Written questions by Johnson.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on automatically enrolling all eligible pupils for free school meals.

The department recognises the vital role played by free school meals (FSM) and encourages all eligible families to take their entitlement up. There are currently around 2.1 million pupils eligible for and claiming FSM.To make it as easy as possible to receive FSM, the department provides the Eligibility Checking System, which allows local authorities to quickly verify eligibility for FSM.The department is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that all children have the freedom to achieve and thrive in education. Further to this, the department is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop a child poverty strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling its root causes and giving every child the best start in life. The strategy will be published in the spring.As with all government programmes, the department will keep its approach to FSM under continued review.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of not increasing Local Housing Allowance rates in 2025-26 on the number of households requiring temporary accommodation.

The Government recognises that homelessness levels are too high and there are a range of contributing factors. We will look carefully at these issues as we develop our strategy for ending homelessness. When reviewing the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), the Secretary of State considered a range of factors, including the private rental situation, the Government’s goals and missions, and the wider fiscal context and engaged with MHCLG. DWP currently spends around £30bn annually on housing support and the April 2024 increase to LHA costs approximately £7bn over 5 years. For those who need further support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233m compared to this year (2024/25). The increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings the total spend to nearly a billion pounds in 2025/26.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of additional funding for homelessness services.

I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 12953 on 18 November 2024.

What recent correspondence he has received from David Hare, Chief Executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network.

The Department has received several pieces of ministerial correspondence from the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) since the Government came into office. These have related to how the independent sector can support the Government’s commitment to return to the 18-week NHS Constitutional standard, improving patient safety, and invitations to attend the IHPN’s annual conference.The Department receives and welcomes ministerial correspondence from a range of key partners including think tanks, academics, patient groups, and other relevant bodies who can work with us to deliver on our commitments. The independent sector providers that the IHPN represents have a role to play in our key commitment of tackling waiting lists, using any additional capacity to tackle the backlog whilst still providing care that is free at the point of use and delivers value for money.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to employer National Insurance contribution rates on third sector organisations; and whether she plans to provide further funding to support charities with these costs.

The Government recognises the important role charities play in our society, and has made it a priority to reset the relationship with civil society and build a new partnership to harness their full potential by developing a Civil Society Covenant recognising the sector as a trusted and independent partner. Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. The tax reliefs available to charities are a vital element in supporting charitable causes across the UK, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 to 2024.To repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.The Government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of employers with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.The Government has committed to provide support for departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs only. This is the usual approach the Government takes to supporting the public sector with additional Employer NICs costs, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.

Media and Sport, how her Department plans to engage with (a) the cruise industry and (b) other tourism sectors in the development of tourism planning.

DCMS is committed to working collaboratively with all sectors of the tourism industry to support sustainable growth and resilience across the sector. The Department engages regularly with representatives from the cruise industry, as well as other key tourism stakeholders, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges each sector faces. These consultations will continue to inform our approach to tourism planning.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to engage with the cruise industry; and whether she plans to invite representatives of that industry to join industry groups that her Department convenes.

DCMS recognises the significant role the cruise industry plays in the broader tourism and hospitality sectors. The Department regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the tourism sector, including the cruise industry, to understand their perspectives and challenges. As part of our ongoing commitment to represent the diverse interests within tourism, DCMS is reviewing opportunities for industry representation in relevant groups and will consider the cruise industry’s inclusion in these forums where appropriate. Further details on stakeholder engagement will be made available in due course.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to consider the cruise industry’s role in (a) inbound, (b) outbound and (c) domestic tourism when determining the membership of a re-established Tourism Industry Council.

DCMS is reviewing how best it works with industry and local and devolved authorities to drive forward an ambitious plan for UK tourism and the visitor economy. We are committed to ensuring that we work with the whole of the tourism sector, including those who work in inbound, outbound and domestic tourism. We hope to make announcements soon.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect the Tara Park Traveller site in Liverpool; if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the consultation with the residents of that site on the potential impact of the Ten Streets development; and whether she plans to redevelop that site in line with the surrounding redevelopment proposals.

I am unable to comment on individual planning cases because of the departments quasi-judicial role in the planning system.However, planning policy is clear that, in respect of Traveller sites, it is for elected local authorities to make their own assessment of need to inform the preparation of local plans and make planning decisions. In assembling this evidence, local authorities should pay particular attention to early and effective community engagement with both settled and Traveller communities in their area.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7596 on Special Educational Needs, how many and what proportion of children who had been excluded from school were then registered at special schools by (a) sex/gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meal status and (d) region in each of the last 10 years.

The department does not centrally hold statistics showing how many children who had been excluded from school were then registered at special schools. However, there are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. The duties on schools and local authorities in relation to suspension and permanent exclusion are set out in statutory guidance, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of surveys undertaken by the Food Foundation Food entitled Food insecurity tracking, published in July 2024, on a potential link between ethnicity and food insecurity.

We are committed to tackling poverty in all its forms and this includes tackling food insecurity by reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people failing into poverty so will be the foundation of our approach. The Child Poverty Taskforce has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025. We will harness all available levers across government to bring about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change. Our jobcentres support our customers, including in ethnic minority groups, to move into employment by providing access to mainstream services and bespoke programmes that are designed to be flexible to individual needs. We are also taking targeted action in 20 places with a high ethnic minority employment gap. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose. As announced in the Autumn Budget, a new Fair Repayment Rate will be introduced from April 2025, reducing Universal Credit deductions overall cap from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year. We also announced that, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording the number of children registered at Pupil Referral Units who have previously been excluded from school.

All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.

Whether her Department has made a human rights impact assessment of the transition from Biometric Resident Permits to eVisas.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020: Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022: Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in due course, and we will continue to keep the issue under review. Human rights impacts on those with protected characteristics are part of the EIA consideration.

Whether her Department has made an equalities impact assessment on the transition from Biometric Resident Permits to eVisas.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020: Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022: Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in due course, and we will continue to keep the issue under review. Human rights impacts on those with protected characteristics are part of the EIA consideration.

Pursuant to the Answers of 14 October to Questions 7569 on Special Educational Needs and 7570 on Pupil Referral Units, how many and what proportion of children who attended Special Educational Needs schools were then registered at Pupil Referral Units in each of the last ten years, broken down by (a) sex/gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meal status and (d) region.

The department does not hold statistics centrally showing how many children who attended special schools were then registered at pupil referral units in each of the last ten years.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if her Department will undertake a manual audit of all children registered at Pupil Referral Units since 1 November 2023 to see how many have previously been excluded from school.

All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.

Whether she plans to take steps to lower the burden of proof for Windrush compensation scheme claims.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

When she plans to appoint a Windrush Commissioner.

In her written ministerial statement on 24th October, the Home Secretary announced plans to establish a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected, who will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.Officials are working at pace to design the recruitment process for the Windrush Commissioner. They are also working through the detail of the role and remit of a Windrush Commissioner including how they would interact and support other related public appointments such as the Windrush Compensation Scheme Independent Person, the Independent Examiner of Complaints and any appointment of a Migrant’s Commissioner.As promised, we have re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

What her planned timeline is for the review of accounting for the loss of private and occupational pensions under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

What steps she plans to take to (a) improve the efficiency of the application process for the Windrush compensation scheme and (b) limit further delays.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.