Written questions by Hinds.

With reference to her Written Statement of 22 October 2024 on Mainstream Free Schools, HCWS150, what progress her Department has made on the review of planned mainstream free schools.

The review that my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced in October 2024 will put a stop to the over-supply of unnecessary places and channel funding towards improving the deteriorating condition of existing schools and colleges and enable prioritisation of capital funding where it is most needed across the education estate to counter urgent condition need.Since the review was announced, departmental officials have been working through evidence gathered from trusts and local authorities to develop robust, evidence-based recommendations. We will update trusts and local authorities on next steps in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the impact on participation of the change in the average cost of domestic school trips since 2019; and if she will make an assessment of the trends in the levels of the contributing factors for the changes in that average cost.

The department is providing schools with an additional £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, taking total core school budgets to over £64.8 billion. Schools have autonomy over how they use this funding to best support their pupils based on their individual circumstance, including any spending decisions on school trips.

With reference to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, whether there will be a de minimis value below which a required uniform item would not count towards the limits for branded items of school uniform.

There will not be a de minimis value below which a required uniform item would not count towards the limit for branded items of school uniform. The department wants to ensure that the action we are taking to reduce the cost of uniform provides schools and parents with clarity about which items are in scope.The explanatory notes to the bill, which set out the detail of the measures included, are available here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/publications.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing auto-enrolment for free school meals.

The free school meals (FSM) scheme provides nutritious school lunches to children who could otherwise not afford them. To support take-up, the department provides an Eligibility Checking System so that eligibility can be checked as quickly and straightforwardly as possible. The department is pressing ahead with an upgraded Eligibility Checking System which will allow parents to check their own eligibility, making it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to register eligible children for FSM.The department is aware of locally led approaches to boost take-up of free lunches. To support these approaches, we are working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to explore options on data sharing that will make it easier to identify families who are eligible to make a claim. We expect to have these in place from spring next year, well ahead of the 2026 academic year.Officials are also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to consider how enrolment may be supported through the Universal Credit claims process.The department will monitor the impact of these policies and engage with local authorities to assess the impact that these changes are having on uptake of FSM.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Intensive Supervision Courts.

An interim process evaluation report, published in January 2025, indicates promising results on the effectiveness of ISCs: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6785311af029f40e50881712/process-evaluation-intensive-supervision-courts-pilot-interim-report.pdf.Offenders tested negatively for drug use two-thirds of the time and breach rates were low. The Ministry of Justice continues to be committed to an ongoing evaluation of the pilot, including a final process evaluation report to be published later this year, followed by impact and economic evaluations after the pilot concludes. These evaluations will help us understand the programme's effectiveness in reducing reoffending, improving offender outcomes and cost effectiveness.

Whether she plans to establish further Intensive Supervision Courts.

This Government is committed to expanding the use of robust community alternatives to custody, keeping offenders in the community and offering the right package of support to rehabilitate offenders and stop the revolving door of the justice system. The Independent Sentencing Review, announced by the Lord Chancellor, is due to publish its recommendations on sentencing reform in the Spring.Any future expansion of the pilot is subject to the upcoming Spending Review process. There must also be consideration of available evidence, alongside an assessment of existing capacity within the courts and probation.

When she next plans to review the per-meal funding rate for free school meals.

The department spends over £1.5 billion annually on the provision of free and nutritious meals to 2.1 million of the most disadvantaged school pupils, 90,000 low-income students in further education, and 1.3 million infant pupils. In addition to this, eligibility for free meals drives billions of additional pounds in disadvantage funding.The government will continue to engage with schools to ensure high-quality meals are provided for children. As with all government programmes, the department keeps free school meal provision under review.

If she will take steps to maintain the number of children eligible for free school meals at approximately the same level in the context of the maturity of the universal credit rollout.

Free school meal support is available to households receiving Universal Credit, and with an annual earned income of £7,400 or less.This government’s ambition is to drive down poverty through our Child Poverty Strategy and cross-government work to support more parents into employment and to increase their working hours.

When she next plans to review her Department's guidance on school food standards.

It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole-school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards define the foods and drinks that must be provided, that are restricted and those which must not be provided.We keep our approach to school food and its guidance under continued review.

What estimate she has made of the proportion of children educated otherwise than at school that would be eligible for free school meals and are in receipt of (a) free school meals and (b) vouchers in place of free school meals.

The department expects local authorities to consider free school meal (FSM) provision for children and young people receiving education otherwise than at school (EOTAS) in accordance with Section 61 of the Children and Families Act 2014.  This is set out in our published guidance.The department has not made a formal assessment of the proportion of children EOTAS who would be eligible for free meals and are receiving FSM or vouchers in place of FSM. We are clear, however, that local authorities should be considering food provision in line with our FSM guidance.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on the average cost of providing free school meals.

The department is providing schools and high needs settings with over £930 million in the 2025/26 financial year to support them with their increased National Insurance contributions (NICs) costs. This support is additional to the £2.3 billion increase to core school funding announced at the Autumn Budget 2024.Schools will have flexibility in how they use funding through their NICs grant allocations to meet their overall cost increases as a result of the NICs changes.

How many prison places for the estate in England were (a) under construction and (b) in planning, in (i) new build prisons (ii) prison extensions and small secure houseblocks and (iii) other projects as of May 2024.

As outlined in the recently published 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places through the 20,000 prison place programmes. This Government will deliver what the previous administration failed to achieve. We will get the prison places this country needs built and will ensure that we always have enough prison places to lock up dangerous offenders.Given the nuances of the planning system and prison build programmes, we have defined ‘in planning’ as developments submitted for, or awaiting, determination of full planning permission as of May 2024. Some projects within the 20,000 prison place programmes can be delivered through Permitted Development Rights and therefore do not require planning permission. Places that had received planning permission ahead of May 2024 have not been included in this response.We are aiming to deliver four new prisons (i), in addition to HMPs Five Wells and Fosse Way which have already been built. As of May 2024:c.1,500 places were under construction at HMP Millsike, which officially opened on 27 March 2025, alongside an additional c.245 place houseblock at HMP Fosse Way.c.4,900 places were in the planning system for the proposed new prisons in Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire and Lancashire.Other places within the 20,000 prison place programmes will be delivered through the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate ((ii) and (iii)) including Small Secure Houseblocks. As of May 2024:c.2,400 places were under construction.c.970 places were in the planning system.

If she will replicate the data line items included in the ad hoc publication Estimate of the number of prison places built and closed between 2010 and 2024, published on 25 October 2025, for each year from the earliest year for which data are available to 2010.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

What proportion of capacity made available through Operation Safeguard was used between its inception and July 2024.

Operation Safeguard is an important contingency measure used to ensure that the current demand on prison places does not cause undue disruption to Criminal Justice System partners. The first places were activated by the previous Government in February 2023.Between 20 February 2023 – 4 July 2024, 86,561 Operation Safeguard police cells were made available overnight.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 36626 on Prison Accommodation, what breakdown is available of the figure of a net 28,000 places added to the prison estate in England between 1997 and 2010 in terms of (a) place additions (b) place removals, (i) by year and (ii) in total.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

What the gross number of prison places added to the prison estate in England and Wales through new builds and extensions to prisons was between (a) 1997 and 2010 and (b) 2010 and 2024.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the availability of (a) in-school breakfast and (b) after school clubs on (i) workforce participation and (ii) average hours of work.

The evidence on the benefits of wraparound childcare to help parents work, and work more, is clear. Research shows 43% of non-working mothers report they would prefer to work if they could arrange good-quality, convenient, reliable and affordable childcare, and 54% of parents say they have problems finding formal childcare for their child that is flexible enough to fit their needs. As of February 2024, 76% of parents reported that the main reason that they used wraparound childcare was so that they or others in their household could go to or seek work. Parents who use a breakfast club report that its availability enables them to go to work.This is why, through the free breakfast clubs programme and the wraparound childcare programme, the department is creating more before and after school childcare places.We have procured an independent evaluator to conduct a robust evaluation of the wraparound programme, reporting in 2027. The evaluation seeks to understand the impact that expanded wraparound provision has had on the parental labour market participation and parental attitudes towards labour market participation and childcare use.The breakfast club early adopters scheme will provide a test and learn phase, allowing the department to develop robust evidence of the impact of the programme and implement lessons learned ahead of national rollout, to maximise the positive impact on families.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 36625 on Prison Accommodation, when she expects places to become available through the small house blocks programme.

As outlined in the recently published 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering 14,000 prison places the previous Government failed to get built. These places will be delivered through the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate, including Small Secure Houseblocks, as well as the construction of four new prisons, including the recently opened HMP Millsike.As set out in the NAO Report, we expect places to become available through the Small Secure Houseblocks programme from 2027.

What the gross number of prison places removed from the prison estate in England and Wales through permanent closures of whole (a) prisons and (b) wings was between (i) 1997 to 2010 and (ii) 2010 to 2024.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

What the average length of time was in which households were without power due to outage in (a) the (i) Basingstoke & Deane: Oakley and The Candovers, (ii) East Hampshire: Bentworth & Froyle, (iii) East Hampshire: Binsted Bentley & Selborne, (iv) East Hampshire: Four Marks & Medstead, (v) East Hampshire: Ropley Hawkley & Hangers, (vi) East Hampshire: Froxfield Sheep & Steep, (vii) East Hampshire: Buriton & East Meon local authority wards and (b) (A) Hampshire, (B) the South East and (C) England in each of the last five years.

The Department does not hold information on all historic power outages. The UK has one of the most reliable energy systems in the world and maintaining a secure electricity supply is a key priority for Government.