Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) parents and (b) carers reading to children in the early years on the mental wellbeing of (i) children and (ii) those (A) parents and (B) carers.

No such assessment has been made. We know that according to research, reading helps to reduce stress levels and could be beneficial to mental health and well-being.