Written questions by Athwal.

What steps she is taking to improve the nutritional quality of grab and go style foods in schools.

Awaiting answer.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure that family courts safeguard the wellbeing of both parents and children.

This Government is committed to ensuring that families involved in private family law proceedings receive the support they need and we are delivering a package of reforms to strengthen their wellbeing and safety throughout the process.A key part of this reform is the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989. We have carefully assessed the impact of this measure, which involves courts adopting an open minded enquiry into what is in a child’s best interests, rather than starting from an assumption about parental involvement. Repealing the presumption will help ensure that decisions about child arrangements keep the child’s welfare at the centre of decision-making and are based on a robust assessment of risk. The impact assessment can be found at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0389/Non-IRCC_impact_assessment.pdf.We are also expanding our Child Focused Courts programme nationally, which improves how Family Courts manage many private law children cases, including those involving a child arrangements order. By providing early risk assessment, specialist domestic abuse support and a non-adversarial, problem-solving process, it better safeguards the wellbeing of children and families.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement on children’s safety and wellbeing.

This Government is committed to ensuring that families involved in private family law proceedings receive the support they need and we are delivering a package of reforms to strengthen their wellbeing and safety throughout the process.A key part of this reform is the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act 1989. We have carefully assessed the impact of this measure, which involves courts adopting an open minded enquiry into what is in a child’s best interests, rather than starting from an assumption about parental involvement. Repealing the presumption will help ensure that decisions about child arrangements keep the child’s welfare at the centre of decision-making and are based on a robust assessment of risk. The impact assessment can be found at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/59-01/0389/Non-IRCC_impact_assessment.pdf.We are also expanding our Child Focused Courts programme nationally, which improves how Family Courts manage many private law children cases, including those involving a child arrangements order. By providing early risk assessment, specialist domestic abuse support and a non-adversarial, problem-solving process, it better safeguards the wellbeing of children and families.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of police powers to consider the cumulative impact of protests on the right and freedom to peaceful protest.

The Government remains committed to protecting the right to peaceful protest, while ensuring that communities are protected from repeated and sustained disruption. The cumulative disruption provision in the Crime and Policing Bill places a duty on senior officers to take account of the cumulative impact of protest activity when considering whether to impose conditions under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. Police forces can already take cumulative impact into account when imposing conditions on protests.All measures within the Crime and Policing Bill are assessed to be compatible with the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, under Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

What steps is the Department taking to reduce waiting times in the family courts.

This Government is committed to improving the performance of the Family Courts, and the Family Justice Board has agreed system-wide priorities and targets for reducing delay across England and Wales. The latest published data shows a reduction in the national average case duration for both public and private law cases.In London, which has particular challenges around Family Court delays, a dedicated Family Justice Strategy has been implemented, bringing together key partners and the judiciary. This work has included targeted investment over 2025/26 to tackle the outstanding private law caseload by providing additional court capacity and a focus on ensuring that courts follow the Public Law Outline, with clear arrangements for overseeing performance. These measures have already delivered a reduction in delays.The Child Focused Model for private law now operates in 10 of 43 Family Court areas and seek to enhance the experience of children and families. They have demonstrated significant impact on timeliness. Cases are concluding between 11-30 weeks quicker under the model and outstanding caseloads have been reduced by up to 50%. The Government announced on 17 March its intention to roll this model out nationally by the end of this Parliament

What steps his Department is taking to relocate all eligible Afghan nationals as part of the Afghanistan Settlement Scheme.

Under the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP), eligible Afghans continue to be relocated to the UK from third countries, once they have completed the strict security and entry clearance checks that are required to obtain a UK visa. His Majesty's Government continues to provide discretionary support for eligible Afghans in third countries while a decision is being reached on their UK entry clearance applications. It remains a priority for this Government to have successfully concluded the ARP by the end of this Parliament.

What steps his Department is taking to increase standards in and ensure effective regulation of the cosmetic surgery sector.

On 7 August 2025, the Government announced its plans to introduce measures to improve the safety of the cosmetics sector. This included prioritising the introduction of legal restrictions which will ensure that the highest risk cosmetic procedures are brought into Care Quality Commission regulation and can only be performed by specified regulated healthcare professionals.In addition, the Government also committed to legislating to introduce a licensing scheme in England for lower risk procedures through powers granted through the Health and Care Act 2022. Under this scheme, which will be operated by local authorities, practitioners will be required to obtain a licence to perform specified cosmetic procedures, and the premises from which they operate will also need to be licensed.  To protect children and young people, the Government is also committed to mandating age restrictions for cosmetic procedures.The proposals will be taken forward through secondary legislation and therefore subject to the parliamentary process before the legal restrictions, or licensing regulations, can be introduced. We are now working with stakeholders to develop detailed plans and intend to consult on proposals for restrictions around the performance of the highest risk procedures in the spring.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that genocide is not committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 9 June 2025 to Question 55524.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed Earned Settlement framework on the (a) family stability, (b) day-to-day security and (c) ability to access credit of Skilled Worker visa holders.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment her department has made of the potential impact of implementing retrospective a increase in the 5 year ILR route to 10 years on the wellbeing of children and families currently in the UK.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of implementing transitional arrangements for people on the 5 year ILR route.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the retrospective increase in ILR on skill levels in key industries such as health and social care.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

What assessment her Department has made of the cumulative impact of the extension and retrospective application of settlement requirements, including impacts on (a) workforce retention, (b) industrial productivity and (c) overall economic security.

The earned settlement model, proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, announced changes to the mandatory requirements and qualifying period for indefinite leave to remain. It is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026.The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Transitional arrangements refer to temporary measures or rules put in place to manage the shift from one system, or policy framework, to another. We are also seeking views on the potential impacts of the proposed changes on different groups. Details of the earned settlement model, including any transitional arrangements for those already in the UK, will be finalised following that consultation.The final model will also be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle antisemitism.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to help protect Jewish people in the UK.

Antisemitism has absolutely no place in our society, which is why we’re taking a strong lead in tackling it in all its forms. Police recorded 2,873 antisemitic hate crimes in 2024–25, accounting for 29% of all religious hate crimes. We work closely with partners to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities. The Community Security Trust has been allocated £28 million in 2025/26 through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant. This includes additional emergency funding of £10 million. On 17 December we published a summary of recent Government action on Antisemitism - Antisemitism: recent government actions and next steps - GOV.UK.

If his department plans to respond to the public consultation on the Government Statistical Service Harmonisation Standard for Ethnicity that concludes on 4 February.

The Department is not planning a central response to the public consultation on ethnicity harmonisation standards. However, it is likely that individual statistical production teams will have responded to the consultation. This information is not tracked nor held centrally.The Department recognises that harmonisation is important for effective and accurate data comparison. Harmonisation standards are “designed to promote alignment across organisations, not to enforce identical approaches”. Therefore, on a team level, statistical producers may have views on how standards apply to their datasets of interest and how ethnicity data collection and reporting should be altered. A formal, central response would not capture the nuances of user need.

Whether Sikhs and Jews are recorded as (a) ethnic or (b) religious groups by the agencies his department is responsible for.

The Department adheres to the current harmonised definitions for ethnicity and religion, which are owned and managed by the Office for National Statistics.

What assessment their Department has made of trends in the level of discrimination faced by (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as ethnic groups in the provision of their Department's services.

I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 18 July 2025 to PQ UIN 66615.

Communities and Local Government, whether data recorded by the department classifies (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as religious or ethnic groups.

As is usual practice for public bodies, the data recorded by this department is in line with the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) harmonised standard and therefore classifies Sikhs and Jews as religious groups. The ONS current harmonised standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS, which produces official statistics independently, launched a consultation to gather views on whether additional response options should be included in a future version of the ethnicity standard. This consultation has now closed, and the responses will be considered carefully.

What assessment their Department has made of trends in the level of discrimination faced by (a) Sikhs and (b) Jews as ethnic groups in the provision of their Department's services.

Like all public bodies, the Department is subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, in the exercise of its public functions. In line with this, the Home Office is required to assesses potential differential impacts on people with protected characteristics – including Sikhs and Jews– when developing or changing policies and services.Where relevant evidence indicates potential differential impacts on people with a protected characteristic compared to others without that characteristic, the Department must take this into account as part of its decision-making.