12 Jun 2026·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat steps he is taking to ensure that sentences for rape and serious sexual offences committed by offenders under the age of 18 reflect the seriousness of those crimes and command public confidence.
ReplyRape and serious sexual offences should always be met with a strong response from the criminal justice system, one which reflects the seriousness of the harm caused to victims and the need to protect the public.Individual sentencing decisions are for the ...
12 Jun 2026·Attorney General·Answered
AskedWhether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme in cases involving rape and serious sexual offences committed by youth offenders.
ReplyDuring 2025, my office reviewed more than 1,000 sentences. Of these, 14 featured youth sentences imposed for sexual offences. So far during the first half of 2026, my office has already reviewed 9 youth sentences for sexual offences, and we are set to exc...
11 Jun 2026·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, how many complaints submitted to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman were awaiting allocation for assessment for more than six months on the latest date for which figu
ReplyThe Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. The Department does not routinely collect performance inf...
11 Jun 2026·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, how many complaints were awaiting allocation for assessment by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on the latest date for which figures are available.
ReplyThe Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. The Department does not routinely collect performance inf...
11 Jun 2026·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, what the longest period was that a complaint had been awaiting allocation for assessment by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on the latest date for which figures ar
ReplyThe Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. The Department does not routinely collect performance inf...
11 Jun 2026·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken for the allocation and investigation of complaints by the Local Government and Social Care Ombud
ReplyThe Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. The Department does not routinely collect performance inf...
11 Jun 2026·Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government·Answered
AskedCommunities and Local Government, whether his Department collects data on the length of time complainants wait before a complaint is first considered by a caseworker at the Local Government and Social Care Ombuds
ReplyThe Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman is operationally independent of central government, and the Ombudsman is accountable directly to Parliament for the use of their investigatory powers. The Department does not routinely collect performance inf...
8 Jun 2026·Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs·Answered
AskedFood and Rural Affairs, whether her department plans to place water safety campaigns on TikTok, YouTube and other social media platforms popular with young people.
ReplyWater safety is a shared responsibility across Government, arm's length bodies, and specialist organisations. All organisations are encouraged to use their social channels in the most effective way. Platform use and advertising spend varies between organi...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat proportion of total NHS spending has been allocated to mental health services in each year since 2019.
ReplyThe proportion of total National Health Service spending allocated to mental health services was 8.05% in 2018/19, 8.45% in 2019/20, 8.51% in 2020/21, 8.73% in 2021/22, 8.87% in 2022/23, 9.05% in 2023/24, 8.78% in 2024/25, and 8.68% in 2025/26.Within the ...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat progress has been made towards recruiting the additional mental health workforce.
ReplyAs part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, in February, the Government delivered on its commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers this Parliament, three...
8 Jun 2026·Department for Education·Answered
AskedWhat assessment she has made of the effectiveness of anti-bullying programmes in reducing mental health problems among school-age children.
ReplyAll schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.The departme...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat percentage of schools currently have access to a Mental Health Support Team; and what the timetable is for further rollout.
ReplyMental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) continue to play a key role in providing early intervention and support for children and young people’s mental health in education settings.As at March 2026, 5.8 million pupils and learners were covered by an MHST, equa...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhether his Department has any plans to provide for single oversight of the funeral industry and the handling of bodies and funerals.
ReplyThe Department of Health and Social Care is leading on co-ordinating cross-Government work to consider options for raising standards in relation to the care and treatment of the deceased in all settings, including the funeral sector, supported by the Depa...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat measures his Department is considering to protect the dignity of human bodies in the context of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.
ReplyThe Department of Health and Social Care is leading on co-ordinating cross-Government work to consider options for raising standards in relation to the care and treatment of the deceased in all settings, including the funeral sector, supported by the Depa...
8 Jun 2026·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat steps his Department is taking to help ensure that funeral directors carry out the lawful burial or cremation of bodies following the Legacy Independent Funeral Directors.
ReplyThe death management process, including the care of the deceased through to burial or cremation, engages the policy and/or operational responsibilities of a number of Departments and arm’s length bodies. This includes the Department of Health and Social C...
8 Jun 2026·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhich Government departments and agencies are responsible for bodies of the departed from death through to (a) burial and (b) cremation.
ReplyThe death management process, including the care of the deceased through to burial or cremation, engages the policy and/or operational responsibilities of a number of Departments and arm’s length bodies. This includes the Department of Health and Social C...
8 Jun 2026·Department of Health and Social Care·Answered
AskedWhat the average waiting time is for children and young people to access NHS mental health services in each Integrated Care Board area.
ReplyThe following table shows the median waiting time, in days, for children and young people, those aged under 18 years old, to access National Health Service mental health services in each integrated care board (ICB), based on those still waiting for a firs...
8 Jun 2026·Ministry of Justice·Answered
AskedWhat discussions his Department has had with the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Business on the regulation of the funeral sector.
ReplyThe death management process, including the care of the deceased through to burial or cremation, engages the policy and/or operational responsibilities of a number of Departments and arm’s length bodies. This includes the Department of Health and Social C...
2 Jun 2026·Department for Culture, Media and Sport·Answered
AskedMedia and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the value for money of the Local Democracy Reporting Service; and whether future funding for the Local Democracy Reporting Service will be conditional o
ReplyThe Secretary of State meets regularly with the BBC to discuss a wide range of issues.The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the government. The BBC’s Principles of Operation for the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) set out that t...
2 Jun 2026·Department for Culture, Media and Sport·Answered
AskedMedia and Sport, with reference the Government's December 2025 BBC Charter Review Green Paper proposing the expansion of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that i
ReplyThe content produced by Local Democracy Reporting Service journalists is made freely available to the BBC and partners to the BBC’s Local News Partnerships scheme. The BBC is operationally independent of the government and the process for determining Part...