Written questions by Pritchard.

How many minors were murdered by family members in 2022-23; and what steps she plans to take to help prevent such deaths.

In 2022/23, there were 201 notifications where a child had died and abuse or neglect was known or suspected or where a looked after child had died, whether or not abuse or neglect is known or suspected. These statistics show the number of incidents notified in the period, rather than the number of incidents that occurred in the period and are based on one notification per incident, which can relate to more than one child in some instances.Protecting children at risk of abuse and stopping vulnerable children falling through cracks in services are at the heart of the government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December. Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. This includes ensuring that every child is safe inside and outside of their home and has access to the right help at the right time.This government’s vision to ensure children are kept safe is reflected in the legislative changes we are making in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This includes:Improving information sharing across and within agencies through the use of a Single Unique Identifier for children.Strengthening protecting children from harm through integrated multi-agency child protection teams.Placing a new duty on safeguarding partners to ensure education is sufficiently involved in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.Ensuring parents have consent from local authorities to home educate children where there are child protection concerns.The department continues to deliver whole-system reform to help families to overcome challenges, stay together and thrive, where appropriate, and to keep children safe and in stable loving homes, including when they cannot stay with their family. This includes through the roll out of the Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family Networks Pilot, which includes multi-agency child protection reforms. The ‘Local Government Finance Settlement’ policy statement also set out an additional £250 million through the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant which will enable investment in prevention activity, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026.Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a priority for this government, and we are committed to using every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of such abhorrent behaviours. Cross-government delivery of the Opportunity and Safer Streets Missions is driving policy and practice improvements for child victims of domestic violence and abuse. The department is also working with other departments and the wider sector, including local authorities and schools, to ensure that children are recognised as victims in their own right in line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and that the best use is made of available resources in the provision of universal, targeted and specialist support for child victims.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to have mandatory allergy and anaphylaxis policies.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils with medi...

If she will require schools to have adrenaline auto-injectors on site to treat anaphylaxis.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils with medi...

Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to provide support to (a) Hereford and (b) Lichfield Cathedral.

Since August 2022, Lichfield Cathedral has received £161,242 through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, and Hereford Cathedral has received £27,639.The National Lottery Heritage Fund has also supported both of these Cathedrals. Lichfield Cathedral...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the new government of Syria on including women in senior roles in the (a) government, (b) judiciary, (c) peace and reconciliation dialogue, (

In the UK's engagement with international partners and Syrian contacts, we have stressed the importance of inclusivity and respect for human rights, including for women and minorities.Senior FCDO officials recently travelled to Damascus, where they discus...

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with the new government of Syria on protecting the human rights of (a) Muslim minorities and (b) Christian minorities.

The FCDO has consistently underlined the importance of protecting all civilians, including religious and ethnic minorities, publicly and in our engagement with regional and international partners. The UK joined talks in Aqaba on 14 December, hosted by Jor...

Representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church Commissioners are taking to support the work, cultural and spiritual contribution of cathedral choirs.

The Church Commissioners provide funding to pay for the dean and two canons as part of cathedral staff and have a Cathedral Sustainability Fund to which all cathedrals can apply. The role and funding of cathedral choirs is a matter for the dean and chapte...

If she will review the Sovereign Grant annually on audited and published Crown Estate profits.

The rules governing the Sovereign Grant are set out in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. This Act requires a review following every five-year period to ensure the percentage of Crown Estate profits used in the calculation of the Grant remains appropriate. In ...

If she will hold discussions with the (a) Duchy of Lancaster and (b) Duchy of Cornwall on creating a shared costs formula for local authorities within those Duchy areas when a Royal visit takes place.

The Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster are private estates, and neither Duchy manages public money. The government has a limited number of functions in relation to their administration, prescribed by Acts of Parliament.

Whether he plans to take steps to bring forward legislative proposals on regulating sports therapists.

The Government has no plans to extend statutory regulation to sports therapists at this time.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has plans to re-open the British Embassy in Syria.

Currently, there are no plans to reopen our embassy in Damascus. We will keep this under review.

What steps he is taking to improve the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) is managed through cardiovascular services, and is managed by specialised cardiologists, linking with expertise from other specialties according to individual patients’ needs. Specialised Cardiology is one ...

Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to prevent social media companies adjusting network algorithms to promote actions by users (a) favouring political (i) candidates and (ii) outcomes and (b) who are

The Online Safety Act gives platforms duties to tackle illegal content. The regulator, Ofcom, has outlined steps providers can take to fulfil these duties in codes of practice, including recommending steps for stopping illegal foreign interference and ter...

What steps he is taking to ensure sufficient supplies of (a) lamotrigine, (b) Epilim Chronosphere and (c) other epilepsy medication.

The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with s...

If he will take steps to ensure NHS Trusts admit early liability and compensate victims of medical negligence whilst under NHS Care.

NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England. NHSR has a responsibility to settle claims fairly and promptly, and defend unmeritorious claims to secure NHS resources. Each case must be c...

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in the rate of employers' National Insurance contributions on dental practices which provide NHS dentistry.

The employer National Insurance rise will be implemented April 2025, and the Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.

How many and what proportion of (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other medical professionals were struck off from practicing in the NHS in 2022-23; and if he will publish the country of origin of th

The Department does not hold the requested information centrally. All groups of healthcare professionals have their own regulatory bodies, for example, the General Medical Council is the regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom, a...

If he will install productivity tracking software to monitor work from home employment practices in the Civil Service.

Most office-based civil servants are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office, setting a consistent balance across the Civil Service. Departments, as individual employers, are responsible for any other measures.

If he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it a criminal offence to create fake online media accounts for public bodies and organisations where the communication of official and public information is

I apologise to the Rt. Hon. Member for the delayed response to his question of 6 December. The Online Safety Act, brought forward by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, introduced the false communications offence. This offence captures c...

Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on extending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

Departmental settlements have been set by The Treasury following the Budget announcement on October 30. Individual programmes will now be assessed during the departmental Business Planning process.