Ian Lavery

The Government greatly values kinship carers who come forward to care for children who cannot live with their parents. The Government has committed in the Plan to Make Work Pay to review the system of parental leave to ensure that it better supports working families. We will set out more information in due course.

The department publishes figures from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent release, covering the 2023/24 autumn term, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england.

School level data is available in this release in the data catalogue section, in the file ‘Suspensions and permanent exclusions – full year school level’. This file includes the school URN number, local authority establishment (laestab) number, school name and local authority. Parliamentary constituency can be identified by using the Get Information About Schools website, available here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

This website gives many details of schools, including the school URN number, laestab number and Parliamentary constituency. Suspension and permanent exclusion data is not yet available for the 2023/24 academic year, this is expected to be published in July 2025.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Attaining proficient standards in language development and the reading and writing of English are the keys to unlocking the rest of the curriculum and key indicators for future success in further education, higher education and employment.

The English Hubs programme was launched in 2018 with the aim of improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. So far, over £90 million has been invested in the English Hubs programme, and a further £23 million has been committed for academic year 2024/25.

One Excellence English Hub (formerly St Michael’s Church of England English Hub) supports schools in Northumberland. The hub has intensively supported 81 schools in their region since the start of the programme, including a number of schools in Northumberland. It has delivered over 700 days of intensive literacy specialist support and has funded over 120 schools to purchase phonics programmes and resources. In addition, it has supported over 1,300 schools across its region with reading teaching training, with over 40 of these schools being in Northumberland specifically.

The Reading Framework, published in 2023, provides guidance to help schools improve reading for all pupils so they leave primary able to engage confidently with reading in all subjects at secondary school. The department’s Maths Hubs are providing local school to school expertise, advice and training on how to strengthen outcomes in mathematics. This programme aims to improve the teaching of mathematics through the provision of continuing professional development, as the department knows that the quality of teaching is the biggest educational factor in determining children’s outcomes. This includes through the Mastering Number programme, which helps children in the first years of primary school master the basics of arithmetic, including number bonds and times tables. The Great North Maths Hub supports schools in Northumberland and has worked with 91% of primary schools in in the area, with 64% having participated in the Mastering Number programme.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, in line with the government’s ambition for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.

The review group will publish an interim report in early 2025 setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final review with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.

Regional Improvement for Standards of Excellence (RISE) teams will be in place early this year, offering a targeted and bespoke service to schools that Ofsted identify as needing to improve. RISE teams and supporting organisations will work collaboratively with the school and their responsible body to rapidly and sustainably put in place targeted interventions, based on the school’s particular circumstances.

To improve standards, all schools will also be able to draw on RISE teams for help in understanding the most effective practice, with RISE teams encouraging schools in their local area to work together and learn from one another.

The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE). This remains the responsibility of individual colleges who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.

The government recognises the vital role that FE teachers play in developing the skills needed to drive our missions to improve opportunity and economic growth. That is why the department is investing around £600 million in FE across the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through our Taking Teaching Further programme.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced a Budget on 30 October, to be followed by a multi-year Spending Review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.

Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. It is also necessary to achieve financial stability for local authorities.

This government is committed to helping children thrive, and we want the best for every child and family. We want to build on the foundations laid by local authorities to create a care system that works for everyone.

This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship and foster carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. Our manifesto committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship and fostering arrangements.

The government is extending the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other. The department is also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.

It is important that foster carers receive the support they need to fulfil this role and to meet the needs of the children in their care. The department is investing over £36 million this spending review to deliver 10 local authority regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs, covering 64% of local authorities in England. The majority of hubs launched this summer and include rollout of the Mockingbird programme in all local authorities, which offers peer-support to foster carers and the children in their care.

The department is also funding Fosterlink, a new support service for local authority fostering services not in the regional programme. This identifies areas for improvement and creates a national network to share best practice.

The department also encourages fostering service providers to adhere to the Foster Carer Charter. The Charter sets out clear principles for how foster carers should be treated and recognises their invaluable work. This was refreshed in February 2022 and sets out the responsibilities of foster carers, fostering services and the corporate parent. It aims to deliver best practice in fostering for all involved, including carers and children.

The Charter can be accessed here: https://www.thefosteringnetwork.org.uk/get-involved/our-campaigns/foster-carers-charter-0.

This department is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. We know that many children who receive care from relatives and friends need extra support, including in school. The department is working to ensure their needs are met, and that they have the best possible opportunity to succeed.

In September 2024, the role of virtual school heads was expanded to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care, to ensure they receive the help they need to thrive at school.

All children in kinship arrangements, regardless of legal status, will benefit from the adaptation of the strategic virtual school head role. This will be a systemwide approach, bringing greater focus and visibility to the distinct needs of children in kinship care.

Children in Special Guardianship and Child Arrangement Orders have higher attainment than children in local authority care but perform worse compared to all children.

In 2022/23 the average Attainment 8 score for children who left care on a Special Guardianship Order or Child Arrangement Order was 28. By comparison, the average attainment for children in care at March 31 was 18, while for the overall pupil population it was 46.

This department is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve. We know that many children who receive care from relatives and friends need extra support, including in school. We are working to ensure their needs are met, and that they have the best possible opportunity to succeed.

In September 2024, the role of virtual school heads was expanded to include championing the education, attendance, and attainment of children in kinship care, to ensure they receive the help they need to thrive at school.

This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship children and families.

This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play and appreciates that they often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.

Statutory guidance issued to local authorities makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Local authorities have the powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to support children and families. As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to carers and their children and any payments should be made in accordance with their model for assessing support needs. The government does not set a maximum or minimum allowance for local authorities to administer. While the government recognises the financial constraints on local authorities, guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

The government is committed to work with local government to support children in care, including through kinship, foster care, and adoption, as well as strengthening regulation of the children’s social care sector.

This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.

This government recognises the importance of health and therapeutic support services for all children, including those in kinship care. Ensuring every child receives the support they need is a key priority.

The department recently renamed the Adoption Support Fund, the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, to increase awareness among families in kinship arrangements who are eligible for therapeutic support through the fund.

We are committed to working with local government to support children in care, including through kinship arrangements. We are considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship children and families.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

No estimate has yet been made.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

The latest available data on the number of children claiming Disability Living Allowance can be found at https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. The requested data can be found in the ‘DLA: Cases in Entitlement’, which allows you to view the number of individuals that are entitled to DLA. To filter for information related to children only, this can be found by expanding ‘Client Type’ and selecting ‘Children’. The specific areas requested can be found by expanding ‘Westminster Parliamentary Constituency 2024’ or ‘National – Regional – LA – OAs’.

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html. An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

In 2022/23 in Northumberland there were 10,858 children living in relative poverty before housing costs. Figures on an after housing costs basis are not available below region level. Source: Children in Low Income Families statistics

In 2022/23 in the North East there were 0.1m children living in relative poverty on a before housing costs basis and 0.2m children living in relative poverty on an after housing costs basis. Source: Households Below Average Income statistics

In 2022/23 in the UK there were 3.2m children living in relative low poverty on a before housing costs basis and 4.3m children living in relative poverty on an after housing costs basis. Source: Households Below Average Income statistics

2023/24 figures will be published in March 2025.

This Government is committed to pensioners. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. We will do this through protecting the triple lock, keeping energy bills low through our Warm Homes Plan, and bringing real stability to people’s lives.

However, given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

We are supporting consumers, including pensioners, through our Warm Homes Plan which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

Additionally, there are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS).

Pensioners if eligible may also receive the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 annual rebate off energy bills for eligible low-income households until 2025/26.

Guidance to help people stay safe in cold weather has been published by UKHSA. This will help ensure that organisations and staff are prompted to signpost those vulnerable to cold weather to sources of support for keeping their home warm, with cost of living support, including help to manage energy bills, as needed. As well as advice on simple measures to improve home energy efficiency and safety to reduce risks that may increase in cold weather (for example from carbon monoxide exposure).

Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Winter mortality in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

The Government believes in the vital importance of equality of opportunity and of treatment in the workplace. The plan to Make Work Pay includes clear action to place equality, diversity and inclusion issues on a statutory footing. This includes requiring large employers to publish plans detailing the action they're taking to improve gender equality and support employees during the menopause. Alongside this, the Government has appointed a Menopause Employment Ambassador who will work with employers to improve the support for women experiencing menopause symptoms at work.

The number of Universal Credit households affected by the policy to provide support to a maximum of 2 children, in Blyth and Ashington in April 2024 was 770.

The equivalent figure for Child Tax Credits is not held by this department as it is administered by HM Revenue & Customs.

Notes:

1. The new 2024 Parliamentary Constituencies are derived by using postcode lookup data against the claimant address however, this is only available for England and Wales and is not present for all households in this data source.

2. 2024 Parliamentary Constituencies are approximate and therefore figures may not match exactly with the previous 2019 Parliamentary Constituencies they correspond to.

Statistics for the total number of families using foodbanks is not available at a constituency level.

Figures for families using foodbanks in the North East in the past 30 days and 12 months is available on Stat-Xplore: Stat-Xplore - Home (dwp.gov.uk)

It is not possible to make a robust assessment of the impact of poverty levels on birth rates. This is because poverty levels are potentially one of a very wide range and complex interaction of social, economic and personal factors which might affect birth rates. It is not possible to isolate the potential impact of poverty levels from the vast range of other possible factors.