Written questions by Hayes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed funding reductions to (a) Overseas Development Assistance and (b) USAID on the rebuilding of Tigray following the cessation of the civil war in Ethiopia.

Women and girls are a priority focus of UK aid across Ethiopia. UK aid is providing safe spaces for women and girls as well as support across health, social and legal services.Detailed decisions on how the future Official Development Assistance budget will be used will be determined as part of the ongoing Spending Review. We are assessing implications of the US funding pause across development sectors and geographic regions including Ethiopia. We are gathering information and working with donor partners to share analysis of the pause and understand its impact.

What estimate she has made of the number of families unable to access the Support for Families with Disabilities grant scheme due to oversubscription in 2024-25.

This government’s ambition is that all families with children and young people with disabilities receive the right support, regardless of socio-economic background. The Supporting Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to around 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child to support with the additional costs that families can face.Where families experience challenges, the department signposts available support from the family’s local Information, Advice and Support Service. This is independent of the local authority and can provide impartial advice about local special educational needs and disabilities arrangements and support for children’s needs.In addition, the department also signposts families to Contact, a national charity for families with disabled children, which provides information, advice and support, and brings families together to support each other.

If his Department will make the data on the use of symptomatic FIT for patients with suspected bowel cancer symptoms across each ICB publicly available.

The Department does not hold the data at an integrated care board level, however, data for the number of lower gastrointestinal referrals, at a practice level, with a Faecal Immunochemical Test attached, is publicly available through the Investment and Impact Fund. It can be found in the monthly data by the following codes: CAN03; and CAN04.

What discussions she has had with the Future of Work Cabinet Committee on (a) employment support and (b) paid employment leave for kinship carers.

The department recognises the challenge that many kinship carers face in continuing to work alongside the pressures of taking in and raising a child.‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’ sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to best meet the needs of kinship carers. The department encourages all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes can be made.The department employs more than 7,500 public sector workers and has recently joined a small number of private sector employers, including Card Factory, Tesco and John Lewis, in offering a pay and leave entitlement to all eligible staff who become kinship carers.This government has also committed, in the Plan to Make Work Pay, to review the system of parental leave to ensure that it better supports working families.It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place at Cabinet and its committees is not normally made public.

For what reasons her Department has withdrawn funding for non-specialist disabled students' allowance software.

The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.

How her Department plans to assess the outcomes of the kinship allowance trial scheme.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

Which local authority areas have been selected to take part in the kinship allowance trial scheme.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

What her planned timetable is for launching the kinship allowance trial scheme; and if she will make a statement.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.In October 2024, we announced a £40 million package to trial a kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. The pilot will provide a weekly financial allowance to kinship carers to support them with the additional costs incurred when taking on the parental responsibility of a child.The kinship allowance pilot will begin in autumn 2025, with assessment of immediate impact and options for national rollout informed by an independent evaluation. The department will confirm the eligible cohort for the pilot, as well as the participating local authorities, in due course.

Whether her Department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision to withdraw funding for non-specialist disabled students' allowance software.

The department made the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from the disabled students’ allowance (DSA) funding on the grounds that there are now free-to-access versions available with the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs. It is therefore not an effective use of public money to continue to fund this type of software through the DSA. Full details of the policy change are available at: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/media/2070/ssin-spelling-and-grammar-software.pdf.The department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to the decision, which is attached to this response.

What discussions he has had with NHS England on increasing the use of symptomatic FIT for patients with suspected bowel cancer symptoms within General Practice.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening program currently invites people aged 56 to 74 years old for a screening every two years. However, this age cohort is being expanded to people aged 50 to 74 years old in 2025, with the use of Faecal Immunochemical Test kits which can be sent directly to people's homes.Furthermore, the National Health Service is prioritising the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics, including for those with bowel cancer.

What steps she is taking to confirm the future of the Support for Families with Disabilities grant scheme for future financial years.

Each year, the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is currently running a business planning exercise which will conclude with funding for programmes announced shortly.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Lifelong Links on (a) children and young people in care and (b) care leavers.

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

If her Department will extend funding for (a) family finding, (b) befriending and (c) mentoring programmes to 2025-26.

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of (a) family finding, (b) befriending and (c) mentoring programmes.

Stable support networks and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and helping care leavers to thrive.The department launched the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme in 2023. It is testing a range of programmes that seek to enable children and young people to connect with the important people in their lives, improve their sense of identity and community, and help them create and sustain consistent, stable and loving relationships. We are currently funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities, and this includes 23 Lifelong Links programmes.The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is subject to a formal evaluation, with an initial report due later this year. The evaluation will help us understand the impacts for children in care and care leavers and assess the practicability of extending family finding and befriending and mentoring programmes in the future.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year, providing additional funding for core schools, early years and children’s social care, amongst other areas. We are actively working to finalise the details of the 2025/26 budgets, including funding for the family finding, befriending and mentoring programme.

What steps she is taking to review regulations allowing police forces to remove officers suspected of gross misconduct.

In October last year, the Home Secretary announced a package of reforms to strengthen police misconduct.That included a presumption of dismissal for proven gross misconduct, specified criminal offences automatically amounting to gross misconduct, and a presumption of accelerated hearings for former officers.These changes to regulations are expected to be laid as soon as practicable in the coming months

What steps she is taking to (a) support the Summer Reading Challenge and (b) help increase the number of children reading for pleasure.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. We know that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits, with strong links to attainment.The department welcomes the Reading Agency’s work on the Summer Reading Challenge, which has been going from strength to strength now for a quarter of a century. This has helped thousands of young people to read more and to improve their reading skills.The government has implemented a range of measures to support reading for pleasure. The English Hubs programme supports the teaching of phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure, with £23 million committed for the 2024/25 academic year to support this work. Furthermore, the government’s reading framework provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading, to ensure that every child is not only able to read proficiently but also develops a genuine love of reading.On 5 February, the government announced a £2 million investment to drive high and rising standards in reading and writing. Building on the success of phonics, teachers will receive additional training to help children progress from the early stages of phonics in reception and year 1 through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school. This will be delivered through the English Hubs programme.In secondary schools, teachers will be offered new training and resources this year to help them support readers at all levels, and next year the department will commission further training that will be focused specifically on struggling readers in secondary school who are at risk of falling behind.The current national curriculum states that teachers are expected to encourage pupils to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, in line with the government’s ambition for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.

What comparative assessment she has made of trends in the level of children identified with special educational needs in (a) local authority maintained schools and (b) academies.

Information on the numbers of pupils in schools in England with education, health and care (EHC) plans, and special educational needs (SEN) without an EHC plan, by the type of school attended in the academic years 2015/16 to 2023/24, is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/18296cee-15b6-4a0d-e280-08dd5a6d191a. Further information on the numbers of pupils with SEN is available in the statistical publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/special-educational-needs-in-england.

What discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for future teacher pay increases.

This government is committed to supporting schools to deliver on the opportunity mission, as shown by the funding increases seen in the core schools budget grant for 2024/25 and at the Autumn Budget 2024, in the context of a challenging fiscal picture. Planning for the multi-year spending review is taking place across government, and the department will provide further updates on funding for schools in due course.Pay for teachers and leaders in maintained schools is set through an annual statutory process with independent recommendations made by the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB). Each year the STRB recommends a pay award based on different factors, including the economy, school workforce data and evidence from organisations including the department, employers and the teaching unions. The government then considers the recommendations in depth and decides on the pay award teachers receive for the coming year.Final decisions on the teacher’s pay award for 2025 will be made following recommendations from the independent pay review body process.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of immigration and asylum policies on poverty among migrant children.

The Government keeps all immigration and asylum policies under constant review and considers support for families with children noting the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as required by section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of immigration and asylum policies on poverty among migrant households.

The Government keeps all immigration and asylum policies under constant review and considers support for families with children noting the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, as required by section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.