Written questions by Duncan-Jordan.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of a national digital rollout of evidence-based parenting programmes similar to Australia.

Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. That is why we have set the milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. Developmental areas include language, mathematics and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development. Accessible and integrated baby and early childhood services are required to build the foundations for future success in meeting these development goals. The Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care are delivering critical elements of the government’s Plan for Change. This includes the announcement of £126 million of funding to continue delivery of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, a joint programme between both departments. This investment included:£36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support.£10.7 million to help parents create rich home learning environments to support early childhood development.£20 million to enhance parenting support for expectant parents and those with babies aged 0 to 2. All types of evidence-based parenting programmes are being considered, including in-person and digital. This is because of the importance of parent-child relationships during this critical period of development. 75 of the most disadvantaged local authorities in England currently receive funding from the department to deliver support to parents as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Evidence shows that high-quality parenting programmes alongside wider integrated support for parents can improve child and parent outcomes across different areas of development. These 75 local authorities are expected to provide evidence-based interventions to parents. Evidence-based interventions are a key approach to improving consistency and quality of parenting support services. They include increasing practitioners’ knowledge of scientifically proven theories of change and providing them with effective methods for engaging vulnerable families – including those experiencing poverty. This allows local authorities to reach the most disadvantaged families through universal and targeted support, and to address early challenges during this critical period of development. Local authorities must use the Early Intervention Foundation guidebook, or similar, to select programmes that are strongly evidence-based and best suit their local needs and circumstances. Evidence-based programmes included in the guidebook include Triple P and Incredible Years. From the rigorous assessment that is required for programmes to be included in the guidebook, we know that these programmes have a demonstrated impact on outcomes. These include language and mathematics skills, as well as personal, social and emotional development outcomes, like self-regulation and building relationships, all of which are critical to meeting the milestone for good levels of development by 2028. Over the next spending review period, the department will continue to work with local authorities, its voluntary community sector partners and other ‘what works’ bodies. This enables us to test and learn the best ways to provide parents with support and access to evidence-based parenting programmes.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of evidence-based parenting programmes in supporting families in poverty.

Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. That is why we have set the milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. Developmental areas include language, mathematics and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development. Accessible and integrated baby and early childhood services are required to build the foundations for future success in meeting these development goals. The Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care are delivering critical elements of the government’s Plan for Change. This includes the announcement of £126 million of funding to continue delivery of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, a joint programme between both departments. This investment included:£36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support.£10.7 million to help parents create rich home learning environments to support early childhood development.£20 million to enhance parenting support for expectant parents and those with babies aged 0 to 2. All types of evidence-based parenting programmes are being considered, including in-person and digital. This is because of the importance of parent-child relationships during this critical period of development. 75 of the most disadvantaged local authorities in England currently receive funding from the department to deliver support to parents as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Evidence shows that high-quality parenting programmes alongside wider integrated support for parents can improve child and parent outcomes across different areas of development. These 75 local authorities are expected to provide evidence-based interventions to parents. Evidence-based interventions are a key approach to improving consistency and quality of parenting support services. They include increasing practitioners’ knowledge of scientifically proven theories of change and providing them with effective methods for engaging vulnerable families – including those experiencing poverty. This allows local authorities to reach the most disadvantaged families through universal and targeted support, and to address early challenges during this critical period of development. Local authorities must use the Early Intervention Foundation guidebook, or similar, to select programmes that are strongly evidence-based and best suit their local needs and circumstances. Evidence-based programmes included in the guidebook include Triple P and Incredible Years. From the rigorous assessment that is required for programmes to be included in the guidebook, we know that these programmes have a demonstrated impact on outcomes. These include language and mathematics skills, as well as personal, social and emotional development outcomes, like self-regulation and building relationships, all of which are critical to meeting the milestone for good levels of development by 2028. Over the next spending review period, the department will continue to work with local authorities, its voluntary community sector partners and other ‘what works’ bodies. This enables us to test and learn the best ways to provide parents with support and access to evidence-based parenting programmes.

What assessment she has made on the effectiveness of (a) Triple P, (b) Incredible Years and (c) other evidence-based parenting programmes to help ensure that 75% of five year-olds reach a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment.

Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. That is why we have set the milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. Developmental areas include language, mathematics and literacy, and personal, social and emotional development. Accessible and integrated baby and early childhood services are required to build the foundations for future success in meeting these development goals. The Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care are delivering critical elements of the government’s Plan for Change. This includes the announcement of £126 million of funding to continue delivery of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, a joint programme between both departments. This investment included:£36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support.£10.7 million to help parents create rich home learning environments to support early childhood development.£20 million to enhance parenting support for expectant parents and those with babies aged 0 to 2. All types of evidence-based parenting programmes are being considered, including in-person and digital. This is because of the importance of parent-child relationships during this critical period of development. 75 of the most disadvantaged local authorities in England currently receive funding from the department to deliver support to parents as part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Evidence shows that high-quality parenting programmes alongside wider integrated support for parents can improve child and parent outcomes across different areas of development. These 75 local authorities are expected to provide evidence-based interventions to parents. Evidence-based interventions are a key approach to improving consistency and quality of parenting support services. They include increasing practitioners’ knowledge of scientifically proven theories of change and providing them with effective methods for engaging vulnerable families – including those experiencing poverty. This allows local authorities to reach the most disadvantaged families through universal and targeted support, and to address early challenges during this critical period of development. Local authorities must use the Early Intervention Foundation guidebook, or similar, to select programmes that are strongly evidence-based and best suit their local needs and circumstances. Evidence-based programmes included in the guidebook include Triple P and Incredible Years. From the rigorous assessment that is required for programmes to be included in the guidebook, we know that these programmes have a demonstrated impact on outcomes. These include language and mathematics skills, as well as personal, social and emotional development outcomes, like self-regulation and building relationships, all of which are critical to meeting the milestone for good levels of development by 2028. Over the next spending review period, the department will continue to work with local authorities, its voluntary community sector partners and other ‘what works’ bodies. This enables us to test and learn the best ways to provide parents with support and access to evidence-based parenting programmes.

Whether reducing the cost of school will be considered as part of the Child Poverty Strategy.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.The Child Poverty Taskforce, which is co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will harness all available levers to drive forward action across government to reduce child poverty. The Taskforce is progressing urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as possible.The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform these plans. To date, the department has had over 200 engagements with stakeholders, including through over 50 events across the UK. This has included the Cabinet Office’s Child Poverty Unit, supporting the Taskforce, meeting with Parentkind on a number of occasions, including as part of the panel at the launch event for their report, in Parliament, on 25 February.The Taskforce recognises that the costs of attending school can cause financial pressures for low-income families and it is one of the essential costs that are being considered in the Child Poverty Strategy.The department is already taking steps to reduce the cost of the school day through action on the high cost of branded school uniforms and commitment to roll out free breakfast clubs for primary school-aged children from the start of this summer term.

What assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the report entitled Missing Chapter by Parentkind, published in March 2025.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.The Child Poverty Taskforce, which is co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will harness all available levers to drive forward action across government to reduce child poverty. The Taskforce is progressing urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as possible.The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and engaging with families, charities, campaigners and leading organisations across the UK to shape and inform these plans. To date, the department has had over 200 engagements with stakeholders, including through over 50 events across the UK. This has included the Cabinet Office’s Child Poverty Unit, supporting the Taskforce, meeting with Parentkind on a number of occasions, including as part of the panel at the launch event for their report, in Parliament, on 25 February.The Taskforce recognises that the costs of attending school can cause financial pressures for low-income families and it is one of the essential costs that are being considered in the Child Poverty Strategy.The department is already taking steps to reduce the cost of the school day through action on the high cost of branded school uniforms and commitment to roll out free breakfast clubs for primary school-aged children from the start of this summer term.

What steps she is taking to (a) increase in-person assessments and (b) uphold claimants' rights to (i) fair treatment and (ii) reasonable adjustments.

As announced in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, we will be carrying out more face-to-face assessments while continuing to ensure we meet the needs of those who may require a different method of assessment because, for example, a reasonable adjustment is appropriate for them. We are also consulting on a new DWP safeguarding approach, to make it clear what the department and its staff are expected to do to in order to safeguard the public.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the measures set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on people claiming Disability Living Allowance who are being migrated to PIP.

The impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found here: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK.People in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) aged 16 to 64 on 8 April 2013, or who reach age 16 after that date, are being invited to claim PIP and will be assessed against the PIP criteria. People in receipt of DLA who are in scope of PIP, but have yet to be invited to claim, can do so at any point.

What assessment she has made on the potential impact of the measure set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on PIP claimants of retirement age.

Our intention is that the new eligibility requirement in Personal Independence Payment (PIP), in which people must score a minimum of four points in one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component, will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. In keeping with existing policy, people over State Pension Age are not routinely fully reviewed and will not be affected by the proposed changes.

What discussions she has had with (a) professional bodies, (b) disability organisations and (c) experts on changes to the PIP (i) descriptor points reallocation and (ii) scoring change.

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that, in addition to the existing eligibility criteria, claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Our intention is that – subject to parliamentary approval – the changes will apply to new claims and award reviews from November 2026. We are also consulting on how best to support those who lose entitlement to Personal Independence Payment due to the reforms, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. Seperately we have also announced plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. To make sure we get this right, we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing financial penalties on companies that replace more than 10% of their workforce with AI.

We are working to harness the benefits that AI can bring – such as productivity gains, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. Government is planning for a range of plausible outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help us track and prepare for these.The Get Britain Working White Paper from DWP, HMT and DfE also sets out how government will address key labour market challenges. We will continue to work closely with these and other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan on this rapidly developing area.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the measure set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025 on levels of (a) food insecurity and (b) foodbank usage.

No assessment has been made on this basis.Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.We are committed to tackling food poverty and ending mass dependence of emergency food parcels. To inform this work, DWP officials have engaged with a range of organisations to better understand the complex food poverty landscape. We also continue to provide substantial funding to Local Authorities to support those most in need, and are extending the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year until March 2026, providing funding of £742 million in England. This will ensure low-income households can continue to access support towards the cost of essentials, such as food.We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. Our plan to Make Work Pay, will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards, including by increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers. It is a core part of the mission to grow the economy, raise living standards across the country and create opportunities for all.

With reference to her Department's consultation Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, updated 7 April 2025, how would the proposals set out in the green paper interact with the provisions on bank accounts in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

What discussions her Department has had with (a) deaf and (b) disabled people’s organisations on the potential impact of proposed disability benefit changes.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 March to PQ 37556 A full suite of accessible versions is now available, and the consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation. We are also running a programme of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives. More information about these events and registration is available on GOV.UK.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis who receive Universal Credit do not also receive Personal Independence Payment.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Whether she plans to increase funding for (a) free school meals and (b) universal infant free school meals to help source school meals from British produce.

The department spends approximately £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school age pupils under benefits-based free school meals, over 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education, and around 1.3 million infant pupils under the Universal Infant Free School Meal scheme to ensure they receive a nutritious lunchtime meal.Funding is not ring-fenced, meaning that schools have autonomy over delivery, including entering into catering contracts with suppliers and allocation of funding within their budgets.The department regularly speaks to food industry representatives on a range of issues including sector challenges such as funding.As with all government programmes, the department will keep our approach to free school meals, including funding, under continued review.

If she will ringfence school meal funding.

The department spends approximately £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school age pupils under benefits-based free school meals, over 90,000 disadvantaged students in further education, and around 1.3 million infant pupils under the Universal Infant Free School Meal scheme to ensure they receive a nutritious lunchtime meal.Funding is not ring-fenced, meaning that schools have autonomy over delivery, including entering into catering contracts with suppliers and allocation of funding within their budgets.The department regularly speaks to food industry representatives on a range of issues including sector challenges such as funding.As with all government programmes, the department will keep our approach to free school meals, including funding, under continued review.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis receive Universal Credit.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Whether she plans to provide additional support to (a) deaf and (b) disabled people’s organisations.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 20 March to PQ 37556 A full suite of accessible versions is now available, and the consultation will close on 30 June 2025, to ensure that everyone has sufficient time to engage with and respond to the consultation. We are also running a programme of accessible virtual and face to face events on the consultation, to hear from members of the public directly, including disabled people and their representatives. More information about these events and registration is available on GOV.UK.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis who receive income-based Employment and Support Allowance do not also receive Personal Independence Payment.

In August 2024 there were 6,480* people in receipt of Income-related ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. 1,490* of those in receipt of Income-related ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis were not in receipt of PIP, the remaining 5,000* were. * Rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

How many people with Multiple Sclerosis get contributions-based Employment and Support Allowance.

In August 2024 there were 14,620* people in receipt of contributions-based ESA whose main condition was multiple sclerosis. * Rounded to the nearest ten.