Written questions by Dodds.

What assessment her Department has made of the reasons for the reduction in the number of (a) SINs and (b) rapid reviews submitted to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel in (i) 2023-24 compared with (ii) 2022-23.

The department’s official statistics show that in the year ending 31 March 2024, there were 405 serious incident notifications and 330 rapid reviews, respective decreases of 51 and 72 from the year prior. The statistics are based on one notification per incident, which can relate to more than one child in some instances.We are aware that, in some instances, not all incidents that meet the definition for a serious incident are communicated. The department will continue to work with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel and local authorities to ensure the notification of serious incidents that meet the criteria as set out in the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’.The government has also committed to urgently reviewing the effectiveness of serious incident notifications in relation to child sexual abuse and exploitation in line with Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation.

Whether the Curriculum and Assessment Review includes (a) media and (b) artificial intelligence literacy.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s terms of reference set out that it will seek to refresh the curriculum to ensure children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes they need to thrive. This includes embedding digital skills in their learning.In its interim report, the Review noted the importance of the curriculum keeping pace with the rise of artificial intelligence and trends in digital information, including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy and critical thinking skills.During its current phase of work, the Review is considering whether there is sufficient coverage of key knowledge and skills in this area to prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world.The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in the autumn, at which point the government will respond.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the availability of fuel in Gaza for (a) desalination and (b) healthcare services.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire. We remain deeply concerned at the lack of fuel supply in Gaza, which puts vital services such as water desalination at risk. On 18 July, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) described the deepening fuel crisis in Gaza, including the impact on solid waste collection and availability of clean water supplies and health services. We highlighted the impact of the lack of fuel on water supplies and hospitals and the critical situation for Gaza's children at a session of the UN Security Council which we co-called on 16 July. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of ensuring adequate healthcare for Palestinians in a call with Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 July. As the Prime Minister stated on 29 July, the UK will recognize the state of Palestine in September unless Israel takes substantive steps to end the crisis, including restarting without delay the supply of humanitarian support to the people of Gaza to end starvation.

When decisions on applications for (a) leave in line and (b) status in line will resume.

The Home Office has not paused decisions for leave in line applications. Children born in the UK to parents with protection status may claim asylum in their own right in accordance with the validity requirements set out in paragraph 327AB of the Immigration Rules. These decisions have also not been paused.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the economic (a) stability and (b) powers of people involved in human rights abuses in Sudan.

The UK condemns human rights violations and abuses committed by the warring parties in Sudan. Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2023, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces. These sanctions were designed to disrupt the financial networks fuelling the war, to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK also supported the imposition of UN sanctions on two RSF generals for their crimes against civilians in November 2024. We will continue to work closely with partners at the UN Security Council to enforce these. UK leadership has been critical to the continued scrutiny of Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council, where we are the leader of the Core Group alongside Germany and Norway. The UK also led lobbying for the renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission mandate in October 2024 to ensure allegations of human rights violations and abuses by all sides are investigated impartially.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to the warring parties in Sudan about the protection of civilians.

As part of our diplomatic and political efforts to achieve peace in Sudan, we continue to engage with the warring parties. Senior officials, including the UK Special Representative for Sudan, have travelled to Port Sudan on several occasions in 2025 for talks with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). On 9 April, ahead of the Sudan Conference, the Minister for Africa spoke with Babikir Elamin, Sudanese Chargé d'Affaires in London, and pressed him specifically on humanitarian access to ensure aid can reach those most in need. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have also spoken with representatives from the Rapid Support Forces on different occasions since the start of the conflict in Sudan in 2023. We have used these exchanges to request that their leadership make every effort to protect civilians.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to (a) the UN and (b) other international bodies on the need for protection of civilians during the Sudan conflict.

We continue to engage actively with the UN and other international actors to push for the protection of civilians in Sudan. On 15 April, the Foreign Secretary hosted the London Sudan conference alongside the African Union (AU) and the EU, as well as France and Germany as co-chairs. There was a broad agreement among participants about the responsibility of parties to the conflict to protect civilians and uphold their obligations under international law and this was reflected in the co-chairs statement which followed the conference. More recently the UK attended the meeting of the Consultative Group on Sudan in Brussels on 26 June and contributed to discussions with the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy on Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, on his plans to convene proximity talks with the warring parties, including on protection issues. Earlier this year in February, the Minister for Africa spoke with the AU's Special Envoy for the Prevention of Genocide and Atrocities where he highlighted the credible evidence of human rights abuses and violations in Sudan and pressed the AU to continue to draw attention to atrocities in Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to sanction people involved in human rights abuses in Sudan.

The UK condemns human rights violations and abuses committed by the warring parties in Sudan. Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2023, the UK has frozen the assets of nine commercial entities linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces. These sanctions were designed to disrupt the financial networks fuelling the war, to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK also supported the imposition of UN sanctions on two RSF generals for their crimes against civilians in November 2024. We will continue to work closely with partners at the UN Security Council to enforce these. UK leadership has been critical to the continued scrutiny of Sudan at the UN Human Rights Council, where we are the leader of the Core Group alongside Germany and Norway. The UK also led lobbying for the renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission mandate in October 2024 to ensure allegations of human rights violations and abuses by all sides are investigated impartially.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the availability of medical-grade baby formula at the El-Tahrir Children's Hospital in Gaza.

We remain gravely concerned by the lack of adequate medical care in Gaza; nearly all Gaza's hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed according to the World Health Organization. Humanitarian workers must be protected and medical and aid workers must be able to do their jobs safely. On 19 May, the UK released a joint donors statement with 26 other signatories on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling for a full resumption of aid into Gaza and for Israel to allow the UN and other aid organisations to operate independently. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 22 June to press Israel to restore humanitarian access. UK support has enabled the delivery of 1.3 million items of life-saving medicines, over 70,000 wound care packs and more than 500,000 patient consultations delivered through UK-Med. We have and will continue to press Israel to allow the entry of all necessary medical and nutritional supplies.

What steps her Department is taking to establish a national, statutory mechanism to (a) identify and (b) support children with a parent in prison.

I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for Oxford East to the answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58709.

What steps her Department is taking to support children with a parent in prison.

Having a parent in prison is considered an adverse childhood experience and can have a significant impact on a child’s life chances. This Government has committed to ensuring these children are identified and offered the support they need to thrive.We are working closely with the Department for Education to determine how to effectively identify and support these children. We understand the importance of driving forward this agenda and officials from both Departments are working with a wide range of stakeholders, including sector experts and those with lived experience, to support the development of policy proposals.Prisons across England and Wales already offer a range of services to maintain family relationships including social visits, family days, prison voicemail and collaborations with organisations such as the award-winning charity led initiative Storybook Mums and Dads, enabling parents in prison to record bedtime stories for their children.

Innovation and Technology, if he will hold discussions with Google on its compliance with the Frontier AI Safety Commitments made at the AI Seoul Summit 2024, published on 21 May 2024.

We expect all signatories to the Seoul commitments to stand by their agreements. The AI Security Institute, within DSIT, has ongoing discussions will all major developers, including Google DeepMind, about the implementation of frontier AI frameworks that guide the safe development of AI.The government welcomes Google's recently published framework that prioritises the emerging risk of deception in AI models and their plans to publish safety cases.

What steps she is taking to improve (a) data and (b) evidence collection in response to her Department's report entitled Intergenerational offending: A narrative review of the literature, published on 5 June 2025.

Official Statistics on the scale of parental imprisonment were published in July 2024 and can be found at: Official Statistics in Development: Estimates of children with a parent in prison - GOV.UK.Further work is ongoing to refine these estimates. Additionally, analysis has started with the aim of providing more in-depth understanding of the impact of parental imprisonment on children, looking at factors such as demographics and education. This work will provide valuable insights, with the intention of driving meaningful change in policy and support for affected children.The Areas of Research Interest publication reflects our ambition to improve the evidence base on intergenerational offending. This is used as the basis for ongoing conversations, collaboration and challenge with experts in academia, research organisations and funding bodies, and can be found at: Areas of Research Interest.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of training of frontline NHS staff on (a) the definition of domestic abuse, (b) how professionals should respond to immediate and long-term risk and (c) the opportunity of perpetrator incarceration in engaging and safeguarding victims in the long term.

All National Health Service staff complete mandatory safeguarding training, which includes a focus on domestic abuse. This training gives staff the skills and knowledge to identify and respond to all forms of domestic abuse, as set out in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which includes physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological, emotional, or other abuse. All professionals are trained to identify the immediate and long-term risks of domestic abuse using blended learning methods including e-learning, in-person training, and supervision. Patient facing clinicians and staff complete more detailed mandatory safeguarding training, including further domestic abuse training relevant to their role. National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce the safeguarding responsibilities of staff and will support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.We are committed to making sure that those who have experienced violence and abuse can access the support they need, to manage short and long-term risk. We also know that for many survivors, the emotional and psychological aftermath can last long after the abuse itself ends and the perpetrator is incarcerated. Mental health support is one of the vital parts of the road to recovery. Anyone in England experiencing a mental health crisis, including domestic abuse and assault victims, can speak to a trained NHS professional at any time of the day through the mental health option on NHS 111. In addition, the 8,500 mental health workers we are recruiting will be trained to support people experiencing mental health challenges, including those who have experienced violence and abuse. The NHS is also piloting more specialised support and has launched local pathfinder projects for enhanced trauma-informed mental health support for survivors with the most complex needs.

How many and what proportion of training (a) modules and (b) courses on domestic abuse undertaken by frontline staff were (i) standalone and (ii) integrated with other training programmes broken down by discipline of staff.

Health professionals are trained to identify and respond to domestic abuse using blended learning methods including e-learning, in-person training, and supervision.It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that staff complete mandatory safeguarding training, which includes a focus on domestic abuse. Level 1 mandatory safeguarding training for all staff is captured on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Each National Health Service provider holds its own ESR data which is not collated nationally, and therefore the Department does not hold the information requested. Staff will undertake further domestic abuse training relevant to their role.National mandatory safeguarding training for all NHS staff is being strengthened for launch in early 2026. This will reinforce the safeguarding responsibilities of staff and will support them in identifying and responding to victims of abuse.

What discussions his Department has had with the (a) Department for Business and Trade and (b) Treasury on the potential merits of mandating UK-regulated (a) financial institutions, (b) banks, (c) asset managers, (d) pension funds, (e) insurers and (f) FTSE 100 companies to (i) publish their carbon footprint and (ii) develop and implement credible transition plans.

Large UK-registered companies are already required to disclose their scope 1, scope 2 and elements of scope 3 carbon emissions under the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018. The Government has committed to delivering the foundations of a world-leading sustainable finance framework to drive investment in the green transition and deliver economic growth. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has worked closely with the Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury on how best to take forward transition plan and emissions reporting requirements and will consult with stakeholders on these topics in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Ugandan counterpart on the safety of civilians in South Sudan.

The UK Government has consistently called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of political detainees, and the protection of civilians in our engagement with the Government of South Sudan and other regional partners. On 3 April, the Minister for Africa met with President Museveni and discussed our shared concerns about the escalating tensions in South Sudan. On 8 May, the UK voted in favour of the extension of the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan, preserving its key role in the protection of civilians. On 4 June, our Ambassador to South Sudan attended an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) convened conference to discuss South Sudan, stressing the urgent need for regional partners, including Uganda, to engage with the Government of South Sudan at the highest level, and supported the recommendation for an IGAD Heads of State visit to South Sudan.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in South Sudan on the provision of aid supplies to remote regions in advance of disruption resultant from weather conditions.

The UK remains committed to supporting the humanitarian response in South Sudan, allocating £137 million to support the people of South Sudan in financial year 2024/2025. Recently published Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) figures showed over half of the population will experience high levels of acute food insecurity IPC Phase 3 or above between April and July 2025. As with the severe flooding seen in 2024, the UK is working closely with partners to ensure the pre-positioning of aid supplies ahead of the rainy season, ensuring that these supplies are able to reach the most vulnerable. These partners report that they have made strong progress against our shared preparation goals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of recruitment of children into (a) the military and (b) paramilitary groups in (i) Sudan and (ii) South Sudan.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UK is committed to supporting, promoting, and defending the UN Children and Armed Conflict mandate. The UN Secretary General's annual report on Children in Armed Conflict released earlier this month highlights the deteriorating situation globally, with a dramatic escalation in the number of violations in Sudan. We continue to work with partners, including through the UN Security Council, to call on the warring parties in Sudan to fully implement the Jeddah Declaration, which includes a commitment to refrain from recruiting and using children in hostilities.Despite the introduction of a South Sudanese Government action plan on Children in Armed Conflict, all six grave violations against children continue to be carried out: recruitment and use of children; killing and maiming; rape and sexual violence; abduction and attacks on schools and hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access. The UK supported the 8 May renewal of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), which will enable it to continue its critical mandate, including protecting civilians and human rights monitoring.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the South Sudanese government’s use of Fogbow to deliver food supplies in remote areas on (a) UK and (b) other humanitarian aid delivery.

The UK is gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation in South Sudan and is following developments carefully, including Fogbow operations. While the UK welcomes government-led action that responds to needs among all affected people residing in hard-to-reach areas, the UK view is that effective humanitarian action upholds humanitarian principles of neutrality, humanity, impartiality and independence, and ensures that in conflicts, military assets and escorts are only used to deliver aid as a last resort. Consistent adherence to these operating principles among humanitarian actors is key to maintain and enhance humanitarian access, build trust, and protect civilians including humanitarian personnel. Aid operations to the contrary could increase risks for civilians and other international and national humanitarian aid organisations.