Written questions by Dhesi.

Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17203 on Flood Control, what the potential cost to the public purse is of the University of Hull and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service’s proposal to establish a National Flood Resilience Centre; what percentage of his Department's forecast spending on flood resilience over the next decade that cost represents; and what proportion of his Department's spending on flood resilience goes on (a) training and (b) flood research.

Departmental budgets are set through the Spending Review Process. We therefore do not know budget allocations for the next decade. Budgets are then allocated to Departmental activities. To protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences. The Government is aware of the University of Hull and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service proposal for a National Flood Resilience Centre, but there are no current plans to fund this from Defra. Defra understands the funding model has not been finalised. Training on flood resilience undertaken by different teams and composes many different activities. It is not possible to disaggregate the proportion of the Department’s spending on flood resilience that goes on training. Flood research and development is funded through separate finance streams to Flood Resilience. It is therefore not appropriate to consider part of the Flood Resilience budget as being allocated to research. Defra funding for Research and Development projects is declared publicly on Science Search: Science Search.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on future earnings.

Every child should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn. Too often opportunity for children and young people is defined by their background.That is why this government is committed to breaking the link between a child’s background and their future success. The Opportunity Mission will set every child up for the best start in life, help every child to achieve and thrive at school, build skills for opportunity and growth, and build family security, tackling the underlying barriers to opportunity that hold too many children and young people back. The Plan for Change sets out more details on our priorities for the Opportunity Mission: https://www.gov.uk/missions.Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.On 23 October 2024 the government published ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy’, which sets out how the government will develop the Strategy, which will harness all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this parliament as part of an ambitious ten year strategy. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support, especially in the early years.This government will also, at last, commence the socio-economic duty in Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010. The duty will require public bodies, when making strategic decisions, to actively consider how their decisions might help to reduce the inequalities associated with socio-economic disadvantage. We will be updating Parliament on this in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle persistent absence in schools in Slough constituency.

This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which limits their opportunity to succeed. There is evidence that more students are attending school this year compared to last, thanks to the sector’s efforts although around 1.6 million children remain persistently absent and miss 10% or more of lessons.The department has a national approach to supporting all schools to tackle absence, including those in the Slough constituency. Central to this approach are stronger expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which was made statutory on 19 August 2024. The guidance promotes a 'support first' approach, encouraging schools, trusts and local authorities to work with families in addressing attendance barriers. Every state school in England should now be sharing their daily attendance register data with the department, local authorities and trusts. These bodies can access this data through a secure, interactive dashboard which is maintained by the department, allowing them to target attendance interventions more effectively.The department recognises the importance of creating opportunities within the sector to share existing best practice on how to improve attendance. This is why the department has set up a network of 31 attendance hubs, who have offered support to 2000 schools and shared their strategies and resources for improving attendance.In addition to this work, the department also aims to improve the existing evidence on which interventions work to improve attendance. Over £17 million is being invested across two mentoring projects that will support at least 12,000 pupils in 15 areas. These programmes will be evaluated and the effective practice shared with schools and local authorities nationally.From early 2025, new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will support all state schools by facilitating networking, sharing best practice across areas, including attendance, and empowering schools to feel they can better access support and learn from one another. For schools requiring more intensive support, RISE teams and supporting organisations will work collaboratively with their responsible body to agree bespoke packages of targeted support, based on a school’s particular circumstances.School attendance is also supported by broader investments, such as funded breakfast clubs, across all primary schools to ensure children start their day ready to learn. The department will also initiate new annual Ofsted reviews focusing on safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling.We are working across government on plans to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, new Young Futures hubs, including access to mental health support workers, and an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults.Data published in May this year showed that, in Slough local authority, 42% of schools and colleges worked with a Mental Health Support Team in March 2024 compared to 34% nationally, and 78% of schools and colleges had signed up for a senior mental health lead training grant, compared to 74% nationally.Schools can also allocate pupil premium funding, which has now increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year, to support pupils with identified needs to attend school regularly.

What recent steps he has taken to ensure that imported products containing banned ingredients are not sold in shops in the UK.

UK product safety regulations require that only safe consumer products be placed on the market. Importers must ensure their products comply with these regulations, including any requirements covering chemicals or banned substances. Distributors have a duty of care to not sell products they know, or should know, are unsafe. National and local regulators enforce these regulations, including using data and intelligence to target checks on dangerous and non-compliant products entering the UK at the border and sold online. The Government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, introduced to Parliament in September, provides powers to further strengthen the UK's product safety framework.

What estimate she has made of the number of young people out of (a) work, (b) education and (c) training in Slough.

The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the labour force survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24. The statistics are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief. The number of 16 to 24-year-olds estimated as NEET in England at the end of 2023 is estimated to be 709,600 (11.9% of the population). However, these estimates are only published at national level due to limitations with sample sizes for lower-level geographies. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16 to 24 in Slough cannot be provided. However, local authorities are required to encourage, enable or assist young people’s participation in education or training and return management information for young people aged 16 and 17. This data is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neet-and-participation-local-authority-figures. The data shows that of the 4,435 young people aged 16 and 17 years old who were known to Slough local authority at the end of 2022 (average of December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023), 217 were NEET or their activity was not known (117 known to be NEET and 100 young people for whom the local authority could not confirm their activity). These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken if using these figures.

What the highest possible marginal tax rate is.

For individuals with income between £100,000-£125,140, the income tax Personal Allowance is tapered by £1 for every £2 earned above this limit, until it has been completely withdrawn at £125,140. Taxpayers with incomes within the taper band face a higher effective marginal tax rate of 60%, compared to 40% below £100,000 and 45% above £125, 140. Income tax rates and thresholds are devolved in Scotland, so marginal rates within the taper band will vary based on the registered address of the taxpayer.

How many people were subject to a marginal tax rate (a) at and (b) above 100% in the last financial year.

For individuals with income between £100,000-£125,140, the income tax Personal Allowance is tapered by £1 for every £2 earned above this limit, until it has been completely withdrawn at £125,140. Taxpayers with incomes within the taper band face a higher effective marginal tax rate of 60%, compared to 40% below £100,000 and 45% above £125, 140. Income tax rates and thresholds are devolved in Scotland, so marginal rates within the taper band will vary based on the registered address of the taxpayer.

What steps this Department is taking to reduce (a) drug- and (b) alcohol-related deaths.

Drug-related deaths are tragically at record highs, especially in deprived areas. We are committed to tackling this problem through working across health, policing, and wider public services. For example, we recently took legislative action to expand access to naloxone, meaning more services and professionals are able to supply this life-saving opioid overdose antidote medication.In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.Alcohol-specific deaths are also at the highest rates on record, having increased dramatically during the pandemic. Through our mission-driven Government, we will prioritise actions targeted at reversing this trend. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths. In light of the recent data, this plan will be reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. In addition, earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-drug-and-alcohol-deaths-partnership-review-processThrough our Health Mission, the Government has committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how best to reduce alcohol-related harms. The OHID, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which are expected to be published in the coming months. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes.Education on drug use is an essential part of harm reduction and prevention and is a statutory component of relationship, sex, and health education in England. Lesson plans and other resources to support teachers are being updated, and there will be increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and drugs, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing information and increasing awareness for young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/

What steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the harms of (a) drug and (b) alcohol misuse.

Drug-related deaths are tragically at record highs, especially in deprived areas. We are committed to tackling this problem through working across health, policing, and wider public services. For example, we recently took legislative action to expand access to naloxone, meaning more services and professionals are able to supply this life-saving opioid overdose antidote medication.In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly.Alcohol-specific deaths are also at the highest rates on record, having increased dramatically during the pandemic. Through our mission-driven Government, we will prioritise actions targeted at reversing this trend. As part of the NHS Long Term Plan, over £30 million of national funding has been invested between 2019 and 2025, on an ambitious programme to establish new, or optimise existing, Alcohol Care Teams (ACTs) in the 25% hospitals with the highest need, which is 47 out of 188 eligible sites in England. ACTs identify people in hospital whose ill health is related to alcohol use, commence treatment for alcohol dependence, and refer to community alcohol treatment on discharge.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has an action plan to reduce drug and alcohol-related deaths. In light of the recent data, this plan will be reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths, and is responding to these. In addition, earlier this year the Department published guidance for local authorities and their partnerships on how to review adult drug and alcohol-related deaths and near-fatal overdoses to prevent future deaths. This is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-drug-and-alcohol-deaths-partnership-review-processThrough our Health Mission, the Government has committed to prioritising preventative public health measures to support people to live longer, healthier lives. The Department will continue to work across Government to understand how best to reduce alcohol-related harms. The OHID, with the support of partners from the devolved administrations, has developed the first ever United Kingdom clinical guidelines on alcohol treatment, which are expected to be published in the coming months. The aim of the guidelines is to promote and support good practice and improve quality of service provision, resulting in better outcomes.Education on drug use is an essential part of harm reduction and prevention and is a statutory component of relationship, sex, and health education in England. Lesson plans and other resources to support teachers are being updated, and there will be increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs. The Department has worked with the Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education Association to develop the lesson plans on alcohol and drugs, and has commissioned an update of the resources to be published later this year. The Government also has an alcohol and drug information and advice service called Talk to FRANK, which aims to reduce alcohol and drug use and its harms by providing information and increasing awareness for young people, parents, and concerned others. Further information on Talk to FRANK is available at the following link:https://www.talktofrank.com/

What steps she plans to take to tackle money laundering through cryptocurrencies, in the context of the National Crime Agency's Operation Destabilise investigations.

Cryptoassets can be used illicitly or to launder the proceeds of crime. In April 2024, new powers came into force to search, seize and detain cryptoassets from criminal conduct or terrorist activity or cryptoassets that will be used in criminal conduct or terrorist activity.Directed by the Economic Crime Plan 2 (and supported by an Economic Crime Levy funding) law enforcement are investing in improving both their capacity and capability in relation to the investigation of the criminal use of cryptoassets. This includes:· Investing in specialist capability in the NCA and partner agencies, including the recruitment of an additional 475 Financial Crime investigators (280 currently in post) and developing improved crypto track and trace capability which will go live in December 2025.· Funding public-private crypto collaboration teams in police forces and ROCUs through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme· New training and upskilling that has been rolled out to improve law enforcement officers' understanding of cryptoassets, supported by the provision of specialist tooling (i.e. blockchain analytics tools).· Building a new crypto-specific public/ private partnership within the existing Joint Money Laundering Taskforce structure in order to understand the threat and enable various joint initiatives (including around data sharing). Developing a multi-agency operational crypto cell to ensure that knowledge and abilities in investigating cryptoassets are pooled together, and that all available tools and powers are exploited efficiently.Designing a system-wide strategy, with an accompanying roadmap of activities required to prevent and disrupt digital asset-enabled crime impacting the UK. The focus is on ensuring system co-ordination and collaboration, keeping the public / consumers safe, effectively disrupting criminals through robust enforcement and building global cooperation to effectively share information and improve consistency in regulatory standards.

What recent steps he has taken to ensure the availability of rehabilitation treatment for people with (a) drug and (b) alcohol dependencies in (i) Slough constituency and (ii) Berkshire.

Drug and alcohol treatment is funded through the Public Health Grant. In addition to the Public Health Grant, the Department allocated local authorities £267 million in 2024/25 to improve the quality and capacity of drug and alcohol treatment and recovery. An additional £105 million from the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is improving treatment pathways and recovery, housing, and employment outcomes for people affected by drug and alcohol use. Future targeted funding for drug and alcohol treatment services beyond 2025 will be announced very shortly. The Department will write directly to each local authority to set out indicative allocations for 2025/26, which will be subject to departmental and HM Treasury approvals, so final allocations could vary. We understand the importance of funding certainty for informing local system’s operational decision making and future planning, and we are engaging with commissioners and providers on this.My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also made it clear that the Government will conclude a multi-year Spending Review in the first half of 2025. In future, we anticipate that Spending Reviews will be set every two years to cover a three-year period, including a one-year overlap with the previous Spending Review, helping build in greater certainty and stability over public finances.The Department is focused on supporting local areas to deliver high quality drug and alcohol treatment services, including in the Slough constituency and Berkshire. This includes additional investment in 2024/25 in the drug and alcohol treatment and recovery systems of £950,455 in Slough, and £1,860,131 in the wider Berkshire area, through a range of specific grants. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has also produced a Commissioning Quality Standard which provides guidance in commissioning effective alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, and a range of wider guidance and data that will support the delivery of high-quality treatment and recovery services. Further information on the Commissioning Quality Standard is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/commissioning-quality-standard-alcohol-and-drug-services

How many children living in relative poverty are not eligible for free school meals.

The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025. The taskforce will consider a range of policies in assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty.A formal assessment has not been made of the number of children living in relative poverty who are eligible to receive FSM. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to FSM under review.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) consistency of care and (b) availability of medication for people with an ADHD diagnosis who move to a different NHS Trust from the one in which they received their diagnosis.

Prescribers should follow the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management, when prescribing medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These guidelines are available at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87Additional information on shared care can be found in the General Medical Council (GMC) best practice guidance, which is available at the following link:https://www.gmc-uk.org/professional-standards/the-professional-standards/good-practice-in-prescribing-and-managing-medicines-and-devices/shared-careThe Department has also been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve the supply issues with some ADHD medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved, and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues, where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We expect supply to improve in the United Kingdom throughout December 2024 and January 2025. However, we anticipate supply to be limited for some strengths, and we continue to work with all suppliers to ensure the remaining issues are resolved as soon as possible.To minimise the impact of the shortages on patients, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the NHS, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative ADHD medicines. To support ADHD patients throughout the NHS, we would expect all ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinions for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further, we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS) website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients. The SPS website also offers additional guidance from NHS England specialists to help systems and healthcare professionals manage ADHD supply disruptions.To improve supply chain resiliency, we are also working with prospective new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to expand the UK supplier base.

How many and what proportion of GP surgeries are rated as (a) outstanding and (b) good by the Care Quality Commission in Slough constituency.

As of 5 December 2024, there are 14 general practice surgeries in the Slough constituency. Of these, zero, or 0%, are rated Outstanding; 12, or 85%, are rated Good; and two, or 14%, have yet to be rated.

Communities and Local Government, what recent steps she has taken to reduce homelessness in (a) Slough constituency and (b) Thames Valley region.

Homelessness levels are far too high. This Government recognises the devastating impact this can have on those affected. We are already taking the first steps to get back on track to ending homelessness. As announced at the Budget, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25) and brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. Allocations for individual local authorities in England will be set out later in December, which will include Slough, West Dorset, the Thames Valley region and wider rural communities.The Deputy Prime Minister is leading cross-government work to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness and deliver long-term solutions to end all forms of homelessness, including rural and child homelessness. This includes chairing a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across Government to develop a long-term homelessness strategy.We have also established an Expert Group to bring together representatives from across the homelessness and rough sleeping sector, local and combined authorities and wider experts. The role of this expert group is to provide knowledge, analysis and challenge to help Government understand what is working well nationally and locally and where improvements are needed.The department also has a lived experience forum to ensure the voices of those with lived experience of homelessness are reflected in the homelessness strategy.More widely, we are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness by delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and building 1.5 million new homes over the next parliament.The Government is also abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, preventing private renters being exploited and discriminated against, and empowering people to challenge unreasonable rent increases.

How many families in Slough constituency have been affected by the two-child benefit cap in each year since 2017.

The number of Universal Credit households affected by the two-child limit in the Slough parliamentary constituency in each year since 2019 is as follows. Month/Year Households affected by the two-child policyApril 2019 50April 2020 290April 2021 560April 2022 780April 2023 1,000April 2024 1,400 Notes:This data includes all households with a third or subsequent child born on or after 6 April 2017. This includes households with children with exceptions, so it does not match published figures for the number of households not receiving an amount of child element due to the policy.Data is not available for earlier years. Figures are rounded as appropriate.Because the figures are from the latest available data, these figures may not be fully consistent with published statistics.These figures do not include Child Tax Credit (CTC) and households may have been affected while receiving CTC.

What steps she is taking to increase the availability of driving tests in Slough constituency.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times. Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at all driving test centres (DTC), include the recruitment of new driving examiners (DE), conducting tests outside regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from DEs. DVSA also continues to deploy DEs from areas with lower waiting times into those where waiting times are longer. As part of a recent recruitment exercise, DVSA hopes to offer training courses to two potential new DEs at Slough DTC in the new year. In future recruitment campaigns, DVSA will continue to look to fill additional examiner roles at Slough DTC.

What steps her Department is taking to support policing in Anguilla.

Working in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), the Home Office continues to provide a range of support to the Royal Anguilla Police Force (RAPF) and this has included development of Anguilla’s crime scene investigation capabilities. Additional training on strengthening Anguilla’s international ports of entry has also been provided to RAPF, Anguilla’s Immigration Department and Customs Department.

What steps is she taking increase school attendance among children who are living in poverty.

Today, 4.3 million children are living in poverty in this country. Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.To support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils, pupil premium funding in the 2024/25 financial year has increased to over £2.9 billion. Pupil premium funding is allocated to eligible schools based on the number of pupils who are recorded as eligible for free school meals (FSM) or have been recorded as eligible in the past six years (referred to as Ever 6 FSM), as well as children who are looked after by the local authority or have been adopted from or left care. In line with the pupil premium Menu of Approaches, schools can spend their pupil premium on evidence-based strategies to support attendance.This government will ensure school is the best place to be for every child, with free breakfast clubs in primary schools so that every child is on time and ready to learn, better mental health support through access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, and inclusion for children with special educational needs and disabilities within mainstream settings right across the age range.Backed by £15 million, the department is also expanding its investment into attendance mentoring to reach 10,000 more children and cover an additional ten areas. These attendance mentors will provide one-to-one targeted support for persistently and severely absent pupils.There is an absence epidemic in this country, with one in five children persistently absent. The department’s ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ statutory guidance sets a clear expectations that where pupils face additional barriers which affect their attendance, schools should work with these families and put support in place to help them to attend. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf. Where the barriers are outside of the school’s control, all local partners should work together to support pupils and parents to access support to ensure regular attendance.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the APPG report entitled Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance Report 2019: Why families in the UK deserve better and what can be done, whether his Department has taken steps to implement the recommendations of that report.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) engaged with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Deaths Abroad, Consular Services and Assistance following the publication of its report on 2 November 2019. The report's recommendations were taken into consideration in the development of the 2022 Consular Strategy. FCDO consular staff are available to offer appropriate and tailored support to British nationals and their families, 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. The support we can provide is set out on GOV.UK in Support for British nationals abroad. The FCDO seeks continuously to improve our processes and services by acting on feedback and reviewing what we do.