Written questions by Snell.

Whether his Department is taking steps with the food and drink industry to help tackle (a) poor diets and (b) obesity.

From data collected through the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, the Government knows that, compared to dietary recommendations, people are generally consuming too much sugar, saturated fat, salt, too many calories, and not enough fruit, vegetables, or fibre. This contributes to many people having poor diets and the high levels of obesity seen in both children and adults.The prevention of ill health is a priority for the Government, as is creating the healthiest generation of children. As the providers of the food and drink we eat, it is clear that the food industry has a key role in helping to improve the nation’s diet. For this reason, the Government has already published its response to the consultation on restricting junk food advertising on television and online, putting the legislation on track, and is committed to banning the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds.Other existing policies such as the legislated restrictions on the locations in supermarkets in which foods and drinks that are high in saturated fat, sugar, or salt can be promoted, and the voluntary reformulation programme, aim to encourage the food industry to make everyday food and drink healthier. Voluntary industry guidelines to reduce levels of salt and sugar in, and improve the marketing and labelling of, commercially available food and drink aimed at babies and young children aged up to 36 months, that form an additional workstream for the reformulation programme, are also expected to be published in the next month. The Department continues to review the balance between mandatory and voluntary incentivises to help tackle poor diets and reduce obesity.

What steps his Department is taking to promote UK-based food businesses to international markets.

DBT offers a wide range of export support for F&D businesses looking to expand overseas. We work with partners and industry across the UK to deliver a comprehensive programme to showcase British food and drink and deliver export opportunities to industry. With the support of our extensive overseas network we run a significant programme of trade shows, missions and events, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. For example, in October, we held a high-profile showcase at the British Residence in Paris, promoting the quality, heritage and innovation of UK F&D to a wide audience of global buyers.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to widen the scope for exporters to (a) licence and (b) use Government-generated brand identities for food and drink products.

The Government is proud of the high-quality British food and drink exports from all regions of the UK which were valued at nearly £25 billion last year. There are currently no plans to licence government-generated brand identities. The GREAT food and drink campaign, led by Defra, has been successfully promoting UK food and drink exports products using the government generated GREAT Campaign brand since 2017. In the last fiscal year (23/24) the GREAT food and drink campaign promoted over 600 UK food and drink brands in international markets under the GREAT campaign branding. Defra will continue to champion British food and drink exports under the GREAT brand so that these products can benefit from the recognition and familiarity that this impactful nation branding brings.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support new co-operatives and mutuals.

The Government recognises the important contribution of co-operatives and mutuals to the economy, serving local communities around the UK and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector with their model of shared ownership. According to the Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2024, there are currently 9,342 mutual and co-operative businesses in the UK, with an annual income of £165.7 billion. The Government is committed to unlocking the full potential of the mutual and co-operative sector to support inclusive growth and will work with the sector to ensure it is fully supported to grow. To help ensure co-operatives legislation is meeting the needs of co-operative and community benefit societies, the Government is funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. This will consider ways to update and modernise the Act.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6377 on Children in Care, whether her Department plans to collect data on the number of children removed from a family who have previously had a child removed from their care.

The department recognises the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experience of children, young people and families. A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and scoping ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time.Existing statutory data is captured about the child and does not capture the complex nature of families such as those where siblings do not live in the same family home. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care will be a long-term endeavour due to the need to agree data definitions and standards, as well as to redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what plans her Department has for the future regulation of housing in multiple occupation.

Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effectiveness of Article 4 directions for the purposes of regulating C3 to C4 conversions.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure that landlords of houses in multiple occupancy comply with all relevant regulations.

Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, whether her Department has received recent representations from local authorities on the permitted development rights for home owners seeking to covert their properties from C3 to C4 usage.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 6378 on Multiple Occupation, what steps her Department is taking to review those rights.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that parents receive appropriate support after children are removed from their care to prevent recurrence.

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole family working to support families with multiple issues before they reach crisis point, to stay together and thrive. This is at the heart of our reform agenda to rebalance the children’s social care system toward earlier intervention, which is aimed at improving families’ lives today, their outcomes in the future, and reducing costs to public services.Central to this ambition is testing a new model of Family Help which builds on best practice from well-evidenced programmes such as Supporting Families and Pause, which feature whole-family working and lead practitioners providing dedicated support to prevent re-referrals.The independent evaluation of the Supporting Families programme showed improved outcomes and positive returns on investment where every £1 spent on the programme delivered £2.28 of benefits. It also found a reduction of one third in the likelihood of children going into care two years after joining the programme, as well as reduced youth and adult crime, reduced domestic abuse, reduced benefits claims, reduced substance misuse, improved mental health, improved school attendance and reduced exclusions (evaluated between 2015 and 2020).Through the Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family network pilot the government is testing the implementation of intensive whole-family support in 10 pathfinder local authorities, where multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity.These local authorities are also making greater use of family networks, involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage, and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home. The pathfinder is being independently evaluated. Early evaluation findings are expected in spring 2025.

Whether the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include provisions to tackle repeat removals of children from the same families.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England. The department will deliver our manifesto commitments on children’s social care to ensure that all children can thrive in safe, loving homes. More information will be shared about the Bill in due course.

How many children entering care each year are from a family who have previously had a child removed from their care.

The department is unable to answer the question. We only collect data on individual children and do not collect data on families.

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the recurrence of child removals from the same families.

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole family working to support families with multiple issues before they reach crisis point, to stay together and thrive. This is at the heart of our reform agenda to rebalance the children’s social care system toward earlier intervention, which is aimed at improving families’ lives today, their outcomes in the future, and reducing costs to public services.Central to this ambition is testing a new model of Family Help which builds on best practice from well-evidenced programmes such as Supporting Families and Pause, which feature whole-family working and lead practitioners providing dedicated support to prevent re-referrals.The independent evaluation of the Supporting Families programme showed improved outcomes and positive returns on investment where every £1 spent on the programme delivered £2.28 of benefits. It also found a reduction of one third in the likelihood of children going into care two years after joining the programme, as well as reduced youth and adult crime, reduced domestic abuse, reduced benefits claims, reduced substance misuse, improved mental health, improved school attendance and reduced exclusions (evaluated between 2015 and 2020).Through the Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family network pilot the government is testing the implementation of intensive whole-family support in 10 pathfinder local authorities, where multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity.These local authorities are also making greater use of family networks, involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage, and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home. The pathfinder is being independently evaluated. Early evaluation findings are expected in spring 2025.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) financial savings of increasing investment in support for parents following the removal of a child from their care to prevent repeat removals.

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole family working to support families with multiple issues before they reach crisis point, to stay together and thrive. This is at the heart of our reform agenda to rebalance the children’s social care system toward earlier intervention, which is aimed at improving families’ lives today, their outcomes in the future, and reducing costs to public services.Central to this ambition is testing a new model of Family Help which builds on best practice from well-evidenced programmes such as Supporting Families and Pause, which feature whole-family working and lead practitioners providing dedicated support to prevent re-referrals.The independent evaluation of the Supporting Families programme showed improved outcomes and positive returns on investment where every £1 spent on the programme delivered £2.28 of benefits. It also found a reduction of one third in the likelihood of children going into care two years after joining the programme, as well as reduced youth and adult crime, reduced domestic abuse, reduced benefits claims, reduced substance misuse, improved mental health, improved school attendance and reduced exclusions (evaluated between 2015 and 2020).Through the Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family network pilot the government is testing the implementation of intensive whole-family support in 10 pathfinder local authorities, where multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity.These local authorities are also making greater use of family networks, involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage, and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home. The pathfinder is being independently evaluated. Early evaluation findings are expected in spring 2025.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the (a) voices and (b) experiences of birth parents who have experienced the removal of children from their care are included in (i) policymaking and (ii) service provision in the children's social care system.

The department is committed to engaging widely with those with lived experience of children’s social care, as well as all interested stakeholders, to help us drive the right change and scale up good practice in children’s social care across the country.Hearing the views of those with lived experience of children’s social care and responding to their recommendations is an important part of national and local children’s social care policy development and delivery. At a national level, the department has parents, including birth parents, and carers who sit on strategic advisory boards and policy reference groups covering different aspects of children’s social care reform policy. We have also engaged parents and families on consultations on children’s social care reform. The Supporting Families programme and the Families First for Children Pathfinder also ensure children and families’ voices inform service design and delivery.The department recognises there is more to do, and we continue to explore ways to grow and develop our ongoing engagement with those with lived experience of children’s social care, including parents and families.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) Whistleblowing Framework and (b) protections provided to whistleblowers.

The whistleblowing framework provides routes for workers to make disclosures about wrongdoing or someone covering up wrongdoing. Workers who blow the whistle are entitled to protection from detriment or dismissal, and have a route to redress where this happens. In the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government committed to strengthen protections for whistleblowers, including by updating protection for women who report sexual harassment at work. Through the Employment Rights Bill [introduced on 10 October], we will make it clear that disclosures about sexual harassment can qualify for whistleblowing protections.

What steps the Government plans to take to help protect whistleblowers from retaliation in the context of the proposed duty of candour for public bodies.

The Prime Minister announced at party conference that the duty of candour Bill will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in April 2025. The details of this Bill will be announced first to this House. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) serves to protect workers from suffering any detriment as a result of making a protected disclosure.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to remove permitted development rights for property owners seeking to convert properties from use class c3 to c4.

The Government will keep changes to permitted development rights under review.