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 help support disabled people in the workplace.

Answered by Liz Kendall - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

It is vital that workplaces are inclusive so disabled people have the same opportunities to get work, stay in work and progress in their careers.

That is why I have asked Sir Charlie Mayfield, the former boss of John Lewis, to lead an independent review into what more employers and Government can do together to support disabled people in work.

His interim review was published last month, and his final report will be in the summer.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department uses the family test; and what her Department's policy is on the publication of family test impact assessments.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP uses the Family Test during policy development and promotes its use across government.

Family Test assessments are not routinely published by DWP. Decisions on the publication of Family Test assessments fall within the responsibility of each Government department.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) maternal and (b) post-natal care.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We continue to work with NHS England as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan to grow the workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women and babies receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care. We know there is much more we need to do, however good progress has been made, including:

• improving access to specialist perinatal mental health services for women before, during, and after pregnancy. A record 63,345 women have accessed a specialist community perinatal mental health service or maternal mental health services in the 12 months to January 2025;
• implementing a revised package of interventions in the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth, as well as initiatives to reduce inequalities;
• establishing 14 maternal medicine networks to ensure that women with chronic and acute medical problems related to pregnancy have access to specialist management and care;
• all Maternity and Neonatal units completing the Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme, to establish a more compassionate culture in the National Health Service;
• putting women and families at the heart of local decision making, with increased funding for Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships; and
• publishing new guidance so women are offered a general practice appointment six to eight weeks after birth, to provide personalised postnatal care and to solely focus on the physical and mental health of the woman.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to women who have suffered from post-birth trauma.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department recognises the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact this can have on some women. We are fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth, and the critical months that follow, and ensuring that when a woman experiences a traumatic birth, there is a broad range of support available.

The National Health Service is in its final year of implementing the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services. As part of this plan, there is a commitment to improving postnatal care for all women and babies, including those affected by birth trauma. This includes ensuring the provision of high-quality, personalised, and joined-up care throughout the postnatal period.

NHS England has published guidance, written in collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners, on the six-to-eight-week postnatal check-up for all women who have given birth. This provides an important opportunity for general practitioners to listen to women in a discreet, supportive environment, to provide personalised postnatal care for their physical and mental health, and to support them with family planning. This includes an explicit reference to birth trauma for the first time. Additionally, a range of specialist mental health services have been made available to women during the perinatal period, as well as physical health services like Perinatal Pelvic Health Services. As of April 2025, 25 of the 42 local systems have perinatal pelvic health services in place, and NHS England is working closely with the remaining areas who are not compliant.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, on the status of British Nationals Overseas visa holders.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. The reforms set out in the White Paper will be delivered across this Parliament. Some measures will require primary legislation and further consultation, while others will be brought in more swiftly. There will be consultation on new earned settlement and citizenship rules later this year

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her plans to increase the qualifying period for settled status will apply to British National (Overseas) visa holders.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK and those who may come here in future. The reforms set out in the White Paper will be delivered across this Parliament. Some measures will require primary legislation and further consultation, while others will be brought in more swiftly. There will be consultation on new earned settlement and citizenship rules later this year

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she had made of the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Guardianship Support Fund on of the adequacy of mental health support for children in care who have been victims of abuse.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order children who were previously in care. It is not available for children who remain in care. This year the £50 million fund will enable eligible adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support, tailored to meet their individual needs, including for those children who have experienced abuse, amounting to £3,000 per child. Where needed, local authorities and regional adoption agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.

While the department does collect and publish annual data on the demand for ASGSF services, no wider information about demand for adoption services is currently collected. The latest publicly available ASGSF data covering the period 2023/24 can be found here: https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/asgsf_2024_data_insights/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the variation in demand for adoption services across local authorities.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order children who were previously in care. It is not available for children who remain in care. This year the £50 million fund will enable eligible adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support, tailored to meet their individual needs, including for those children who have experienced abuse, amounting to £3,000 per child. Where needed, local authorities and regional adoption agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.

While the department does collect and publish annual data on the demand for ASGSF services, no wider information about demand for adoption services is currently collected. The latest publicly available ASGSF data covering the period 2023/24 can be found here: https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/asgsf_2024_data_insights/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying home tuition fee status to students who hold a British National (Overseas) visa.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Higher education institutions in England are autonomous bodies and it is for them to assess whether the fees for students who do not meet the criteria for automatic home fee status should be reduced or waived in line with individual circumstances.

To qualify for automatic home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or a ‘recognised connection’ to the UK. A recognised connection includes persons who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country, or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. There are also requirements associated with ordinary residence in the UK.

The British National (Overseas) immigration route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong. Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders will be able to qualify for student finance and home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK.

There are no plans to amend the eligibility requirements for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders as these are in line with those that apply to most other persons on routes to settlement.

Found: Q14 Dr Rupa Huq: Anyone else? Joff, you are dying to get in.

Found: Q14 Dr Rupa Huq: Anyone else? Joff, you are dying to get in.

Found: Q14 Dr Rupa Huq: Anyone else? Joff, you are dying to get in.

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Chairs: Wera Hobhouse, Dr Rupa Huq, Christine Jardine, Derek Twigg Clerks: Simon Armitage x3276

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: debate on amendments to the clause/schedule (Standing Order No. 68) Chairs: Wera Hobhouse, Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: debate on amendments to the clause/schedule (Standing Order No. 68) Chairs: Wera Hobhouse, Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: Lake Llinos Medi Siân Berry Andrew George Bell Ribeiro-Addy Nadia Whittome Ellie Chowns Dr Rupa Huq

Found: debate on amendments to the clause/schedule (Standing Order No. 68) Chairs: Wera Hobhouse, Dr Rupa Huq

Found: debate on amendments to the clause/schedule (Standing Order No. 68) Chairs: Wera Hobhouse, Dr Rupa Huq