Jess Asato MP: written questions
169 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Food: NutritionDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32603More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to (a) reduce consumption amongst children and (b) encourage reformulation of products that are high in fat, sugar and salt that are targeted at children.
Answer: The Government is committed to tackling the childhood obesity crisis and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. We have revised the National Planning Policy Framework for local government which has provided stronger powers to local authoriti...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMalnutrition: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32602More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) tackle, (b) prevent and (c) monitor child poverty in the form of malnutrition.
Answer: Most cases of malnutrition are clinical and will be secondary to another health condition which may impact on nutritional needs or impact on a person’s ability to eat and drink, rather than it solely being caused by poor or inadequate dietary intake. The ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMalnutrition: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32601More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to screen for malnutrition in (a) children and (b) adults across the country in a consistent manner.
Answer: The diagnosis and detection of malnutrition are key, and health staff are trained to spot the early warning signs so that effective individual treatment can be put in place. Tools and guidance are available through a range of organisations for health and ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic AbuseDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32488More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of counsellors trained to support children who have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse.
Answer: As commissioners of National Health Services, integrated care boards are responsible for making available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population. Service delivery models are determined by service providers at a l...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic AbuseDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32487More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that children who have witnessed domestic abuse can access age-appropriate counselling and therapeutic interventions.
Answer: Improving mental health support for children and young people is a priority for the Government and the National Health Service. Since 2018, NHS England has invested significant additional funding to ensure that more children and young people, including th...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic Abuse and Sexual OffencesMinistry of JusticeTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32486More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are informed of their rights to access pre-trial therapeutic support.
Answer: We are clear that there is no need for victims to delay therapy before, during or after any potential trial on account of an ongoing police investigation or prosecution. The Victims’ Code provides that victims have the right to access support to help them...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic Abuse and Sexual OffencesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32485More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that counselling for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence includes culturally competent and specialist support for diverse communities.
Answer: NHS England cannot comment specifically on services which are commissioned by local providers, however work is continuing to address mental health inequalities and attract more professionals from other backgrounds.The Ministry of Justice and the Associati...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic Abuse and Sexual OffencesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32484More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for counselling services supporting survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Answer: Integrated care boards are responsible for providing health and care services to meet the needs of their local populations. Despite the challenging fiscal environment, we have chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies in ...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCounselling: Domestic Abuse and Sexual OffencesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32483More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of trauma-informed counselling services for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.
Answer: We are committed to delivering and expansion of NHS Talking Therapies, increasing the number of sessions available, and increasing the number of people completing a course of treatment by 384,000 by 2028/29.NHS Talking Therapies offer National Institute f...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32414More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of work by third-sector organisations to (a) support families of children struggling with school attendance and (b) tackle the root causes of low
Answer: This government is committed to tackling school absence, including through our attendance guidance, our national enforcement framework and engagement with schools, local authorities and the third sector.The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ ...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of non-attendance sanctions.
Answer: This government is committed to tackling school absence, including through our attendance guidance, our national enforcement framework and engagement with schools, local authorities and the third sector.The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ ...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSpecial Educational NeedsDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing school-based whole family support practitioners to support the SEND system.
Answer: This government wants to create a high-quality system that places children and families at the centre of its design, providing meaningful and consistent support for families as their needs change over time. Schools, colleges, early years and childcare set...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32411More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the implementation across (a) schools and (b) local authorities of its working together to improve school attendance guidance; and whether she has plans to r
Answer: This government is committed to tackling school absence, including through our attendance guidance, our national enforcement framework and engagement with schools, local authorities and the third sector.The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ ...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AttendanceDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32410More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the charity School-Home Support report entitled Strengthening the bridge between home and school, published on 26 November 2024; an
Answer: This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence, which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, limiting...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: StandardsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32409More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has plans to halve the number of non-decent homes in the (a) social and (b) private sector by 2030.
Answer: The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy in Spring...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHousing: FurnitureMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32408More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of unfurnished homes on (a) prison leavers, (b) people escaping domestic violence and abuse and (c) people that cannot
Answer: The Department does not collect data on the number of households living without essential furniture.Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide appropriate support in safe accommodation for domestic abuse victims who need to flee their homes.Emerge...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordFurniture PovertyMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32407More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had engagement with the Child Poverty Taskforce on (a) furnished tenancies and (b) the potential impact of the decent homes standard on trends in the level of fur
Answer: The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy in Spring...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Rented Housing: FurnitureMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32406More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of updating the decent homes standard to ensure that at least 10% of homes for social rent are offered furnished.
Answer: The government will consult this year on a reformed Decent Homes Standard for the social and private rented sectors.The Deputy Prime Minister is part of the ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce, which is aiming to publish a Child Poverty Strategy in Spring...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordElectricians: Vocational EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32404More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to calculate the number of experienced adult learners undertaking electrical training via the (a) experienced worker route and (b) an equivalent national vocational qualifica
Answer: Adult, those aged over 19 years old, government-funded further education and skills learning in England is recorded on the individualised learner record and published in the ‘Further education and skills’ statistics publication. In the 2023/24 academic ye...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordElectricians: Vocational EducationDepartment for EducationTabled 21 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 32403More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help students studying classroom-based electrical technical diplomas transition into the electrical workforce.
Answer: The department is looking at ways of improving the transition rate from further education (FE) courses into construction sector jobs. This includes through the defunding of low-quality courses through the qualifications review.The department is also worki...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordGender Based Violence: Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland OfficeTabled 13 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 902880More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking with the Northern Ireland Executive to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answer: Last year seven women were killed in Northern Ireland, and rates of violence are higher in Northern Ireland than in the rest of the UKLast month, I was pleased to welcome the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls to Northern Irela...
Answered 26 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26767More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of additional NHS spending announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 will be directed towards NHS dental services.
Answer: The National Health Service in England invests £3 billion into dentistry every year. NHS England is responsible for issuing guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) on dental budgets, including ringfences. NHS England Planning Guidance for 2025/26 has no...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversal Credit: Council TaxDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 8 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 22803More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of an application for Universal Credit automatically triggering a claim for Council Tax Support.
Answer: Council Tax Support is administered by the Local Authority and is not a DWP benefit, therefore before we have determined entitlement to Universal credit, it is not appropriate for the department to trigger a claim for Council Tax Support automatically. A ...
Answered 15 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: DisadvantagedTreasuryTabled 6 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18436More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) banks and (b) financial services providers increase access to (i) products and (ii) services through the Financial Inclusion Strategy.
Answer: On 5 December, I convened a Financial Inclusion Committee which has been established to tackle the problems of financial exclusion. Through this committee, I will work with consumer groups and industry on the development of a Financial Inclusion Strategy....
Answered 16 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: DisadvantagedTreasuryTabled 28 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16774More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the impact of financial exclusion on (a) care experienced and (b) older people.
Answer: Ensuring people have access to appropriate financial products and services is a key priority for the Government and is vital to supporting people’s financial resilience and wellbeing. It is also an essential part of achieving inclusive growth and ensuring...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament record
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