Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what comparative analysis they have conducted of the number of children in privately operated children's homes and those in other homes who become entangled in the criminal justice system, and what action they are taking as a result.
Answered by Lord Nash
As at 31 March 2015, there were 4,390 looked after children in privately operated children’s home provision[1] of which 60 were looked after under a youth justice legal status[2]. A further 2,180 children were looked after in children’s homes not run by private sector providers (e.g. local authority or voluntary sector provision) of which 20 were looked after under a youth justice legal status.
The Government has asked Sir Martin Narey to undertake an independent review of children’s homes. As part of his review, Sir Martin will consider how to reduce any inappropriate criminalisation of children in children’s homes.
[1] Includes children in secure, regulated and unregulated children’s homes.
[2] Includes children remanded to local authority accommodation or to youth detention accommodation; children placed in local authority accommodation under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act; and those sentenced to a Youth Rehabilitation Order (Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, as amended by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, with residence or intensive fostering requirement).
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations they have had with (1) the Howard League for Penal Reform, (2) The Children's Society, (3) Barnardo's, (4) the NSPCC, (5) other children's charities, and (6) the police, about the number of children in care who become entangled in the criminal justice system, and what action they are taking to reduce that number.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government remains committed to ensuring that children in care avoid criminality. As of 31 March 2015, there were 69,540 looked after children. Of the 31,820 10-17 year olds who had been in care for a year or more, 5% had been convicted of an offence or were subject to a final warning or reprimand (Department for Education Statistical First Release - 34/2015).
To improve residential care, Sir Martin Narey has been asked to undertake an independent review of children’s homes. As part of this, Sir Martin will consider how to reduce any inappropriate criminalisation of children in children’s homes. As part of his review of the youth justice system, Charlie Taylor has consulted a wide range of organisations, including about children in care who offend. He will report this summer with recommendations on how to improve the treatment of young people in the youth justice system. The National Offender Management Service has also established a National Care Leavers’ Forum which brings together stakeholders from a range of internal and external bodies, including the Care Leavers’ Association.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the importance of play as a key element of policy on parenting and life chances, and what consequential action they are taking.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Department for Education recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning.
Play is integral in the early years and is covered in the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework which states: “Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others.”
The Government’s forthcoming Life Chances Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity. Within this, we are considering how we can support early years and parenting to give children the best start in life.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ring-fence special education funding within their new national funding formula.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are currently consulting on arrangements for new national formulae for schools and high needs funding (funding to provide high cost support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities). Both funding streams, along with early years funding, make up the dedicated schools grant (DSG), which is ring-fenced so that local authorities can only spend it on specified elements of education. The DSG will continue to be ring-fenced when the national funding formulae are in place. We have also protected the schools and high needs budgets in this Parliament. This year we are adding £92.5 million to local authorities’ 2016-17 high needs allocations.
At the Budget we also announced that we will provide £500 million over the Spending Review period, on top of per pupil protection, to speed up implementation of the national funding formula for schools and get extra funding quicker to those schools that need it most.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that developmental play services, including Portage, are a statutory service for disabled children under the age of two.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning and a child’s experiences in their first five years have a major impact on their future life chances. This is covered in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework for children from birth to five years of age.
The commissioning of support services for disabled children, such as Portage, is a decision for local authorities. Each local authority should consider the needs of its population, in collaboration with parent carers and early years providers, to ensure that support services in the area reflect local circumstances and need. The Children and Families Act requires all local authorities to publish a ‘local offer’, setting out in one place information about provision they expect to be available in their area across education, health and social care for children in their area who are disabled or have SEN, including those who do not have EHC plans. This should include details of any Portage services that are available for children aged 0 to 5 years.
The Department recognises the importance of Portage and has provided £150,000 to the National Portage Association through the voluntary and community sector (VCS) grants for 2015-16. The National Portage Association has been using their funding to build on existing grant-funded work to support and develop Portage services.