Written questions by Johnson.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to protect the Tara Park Traveller site in Liverpool; if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the consultation with the residents of that site on the potential impact of the Ten Streets development; and whether she plans to redevelop that site in line with the surrounding redevelopment proposals.

I am unable to comment on individual planning cases because of the departments quasi-judicial role in the planning system.However, planning policy is clear that, in respect of Traveller sites, it is for elected local authorities to make their own assessment of need to inform the preparation of local plans and make planning decisions. In assembling this evidence, local authorities should pay particular attention to early and effective community engagement with both settled and Traveller communities in their area.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7596 on Special Educational Needs, how many and what proportion of children who had been excluded from school were then registered at special schools by (a) sex/gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meal status and (d) region in each of the last 10 years.

The department does not centrally hold statistics showing how many children who had been excluded from school were then registered at special schools. However, there are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. The duties on schools and local authorities in relation to suspension and permanent exclusion are set out in statutory guidance, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.

Whether her Department has made an equalities impact assessment on the transition from Biometric Resident Permits to eVisas.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020: Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022: Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in due course, and we will continue to keep the issue under review. Human rights impacts on those with protected characteristics are part of the EIA consideration.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of surveys undertaken by the Food Foundation Food entitled Food insecurity tracking, published in July 2024, on a potential link between ethnicity and food insecurity.

We are committed to tackling poverty in all its forms and this includes tackling food insecurity by reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. Good work can significantly reduce the chances of people failing into poverty so will be the foundation of our approach. The Child Poverty Taskforce has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025. We will harness all available levers across government to bring about an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year strategy for lasting change. Our jobcentres support our customers, including in ethnic minority groups, to move into employment by providing access to mainstream services and bespoke programmes that are designed to be flexible to individual needs. We are also taking targeted action in 20 places with a high ethnic minority employment gap. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose. As announced in the Autumn Budget, a new Fair Repayment Rate will be introduced from April 2025, reducing Universal Credit deductions overall cap from 25% to 15%. This measure will help approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households benefit by an average of £420 a year. We also announced that, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording the number of children registered at Pupil Referral Units who have previously been excluded from school.

All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.

Whether her Department has made a human rights impact assessment of the transition from Biometric Resident Permits to eVisas.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020: Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). A separate EIA considering equalities issues in relation to the use of digital only right to work and rent checks was published on gov.uk in June 2022: Digital only right to work and rent checks: equality impact assessment (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues to reflect the current stage in the roll out of eVisas. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in due course, and we will continue to keep the issue under review. Human rights impacts on those with protected characteristics are part of the EIA consideration.

Pursuant to the Answers of 14 October to Questions 7569 on Special Educational Needs and 7570 on Pupil Referral Units, how many and what proportion of children who attended Special Educational Needs schools were then registered at Pupil Referral Units in each of the last ten years, broken down by (a) sex/gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meal status and (d) region.

The department does not hold statistics centrally showing how many children who attended special schools were then registered at pupil referral units in each of the last ten years.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2024 to Question 9795 on Pupil Referral Units, if her Department will undertake a manual audit of all children registered at Pupil Referral Units since 1 November 2023 to see how many have previously been excluded from school.

All decisions to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort.There are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion. Where children are permanently excluded, they are frequently placed in alternative provision schools (also known as pupil referral units) so that they can receive the dedicated support they require to return to a new mainstream school or a sustained post-16 educational destination.The department does not hold statistics centrally on the number of children registered at pupil referral units who have previously been excluded from school. The department is not currently planning to develop this data.Our aim is to reduce numbers of preventable exclusions, including by using the expertise of alternative provision schools to support pupils whilst they are in mainstream school, before behaviour issues or other barriers to learning escalate.

What steps she plans to take to (a) improve the efficiency of the application process for the Windrush compensation scheme and (b) limit further delays.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

When she plans to appoint a Windrush Commissioner.

In her written ministerial statement on 24th October, the Home Secretary announced plans to establish a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected, who will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.Officials are working at pace to design the recruitment process for the Windrush Commissioner. They are also working through the detail of the role and remit of a Windrush Commissioner including how they would interact and support other related public appointments such as the Windrush Compensation Scheme Independent Person, the Independent Examiner of Complaints and any appointment of a Migrant’s Commissioner.As promised, we have re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

Whether she plans to take steps to lower the burden of proof for Windrush compensation scheme claims.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

What her planned timeline is for the review of accounting for the loss of private and occupational pensions under the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

We recognise that justice has taken far too long for the Windrush community, and this Government will not allow the Windrush Compensation Scheme to fail the victims that deserve our compassion and rightly expect their trauma and experiences to be both heard and understood.Since February 2024, processes have been in place so that where individuals were unable to work because they could not demonstrate their lawful status in the UK, their National Insurance record is corrected so their State Pension entitlement is not affected.Officials are working at pace to consider how losses from Private and Occupational pensions could also be accounted for. This is a complex issue, and we will continue to work closely with stakeholders and victims as the work progresses.The Windrush Compensation Scheme is committed to continuing to listen to and to work with victims and stakeholders to ensure all aspects of the Scheme operating effectively for those affected.On 8 July 2024, a new single named caseworker process was implemented. This was in direct response to stakeholder and victim feedback. This change has streamlined the process, improving consistency, increasing transparency, and removing duplication that led to avoidable delay.On 24 October 2024, the Home Secretary made a Written Ministerial Statement to Parliament announcing an injection of £1.5m grant funding to enable organisations to provide advocacy and support for individuals who need additional help with the application process, out of recognition that for many filing a claim is intimidating and requires them to revisit past traumas. This will ensuring claimants feel supported, improving the efficiency of the process.This assistance will be offered alongside but separate from existing claims support, giving individuals increased flexibility and choice regarding the type of help they want and where they can access it.The Home Secretary also confirmed that she will establishing a Windrush Commissioner; an independent advocate for all those affected. This role will oversee the compensation scheme's delivery, the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, and act as a trusted voice for families and communities, driving improvements and promoting lasting change.In addition, as promised, the Home Secretary has re-established a Windrush Unit in the Home Office reporting to the Departmental Ethics Adviser and dedicated to driving forward the action needed to ensure that what happened to the Windrush generation can never happen again to any part of our society. The new unit stands ready to support the Windrush Commissioner when appointed.This renewed work and the recruitment of a dedicated Windrush Commissioner must drive enduring change that matters to the Windrush community and has wider impact across the whole department and across Government.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing auto-enrolment for Healthy Start.

The Healthy Start scheme is being kept under review. The scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.Healthy Start now supports over 355,000 beneficiaries. This figure is higher than the previous paper voucher scheme. The NHS Business Services Authority operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department. All applicants to the Healthy Start scheme, where they meet the eligibility criteria, must accept the terms and conditions of the prepaid card at the point of application. As the prepaid card is a financial product and cannot be issued without the applicant accepting these terms, the NHS Business Services Authority is not able to automatically provide eligible families with a prepaid card. However, we remain open to all viable routes to improve uptake.

What assessment he has made of the potential link between poor (a) mental health and (b) access to nutritious food.

Whilst there has been no direct assessment of a potential link, the relationship between food security, nutritional intake and physical and mental health in the United Kingdom is currently unclear. However, international data suggests that in the long-term, food insecurity may be associated with poorer diets and poorer mental and physical health.UK dietary recommendations are based on advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). SACN’s risk assessments consider a broad range of health outcomes, including mental health where evidence is available.Working together as a mission led Government, we will move from a model of sickness to one of prevention, reducing health inequality and closing the gap in healthy life expectancy, as well as delivering on our commitment to raise the healthiest next generation. As part of this we are working with civil society, industry and the public to address some of the biggest drivers of ill-health and health inequalities, including tackling poor diet.To help break down barriers to opportunity and confront child poverty we are rolling out free breakfast clubs in every primary school, with an early adopter scheme launching in April 2025. All children in Reception, year 1 and year 2 in England's state-funded schools are already entitled to universal infant free school meals and disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools, as well as students aged between 16 and 18 years old in further education, receive free meals on the basis of low income.In addition, our Healthy Food Schemes already provide support for those who need it the most. The Healthy Start scheme aims to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies and young children under four from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula; beneficiaries also have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins.

If he will publish guidance on the sugar and salt content of baby foods.

A 2019 evidence review showed that babies and young children are exceeding their energy intake requirement and are eating too much sugar and salt. Some commercial baby foods, particularly finger foods, had added sugar or salt, or contained ingredients that are high in sugar or salt.More recently, the independent Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) highlighted in their report on Feeding Young Children aged 1-5 years, published in 2023, that free sugar intakes are above recommendations for children at all ages where recommendations have been set; and that commercial baby food and drinks contributed to around 20% of free sugar intake in children aged between 12 and 18 months old. SACN also recommended that in diets of children aged between one and five years old, foods, including snacks that are high in salt, free sugars, saturated fat, or are energy dense should be limited and that commercially manufactured foods and drinks marketed specifically for infants and young children are not needed to meet nutrition requirements.We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government is committed to raising the healthiest next generation. We can therefore confirm that we will publish voluntary industry guidelines to limit the levels of salt and sugar in commercially available baby food and drink in the near future.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing kitchen facilities available to primary schools, in the context of the roll-out of new breakfast clubs.

The government is committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school with primary aged pupils whilst ensuring effective implementation.Departmental officials are working closely with schools and sector experts on various matters, including facilities and space, to develop a programme that effectively meets the needs of children, schools and parents.From April 2025, free breakfast clubs will be available in up to 750 early adopter schools, as part of a test and learn phase in advance of national roll out.

Pursuant to the Answers of 15 October 2024 to Questions 7571, 7572, 7573, 7574, 7575, and 7576 on Radicalism and Counter-terrorism, what the terms of reference are for the rapid review of extremism; and what criteria she is using to choose who to consult from (a) government, (b) academia, (c) communities and (d) international partners for that review.

The Home Secretary has commissioned a rapid review of extremism and our current approach to tackling this issue. This review will map and monitor extremist trends, understand the evidence about what works to disrupt and divert people away from extremist views, and identify any gaps in existing policy which need to be addressed to crack down on those pushing harmful and hateful beliefs and violence.This review is due to conclude in the autumn and will provide a series of recommendations including whether it is necessary to develop a new Counter-Extremism Strategy.We engage with government stakeholders currently or potentially involved in the delivery of any counter extremism approach; academic experts who have published work on and are specialising in extremism and associated themes; international partners who could provide relevant learning from their own implementation of countering extremism: and community representation to speak to concerns facing communities on the ground.

Pursuant to the Answers of 14 October 2024 to Question 7569 on Special Educational Needs and Question 7570 on Pupil Referral Units, how many and what proportion of children who had been excluded from school were then registered at Pupil Referral Units by (a) sex, (b) ethnicity, (c) free school meals status and (d) region in each of the last 10 years.

The department does not currently hold statistics showing how many children who had been excluded from school were then registered at Pupil Referral Units. However, there are legal duties on schools and local authorities to provide suitable full-time education from the sixth day of a suspension or permanent exclusion.The duties on schools and local authorities to provide alternative provision, and the standards that this should meet, are also set out in statutory guidance. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.

How many and what proportion of people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in prison were originally given a tariff of (a) six months, (b) 12 months, (c) 18 months, (d) two years, (e) three years and (f) five years or under.

The number of prisoners serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) who have never been released, as of 30 June 2024, and were sentenced to tariffs of six months, 12 months, 18 months, two years, three years and five years or under, five years to ten years are set out in the table below.Original Tariff Count Proportion of those unreleased in prisonLess than 6 months50.4%6 months to less than 12 months151.3%12 months to less than 18 months474.2%18 months to less than 2 years12110.7%2 years to less than 3 years25322.3%3 years to 5 years37233.0%5 years to 10 years28024.7%Tariff not recorded2 Notes:1. Tariff length is the time between date of sentencing and tariff expiry date and does not take into account any time served on remand.2. 'Tariff not recorded' includes cases where a confirmed tariff expiry date has yet to be received, and any unmatched records. It is right that IPP sentences were abolished, and we are committed to working at pace to support the progression of all those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that undermines public protection.

Whether she plans to consult civil society before publishing the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill.

The King’s Speech on 17 July confirmed the Government will introduce the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to deliver enhanced powers to tackle organised immigration crime whilst providing for strong and effective border security. Work is underway to prepare this legislation and it will be introduced when Parliamentary time allows.The measures will provide a framework for the Border Security Command to operate, improve investigative capability into organised immigration crime, enable smarter, faster and more effective interventions to protect UK border security; and make it easier to detect, disrupt and deter those seeking to engage in and benefit from organised immigration crime, limiting the permissible environment and its impact. Throughout the development of the legislation, the Government has engaged with a range of partners including operational teams and will continue to do so throughout the Bill’s passage.