Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children potentially housed in illegal children’s homes in Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on children looked after in unregistered placements was collected by the department for the first time in 2026. Statistics on the number of children looked after in unregistered settings in England will be published on 19 November 2026 and will be available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions-year-ending-31-march-2026.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the efficacy of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act in tackling illegal children’s homes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The most sustainable solution to stopping the use of unregistered provision is to reduce the number of children entering care by providing whole family support at the earliest opportunity. For children who do need to come into care, the department is making family-based care the goal wherever possible. This will be done by ensuring that local authorities have access to sufficient high-quality, registered placements for those with overlapping multiple needs. The department is rolling out Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) across England. RCCs will strengthen local authority commissioning power, improve sufficiency planning and give local areas greater control over the provision available to meet children's needs.
Some RCCs will shortly be delivering Home Again. Home Again is an RCC-based multi-agency programme which will bring together social care, health, education and youth justice to provide earlier, coordinated and specialist support, helping children remain connected to their families and communities wherever possible and reducing reliance on crisis-driven and restrictive interventions. The programme aims to reduce the number, length and repetition of deprivation of liberty orders and improve stability and outcomes for children at risk or experiencing deprivation of liberty; children who are otherwise at high risk of placement in unregistered provision.
The government's action plan to renew fostering, backed by £88 million over the next two years, sets out the urgent steps we are taking to reverse the decline in foster carers and reform the system. The department will create 10,000 additional foster care places by the end of this parliament, strengthening support around foster families and ensuring more children can grow up in stable, loving homes close to their communities. Subsequently, this will reduce the demand on placing vulnerable children in residential settings and halting the increase in the number of unregistered settings.
The government is also investing £53 million to help local authorities create specialist placements in high-quality, local authority-run children’s homes for children with the most complex needs, increasing suitable registered supply.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has strengthened Ofsted’s powers by enabling it to levy uncapped monetary penalties on providers operating illegally, alongside existing prosecution powers. The department also recognises that better national data is required. Statistics on the number of children looked after in unregistered settings in England will be published in November 2026.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of data on children housed in illegal children’s homes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The most sustainable solution to stopping the use of unregistered provision is to reduce the number of children entering care by providing whole family support at the earliest opportunity. For children who do need to come into care, the department is making family-based care the goal wherever possible. This will be done by ensuring that local authorities have access to sufficient high-quality, registered placements for those with overlapping multiple needs. The department is rolling out Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) across England. RCCs will strengthen local authority commissioning power, improve sufficiency planning and give local areas greater control over the provision available to meet children's needs.
Some RCCs will shortly be delivering Home Again. Home Again is an RCC-based multi-agency programme which will bring together social care, health, education and youth justice to provide earlier, coordinated and specialist support, helping children remain connected to their families and communities wherever possible and reducing reliance on crisis-driven and restrictive interventions. The programme aims to reduce the number, length and repetition of deprivation of liberty orders and improve stability and outcomes for children at risk or experiencing deprivation of liberty; children who are otherwise at high risk of placement in unregistered provision.
The government's action plan to renew fostering, backed by £88 million over the next two years, sets out the urgent steps we are taking to reverse the decline in foster carers and reform the system. The department will create 10,000 additional foster care places by the end of this parliament, strengthening support around foster families and ensuring more children can grow up in stable, loving homes close to their communities. Subsequently, this will reduce the demand on placing vulnerable children in residential settings and halting the increase in the number of unregistered settings.
The government is also investing £53 million to help local authorities create specialist placements in high-quality, local authority-run children’s homes for children with the most complex needs, increasing suitable registered supply.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has strengthened Ofsted’s powers by enabling it to levy uncapped monetary penalties on providers operating illegally, alongside existing prosecution powers. The department also recognises that better national data is required. Statistics on the number of children looked after in unregistered settings in England will be published in November 2026.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the presence and use of illegal children’s homes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The most sustainable solution to stopping the use of unregistered provision is to reduce the number of children entering care by providing whole family support at the earliest opportunity. For children who do need to come into care, the department is making family-based care the goal wherever possible. This will be done by ensuring that local authorities have access to sufficient high-quality, registered placements for those with overlapping multiple needs. The department is rolling out Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) across England. RCCs will strengthen local authority commissioning power, improve sufficiency planning and give local areas greater control over the provision available to meet children's needs.
Some RCCs will shortly be delivering Home Again. Home Again is an RCC-based multi-agency programme which will bring together social care, health, education and youth justice to provide earlier, coordinated and specialist support, helping children remain connected to their families and communities wherever possible and reducing reliance on crisis-driven and restrictive interventions. The programme aims to reduce the number, length and repetition of deprivation of liberty orders and improve stability and outcomes for children at risk or experiencing deprivation of liberty; children who are otherwise at high risk of placement in unregistered provision.
The government's action plan to renew fostering, backed by £88 million over the next two years, sets out the urgent steps we are taking to reverse the decline in foster carers and reform the system. The department will create 10,000 additional foster care places by the end of this parliament, strengthening support around foster families and ensuring more children can grow up in stable, loving homes close to their communities. Subsequently, this will reduce the demand on placing vulnerable children in residential settings and halting the increase in the number of unregistered settings.
The government is also investing £53 million to help local authorities create specialist placements in high-quality, local authority-run children’s homes for children with the most complex needs, increasing suitable registered supply.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 has strengthened Ofsted’s powers by enabling it to levy uncapped monetary penalties on providers operating illegally, alongside existing prosecution powers. The department also recognises that better national data is required. Statistics on the number of children looked after in unregistered settings in England will be published in November 2026.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of childcare grants for postgraduate students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not routinely collect or hold information on the number of postgraduate students who have childcare responsibilities.
The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.
These loans are not based on income and are intended to be a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs, including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of postgraduate students with childcare responsibilities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not routinely collect or hold information on the number of postgraduate students who have childcare responsibilities.
The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.
These loans are not based on income and are intended to be a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs, including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the potential merits of expanding free childcare for working parents to (a) full-time PhD students and (b) full-time postgraduate students, regardless of subject.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All families must have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Student parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds regardless of family circumstances.
Students who work in addition to studying may be eligible for 30 hours free childcare if they meet the income requirements. PhD stipends are non-taxable income and therefore do not count towards the income requirements of the 30 hours childcare entitlement.
The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support options for students in higher education to support them with childcare.
Further information on the childcare offers available to parents is available at: https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the potential merits of treating stipends for PhD students as income for the purpose of calculating entitlement to free childcare hours.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
Students who undertake paid work alongside their studies may qualify for the 30 hours childcare entitlement, provided they meet the relevant earnings criteria. As PhD stipends are non-taxable, they are not treated as income for the purposes of meeting the eligibility requirements for the 30 hours entitlement.
Student parents can access the universal 15 hours of early education, which is available to all 3 and 4-year-old children regardless of their family's circumstances.
The government recognises the importance of supporting parents who continue their education and offers a range of support for those studying in higher education.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of recent safeguarding changes affecting DBS checks on employers’ willingness to offer work experience to under-16s; and when her Department will issue clear guidance to schools and employers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Safeguarding children must always be a key priority. Recent changes to regulated activity, introduced by the Crime and Policing Act 2026, which remove the supervision exemption, have brought more activities into scope of regulated activity. The department is aware that this change has created concerns amongst employers, schools and work experience providers about when an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with children's barred list information might be suitable for staff supervising under-16 work experience placements. We are actively considering these concerns to ensure young people can benefit from work experience placements and feel confident about their next step, equipped with the skills and experience they need to succeed.
DBS has published guidance on changes to regulated activity and is hosting Disclosure and Eligibility Workshops for organisations that are unsure about how the removal of the supervision exemption may affect their workforce.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for further education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Further Education plays a critical role in delivering the Government’s Missions and ensuring that everyone has access to the opportunities they need, breaking down the barriers to their success and boosting economic growth.
On 1st July we announced an extra £120 million for further education in financial year 2026 to 27 rising to £365 million in 2027 to 28.
Together with increases for post-16 schools this means funding per 16-19 student will have increased by over 12% in two years – comparing academic year 2026 to 27 with 2024 to 25. And this is at a time of significant growth in student numbers. As a result, total 16 - 19 funding will increase from £7.6 billion in academic year 2024 to 25 to over £9 billion in 2026 to 27.
For academic year 2026 to 2027, we are committing to fund, in-year, all exceptional growth in 16 - 19 funded students, this means that institutions can have confidence to offer suitable places in post-16 education for every young person that wants one.