Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research published by PSE Healthy Energy and Stanford University in Environmental Research Letters on 25 March on the harmfully high levels of benzene measured in UK homes emitted by gas cooktops.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has noted the published research but has not made a full assessment of the study, which is based on a small number of stoves. Currently, there are limited studies that have investigated benzene concentrations in United Kingdom homes. Further research is needed to better understand exposure to indoor air pollutants and the effects on health.
Reducing emissions of pollutants and ensuring adequate ventilation within indoor environments are important. The UKHSA continues to consider and evaluate the evidence of exposure to indoor air pollutants and the potential health effects.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Runnymede Trust Excluded: Misrecognition, control and the Roma experience in Bradford schools, published on 25 March; and what plans they have to implement its recommendations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department recognises the issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people, and how schools and others can make a positive difference.
We are currently reviewing the report’s findings alongside existing evidence on school exclusions and ethnic disparities. This assessment will inform our ongoing work to ensure that behaviour and attendance policies are applied fairly and that schools are supported to meet the needs of all pupils, including Roma communities.
Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must not discriminate against pupils on the basis of their ethnic background. We have already published guidance for schools on complying with this duty.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to align apprenticeships for 16–18-year-olds with those for people aged 19 and above by removing the requirement to achieve English and maths qualifications.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to high standards of English and maths and funds apprentices aged 16-18 at the start of their training to achieve English and maths qualifications, if they do not already hold suitable equivalent qualifications, in order to complete their apprenticeship.
This is consistent with our expectation that all young people should have a further meaningful opportunity to secure English and maths qualifications post-16, where they do not already hold them. This can be a GCSE or functional skills qualification.
Further flexibility is in place for apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability where there is evidence this is likely to be a barrier to them completing their apprenticeship. In these cases, they are able to achieve an entry level 3 functional skills qualification to complete. Since August 2024, this flexibility has been available to apprentices with a learning difficulty and/or disability but without an Education Health and Care Plan.
As with all apprenticeship policies, we continue to monitor the impact of the English and maths requirements, to ensure they are striking the right balance.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to strengthen leak detection, odorisation and public health-related standards for gas used for cooking in domestic and other premises.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Baroness to the answer I gave to question HL13613 on 2 February 2026.
There is already robust regulation in place to detect leaks and odourised gas. Gas Industry standards are set by the relevant industry standard setting bodies, for example, the Institute for Gas Engineers and Managers (IGEM), British Standards Institute (BSI) and Liquid Gas UK.
The Health and Safety Executive has regulatory responsibility for public health-related standards in commercial premises, but not in domestic homes.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children are disproportionately represented in the care system; and if so, what plans they have to address this within the wider programme of children’s social care reform, including efforts to strengthen early help and reduce avoidable entries into care.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At 31 March 2025, there were 740 Gypsy Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage Children Looked After. This represents 0.9% of all children looked after. The Office for National Statistics 2021 census reported that Roma and White Gypsy or Irish Traveller children account for 0.4% of the child population.
The Families First Partnership Programme, backed by £2.4 billion over three years, is delivering national reforms to Family Help, Multi‑Agency Child Protection, and Family Group Decision Making. Funding is ringfenced for prevention, with local authorities deciding how best to support vulnerable children, young people, and families, including those of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
The government aims to shift children’s social care toward earlier intervention. Central to this is the development of multi‑disciplinary Family Help teams working within communities to provide early, wraparound support. These reforms aim to improve outcomes, prevent escalation of need, and reduce long‑term costs by safely decreasing the number of children entering care.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the accuracy, consistency, and disaggregation of ethnicity data relating to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities across public services, following research set out in the Advicenow briefing Unpacking imperfect data: Roma overrepresentation and the need for analytical precision, published in November 2025, indicating that current data practices prevent a reliable understanding of levels of need and representation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in care.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary for the Office of National Statistics.
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Whitaker
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
09 March 2026
Dear Baroness Whitaker,
As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what steps are being taken to improve the accuracy, consistency, and disaggregation of ethnicity data relating to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities across public services, following research set out in the Advicenow briefing Unpacking imperfect data: Roma overrepresentation and the need for analytical precision, published in November 2025, indicating that current data practices prevent a reliable understanding of levels of need and representation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children in care (HL15068).
The Government Statistical Service’s (GSS) harmonisation team oversees the development and review of harmonised standards [1] for statistical data collection across the public sector. In developing harmonised standards, the GSS harmonisation team considers the data needed to inform policy, for equalities monitoring and for service delivery. This enhances the value from public sector data collections by improving the comparability and coherence of statistics across sources. We acknowledge the difficulty in data collection and disaggregation for some populations, particularly where sample sizes are small.
The current ethnicity harmonised standard [2] is based on the 2011 Census questions across the UK. The questions were reviewed and adjusted so they could be used in the 2021 Census for England and Wales, the 2021 Census for Northern Ireland, and the 2022 Census for Scotland. In these censuses, the category “Gypsy or Irish Traveller” was included as a tick box in England, Wales, and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, this category was tailored specifically to “Irish Traveller”. As part of the 2021 census updates, “Roma” was included as a separate tick box option in all nations.
The GSS is currently reviewing the harmonised standard on ethnicity, with the intention to encourage consistent and inclusive data collection across the Government Statistical Service. As part of the review, the team recently ran a public consultation [3] to gather evidence of user, community, and respondent need for additional tick boxes in the new ethnicity harmonised standard; ethnic groups represented in existing response options, as described above, will be retained.
The proposed new ethnicity harmonised standard for online data collection will be published by the end of 2026. We have published wider detail on the programme of work online [4]. We are working closely with departments and organisations across government to encourage adoption of the harmonised standard and support its effective implementation.
While we encourage data collectors in the GSS to align to harmonised standards, they are not compelled to do so. Some non-statistical data collectors in the public sector and beyond also align, though due to operational constraints sometimes this alignment is not always to the latest standard. Meanwhile, the GSS recognises that some data collectors choose not to align because their needs for data differ. This is why the options for responding to ethnicity questions vary across different data collectors.
Additionally, a team within the UK Statistics Authority is conducting qualitative research with Roma communities in England and Wales, due to be published later this year. The findings will support a more nuanced understanding of their lived experience and specific needs, as well as providing insights to inform statistical producers in considering how Roma identity is represented and captured in data in the future.
Yours sincerely,
Darren Tierney
[2] https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/ethnicity-harmonised-standard/
[3] https://consultations.ons.gov.uk/harmonisation/gss-ethnicity-harmonisation-consultation/
[4] https://analysisfunction.civilservice.gov.uk/policy-store/review-of-the-ethnicity-harmonised-standard-overview-of-our-redesign-research-to-date/
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people from the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities have benefited from the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee. We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee through the launch of eight place-based Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England in Spring 2025. These trailblazers are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people aged 18-21 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.
At the budget, we announced the expansion of the Youth Guarantee, backed by £820 million investment over the next three years to reach almost 900,000 young people. This includes expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.
The DWP Place‑based toolkit helps Jobcentre Plus Districts to understand their local populations, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and identify how best to support their needs. This includes bringing together information about local people, employers, partners, labour market trends, and available funding to help tailor support effectively.
Apprenticeship starts by the Gypsy or Irish traveller ethnicity group are published here (see attached): 'Learner Characteristics Ethnicity - Starts, Achievements, Participation by Age, Level, Ethnicity, Sex, LLDD' from 'Apprenticeships', Permanent data table - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK.
2024/25 | ||||
Total | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 160 |
Under 19 | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 50 |
Under 19 | 50 | |||
19+ | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 120 |
19-24 | 40 | |||
25+ | 70 | |||
__________________________________________________________________________
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the foundation apprenticeships introduced in 2025 have been taken up by people from the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government’s ambition is to transform young people’s prospects, by ensuring every one of them, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, has the chance to earn or learn through a Youth Guarantee. We have already taken the first steps towards delivering a Youth Guarantee through the launch of eight place-based Youth Guarantee Trailblazers in England in Spring 2025. These trailblazers are testing innovative approaches to identify and deliver localised support to young people aged 18-21 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.
At the budget, we announced the expansion of the Youth Guarantee, backed by £820 million investment over the next three years to reach almost 900,000 young people. This includes expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain and a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, offering a dedicated session and follow-up support to 16-24-year-olds on Universal Credit. This investment will also create around 300,000 more opportunities to gain workplace experience and training. In addition, it will provide guaranteed jobs to around 55,000 young people aged 18-21.
The DWP Place‑based toolkit helps Jobcentre Plus Districts to understand their local populations, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, and identify how best to support their needs. This includes bringing together information about local people, employers, partners, labour market trends, and available funding to help tailor support effectively.
Apprenticeship starts by the Gypsy or Irish traveller ethnicity group are published here (see attached): 'Learner Characteristics Ethnicity - Starts, Achievements, Participation by Age, Level, Ethnicity, Sex, LLDD' from 'Apprenticeships', Permanent data table - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK.
2024/25 | ||||
Total | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 160 |
Under 19 | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 50 |
Under 19 | 50 | |||
19+ | White | Gypsy or Irish Traveller | Total | 120 |
19-24 | 40 | |||
25+ | 70 | |||
__________________________________________________________________________
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Women’s Budget Group and the Traveller Movement Uneven Paths: Socio-Economic and Structural Inequalities Facing Women from Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller Communities, published on 5 February; and what plans they have, if any, to implement the recommendations of that report.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government thanks the Women’s Budget Group and the Traveller Movement for their work on this report which highlights the intersecting socio-economic and structural inequalities faced by women and girls from Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller communities.
The government acknowledges the multiple challenges these communities are facing and is committed to tackling inequality and discrimination in education, employment, health and the criminal justice system, and reducing violence against women and girls (VAWG).
The VAWG Strategy lays out the government’s ambition and action to halve these abhorrent crimes in a decade. All victims, including the Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller community are considered and integrated into our response, and every commitment set out in the Strategy will consider the Romani (Gypsy), Roma and Irish Traveller community.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 3 February (HL14086), what plans they have, if any, to use the ethnicity harmonised standards in published statistics; why the Offender Management Statistics use the 6+1 identity code system; and whether they plan to start to use the 18+1 identity code system.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In accordance with the principles embodied in the Code of Practice for Statistics; Trustworthiness, Quality and Value, we keep statistics for publication under continuous review. Uniform standards across Government are applied wherever appropriate, including in the reporting of ethnicity, where it is necessary to balance the benefit of a high level of detail in data gathering, against ease of interpretation for those reporting the information, and the value of consistency in reporting over time.
In the case of Offender Management Statistics, the 18+1 classification is used for the ethnicity information published in the annual prison population tables, which supplement the 6+1 series produced quarterly.