This information is not routinely published and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

What the locations are of successful applicants to the Natural Flood Management Programme.

I thank the hon. Member for his engagement, and I will arrange a meeting with the relevant member of the team. The information is on gov.uk. Two projects near his constituency—the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and the Mersey Rivers Trust—are involved in the programme. I welcome his engagement. It is a good scheme, and I will ensure that he gets that meeting.

I am working with residents in the Chase Way and Kendal Drive area of Great Sutton, alongside Environment Agency representatives and members of the local authority, to try to find a solution to the flooding problems that we have there. There are lots of different pots of money available at different times, and sometimes it is difficult to understand what the realistic chances are of our succeeding in getting the funding that we need to bridge the gap that we have at the moment to get the works done. Will it be possible for me to meet with either the Secretary of State or some of his team to talk about what realistic funding options we have for the area?

I agree. That is why we are increasing fourfold the number of inspections, so that water companies are not marking their own homework. It is why we have the plan for water, introduced by the former Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey), and significant additional investment. It is why we are taking tougher enforcement action, with the biggest ever criminal prosecution of water firms by the Environment Agency. It is also why we are taking action on things such as bonuses for companies that commit serious wrongdoing.

I have been working with the Environment Agency to address a small flood problem on the River Gade in my constituency. The Environment Agency has been very helpful, and has met with me. In another part of my constituency, the River Ver has been flooded with sewage yet again. That is unacceptable, and the Environment Agency

needs to take it seriously and take action against the water companies, rather than just saying, “We’ll work with you.” Action is what my constituents want.

Forty projects have been selected to proceed to the development stage of the £25 million natural flood management programme. They include a broad range of locations, from Alnmouth to St Austell.

The number of new placements for children looked after over 20 miles from their homes during the reporting year ending 31 March 2023 was 18,720. This represents 21% of new placements for children looked after during the year, compared to 67% who were placed 20 miles or less, and 13% where distance was not known or not recorded. If a child has more than one new placement then each will be counted.

Further information on placement distance and locality has been published in the ‘Children looked after including adoptions’ statistical release. This data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/aa5c9275-7f98-49e2-e5bb-08dc65d392eb.

The department does not collect data on the reasons for which a child may be placed more than 20 miles away from their home area.

The department wants to reduce out of area placements, however, they will always be part of the care landscape. Certain circumstances can make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.

The department does recognise there are issues in the placement market, which is why the department has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas helping to create an additional 560 placements across England.

The department is also investing £36 million this Parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the carers we have.

In addition to the support provided by local authorities, the government is providing over £250 million during this Spending Review period to support young people leaving care with housing, access to education, employment, and training, and to help them develop social connections and networks, to avoid loneliness and isolation.

The department has also committed to increasing the number of local authorities with family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes. Following a local authority grant funding application round, the department is now funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable, loving relationships.

The number of new placements for children looked after over 20 miles from their homes during the reporting year ending 31 March 2023 was 18,720. This represents 21% of new placements for children looked after during the year, compared to 67% who were placed 20 miles or less, and 13% where distance was not known or not recorded. If a child has more than one new placement then each will be counted.

Further information on placement distance and locality has been published in the ‘Children looked after including adoptions’ statistical release. This data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/aa5c9275-7f98-49e2-e5bb-08dc65d392eb.

The department does not collect data on the reasons for which a child may be placed more than 20 miles away from their home area.

The department wants to reduce out of area placements, however, they will always be part of the care landscape. Certain circumstances can make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.

The department does recognise there are issues in the placement market, which is why the department has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas helping to create an additional 560 placements across England.

The department is also investing £36 million this Parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the carers we have.

In addition to the support provided by local authorities, the government is providing over £250 million during this Spending Review period to support young people leaving care with housing, access to education, employment, and training, and to help them develop social connections and networks, to avoid loneliness and isolation.

The department has also committed to increasing the number of local authorities with family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes. Following a local authority grant funding application round, the department is now funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable, loving relationships.

The number of new placements for children looked after over 20 miles from their homes during the reporting year ending 31 March 2023 was 18,720. This represents 21% of new placements for children looked after during the year, compared to 67% who were placed 20 miles or less, and 13% where distance was not known or not recorded. If a child has more than one new placement then each will be counted.

Further information on placement distance and locality has been published in the ‘Children looked after including adoptions’ statistical release. This data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/aa5c9275-7f98-49e2-e5bb-08dc65d392eb.

The department does not collect data on the reasons for which a child may be placed more than 20 miles away from their home area.

The department wants to reduce out of area placements, however, they will always be part of the care landscape. Certain circumstances can make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.

The department does recognise there are issues in the placement market, which is why the department has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas helping to create an additional 560 placements across England.

The department is also investing £36 million this Parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the carers we have.

In addition to the support provided by local authorities, the government is providing over £250 million during this Spending Review period to support young people leaving care with housing, access to education, employment, and training, and to help them develop social connections and networks, to avoid loneliness and isolation.

The department has also committed to increasing the number of local authorities with family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes. Following a local authority grant funding application round, the department is now funding 50 programmes across 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable, loving relationships.

There is a high level of cooperation on migration and border security between the UK and Irish governments. In particular, the Home Office regularly discuss asylum trends and work to respond to these trends with our counterparts in the Department of Justice. The Home Secretary will hold discussions with his Irish counterpart in due course.

The allocation process for the UK Foundation Programme this year was changed to a Preference Informed Allocation method. This new process saw applicants being given a computer-generated rank, and the removal of the requirement to sit the Situational Judgement Test. When confirming the move to the new system last year, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, set out that once implemented it would be kept under constant review to make sure it is working well for applicants.

All 9,702 eligible applicants for the 2024 foundation programme were allocated to a foundation school, with 75% of those applicants getting their first preference. This is an improvement on last year, when 8,655 applicants were placed, and 71% got their first preference. Because of this, new posts must be created, with appropriate experience for foundation doctors, and the correct level of supervision is required. Foundation schools and their local trusts are working hard to ensure that high quality training posts are available for all applicants. The foundation programme aims to give students as much notice as possible on their allocation to a foundation school, which is why allocations occur in early March.

The allocation process for the UK Foundation Programme this year was changed to a Preference Informed Allocation method. This new process saw applicants being given a computer-generated rank, and the removal of the requirement to sit the Situational Judgement Test. When confirming the move to the new system last year, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, set out that once implemented it would be kept under constant review to make sure it is working well for applicants.

All 9,702 eligible applicants for the 2024 foundation programme were allocated to a foundation school, with 75% of those applicants getting their first preference. This is an improvement on last year, when 8,655 applicants were placed, and 71% got their first preference. Because of this, new posts must be created, with appropriate experience for foundation doctors, and the correct level of supervision is required. Foundation schools and their local trusts are working hard to ensure that high quality training posts are available for all applicants. The foundation programme aims to give students as much notice as possible on their allocation to a foundation school, which is why allocations occur in early March.

Work on the NPR scheme between Liverpool and the Parish of Millington and Rostherne is currently at strategic scheme development stage. This work is being carried out in line with the favoured calling points set out in the WMS of 25 March, to include new platforms at Warrington Bank Quay. We are keen to understand Warrington Borough Council’s priorities and to ensure views on the priorities and any alternatives are understood.