Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to take in response to Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer 2021 finding that 71 per cent of newly placed adopters surveyed did not have a support plan in place; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendation by Adoption UK that multi-disciplinary assessments be carried out for every child to be placed for adoption, and clear support plans put in place that anticipate future as well as current support needs.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Improving adoption is a manifesto commitment, and Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer report is a valuable resource for informing policy debate. We will be considering the report carefully as part of our planning for funding for future years.
We will also continue to work with regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies to ensure that services are delivered to the same high standard and quality across the country. Agencies are already working together closely to improve and standardise the front door service for prospective adopters.
With reference to the Adoption Support Fund, the department sets budgets through the Spending Review process. The 2020 Spending Review set departmental budgets for the financial year 2021-22. We will set out plans for future years funding in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Adoption UK’s recommendation in the Adoption Barometer Report 2021 on extending adoption support to at least age 26.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Improving adoption is a manifesto commitment, and Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer report is a valuable resource for informing policy debate. We will be considering the report carefully as part of our planning for funding for future years.
We will also continue to work with regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies to ensure that services are delivered to the same high standard and quality across the country. Agencies are already working together closely to improve and standardise the front door service for prospective adopters.
With reference to the Adoption Support Fund, the department sets budgets through the Spending Review process. The 2020 Spending Review set departmental budgets for the financial year 2021-22. We will set out plans for future years funding in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Adoption Support Fund being allocated on a yearly basis instead of a multi-year settlement; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the short-term funding announcements on families and adoption agencies accessing that Fund for therapeutic support services.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Improving adoption is a manifesto commitment, and Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer report is a valuable resource for informing policy debate. We will be considering the report carefully as part of our planning for funding for future years.
We will also continue to work with regional adoption agencies and voluntary adoption agencies to ensure that services are delivered to the same high standard and quality across the country. Agencies are already working together closely to improve and standardise the front door service for prospective adopters.
With reference to the Adoption Support Fund, the department sets budgets through the Spending Review process. The 2020 Spending Review set departmental budgets for the financial year 2021-22. We will set out plans for future years funding in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans are in place to ensure that children can access a full academic year of school from September 2021 without the need for isolation periods and home schooling.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s goal continues to be supporting children and young people to attend face-to-face education, and to reverse the long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their education, wellbeing and wider development. That is why the Government has prioritised education as it works through the steps of the roadmap to ease restrictions.
As the COVID-19 outbreak progresses, it remains important that the Government is able to respond to the evolving public health situation. Depending on COVID-19 measures in place at the time, and subject to Step 4 of the roadmap commencing on the revised date of 19 July, there may be a need for regional or local safety measures to help limit the spread of COVID-19, which could have an impact on education and childcare in the coming months. The road map is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021#roadmap.
Given the impact that restrictions on education can have on children and young people, any measures in schools should only ever be considered as a last resort, kept to the minimum number of schools or groups possible, and for the shortest amount of time possible. Any restrictions on attendance should only ever be considered as a last resort and should involve a ministerial decision.
Central Government may offer local areas of particular concern an enhanced response package to help limit increases in transmission. In enhanced response areas, Directors of Public Health may recommend some additional measures in any schools or nurseries.
These measures are detailed within the contingency framework for education and childcare, which describes how schools and nurseries should plan for spikes in infection in their local areas. This is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-local-restrictions-in-education-and-childcare-settings/contingency-framework-education-and-childcare-settings.
All schools and nurseries should have outbreak management plans outlining how they would operate if any of the measures described within the contingency framework were recommended in their setting or area, and this could include because their area is an enhanced response area.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the letter dated 15 March 2021 from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System to the hon. Member for Sefton Central, if he will publish details of the criteria for bids for funding for the rebuilding of schools with high levels of need.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In February 2021, the Department announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the new School Rebuilding Programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.
School Rebuilding Programme investment is targeted on the basis of buildings’ conditions. A full explanation of the methodology used to prioritise the first 50 schools, and details of the process for prioritising the next 50, has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme/school-rebuilding-programme.
We intend to consult later this year on the approach to prioritising schools for the longer-term programme. Further details will be set out at that time and we would welcome the views of the school sector and other interested parties.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria are used to assess the eligibility of schools for the School Rebuilding Programme.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In February 2021, the Department announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the new School Rebuilding Programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.
School Rebuilding Programme investment is targeted on the basis of buildings’ conditions. A full explanation of the methodology used to prioritise the first 50 schools, and details of the process for prioritising the next 50, has been published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme/school-rebuilding-programme.
We intend to consult later this year on the approach to prioritising schools for the longer-term programme. Further details will be set out at that time and we would welcome the views of the school sector and other interested parties.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to reply to the letters from the North West Association of Primary Headteachers of (a) 19 November 2020 and (b) 2 March 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
I can confirm that a response has been sent to the letters dated 19 November 2020 and 2 March 2021, from the North West Association of Primary Headteachers.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the financial viability of out-of-school wraparound childcare providers that are not able to operate normally during the current covid-19 restrictions period; and whether he plans to offer them financial support.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Ensuring sufficient childcare for families continues to be a government priority. This is why we have ensured that wraparound childcare settings have been able to remain open for vulnerable children and children of critical workers during the current national lockdown, in line with those children eligible to attend school for onsite provision and have updated our guidance for providers of after-school and holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings to support providers to operate as safely as possible, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-schools-coronavirus-covid-19.
As indicated in the answer I gave on 28 January 2021 to Question 142909, the department does not hold a central register of wraparound providers, and so we are unable to make an accurate assessment of the financial viability of providers. However, we recognise that the wraparound childcare sector, like many sectors, is facing unprecedented financial pressures as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Therefore, as explained previously, the government has made a range of financial packages of support available for businesses to access throughout the current crisis. This includes tax relief, business loans or cash grants through, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, as well as a £594 million discretionary fund for councils and the devolved administrations to support local businesses that may not be eligible for other support, during the current national lockdown.
We are also still encouraging all local authorities to consider using local grants that have been made available to them during the COVID-19 outbreak, to support the wraparound childcare sector in their areas, and to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for all families, but particularly those with vulnerable children and children of critical workers. This includes the expanded Holiday Activities and Food Programme mentioned in my previous answer to Question 142909, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities. This programme will give children eligible for free school meals the option to join a free holiday-time programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of out of hours school clubs that (a) have ceased and (b) will cease to operate as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and what assessment he has made of the effect of their closure on the wellbeing of children and families who use those clubs because the parents are at work.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department does not hold a central register of all wraparound provision (out-of-hours school clubs) and is therefore not able to give an assessment on the closure of providers. We do, however, recognise the value this sector offers to our children and young people, in terms of the enriching activities they provide and, in particular, the valuable support they provide to critical worker parents and vulnerable children. That is why, in addition to ensuring that these settings can stay open for all children eligible to attend school for onsite provision, we have encouraged all local authorities to consider using local grants that have been made available to them during the COVID-19 outbreak, to support the wraparound childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children.
This includes discretionary funding, such as the £594 million fund, provided by the government to local authorities to help them support local businesses affected by the new lockdown restrictions, as well funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021. This is further to the wider financial support packages that the government has made available throughout the COVID-19 outbreak to support private businesses, which includes tax relief, business loans or cash grants through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), and the Self-Employed Support Scheme (SEISS).
We have also made clear that schools should be continuing to offer before and after-school provision for those pupils eligible to attend for on-site provision, where it is feasible for them to do so; and have provided guidance for schools to support them to continue this provision. A copy of the guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the latest rate of infection with covid-19 of (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants, (c) non teaching school staff, (d) staff in registered childcare settings, (e) college staff and (f) university staff.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not hold data on infection rates amongst (a) teachers, (b) teaching assistants, (c) non teaching school staff, (d) staff in registered childcare settings, and (e) college staff.
For (f) university staff, the department has asked higher education (HE) providers to share information on their staff numbers and the number of staff COVID-19 cases that have been reported to them. For the 183 HE providers which provided this information to us for the 7 days between 10 and 16 December, our estimate is that there were 56.7 confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 non-academic and academic staff in HE providers for that period.
Estimates for more recent weeks are not available due to: i) a pause in data collection over the winter break and ii) inconsistencies arising from the effect of the national lockdown that began this month.
Advice from the Children's Task and Finish group is that children are at very low risk of serious illness from the virus, and there is also no current evidence that staff in schools and colleges are at higher risk of infection than those working in other sectors. This advice can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/948617/s0998-tfc-update-to-4-november-2020-paper-on-children-schools-transmission.pdf.
The safety and wellbeing of staff, pupils and students in education settings is always our priority. The Government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our nurseries, schools, colleges, and universities in this unprecedented situation, while mitigating the impact on education.
On 7 January, the Department published guidance to universities and students returning to higher education in the spring term. This guidance sets out how we will support higher education providers to enable students to return as safely as possible following the winter break, by staggering this process following the period of national lockdown and to facilitate testing for all. The guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950367/Students_returning_to_and_starting_higher_education_in_Spring_Term_2021.pdf.
The Department also published ‘guidance: Actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak’, which sets out what all schools will need to do during the COVID-19 outbreak from January 2021. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
On 7 January, the Department published guidance for all early years settings and local authorities in England, which provides information on how the national lockdown restrictions to control the spread of COVID-19 will impact early years and childcare settings. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950653/Education_and_childcare_settings_-_national_lockdown_from_5_January_2021_.pdf.
On 8 January, the Department published guidance on actions for further education colleges and providers during the COVID-19 outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision.
The Department will continue to keep our plans under review and ensure our position is informed by the latest evidence.