working with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with lived experience, schools and those with expertise in safeguarding, to ensure we take a child-centred, trauma-informed and age-appropriate approach.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many referrals made by police to Local Authority Designated Officers for concerns about people (a) working and (b) volunteering with children resulted in direct action being taken by the (i) local authority, (ii) employer and (iii) voluntary organisation in each of the last three years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold this information. Information about referrals to Local Authority Designated Officers (LADO) is held at a local level by individual police forces and the local authorities.
The outcomes of LADO investigations are also held at local level and contained in the respective LADO annual reports. The department does not collate LADO annual reports and so does not have data on the action being taken by local authorities, employers and voluntary organisations within the last three years.
Keeping children safe could not be more important to this government and we are swiftly acting to reform the child protection and safeguarding system.
That is why the department is legislating through our Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to stop children falling through the cracks and to ensure they are not out of sight of those who can keep them safe.
The department has also introduced a new mandatory reporting duty in the Crime and Policing Bill for individuals undertaking key roles with responsibility for children in England to report sexual abuse.