Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October to Question 78154, how much of the £500 million allocated to local authorities for Family Help services is being allocated to help adoptive and kinship families with post placement support.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Family Help reforms are being delivered nationally through the Families First Partnership programme, offering services to all families, including adoptive and kinship families.
On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing total programme funding to £2.4 billion over this Spending Review period. This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities and partners to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real difference to families.
It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.
The department will soon pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, which will support around 4,500 children. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
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 patient safety risks, including those relating to malnutrition, among people with severe and very severe ME/CFS in England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In July this year, we published the final delivery plan (FDP) for myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, as set out in the FDP, the Department has worked with NHS England to develop an e-learning programme on ME/CFS for healthcare professionals, with the aim of supporting staff to be able to provide better care and improve patient outcomes. All three sessions of the e-learning programme, with sessions one and two having universal access, whilst the third session is only available to healthcare professionals, are now available at the following link:
https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/mecfselearning?nodeId=7288
To support healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and management of ME/CFS, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance, which can be found at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng206
It recommends that people with ME/CFS should be referred for a dietetic assessment by a dietician with a special interest in ME/CFS if they are losing weight and are at risk of malnutrition. The guidance also states that clinicians should recognise that symptoms of severe and very severe ME/CFS may mean that people are unable to eat and digest food easily, and may need support with hydration and nutrition. It suggests that managing this risk could include oral nutrition and enteral feeding.
The FDP includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail and British Transport Police on the potential merits of a standalone offence of assaulting a public transport worker.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker. Public transport workers and the wider public should be assured that where offenders commit acts of violence they will be arrested and brought before the courts. The railway has its own dedicated police force in the British Transport Police (BTP), to protect rail staff and passengers.
Officials from my Department engage regularly with Rail Delivery Group, Network Rail and BTP, and have highlighted that public transport workers already have extensive protection in existing legislation such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 which also covers more serious violence such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH), and courts must already consider offences against public facing workers as an aggravating factor under the Police Crime and Sentencing Act 2022. We do not consider that a standalone offence is necessary, or will have the desired outcome of reducing assaults.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with international partners on protecting women and girls in El Fasher, Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statements on Sudan made by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November, and by the Minister of State for International Development and Africa in the House of Lords debate on 27 November. We will provide further updates to the House in due course, including on our efforts to protect women and girls throughout Sudan.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are being undertaken to recruit speech and language therapists.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legal protections against assaults at work for public transport workers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker. Public transport workers and the wider public should be assured that where offenders commit acts of violence they will be arrested and brought before the courts. The British Transport Police have a specific remit to protect all rail staff and passengers.
Public transport workers do of course already have extensive protection in existing legislation such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 which also covers more serious violence such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH), and courts must already consider offences against public facing workers as an aggravating factor under the Police Crime and Sentencing Act 2022. We therefore do not believe that any further legal protections are necessary or would reduce assaults.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a standalone offence of assaulting a public transport worker.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is no place for abuse or assault of any worker. Public transport workers and the wider public should be assured that where offenders commit acts of violence they will be arrested and brought before the courts. The British Transport Police have a specific remit to protect all rail staff and passengers.
Public transport workers do of course already have extensive protection in existing legislation such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 which also covers more serious violence such as actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH), and courts must already consider offences against public facing workers as an aggravating factor under the Police Crime and Sentencing Act 2022. We therefore do not believe that creating a specific offence would have the intended purpose of reducing assaults.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether protections against assaults for retail workers in the Crime and Policing Bill will apply to public transport workers involved in the retail of (a) refreshments and (b) rail products and tickets.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Assaults against retail workers will be covered by a new offence which we are introducing via the Crime and Policing Bill. Our definition of retail worker captures someone working in or about retail premises for or on behalf of the owner or occupier of the retail premises.
Our definition is intentionally narrow, and does not include hospitality or transport staff, given the vital need to provide legal clarity and ensure there is no ambiguity for courts in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker and impacted during their job. Any ambiguity in identifying whether an individual is a retail worker, will likely lead the courts to take the case forward as common assault meaning specific recording attributed to a retail worker would not occur.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assess the impact of the April 2025 changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, including (a) the reduction in the fair access limit and (b) reductions in funding for (i) assessments and (ii) match funding.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access support. So far this year, over 12,500 applications have been approved, including almost 1,000 applications for specialist assessments. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78154 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what steps she has taken to ensure (a) adoptive and (b) kinship families receive appropriate help from local authority Family Help services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to rebalancing the children’s social care system, which is why we are rolling out the Families First Partnership programme. On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing the total funding provided for the programme to £2.4 billion over the next three years. This demonstrates our commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities, working in collaboration with partners, to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real, tangible difference to families.
We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.
It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.