Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision to withdraw funding for non-specialist disabled students' allowance software.

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

The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.

The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons her Department has withdrawn funding for non-specialist disabled students' allowance software.

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

The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.

The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for launching the kinship allowance trial scheme; and if she will make a statement.

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

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.

In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.

The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authority areas have been selected to take part in the kinship allowance trial scheme.

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

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.

In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.

The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department plans to assess the outcomes of the kinship allowance trial scheme.

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

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.

In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.

The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on increasing the use of symptomatic FIT for patients with suspected bowel cancer symptoms within General Practice.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening program currently invites people aged 56 to 74 years old for a screening every two years. However, this age cohort is being expanded to people aged 50 to 74 years old in 2025, with the use of Faecal Immunochemical Test kits which can be sent directly to people's homes.

Furthermore, the National Health Service is prioritising the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics, including for those with bowel cancer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Future of Work Cabinet Committee on (a) employment support and (b) paid employment leave for kinship carers.

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

The department recognises the challenge that many kinship carers face in continuing to work alongside the pressures of taking in and raising a child.

‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’ sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to best meet the needs of kinship carers. The department encourages all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes can be made.

The department employs more than 7,500 public sector workers and has recently joined a small number of private sector employers, including Card Factory, Tesco and John Lewis, in offering a pay and leave entitlement to all eligible staff who become kinship carers.

This government has also committed, in the Plan to Make Work Pay, to review the system of parental leave to ensure that it better supports working families.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place at Cabinet and its committees is not normally made public.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Lifelong Links on (a) children and young people in care and (b) care leavers.

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

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.

The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.

The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of (a) family finding, (b) befriending and (c) mentoring programmes.

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

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.

The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.

The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will extend funding for (a) family finding, (b) befriending and (c) mentoring programmes to 2025-26.

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

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.

The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.

The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for future teacher pay increases.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government is committed to supporting schools to deliver on the opportunity mission, as shown by the funding increases seen in the core schools budget grant for 2024/25 and at the Autumn Budget 2024, in the context of a challenging fiscal picture. Planning for the multi-year spending review is taking place across government, and the department will provide further updates on funding for schools in due course.

Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Each year the STRB recommends a pay award based on different factors, including the economy, school workforce data and evidence from organisations including the department, employers and the teaching unions. The government then considers the recommendations in depth and decides on the pay award teachers receive for the coming year.

Final decisions on the teacher’s pay award for 2025 will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of families unable to access the Support for Families with Disabilities grant scheme due to oversubscription in 2024-25.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that all families with children and young people with disabilities receive the right support, regardless of socio-economic background. The Supporting Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to around 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child to support with the additional costs that families can face.

Where families experience challenges, the department signposts available support from the family’s local Information, Advice and Support Service. This is independent of the local authority and can provide impartial advice about local special educational needs and disabilities arrangements and support for children’s needs.

In addition, the department also signposts families to Contact, a national charity for families with disabled children, which provides information, advice and support, and brings families together to support each other.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make the data on the use of symptomatic FIT for patients with suspected bowel cancer symptoms across each ICB publicly available.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department does not hold the data at an integrated care board level, however, data for the number of lower gastrointestinal referrals, at a practice level, with a Faecal Immunochemical Test attached, is publicly available through the Investment and Impact Fund. It can be found in the monthly data by the following codes: CAN03; and CAN04.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent a breakdown of the peace agreement in Tigray.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is working with partners to prevent a return to conflict in the region by supporting implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. On 13 March, the UK issued a joint statement with the European Union and 23 other countries emphasising our support for the agreement and urging all parties to refrain from violence and engage in urgent dialogue.

We regularly engage all parties and the African Union guarantors of the agreement, to encourage implementation on the return of internally displaced persons and other outstanding issues. The UK also provides support for the demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process and funds the African Union's monitoring of the agreement as well as international and Ethiopian human rights monitoring. We also support investigatory capacity building across the country.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed funding reductions to (a) Overseas Development Assistance and (b) USAID on the rebuilding of Tigray following the cessation of the civil war in Ethiopia.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. UK aid is providing safe spaces for women and girls as well as support across health, social and legal services.

Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what development aid his Department is providing to Tigray in Ethiopia to help (a) support the victims of sexual violence and (b) tackle violence against women and girls.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. UK aid is providing safe spaces for women and girls as well as support across health, social and legal services.

Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to confirm the future of the Support for Families with Disabilities grant scheme for future financial years.

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

Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is currently running a business planning exercise which will conclude with funding for programmes announced shortly.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help increase capacity building within the African Union to tackle human rights violations.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to supporting the African Union's capacity to tackle human rights violations across Africa. This includes support to African Union-led efforts on conflict resolution, governance and security, which help to reduce the factors that often underpin human rights abuses. The UK is a leading supporter of the African Union's peacekeeping mission in Somalia, their continued mediation efforts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan and their efforts to call for a return to democracy in countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

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Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Helen Hayes (Chair); Mrs Sureena Brackenridge; Dr Caroline Johnson

Found: Yours sincerely, Helen Hayes MP Chair, Education Committee

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Helen Hayes (Chair); Mrs Sureena Brackenridge; Dr Caroline Johnson

Found: From the Chair Helen Hayes MP House of Commons Palace of Westminster London SW1A 0AA

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Found: From the Chair Helen Hayes MP House of Commons Palace of Westminster London SW1A 0AA

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Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Helen Hayes (Chair); Jess Asato; Dr Caroline Johnson, Amanda Martin

Found: Several MPs, including the chair of the Education Committee, Helen Hayes (Labour MP for Dulwich and

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Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

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Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

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Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

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Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

Found: Iqbal Mohamed Kirsteen Sullivan Mary Glindon Cat Smith Emily Darlington Torcuil Crichton Helen Hayes

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Found: Letter dated 09/04/2025 from Janet Daby MP to Helen Hayes MP regarding the Supporting Families Programme