Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average waiting time was for Ofsted registration of new children’s homes in each region in England in the last five years.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

There has been a sustained and unprecedented rise in applications to register children’s homes, particularly in certain areas of the country such as the North West.

In September 2025, in response to this rise Ofsted published their revised policy for prioritising children’s homes applications.

The criteria prioritise applications where a child subject to a deprivation of liberty order is being accommodated in a children’s home that is currently unregistered, the provision is being opened exclusively to look after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children transferred under the national transfer scheme, the provision is needed in exceptional circumstances in response to an emergency situation or where the provision is funded by the department.

Ofsted advise priority applications should receive a decision within 3 to 6 months; non-priority applications within 6 to 18 months.

Ofsted liaised closely with the department during the development of these criteria which align with our wider action to reshape the placements market which includes children’s homes. We are introducing a package of measures, including through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act which will help ensure we have the right homes in the right places for our most vulnerable children.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce delays in Ofsted registration for new children’s homes.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

There has been a sustained and unprecedented rise in applications to register children’s homes, particularly in certain areas of the country such as the North West.

In September 2025, in response to this rise Ofsted published their revised policy for prioritising children’s homes applications.

The criteria prioritise applications where a child subject to a deprivation of liberty order is being accommodated in a children’s home that is currently unregistered, the provision is being opened exclusively to look after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children transferred under the national transfer scheme, the provision is needed in exceptional circumstances in response to an emergency situation or where the provision is funded by the department.

Ofsted advise priority applications should receive a decision within 3 to 6 months; non-priority applications within 6 to 18 months.

Ofsted liaised closely with the department during the development of these criteria which align with our wider action to reshape the placements market which includes children’s homes. We are introducing a package of measures, including through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act which will help ensure we have the right homes in the right places for our most vulnerable children.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the value for money of using Crowborough Training Camp to accommodate asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

All large sites used for asylum accommodation are part of the Asylum Accommodation Programme which is part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP) and, as such, are required to publish Accounting Officer Advice summaries on GOV.UK, with the most recent having been published in November 2025.

We have improved our understanding of project costings by referencing actuals from previous sites such as Wethersfield, enabling more accurate budgeting and financial planning.

We are confident that the level of due diligence carried out on sites has improved and that value for money assessments take place at the appropriate stage.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners in custody serving standard determinate sentences, both in total, and broken down by offence, on the latest date on which the data is available.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

Data on prisoners serving determinate and indeterminate sentences are published regularly in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, which includes information on offenders by main custody type and offence group: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.

The data used to produce the accredited official statistics does not allow us to easily identify standard determinate sentences from all determinate sentences in a robust way and therefore the information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to Government support for grassroots sports facilities; and what action it is taking to help increase the capital investment available for the development of new 3G pitches.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England – which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

The Government is also investing £85 million into grassroots sport facilities through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities (MSGF) Programme in 2026/27. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded artificial grass pitches (AGPs), multi-sport hubs and changing pavilions. At least 40% of funded projects will have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to access a wider variety of sports including rugby, cricket and basketball.

The MSGF Programme aims to promote health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities.

Our delivery partner for the programme in England, the Football Foundation, are happy to discuss any queries relating to the funding application process. The Foundation also provide detailed guidance to applicants applying for both small and large projects, which can be found on the ‘What We Fund’ page on their website (https://footballfoundation.org.uk).

We are working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what grassroots sports facilities each community needs to inform future investment.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the findings of the research commissioned by the 1001 Critical Days Foundation on screen use among babies and children under two.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The evidence available on the harms and benefits of screen use in under-five year olds is emerging and mixed. We welcome the research commissioned by the 1,001 Critical Days Foundation and its contribution to the evidence base.

The early years are a critical period for children’s development. Screens can play a role, but healthy development depends on sufficient sleep, play, real-world interaction, and responsive adult engagement. On 27 March, the Government published advice on screen use for children aged zero to five years old on the Best Start in Life website. Informed by a panel of experts, it offers practical, non-judgemental support to help families balance screen use with other activities. We will keep this under review as the area develops and will determine whether our current advice to parents should change.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment they have made of the adequacy of the existing membership fee threshold for participants in the CASC scheme.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognises the important role that Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) play in supporting grassroots sport and promoting participation across the UK.

CASC rules, including the threshold for annual membership fees, are designed to ensure clubs that benefit from the scheme are accessible and affordable for people across all communities in the UK.

The current rules require that clubs membership fees must be set at a level that does not represent a significant barrier to participation.

The Government keeps the monetary thresholds for the CASC scheme under review. Any case for change must be weighed carefully against wider tax and spending priorities and support the scheme’s objectives to remain fair and inclusive. Currently, there are no plans to change thresholds in this area.