Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that local authority funding for school holiday support schemes is (a) properly audited and (b) delivers value for money.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. That’s why the department recently confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years from 2026/27. Delivering best value for money through our programmes is a priority for this government and our HAF guidance sets this out for local authorities.
The department expects all providers who are funded through the HAF programme to meet our framework of standards, and we expect that assurance visits are focused on ensuring this is the case.
Local authorities are responsible for gathering information about the children and families they are supporting. Following each holiday, the department asks local authorities to report on their activity.
The department requires a certificate of expenditure from each local authority which must be signed by the chief financial officer or chief internal auditor. These support the regularity assurance statement for the National Audit Office.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria for additional summer holiday support to include all (a) kinship carers and (b) low-income families.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also provides work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.
The department will be releasing further details about the HAF programme by the end of the year, including updated local authority guidance.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the longest time was for an asylum application to reach a final resolution in the last ten years.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost. The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘asylum detailed datasets’ as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’.
Data on the number of claims awaiting an initial decision, by duration, is published in table Asy_D03. The latest data relates to as at 30 June 2025. For further information on the data, see the notes pages of the tables.
Additionally, data on the number of cases in the asylum system, by case age, is published in table ASY_03 of the 'Migration transparency data'. The latest data relates to as at June 2024.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the (a) Courts and Tribunals Service on ensuring (i) the adequacy of the judicial process for cases involving child sexual abuse and (ii) welfare of child sexual abuse victims and (b) Sentencing Council on ensuring the adequacy of prosecutions for those crimes.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice continues to work across Government to strengthen court processes and sentencing, ensuring they are effective and responsive in all cases, including those involving child sexual abuse.
HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) staff support fair hearings led by independent judges. Special measures are available to enable vulnerable witnesses to give their best evidence, including the option to attend remotely and/or give evidence from witness suites located in court buildings or designated remote sites, designed to provide a supportive environment. Judges also take steps to help child victims feel more at ease, such as meeting them before trial or removing traditional court attire like wigs and gowns. Familiarisation visits can be arranged to help vulnerable witnesses become more comfortable with the court setting and process. Recent reforms include powers to compel offenders to attend sentencing and enhanced training to ensure victims are treated with dignity.
We continue to work across Government to ensure victims receive the support they require and need. Victims are supported by Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) during proceedings. The Ministry of Justice funds the CSA Centre to provide training and resources, and invests in specialist services via the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund. Additionally, The Home Office has invested £1.6 million in the Support for Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Fund and an extra £1.6 million for national services for adult victims.
Charging decisions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service. Where an offender pleads guilty to or is convicted of an offence, the independent judiciary determine the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximums set by Parliament, and in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council.
The Sentencing Council has issued a package of guidelines on sexual offences, including child sexual offences. These provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. They set out the different levels of sentence based on the harm caused and how culpable the offender is. The guidelines also include non-exhaustive lists of aggravating and mitigating factors which can result in an upward or downward adjustment in the sentence.
Parliament is responsible for setting the overall sentencing framework and the Government has legislated for strong custodial sentences; through the Crime and Policing Bill, we are introducing measures to make grooming an aggravating factor in sentencing for child sexual offences.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of net migration on public services.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes a variety of analysis considering the impact of migration on public services. Home Office Impact Assessments and wider analysis can be found here: Migration analysis at the Home Office - GOV.UK
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent guidance she has issued to police forces on the (a) lawful and (b) proportionate use of stop and search powers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of stop and searches resulted in the seizure of a weapon in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of stop and search powers in reducing knife crime.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has recent discussions with police forces on their use of stop and search powers under Section 60 of the Public Order Act 2023.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many stop and searches in have led to an arrest for (a) possession of a knife and (b) bladed article in the last 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Stop and search is an important tool for tackling knife crime, but it must be used fairly and effectively. Getting that balance right is key to meeting the Government’s objective of halving knife crime in ten years. We know that stop and search is most effective when it is targeted and intelligence led.
Code A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) governs the use of stop and search powers. Guidance on the use of stop and search is also issued to forces by the College of Policing in its Authorised Professional Practice.
In the year ending March 2024, available data suggests there were at least 9,423 arrests for offensive weapon or firearm offences following a stop and search. However, this data is designated as ‘Official Statistics in development’ to denote that there are known data quality issues, and the true figure will be higher.
In the year ending March 2024, 16,066 (3.0%) of stop and searches resulted in an offensive weapon or firearm being found. However, that figure includes searches where police were looking for drugs, stolen goods, or other items rather than weapons. Where offensive weapons were the reason for the search, the find rate was 12%.