Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to review the right of appeal following final ombudsman decisions.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office has no plans to review the existing arrangements for challenging final ombudsman decisions.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communications ombudsman processes on consumer confidence in dispute resolution services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of communication ombudsman timescales on consumers.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) impartiality and (b) evidential handling procedures used by the communications ombudsman when determining complaints.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has plans to undertake a review of the consistency of decision-making of the communications ombudsman.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has not undertaken any recent assessment of the Communications Ombudsman and has no plans to do so. It is Ofcom’s duty under the Communications Act 2003 to approve and review Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) schemes for UK communication and postal services. One of the two schemes Ofcom currently approves is the Communications Ombudsman.
Ofcom undertook a formal review of the ADR schemes, concluding in July, and found both were working well for consumers. This review included research among consumers to understand their experience of using ADR. Ofcom’s full statement is available on its website.
Ofcom also monitors the schemes’ performance against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and publish the results on its website quarterly.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95258 on Children: Abuse, whether her Department has consulted with the organisations listed specifically on the risk of (a) increased amounts of children's data being held on the Children Not in School Register, and (b) potential data leaks which may result in harm to the children included in the list.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.
The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.
We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.
Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95259 on Home Education, whether home education experts were consulted on any training that may be needed for frontline workers collecting data for the Children Not in School Register.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.
The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.
We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.
Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95260 on Home Education, if her Department will publish a forecast of the funding to be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.
The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.
We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.
Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95260 on Home Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure any training delivered to local authorities is holistic and trauma informed.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.
The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.
We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.
Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95257 on Children: Data protection, whether her Department has consulted with the ICO on the safety of the increased amount of children's data to be held on the Children Not In School Register; and what steps she is taking to ensure this data is protected from data leaks and inappropriate sharing.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.
The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.
We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.
Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.