Written questions by Eccles.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that children have access to a (a) full and (b) balanced curriculum; and what steps she is taking to help ensure that children have access to the creative arts (i) up to and (ii) after GCSE level.

The department wants every child, regardless of background, to have a rich and broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum.Art and design, music, dance (included in physical education) and drama (included in English) are in the national curriculum and are compulsory in all maintained schools. From key stages 1-3 for art and design, music, and dance; and key stages 1-4 for drama. At key stage 4, all pupils in maintained schools have an entitlement to study an arts subject, if they wish.The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review aims to ensure that all pupils gain knowledge and skills that set them up for life. The Review will publish its final report in the autumn, and the government will respond.Alongside the Review, we have announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, to help meet the government’s ambitions for improved and more equitable arts education.

What steps she is taking to ensure the safety of girls and young women in public places.

Ensuring the safety of women and girls in public spaces is a top priority for this Government. We have set out an unprecedented mission to halve the level of violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. That means working to tackle threats to women's safety in all areas of their lives, including in public places. To underpin this ambition, we will shortly be publishing a VAWG Strategy.

What steps she is taking to help end discrimination against the trans community.

It is crucial that LGBT+ people are safe, included and protected from discrimination. To achieve this we must end the recent politics of division. Trans people are protected from harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender reassignment in the Equality Act 2010.Work is already underway to fulfil the commitments set out in the Government’s manifesto, advancing the rights and protections afforded to trans people including: delivering a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices; ensuring that all trans people receive appropriate and high-quality health care; and equalising all existing strands of hate crime to make transphobic hate crime an aggravated offence.

What steps she is taking to help reduce violence against women and girls in the West Midlands.

Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this Government and we have set an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.West Midlands Police is one of the first five police forces to embed domestic abuse specialists in 999 controls rooms under Raneem's Law. ·The domestic abuse specialists are using their expertise to advise on risk assessments, work with staff to quality assure the standard of response being given, and ensure victims are referred to appropriate support services swiftly. Raneem's Law is made in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem's ex-partner. There were 13 reports made to the police reporting concerns for Raneem's safety, but no arrest was made. On the night she was killed, she rang 999 four times. We want to ensure police control rooms are prioritising domestic abuse incidents, so that this cannot happen again.The Home Office has invested £1.6 million this year in the West Midlands to identify what works to prevent VAWG and to increase the availability of domestic abuse perpetrator intervention programmes in order to improve victim safety and reduce the risk posed by abusers. We are providing over £500,000 to The Children's Society to deliver interventions for children affected by domestic abuse in the North West, West Midlands and the South West. These provide trauma-informed support provision to children and work with frontline agencies to raise awareness of children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse.In May, I announced the Government was investing up to £19.9 million this year to provide vital support to victims of VAWG. This money is being invested in national VAWG helplines, supporting victims of domestic abuse, 'honour'-based abuse, revenge porn and stalking services to help prevent and improve the response to VAWG. As well as providing funding for national services across England and Wales, we are providing support for children affected by domestic abuse, support for migrant victims, work to increase the understanding and identification of VAWG, work to prevent 'honour' based abuse and improving multi-agency working and risk management.We will go further than ever before to deliver a cross-Government transformative approach to tackling violence against women and girls, which will be underpinned by a new VAWG Strategy later this year

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the 10 Year Health Plan for England on the Black Country.

The 10-Year Health Plan will ensure a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or geography. The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver more care locally, including in urban areas like the Black Country, supporting people to stay healthier.The neighbourhood health service will reflect the specific needs of local populations. Over the course of the plan, neighbourhood health centres will be available in every community, including the Black Country, providing easy access to general practitioners, nurses, and wider support, such as employment advisers, all under one roof. The Government will begin establishing neighbourhood health centres in places where healthy life expectancy is lowest.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating DBS checks for people who wish to stand for election.

The Government has no plans to introduce a requirement for candidates to undergo DBS checks before standing for elections. Candidate selection in elections is a matter for political parties.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the post- (a) 16 and (b) 18 support for young people raised in kinship.

This government is committed to ensuring more children are supported in a strong kinship care arrangement, avoiding care where possible, because we know that this leads to better outcomes.We are legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require local authorities to publish a local offer for children and families in kinship arrangements and requiring local authorities to offer family group decision making to families with children on the edge of care. These measures will ensure more children are supported within their family networks, and with kinship carers instead of entering care.Some children in kinship care, such as those placed with kinship foster carers, are entitled to leaving care support if they have been in care for a minimum of 13 weeks, some of which was after they reached age 16, when they cease to be looked after. This includes support from a Personal Adviser up to the age of 25, and support to engage in education, employment or training, including a £2,000 bursary if they attend higher education.This support will also include providing continuity of support and relationships when care leavers reach age 18 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme and investing in family-finding, mentoring and befriending programmes.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the probation service in the West Midlands.

Performance ratings for prisons in the West Midlands are published by the Ministry of Justice as part of the Annual Prison Performance Ratings. The 2023-24 ratings can be found at: Prison Performance Ratings: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.The performance of the Probation Service in the West Midlands is published as part of the Community Performance Annual publication. The 2023-24 edition can be found at: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.The ratings for 2024-25 for both prisons and probation will be published on 31 July 2025.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of prisons in the West Midlands.

Performance ratings for prisons in the West Midlands are published by the Ministry of Justice as part of the Annual Prison Performance Ratings. The 2023-24 ratings can be found at: Prison Performance Ratings: 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK.The performance of the Probation Service in the West Midlands is published as part of the Community Performance Annual publication. The 2023-24 edition can be found at: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.The ratings for 2024-25 for both prisons and probation will be published on 31 July 2025.

What steps is she taking to tackle misogyny against girls and young women.

Tackling misogyny is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year. Education has an important role to play in reducing misogyny; statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education makes clear that schools must build a culture where issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, and gender stereotyping are not tolerated. The Department for Education is reviewing this guidance to ensure that it enables schools to tackle harmful behaviour, as this Government is determined to ensure that misogyny and sexual violence are stamped out.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of oral nicotine pouches on public health.

Nicotine is the active ingredient in oral nicotine pouches, which is a highly addictive drug. Unlike vapes, nicotine pouches currently have no set nicotine limits, and nicotine strengths can be extremely high. The use of nicotine pouches is increasing, particularly among young men. Among adults in Great Britain, 5.4% tried nicotine pouches in 2024.The Government is committed to protecting future generations from the harms of nicotine addiction. That is why, alongside vapes, we are taking action to control these products through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill will ban the advertising and sponsorship of all consumer nicotine products, ban their sale to anyone under 18 years old, and prohibit free distribution. The bill also provides powers to regulate the flavours, ingredients, which includes nicotine strength, packaging, and displays of vapes and nicotine products.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations has he made to his Israeli counterpart on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The Prime Minister spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 29 July. He said that the situation in Gaza was intolerable and that the need for humanitarian access is now more pressing than ever before. He urged him to take immediate action to lift all restrictions on aid access and get those suffering in Gaza the food they need. Further to this, the Prime Minister made a statement on 29 July in which he outlined the need for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still held by Hamas, and that the UN be allowed to send humanitarian assistance into Gaza on a continuing basis to prevent starvation in Gaza. We recognise Israel's decision to allow temporary pauses and partially unblock aid; however, we have been clear with our Israeli counterparts that this is not enough to alleviate the suffering of the people in Gaza. Restrictions on aid must be permanently removed, and the UN must be enabled to deliver aid safely and at-scale.

Communities and Local Government, what steps has she taken to ensure (a) fairness and (b) transparency in the allocation of social housing.

Local housing authorities set their own allocation schemes, governed by a legal framework set by central government. This allows councils to design schemes in a way that best meets local needs.Local housing authorities must publish a summary of their allocation scheme and ensure that advice and information is available free of charge to everyone in their area about the right to apply for an allocation of accommodation.Applicants have the right to information that will enable them to assess how their application is likely to be treated under the authority’s allocation scheme, including whether they are likely to fall within any of the priority categories and whether accommodation appropriate to their needs is likely to be made available.Allocation schemes must also be framed so as to give applicants the right to be informed of certain decisions and the right to review certain decisions.To ensure that the most vulnerable in society can access the housing support they need, this government has exempted domestic abuse victims and young care leavers, alongside veterans, from local connection tests to facilitate their access to social housing. We will be updating statutory guidance to reflect these changes and will keep this guidance under review.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to facilitate accessibility to the arts for young people outside of the visual media sector.

Improving access to the arts for children and young people is a priority of this Government.To increase children and young people’s access to enrichment opportunities in the arts and culture, alongside sports and wider youth services, the recently announced Dormant Assets Scheme Strategy has allocated £132.5 million in England towards youth. In addition, 79% of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations work with children and young people, such as theatres, opera and dance companies. For example, the Royal Opera House works with schools and community groups across the country to engage people in opera and ballet.Arts Council England funds the National Youth Dance Company and National Youth Music Organisations which play a vital role in increasing young people's access to the arts in the UK by offering high-quality training and performance opportunities, and by conducting outreach to schools and communities with higher proportions of young people from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds.The Department for Education has also launched an expert-led, independent Curriculum and Assessment Review covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. This includes creative subjects such as art, music and drama.

Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the BBC on the balance of political views in their programming.

The Secretary of State was clear in her statement to Parliament that the scenes from the Bob Vylan performance at Glastonbury were utterly appalling and unacceptable. This Government will not tolerate antisemitism – it has absolutely no place in our society and we will be unrelenting in our work to root it out and it should not be given a platform.The BBC is editorially independent, and decisions on what content to broadcast, and how they broadcast that content, are a matter for the BBC. However, it is right that the BBC has acknowledged that the livestream of the performance should have come off air and that they are reviewing their guidance. There remain very serious questions at the highest levels of the BBC about operational oversight and the way in which editorial standards are implemented.As set out to Parliament, the Secretary of State has spoken to both the BBC Director General and Chair directly and has written to the Chair to ask for an urgent and detailed explanation about what immediate steps they intend to take. We expect answers to these questions without delay and expect lessons to be learned and rapid action to be taken.Ofcom is also in the process of obtaining further information from the BBC as a matter of urgency, including what procedures were in place to ensure compliance with its own editorial guidelines.Charter Review will consider editorial standards for the BBC. The Government will also build on the Media Act and Ofcom’s Public Service Media review by taking action to support public service media and the wider television ecosystem. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Government will update the policy and regulatory framework to respond to the changing market and promote a more level playing field, while maintaining universal access to distinctive and trusted public service content. This work will complement the BBC Charter Review.

Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of holding the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry.

The Government has clearly laid out its priorities in the manifesto and in the King’s speech, and the second part of Leveson is not among them.

With reference to the Budget Statement 2024, the Spring Statement 2025 and the Spending Review 2025, what forecast she has made of levels of child poverty during this Parliament.

The Department publishes the estimated impact of specific policies where appropriate. The Department, for example, recently made public the impact of the expansion of the Free School meal extension announced as part of the Spending Review 2025. The impact assessment can be found here [Free School Meals expansion - Impact on poverty levels - GOV.UK]. The impact demonstrated that Free School Meals will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year [including Barnett impact]Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is a priority for this Government. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in autumn that will deliver fully funded measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty.The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.As a significant downpayment ahead of Strategy publication, we have already taken substantive action across major drivers of child poverty through Spending Review 2025. This includes an expansion of Free School Meals that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of the parliament, establishing a long-term Crisis and Resilience Fund supported by £1 billion a year (including Barnett impact), investing in local family support services, and extending the £3 bus fare cap. We also announced the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation and £13.2 billion including Barnett impact across the Parliament for the Warm Homes Plan.Our commitments at the 2025 Spending Review come on top of the existing action we have taken which includes expanding free breakfast clubs, capping the number of branded school uniform items children are expected to wear, increasing the national minimum wage for those on the lowest incomes and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions.

What steps is she taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce child poverty.

The government is determined to tackle child poverty and will publish an ambitious strategy this autumn that will address its structural and root causes. As a downpayment on that strategy, we are expanding Free School Meals in England to all children with a parent receiving Universal Credit (UC), lifting 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this parliament. The Spending Review also funded the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, committed £13.2 billion for the Warm Homes Plan, and provided £1 billion a year including Barnett impact to enable a new, multi-year Crisis and Resilience Fund. Beyond this, we have increased the National Living Wage by 6.7%, introduced the Fair Repayment Rate so that around 1.2 million families keep more of their UC award each month, expanded the Warm Home Discount to every billpayer on means-tested benefits, and announced an uplift to the UC Standard Allowance, which will rise to 5% above inflation by 2029-30.

What proportion of released convicts go on to reoffend within two-years of their release.

The proven reoffending rate and methodology is calculated using a one-year follow up period. Providing this information for a new two-year reoffending measure would be of disproportionate cost.The proven reoffending rate for adult offenders released from custody was 37.5% for the 2022/23 offender cohort (latest year for which reoffending data is available).

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of supervised consumption sites for people with drug addictions in order to assist them in rehabilitation.

This government will continue to support preventative public health measures to support people to live longer and healthier lives and we are committed to ensuring that anyone with a drug problem can access the help and support they need.The government has no current plans to facilitate the introduction of drug consumption rooms.