Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what personal data of children who are excluded is routinely collected in regard to their home backgrounds; and in particular, whether those children live with both parents, and what other close relationships with adults they have.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Information on excluded pupils is collected from schools via the school census data collection. The department does not routinely collect information about a child’s living arrangements, nor does it collect information on a child’s relationship with their parents or other adults.
The department does collect the home address and certain other characteristic information that will provide some insight into the home background of individual children. This includes information concerning: whether the pupil would be eligible for free school meals or other funding streams (including early years pupil premium and disability access fund); whether the pupil is a service child; and whether the pupil has left care in England and Wales through either adoption, a special guardianship order, a residence order or a child arrangement order.
A robust approvals panel and other controls are in place to ensure that our data is safely guarded and used only in legal, secure and ethical ways.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the terms of reference for the Timpson Review on the rising number of exclusions in schools have been set; and if so, what they are.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has announced an externally led review of exclusions which will be led by the former Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families, Edward Timpson. The review will consider how schools use exclusion and how this affects all pupils, but in particular why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. This includes pupils from certain ethnic groups; pupils who are eligible for free school meals, or have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years; pupils with special educational needs; looked after children; and children in need.
The terms of reference for the exclusions review is attached.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to retain the requirement in section 148 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, that pupils learn about the nature of marriage and importance for family life and the bringing up of children, when they lay regulations under section 34 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017 which provide for all schools in England to teach relationship education.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government agrees that pupils need to understand the nature of marriage and its importance. We expect that the regulations and guidance will reflect fully the value of strong and stable relationships based on commitment, including marriage and civil partnerships.
The government legislated via the Children and Social Work Act 2017 to place a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to make Relationships Education at primary school and Relationships and Sex Education at secondary school mandatory through regulations.
These subjects will cover the core, age-appropriate knowledge that all children need to form safe, positive relationships based on respect and to prepare them for adult life, which includes family life.
The Department for Education is conducting a thorough and wide-ranging engagement with stakeholders, including a call for evidence, to help inform the development of the regulations as well as accompanying statutory guidance for all schools. The department will then consult on the draft regulations and guidance before they are debated in the House.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was spent by the Social Mobility Commission on preparing and publishing its report <i>Helping Parents to Parent</i>, published in February 2017.
Answered by Lord Nash
We welcome the Commission’s ‘Helping parents to parent’ report, published in February. The report was commissioned by the Social Mobility Commission to bring together evidence on parenting behaviours and the extent to which public policy can support parents. It examined 28 interventions and programmes in the United Kingdom and internationally.
The research was tendered in an open competition process and the successful bid was put forward by the market and social research agency, Family Kids and Youth, which carried out the research. The amount for this research contract is £10,350 (exclusive of VAT) and this is in line with the total project spend.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on research commissioned by the Social Mobility Commission since it was first established as the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Commission’s first full year of operation was 2013-14 and they have spent a total of £337,913 on commissioned research to date. To note that this is based on spend up until 29 March 2017 and does not cover full spend for 2016-17.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on the running of the Social Mobility Commission since it was first established as the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Commission’s first full year of operation was 2013-14 and they have spent a total amount of £2,029,695 to date. This figure includes spend on commissioned research. To note that this is based on spend up until 29 March 2017 and does not cover full spend for 2016-17.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of the care system for looked-after children in England and Wales for each year from 2006 to 2016.
Answered by Lord Nash
Since April 2010, local authorities in England have reported spending on children looked after through an annual return to the department (Section 251 returns; available on GOV.UK).
Local authority net current expenditure on children looked after in England: 2005-2006 to 2015-2016 (£, billions)
2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2014-2015 | 2015-2016 |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
Source: Section 251 returns
Note: 2011-12 and 2012-13 figures are not directly comparable due to changes in the categories included between the two years.
In addition, spending on social work directly involved with the care of children and with the commissioning of services for children is captured separately within the Section 251 collection. It is not possible to separate out expenditure for social work related to children looked after only.
The department does not hold this information for Wales.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether professionals who work with children, such as social workers and teachers, are legally required to leave their professions if they continue to live, or resume living, with a convicted sex offender to whom they are married, or with whom they have had children who are no longer minors, after that offender has served a custodial or community sentence.
Answered by Lord Nash
Arrangements within the Childcare Act 2006 and the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 disqualify a person from providing, working in, or managing childcare provision on the grounds that a person in their household has committed a relevant offence. A number of the qualifying offences are of a sexual nature.
A person disqualified from working in any childcare setting for these reasons is able to apply to Ofsted for a waiver against disqualification. Where a waiver is granted the disqualified person is permitted to work in childcare.
The Department publishes guidance (attached) to assist schools, childcare providers and those working in childcare and help them understand the arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent on Children’s Centres since June 2010, (1) in total, and (2) in each financial year.
Answered by Lord Nash
Between April 2010 and March 2015 the total spent on children’s centres was £5.2 bn.
Local authorities must meet their statutory duties on children’s centres from funding that currently forms part of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Business Rates Retention Scheme.
Since April 2010, local authorities have reported spending on children’s centres through an annual return to the Department of Education (Section 251 returns; available on GOV.UK).
There will be variation in the way local authorities deliver their services, which may not be captured in within this data. In addition, other government funding, including that for public health, adult skills training and troubled families may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres again this will not be included in this data.