Written questions by Gordon.

If she will introduce a statutory definition of restraint in the context of education.

​The government recognises that the misuse of reasonable force and restrictive interventions can have a significant and long-lasting effect on pupils, staff members and parents.The department is currently consulting on revisions to the ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance, published in 2013. The consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/use-of-reasonable-force-and-other-restrictive-interventions-guidance-proposed-amendments. The revised guidance will provide advice for schools on creating environments that minimise the use of reasonable force and restrictive interventions, and, where necessary, support staff to use reasonable force and restrictive interventions safely, appropriately and within the law.The revised draft guidance defines reasonable force and other restrictive interventions, and outlines the general risks associated with their use. This approach ensures that the guidance can be applied regardless of specific terminology that a school may use and allows school staff to confidently apply the advice in order to minimise the use of restrictive practices.The department recognises the importance of recording and reporting the use of force. This is why we will be enacting Section 93a of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, making recording and reporting incidents of reasonable force to parents a legal duty. This will be enacted to coincide with the publication of the updated ‘Use of reasonable force’ guidance, to ensure that schools have adequate advice on how they should be recording and reporting any incidents where reasonable force, including restrictive interventions, is used.

What information her Department holds on the number of families that have experienced adoption breakdown in the last 12 months.

The department does not collect information centrally on families that have experienced adoptions that break down.The department publishes information on whether children starting to be looked after in any given year were known to have been previously adopted. The latest information available relates to the year ending 31 March 2024 and is in the table ‘CLA starting during the year by characteristics – National’ of the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/92f77d0d-7e95-45a1-f1db-08dd5cc661f7. This includes information on any known previous permanence arrangement for a child starting to be looked after.Information for the year ending 31 March 2025 will be published in autumn 2025.

What steps she is taking to tackle adoption breakdown.

The department has provided funding of £9 million in this financial year to Adoption England to improve adoption services in Regional Adoption Agencies (RAAs).This includes £3 million of funding to develop more Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams across the country to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families and the development of national standards for adoption support. It also includes a new framework for an early support core offer, ‘Becoming a Family’, for the first twelve to eighteen months of placement and an Adoption Support Plan to guide assessments of a family’s support needs. All are designed to improve support and reduce the risk of an adoption breakdown.Adoption England are also planning work to develop a national protocol on how children’s services, front door services and adoption support teams work together to better support families at risk of adoption disruption.Adoption England and RAAs work closely with adopters on all of their projects to improve adoption support services. This includes considering the latest evidence of why adoption disruptions have occurred in their agencies and across the country.Since its inception in 2015, the department has provided over £400 million through the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) to provide therapeutic interventions for around 52,700 children who have left care under an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangements order. The interventions are designed to help children and their families to deal with their trauma and attachment difficulties and have been independently assessed to have helped prevent adoption breakdowns. ASGSF funding for the next financial year is currently subject to business planning discussions and an announcement will be made shortly.

What steps her Department is taking to help retain foster carers.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that local authorities provide sufficient support for foster carers.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of foster care placements that were unsuccessful in (a) England and (b) Wales in the 2023-24 financial year.

​As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement and building on the £15 million investment in the Autumn Budget 2024, the department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 financial years, for foster care as part of Children’s Social Care Reform. We expect this funding to help recruit an additional 400 fostering families, provide better peer to peer support for foster carers, and ensure more children in care have stability through ensuring a foster care placement is available to them when needed.​Currently, there are ten fostering regional programmes active across England, collaborating with 64% of all local authorities to recruit, retain and support foster carers. The department plans to move towards full national roll-out in the next financial year. This supports retention and support for carers through the recruitment of short break foster carers, who provide high quality care for children while their usual foster carers take a break.This programme also includes an expansion of ‘The Mockingbird Family Model’, an innovative evidence-based approach involving six to ten families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer. Mockingbird includes peer support, respite and training. It was found to substantially improve retention by an independent evaluation, which showed that participating households were 82% less likely to deregister than households who did not participate.The department also funds Fosterline, a free independent source of advice and support to current and prospective carers.To improve retention, the department is also acting on areas that matter to foster carers. The allegations process is a key contributor to high levels of foster carer deregistration, and the department is committed to improving practice and guidance in this area. The department has also begun conversations with the sector about proposed changes to delegated authority, ensuring that all foster carers have delegated authority by default in relation to day-to-day parenting of the child in their care.Financial support plays a role in retaining and supporting foster carers. The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. Current levels of the NMA have been uplifted by 3.55% for the 2025/2026 financial year and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering.Finally, we encourage fostering services to adopt the Fostering Network’s ‘Foster Carer Charter’, which sets out clear principles of what support should be available to foster carers.Regarding ‘unsuccessful’ placements, the department publishes statistics for children looked after in England only, not Wales. Statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.The department does not collect information on whether placements for children looked after were successful or not. These placements can end for a wide range of reasons and there is no specific category recorded as an ‘unsuccessful placement’.The latest information on the main reason for placement changes during the 2023/24 reporting year is published in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c3ae926d-83e8-4ec9-3213-08dd6b9d125f.

What steps he is taking to increase bowel cancer screening rates; and whether he plans to increase bowel cancer screening targets.

The National Health Service is in the final stages of changing the screening age for the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, from those between 60 to 74 years old to those between 50 to 74 years old by 2025, which will increase the numbers being screened.NHS England has updated the programme’s standard for uptake, increasing the acceptable and achievable thresholds, to acknowledge that uptake has increased by approximately 10% since introducing the Faecal Immunochemical Test.A new standard will be introduced to monitor uptake for those aged 60 to 74 years old and those aged 50 to 59 years old. The revised standards will soon be published and available in the public domain. The current standards are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bowel-cancer-screening-programme-standards/bowel-cancer-screening-programme-standards-valid-for-data-collected-from-1-april-2018

Whether she collects data on the number of post adoption (a) disruptions and (b) breakdowns in England.

I refer the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 37457.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to protect delivery drivers from exploitative working practices.

Our Plan to Make Work Pay represents the biggest upgrade of workers' rights in a generation.The Government does not condone the exploitation of workers in any form and we are committed to strengthening protections for workers. Individuals' entitlement to employment rights is determined by their employment status. Delivery drivers can fall under any one of the three statuses: employee, limb (b) worker, or self-employed.This Government recognises the complexity of the current employment status framework and we remain committed to reviewing it.

What recent discussions he has had with delivery firms on ensuring that delivery drivers are adequately compensated.

This Government believes that hard work deserves fair pay and is determined to deliver a genuine living wage for all that takes account the impact on business, competitiveness, the labour market, the wider economy and the cost of living.Our Ministers value feedback received from businesses across the country, details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade and its predecessor the Department for International trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government's transparency agenda.

What steps she is taking to ensure there is independent scrutiny of Technical Capability Notices; and if she will introduce new (a) judicial and (b) parliamentary oversight.

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 allows the Secretary of State to place obligations on telecommunications operators or postal operators through a Technical Capability Notice. A Technical Capability Notice itself does not require an operator to disclose any information. Instead, it requires the operator to have the capability to respond to an individual warrant or authorisation.The Act governs these notices and provides extensive privacy safeguards and a robust oversight regime. Technical Capability Notices must be approved by an independent Judicial Commissioner. The procedures for the judicial oversight of Technical Capability Notices are detailed in the codes of practice for Communications Data, Interception of Communications, and Equipment Interference, which are available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/investigatory-powers-act-codes-of-practiceThe Investigatory Powers Commissioner must report annually on the carrying out of the functions of the Judicial Commissioner, with the report laid before Parliament.The Act also provides for the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament to refer a matter to the Commissioner with a view to carrying out an investigation, inspection or audit.The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 strengthened judicial oversight by introducing a requirement that existing technical capability notices are renewed if two years have passed since they were given, varied or last renewed. These renewals also require the approval of a Judicial Commissioner. The Government is currently implementing this Act.

What assessment she has made of the contribution of encryption in protecting cyber security; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of introducing access requests under Technical Capability Notices.

This Government recognises the importance of online privacy and security safeguards such as strong encryption.Technical Capability Notices can be used to maintain capabilities that provide for responsible and exceptional access to data by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, with service provider assistance, without undermining user privacy or security.

What steps the Government is taking to ensure access requests under Technical Capability Notices are targeted.

Technical Capability Notices do not directly require the disclosure of data. It is the separate authorisations or warrants that allow access to data. Each authorisation or warrant addresses matters of necessity and proportionality and collateral intrusion specific to the case in question.As part of the decision to give a Technical Capability Notice, the Secretary of State must consider, among other factors, the likely benefits of the notice, the likely number of users of a service to which the notice relates, and the technical feasibility and likely cost of compliance for the operator. In addition, the decision must include consideration of whether what is sought to be achieved by the notice could reasonably be achieved by other less intrusive means.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2025 to Question 22818 on Large Goods Vehicles: Concrete, what her Department's timetable is for publishing the findings from the call to evidence on weight limits for Volumetric Concrete Mixers.

The Department will publish its findings shortly.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of school buildings.

Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.Responsibility for keeping school buildings safe and well-maintained lies with the institutions and their responsible bodies - typically local authorities, academy trusts or voluntary aided school bodies. We support them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.Where the department is notified of a significant safety issue with a building that cannot be managed independently, the department considers additional advice and support on a case-by-case basis. The department is working with expert groups, technical advisors and stakeholders to ensure we have an up-to-date understanding of future issues that could present themselves as the school and college estate ages. In addition to the ongoing Condition Data Collection 2, we have commissioned new research due to complete by spring 2026 which includes data analysis and field-work, with some in-depth surveys to better understand the performance of post-war education buildings.At the Autumn Budget 2024, this government increased capital allocations to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion for 2025/26. This is £300 million more than this financial year. This is on top of targeted support for RAAC. This is part of £6.7 billion in capital overall for education in 2025/26.We have committed £1.4 billion next year to support the current School Rebuilding Programme, which is rebuilding or significantly refurbishing buildings at 518 schools and sixth form colleges across England, prioritised on condition and safety.We are committed to improving the condition of the estate through the department’s annual funding, the continuing School Rebuilding Programme and by fixing the problem of RAAC.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the the potential merits of implementing routine screening for Type 1 Diabetes to reduce the incidence of diabetic ketoacidosis at diagnosis.

In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and supports implementation.A proposal for screening for neonatal diabetes mellitus was submitted to the UK NSC via its 2021 annual call process. An evidence-mapping exercise was conducted at that time which concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to recommend screening for this condition.We are aware that the UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 annual call process to consider screening for autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes through blood testing. The UK NSC is currently reviewing all annual call proposals. More information on the annual call process is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of a national screening programme for Type 1 Diabetes.

In the United Kingdom, national screening programmes are introduced based on the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific advisory committee which advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population and targeted screening and supports implementation.A proposal for screening for neonatal diabetes mellitus was submitted to the UK NSC via its 2021 annual call process. An evidence-mapping exercise was conducted at that time which concluded that there was not sufficient evidence to recommend screening for this condition.We are aware that the UK NSC received a submission via its 2024 annual call process to consider screening for autoimmune Type 1 Diabetes through blood testing. The UK NSC is currently reviewing all annual call proposals. More information on the annual call process is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-annual-call-submitting-a-screening-proposal/uk-nsc-annual-call-how-to-submit-a-proposal

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the expiry of funding for T1DE pilot services on the health and well-being of patients in (a) Bournemouth and (b) London.

The National Health Service recognises the impact that type 1 diabetes with disordered eating can have on people and their families, which is why it has been piloting services to support those with the condition, and integrating care to help people improve their confidence and ability to manage their diabetes alongside their mental wellbeing. These pilots have shown improved outcomes for patients and cost effectiveness, and the NHS has now expanded sites to every region of the country, so that even more people can benefit from them.The Department, in partnership with NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, produced the Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders guidance in May 2022, which has a full annexe on type 1 diabetes and eating disorders, and they are currently working to roll out the guidance to all systems.NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder service capacity, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay. NHS England has asked local health systems, through this year’s NHS operational planning guidance, to focus on improving performance against the waiting time standards for children’s eating disorders services of 95% of urgent cases seen within one week, and 95% of routine cases seen within four weeks.

What steps his Department is taking to help develop guidelines for (a) general practitioners and (b) diabetes care teams on managing type one diabetes and disordered eating.

The National Health Service recognises the impact that type 1 diabetes with disordered eating can have on people and their families, which is why it has been piloting services to support those with the condition, and integrating care to help people improve their confidence and ability to manage their diabetes alongside their mental wellbeing. These pilots have shown improved outcomes for patients and cost effectiveness, and the NHS has now expanded sites to every region of the country, so that even more people can benefit from them.The Department, in partnership with NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, produced the Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders guidance in May 2022, which has a full annexe on type 1 diabetes and eating disorders, and they are currently working to roll out the guidance to all systems.NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder service capacity, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay. NHS England has asked local health systems, through this year’s NHS operational planning guidance, to focus on improving performance against the waiting time standards for children’s eating disorders services of 95% of urgent cases seen within one week, and 95% of routine cases seen within four weeks.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure individuals with type one diabetes and disordered eating have access to integrated care for both their (a) physical and (b) mental health needs.

The National Health Service recognises the impact that type 1 diabetes with disordered eating can have on people and their families, which is why it has been piloting services to support those with the condition, and integrating care to help people improve their confidence and ability to manage their diabetes alongside their mental wellbeing. These pilots have shown improved outcomes for patients and cost effectiveness, and the NHS has now expanded sites to every region of the country, so that even more people can benefit from them.The Department, in partnership with NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, produced the Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders guidance in May 2022, which has a full annexe on type 1 diabetes and eating disorders, and they are currently working to roll out the guidance to all systems.NHS England is continuing to expand community-based eating disorder service capacity, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, to improve outcomes and recovery, reduce rates of relapse, prevent eating disorders continuing into adulthood and, if admission is required as a very last resort, reduce lengths of stay. NHS England has asked local health systems, through this year’s NHS operational planning guidance, to focus on improving performance against the waiting time standards for children’s eating disorders services of 95% of urgent cases seen within one week, and 95% of routine cases seen within four weeks.