Written questions by Johnson.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of reports that armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government have (a) carried out bombardments of and (b) caused civilian casualties in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo on 6 October 2025.

We were concerned by the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish-majority neighbourhoods in Aleppo on 6 October and welcomed the swift ceasefire agreement reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Government. It is vital that both sides continue to engage in negotiations to reach a sustainable political settlement. The UK Representative for Syria regularly engages with both parties in support of an inclusive political process and the implementation of the deal agreed in March.We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation closely. Reports from partners indicate no major access constraints impeding delivery of humanitarian assistance. The UK will provide up to £254.5 million of humanitarian support to Syria and the region in 2025.Protecting the safety and security of the UK and its citizens remains first duty of this Government, and we will continue to work with relevant authorities in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere to pursue our Counter-Terror objectives and keep our country safe.

When she plans to respond to the Fourth Report of Session 2024-25 of the Education Committee, Children’s Social Care, published on 10 July 2025, HC 430; and whether she plans to accept the recommendation on the development of a national foster care strategy.

The department responded to the Fourth Report of the Session 2024-25 of the Education Committee, Children’s Social Care in September 2025. This includes our response to recommendation 29: ‘The Department for Education must put in place a national fostering strategy to complement the existing strategies for adoption and kinship care. As part of this, it should consult on introducing a national register of foster carers and review the financial support available to ensure that it is adequate to meet their needs.’Foster care is one of my top priorities as Minister for Children and Families, and we need to go further and faster with recruiting and retaining more carers. We are prioritising fostering in our reform of children’s social care, as demonstrated by the announcement of an additional £40 million investment over this financial year and the next two financial years. This will bring benefits to thousands of fostered children. We will set out more detail on our planned investments and reforms for fostering in due course.The Education Select Committee published the findings on 17 October 2025, the findings can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49799/documents/266904/default/.

If he will (a) review and (b) reconsider the contract between the NHS and Palantir for the Federated Data Platform, in the context of the (i) abolition of NHS England, (ii) opposition of the British Medical Association and (iii) comments of Peter Thiel on the NHS.

The provider of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) was identified through a rigorous, competitive procurement process in line with Government procurement legislation. The selection was made by multiple assessors against clear criteria following an open tender process where any supplier could respond with their solution. Potential suppliers were required to demonstrate their financial, commercial, security, and technical capability to meet contractual requirements. The contract for the FDP includes provisions to ensure transparency. This includes regular audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within National Health Service commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations. There is no plan to reconsider the contract.

With reference to her predecessor's oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green during the Oral Statement of 12 May 2025 on the Immigration System, Official Report, column 53, whether her Department has consulted civil society organisations that provide services to (a) migrants experiencing (i) poverty and (ii) destitution and (b) all migrants in the development of the proposed consultation on settlement and citizenship changes.

We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.The citizenship proposals will be developed in line with the settlement ones and further details on the proposed citizenship scheme will be provided at a suitable stage.

What steps his Department has taken to safeguard patient data under NHS contracts with (a) Palantir and (b) other private sector data collectors.

The National Health Service operates to the highest standards of data security, and all organisations have governance arrangements in place to ensure the safe, legal storage and use of data. The NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) is built with robust security and privacy controls to ensure that access to NHS data is tightly governed and independently auditable. All user activity within the FDP environment is logged for auditing purposes. These logs are actively monitored by both Palantir’s United Kingdom security team and the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre, to detect and respond to any malicious activity. Security logs are encrypted at rest and in transit, and are stored on a secure Security Information and Event Management server which is accessible only to authorised personnel Access to data within the FDP is governed by strict controls, including the principle of least privilege and mandatory access control systems. Only authorised users are granted access for approved purposes, and all permissions are subject to audit and review. In addition to these technical safeguards, the FDP and associated services contract includes audit provisions that allow NHS England to validate and confirm that contractual requirements are being met. These rights of audit are standard within NHS commercial agreements and provide assurance that the platform operates in accordance with NHS England’s expectations and legal obligations. Further information on the FDP’s security and governance framework is available in the published contract documentation and supporting materials, a copy of which is attached.

How many care and support workers in England are paid the national living wage; and whether he plans to increase minimum pay for those workers.

Adult social care is a historically low paid sector. In 2024/25, 22% of care workers in the independent sector were paid the National Living Wage (NLW). The median hourly pay rate for care workers was £12.00 in March 2025, 56p higher than the NLW.We are committed to transforming adult social care and supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce. Negotiations between employee and employer representatives will shape how this funding will be used to enhance pay, terms, and conditions.The Spending Review allows for over £4 billion in additional funding for adult social care in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding, and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. This £4 billion increase includes £500 million to begin implementing the Fair Pay Agreement in 2028/29.

If he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of Community Integrated Care's report entitled The Caring Economy – Unfair To Care 2025, published on 12 March 2025.

We appreciate the work undertaken and the findings presented in the Unfair to Care 2025 report. We are committed to supporting adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding to improve pay and conditions for the adult social care workforce.The Impact Assessment for the Employment Rights Bill, published in October 2024, provides an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts of a Fair Pay Agreement given the current stage of policy development.The Spending Review 2025 allows for over £4 billion in additional funding available for ASC in 2028-29 compared to 2025-26. This includes other sources of income available to support adult social care, additional grant funding and an increase in the National Health Service’s contribution to adult social care via the Better Care Fund. This £4 billion increase includes £500 million to begin implementing the Fair Pay Agreement in 2028-29.

What the average income is of care and support workers; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of that income.

Adult social care is a historically low paid sector. In 2024/25, 22% of care workers in the independent sector were paid the National Living Wage (NLW). The median hourly pay rate for care workers was £12.00 in March 2025, 56p higher than the NLW. Some studies have found the median household income for residential care workers was lower than the national average.We aim to transform adult social care and support adult social care workers, turning the page on decades of low pay and insecurity. That is why we plan to introduce the first ever Fair Pay Agreement in 2028, backed by £500 million of funding.Fair Pay Agreements will empower worker representatives, employers and others to negotiate pay and terms and conditions in a responsible manner. This will help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector; in turn supporting the delivery of high-quality care. Negotiations between employee and employer representatives will shape how this funding will be used to enhance pay, terms and conditions.

With reference to her predecessor's oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green during the Oral Statement of 12 May 2025 on the Immigration System, Official Report, column 53, whether her Department has consulted people with direct experience of the immigration system in the development of the proposed consultation on settlement and citizenship changes.

The Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, sets out the government's plans to create an immigration system that promotes growth but is controlled and managed.We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.The citizenship proposals will be developed in line with the settlement ones and further details on the proposed citizenship scheme will be provided at a suitable stage.

How many criminal behaviour orders have been issued to (a) White British, (b) Asian, (c) Black, (d) Chinese, (e) Arab and (f) other ethnic group offenders in each of the last five years.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

How many criminal behaviour orders have been issued to offenders in (a) under 18, (b) 18-24, (c) 25-34, (d) 35-44, (e) 45-54 and (f) 55+ age groups in each of the last five years.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

What the value is of the Prison Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026.

The Prison Education Budget has not been reduced but increased costs mean that many prisons will experience a reduction in core-contract provision.The value of the Prisoner Education Framework contracts between 01 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 was £138 million. We are unable to provide a set contract value for the period 01 October 2025 – 30 September 2026 as this period spans two contract years. Comparisons between individual service budgets year on year are not straightforward due to changes in contract structure and delivery arrangements. Additionally, the overall prison education budget includes a range of services beyond core education and the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), such as libraries, higher education and further education and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG).The CIAG contract value for financial year 2025-26 is £9.3 million.We have set out the previous five years’ DPS budgets below:Financial Year DPS Budget Notes 2021-22£22.3mThis is a combined total for DPS and CIAG.2022-23£14.1mThese figures represent the total spent by Prison Governors on DPS without CIAG.2023-24£13.9m2024-25£12.7m2025-26£12.0mThis excludes the budget for the national CIAG service launched 01 April 2025.

What the value was of the Prison Education Service Core Education contracts between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The Prison Education Budget has not been reduced but increased costs mean that many prisons will experience a reduction in core-contract provision.The value of the Prisoner Education Framework contracts between 01 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 was £138 million. We are unable to provide a set contract value for the period 01 October 2025 – 30 September 2026 as this period spans two contract years. Comparisons between individual service budgets year on year are not straightforward due to changes in contract structure and delivery arrangements. Additionally, the overall prison education budget includes a range of services beyond core education and the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), such as libraries, higher education and further education and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG).The CIAG contract value for financial year 2025-26 is £9.3 million.We have set out the previous five years’ DPS budgets below:Financial Year DPS Budget Notes 2021-22£22.3mThis is a combined total for DPS and CIAG.2022-23£14.1mThese figures represent the total spent by Prison Governors on DPS without CIAG.2023-24£13.9m2024-25£12.7m2025-26£12.0mThis excludes the budget for the national CIAG service launched 01 April 2025.

With reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, updated on 6 June 2025, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) people under 18 years and (b) all people affected by the proposed changes to (i) settlement and (ii) citizenship.

The new settlement rules will be subject both to an equality impact assessment and to a public consultation later this year. Details of how this initiative will work will be provided around that consultation. The citizenship proposals will be developed in line with the settlement ones.

What assessment his Department has made of trends in variations in the use of criminal behaviour orders across police force areas.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

How many breaches of Criminal Behaviour Orders have been recorded in each of the last five years, by (a) age group, (b) gender and (c) ethnicity of the offender.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

What proportion of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued in each of the last five years were subsequently breached; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of these Orders in reducing reoffending.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

How many criminal behaviour orders have been issued in each local justice area in each of the last five years.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

How many criminal behaviour orders have been issued to (a) male and (b) female offenders in each of the last five years.

The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders issued broken down by local justice area, police force area, sex, age, and the requested ethnicities for the last five years are provided in the attached tables.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on convictions for a wide range of offences, including breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order in the ‘Outcomes by Offences data tool’, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.However, it is not possible to state what proportion of orders are breached, as the data does not track individuals who were issued a Criminal Behaviour Order and then subsequently breached the order – they are recorded separately.Policy responsibility for Criminal Behaviour Orders is a matter for the Home Office.

What the value is of the Prison Education Service Careers Information, Advice and Guidance contracts in the 2025-26 financial year.

The Prison Education Budget has not been reduced but increased costs mean that many prisons will experience a reduction in core-contract provision.The value of the Prisoner Education Framework contracts between 01 April 2024 and 31 March 2025 was £138 million. We are unable to provide a set contract value for the period 01 October 2025 – 30 September 2026 as this period spans two contract years. Comparisons between individual service budgets year on year are not straightforward due to changes in contract structure and delivery arrangements. Additionally, the overall prison education budget includes a range of services beyond core education and the Prison Education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), such as libraries, higher education and further education and Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG).The CIAG contract value for financial year 2025-26 is £9.3 million.We have set out the previous five years’ DPS budgets below:Financial Year DPS Budget Notes 2021-22£22.3mThis is a combined total for DPS and CIAG.2022-23£14.1mThese figures represent the total spent by Prison Governors on DPS without CIAG.2023-24£13.9m2024-25£12.7m2025-26£12.0mThis excludes the budget for the national CIAG service launched 01 April 2025.