Universities: Statutory Duty of Care
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 day, 20 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher.
I recognise the profound pain felt by families who have lost loved ones in higher education. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this debate, and I pay tribute to his constituents Bob and Maggie Abrahart, whose tireless work for better student support has inspired so many. I want to acknowledge all the families who have campaigned with courage and determination, including those from the LEARN Network—Lived Experience for Action Right Now—who continue to work alongside us to drive change.
Our duty now is clear: we must turn grief into learning and action. The Government share the determination to do just that. We want safer campuses and better support for every student. Our approach is to act on the evidence and work with the sector to embed best practice and strengthen institutional accountability. Members should be in no doubt that this Government believe that change in that regard is needed.
I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Llinos Medi), who highlighted Mared’s story: the tragic loss of the life of someone who had a bright future as a pharmacist ahead of them. My hon. Friend the Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) highlighted Oskar’s story. I recognise that improvement in higher education is needed. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) highlighted the UK-wide nature of these concerns and the growing prevalence of mental health conditions.
My hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton West (Warinder Juss) raised important issues about general duties, to which I will turn later. My hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) highlighted the link to the cost of living pressures that many students face, and the issues for international students.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) spoke about the tragic stories of Paul, Callum and Alec, and highlighted the really good practice taking place at Bournemouth University, which is part of the answer to what needs to change. My hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy) highlighted the brilliant work of the Unite Foundation, which I know well, and spoke about cohorts such as care-experienced students and estranged students. My hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) rightly highlighted governance concerns and the centrality of accountability.
The Government remain committed to improving students’ health and wellbeing. Since the previous debate on this matter, we have published the findings from the national review of higher education student suicides. That landmark review examined serious incident and prevention of future deaths reports, identified patterns and risk factors, and looked at institutional responses in depth. The sector’s response was notable. Many universities engaged openly and honestly, showing a clear commitment to share lessons and learn together.
To ensure that the review’s recommendations are turned into action, we have extended the higher education mental health implementation taskforce, which brings together students, families and the sector to work with and challenge institutions to improve student mental health and wellbeing services.
Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)
Last week was the seven-year anniversary of the death of one of my constituents’ sons, Kieran Patel. Unfortunately, the House has not given me time to do justice to his story. His mother Manjo was in touch with me last week and shared the horrific experience of the loss of her much-loved and talented son, who was a medical student at Southampton University. We have heard many horrific stories of potential that has been cut short today.
Manjo and other family members left behind would like to know that the action that the Minister is outlining will take place with urgency. The Minister has pointed to a number of previous reviews, debates and discussions. Can he confirm that the Government are seriously looking at a statutory duty and all possible levers to ensure that no parent has to experience a tragic loss like Manjo’s again?
Josh MacAlister
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting that. I welcome his intervention, given that he has not had a chance to mention Kieran’s story and Manjo’s experience as his mum in a speech.
We want to move fast, which is why we published updated terms of reference for the taskforce just last month. They set out the priorities for the taskforce for the next phase of work, which includes exploring the most effective mechanisms for holding the sector to account. We have also recently appointed Professor Sir Steve West as the new higher education student support champion, to maintain momentum on these matters. Sir Steve will steer the taskforce through the next phase of work.
Although universities play an important role in creating supportive environments, they are not, and should not become, substitute mental health services. Mental health care rightly sits with the NHS. The Government recognise that and the pressures on services, which is why we are recruiting 8,500 additional NHS mental health staff by the end of this Parliament.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East highlighted, many universities are already delivering to bridge the gap, providing counselling, wellbeing services and crisis support, while working closely with local health partners to ensure that students get the right care. The taskforce will shortly publish a report showcasing five successful higher education and NHS partnerships. Those examples will demonstrate how greater collaboration can transform support for students while helping to drive efficiencies across health services. I urge universities that are not already part of such partnerships to study those models and explore how they can forge an approach that works for their local context. To stress it again: the taskforce is looking at how to better hold institutions to account and will make recommendations accordingly.
Phil Brickell
Can the Minister confirm that the taskforce will look at the effectiveness of the OfS as the regulator for the sector in driving better student outcomes and preventing student harm?
Josh MacAlister
The taskforce’s job is to look at the whole system that sits around universities, and the OfS is a crucial part of that, so it will be in scope of that work.
Let me turn to the question of a statutory duty of care. As has been highlighted in this debate, higher education providers have a general duty of care to deliver educational and pastoral services to the standard of an ordinary competent institution. In carrying out those duties, they are expected to act reasonably. In addition to general and common-law duties, universities also have explicit statutory obligations. For instance, under the Equality Act, they must make reasonable adjustments for disabled students, which includes those with qualifying mental health conditions. Providers should plan ahead to remove barriers and act promptly when there are signs of mental health deterioration.
Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance makes clear what good practice looks like. Student-facing staff should be trained to recognise signs of mental health crisis or deterioration and should know what steps to take, including helping the student to access support. Where a severe or urgent condition is apparent, reasonable adjustments should be made without waiting for a formal diagnosis or medical evidence. If a student has no diagnosis but staff are concerned, for example because of disengagement, missed deadlines or marked changes in behaviour, staff should consider whether the Equality Act criteria may be met and whether adjustments are appropriate.
We also need to be clear about what introducing a statutory duty would mean in practice. It is not just a question of drafting; it would require defining a minimum legal standard for universities, which risks becoming a ceiling rather than a floor. I draw Members’ attention to some of the evidence provided in the 2023 Petitions Committee hearing on a statutory duty of care, at which a number of stakeholders expressed a range of concerns and scepticism about the unintended effects of a statutory duty of care. A ceiling rather than a floor could drive providers towards defensive compliance and litigation, instead of focusing on what really matters: spotting problems early, making timely adjustments and learning from serious incidents. When we talk about the risk of unintended consequences, this is what we mean: confusion about boundaries, reduced ambition and the risk of resources being diverted from proactive support.
Almost all students are adults. Introducing a special statutory duty for them could be disproportionate, when the evidence shows that students in higher education have a lower suicide rate than others of the same age in the general population. That is not to minimise the problem at universities, which I recognise, but to highlight the need for a proportionate response that strikes the right balance.
We will continue to monitor the evidence, listen deeply to bereaved families and hold providers to account. Right now, the fastest and most effective route to support safer campuses is for universities to embed the recommendations from the national review and best practice identified through the taskforce’s outputs, to strengthen their partnerships with local health services and to ensure full compliance with duties that already exist. Together, I believe we can ensure that higher education remains a place of opportunity, enrichment and safety for every student. I know that those views are wholly shared by my noble Friend Baroness Smith, the Minister for Skills.
Higher Education: Government Support
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(2 days, 20 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
I would like to express my gratitude to my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford (Mr Alaba) for securing the debate. He has a dedicated record of 15 years of service as a youth mentor, and has worked as a school governor, overseeing the education of young people, so he provides an invaluable perspective on these matters, and particularly on the transition to higher education. I also note the contribution and efforts of my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West and Leigh (David Burton-Sampson) on this matter.
The work of both Southend Members in supporting students in their area demonstrates their clear commitment to the principle that education must be the primary engine for breaking down barriers to opportunity. This Government share that ambition and are focused on delivering the structural changes required to make it a reality.
I was personally struck by the remarks of my hon. Friend the Member for Southend East and Rochford on Second Reading of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill; he stated that his constituency is a “proud coastal community” that has too often been
“left behind when it comes to connectivity, educational outcomes and investment in skills.”—[Official Report, 2 September 2025; Vol. 772, c. 185.]
Our post-16 education and skills White Paper sets out our vision for a world-leading skills system that breaks down barriers. We are determined to ensure that, as my hon. Friend said,
“Where someone lives should not negatively impact their future.”—[Official Report, 20 March 2025; Vol. 764, c. 597.]
Our skills White Paper provides the blueprint for delivering the Prime Minister’s new target of two thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning—academic, technical or apprenticeships—by age 25, up from 50% today. But we can only deliver this by putting the sector on a secure financial footing. That is why we will increase tuition fee caps for all higher education providers in line with forecast inflation in academic years 2026-27 and 2027-28. We will then legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase caps automatically for future academic years. That is crucial for getting to the root of some of the challenges that our higher education institutions face regarding sustainability.
This increased investment must be matched by a commitment to excellence. We will make future fee uplifts conditional on higher education providers achieving a higher quality threshold under the Office for Students’ quality regime, and will restrict fee income where that cannot be demonstrated. That will protect taxpayers’ investment and reward providers for higher quality.
We are also committed to supporting the aspirations of every person who meets the requirements and wants to attend higher education. We will introduce targeted means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 a year from academic year 2028-29, providing vital extra support for students from low-income households without increasing their debt. Those grants will be funded by the introduction of a levy on income from international students. To help students from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, we will future-proof financial support by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. Furthermore, I am particularly proud that we will provide extra support for care leavers, who will automatically become eligible to receive the maximum rate of maintenance loan from academic year 2026-27.
I am aware of the concerns raised about the University of Essex’s decision regarding its Southend campus, and I assure my hon. Friends that the Department is working closely with the Office for Students, the university and local partners to understand the effect on students, and to secure practical options. The Department’s priority is to protect students’ interests by ensuring continuity of study, and access to clear information, support and practical options.
When a campus closes, providers are expected to act in the best interests of students, including by enabling transfers, where that is a student’s choice. Hon. Members rightly expect good-quality communication from the institution about how the change is implemented. The change should support improved value for money for all, and should be backed by a stronger focus on increasing participation for disadvantaged learners. My hon. Friends the Members for Southend East and Rochford, and for Southend West and Leigh, have spoken directly with my noble Friend the Minister for Skills, and have been working proactively with Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England, and local partners. My hon. Friends’ local leadership on seeking early local collaboration will play a vital part in minimising disruption for students.
My Department will continue to work closely with the Office for Students, the university and others in the area, including Members of Parliament, as the situation relating to the University of Essex develops. I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Southend East and Rochford, and for Southend West and Leigh, for their continued championing of the needs of local students, and reassure them that the Government will support their efforts to manage campus changes in a way that minimises disruption for students and ensures that the area has a bright future.
Question put and agreed to.
Length of the School Week
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 week, 2 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Hobhouse. Happy new year to one and all. I congratulate the young person who started this petition for securing this debate; it is always good to see pupils actively involved in thinking about the world around them and campaigning for the change that they want to see. I started my career as a secondary school citizenship teacher, so I welcome seeing young people using the instruments of their democracy in such a way. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) for opening the debate.
High and rising standards are at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity at every stage. Schools in England have made excellent progress in recent years and our brilliant teachers provide high-quality education to millions of children. The success of new freedoms and responsibilities for schools, starting with the city academies programme in the 2000s, our new-found discipline in the pursuit of evidence in the education system in England and the professional development that means we now have the most expert teaching workforce ever have all been hard fought for and are now delivering real results for children.
Although I understand why a four-day school week would appeal to some, it is essential that we do not compromise the great progress that has been made over recent years by reducing the amount of time that pupils spend at school, either in total or spread over a five-day week. Evidence, including research by the Education Policy Institute published in 2024, has shown that additional time in school, when used effectively, can have a positive impact on pupil attainment, particularly for the most vulnerable. Schools need enough time to deliver the curriculum to a high standard while ensuring appropriate breaks and opportunities for wider enrichment. Shortening the school week would upset that balance, making it harder for pupils to secure the knowledge and skills they need to go on to lead rich and fulfilling lives. Compressing more hours into fewer days would squeeze out valuable time for school clubs, sport or homework.
For those reasons, the Government have recently restated our commitment to all state-funded mainstream schools delivering a minimum school week of 32.5 hours. Meeting that expectation is essential to delivering fairness and high standards for every child. Our published guidance encourages schools to consider extending their hours beyond the minimum and focus on how that time can best support pupil development and deliver school priorities. Reducing time spent in school risks having the opposite effect.
High-quality time in school is about far more than being in lessons: it is also about creating opportunities for social interaction, enrichment and personal growth. As well as supporting academic achievement, a broad and balanced education plays a vital role in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people; being in school across the working week ensures that they benefit from the full range of support that a high-quality education offers to help them thrive.
Insisting on schools being open and educating pupils five days a week should not negate the importance of testing new approaches to embedding flexible working practices for teachers. In fact, expanding and promoting flexible working opportunities in schools can help to recruit, retain and motivate teachers, as a number of Members have mentioned. There are many positive examples of schools embracing flexible working policies for teachers and the freedom that comes with that. Dixons Academies Trust offers a nine-day fortnight for all teachers without impacting pupil contact time; it achieves that through innovative methods in large group teaching and by using its senior leadership team in different ways. The results look very encouraging.
My Department is also backing 10 ambassador schools across the country to test and share the best flexible working approaches and solutions. Teacher workloads have been a challenge for schools, too often leading to high rates of teacher turnover. That is why it is so positive to see teachers working fewer hours now than in recent years according to the most recent working lives survey, which was published in November. There is certainly more work to do to ensure that teaching is a balanced and achievable long-term career, but positive progress is being made, as it is on retention and recruitment. However, that is probably a subject for a longer and separate Westminster Hall debate.
To conclude, reducing the school week would undermine pupil learning and development, and place unnecessary strain on working families. High standards, equal access and sufficient time in school are essential if we are to deliver on our commitment to give every child the opportunity to achieve and thrive. That is why this Government stand firmly by the principle of a minimum 32.5-hour school week delivered across five days, which ensures consistency, fairness and opportunity for every child in this country. Considering the wider benefits of time in school, I am afraid to say that the Government therefore have no plans to reduce the school week from five to four days, but I thank all the petitioners for engaging in this process so fully, and thank my colleagues from across the House for contributing to the debate.
Child Protection Authority
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
Today Government have launched a public consultation on the Child Protection Authority for England, a new national body with one clear purpose: to protect children. In addition to this consultation, we are also publishing new analysis and data on child sexual abuse and exploitation in response to a recommendation in Baroness Casey’s audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.
The child protection system
For too long, we have seen heartbreaking cases where the system has not worked as it should. Despite the dedication of thousands of professionals, repeated reviews have shown the same weaknesses: fragmented leadership; poor information sharing; and lessons that take too long to turn into action. These failures have left children exposed to harm, and families devastated. We cannot allow this to continue. Whilst we cannot shield every child from harm, it is imperative that we do not repeat past failures and that we strive to create a future where we do not allow history to repeat itself.
We have heard at first hand from those impacted by systemic failures. It is clear that there is too often a lack of expertise, accuracy and grip in the most important decisions around significant harm. There are countless cases where poor information sharing contributes to serious safeguarding failures, and learning about what does and does not work has been too slowly embedded, if at all.
The Child Protection Authority
The CPA will change that. It will bring national leadership and oversight, using data and intelligence to spot risks early and advise on policy at local and national level, helping to create a system that is proactive, rather than reactive.
It will support initiatives from “what works” centres and centres of expertise in spreading and embedding good practice, as well as plugging vital gaps in research and evidence.
The CPA will also make sure that recommendations lead to real change, not just words on a page. It will work closely with inspectorates, regulators, and relevant Government Departments to drive continuous improvement across the system. Accountability will be clearer, impacts will be measurable, and practice will be expert, accurate and decisive.
The CPA will absorb and build on the impressive work of the child safeguarding practice review panel. I would like to thank Sir David Holmes, former chair Dame Annie Hudson, and panel members, for their tireless work—particularly their relentless focus on sharing learning and modelling multi-agency expertise.
The independent inquiry into child sexual abuse called for a national body to address inconsistencies and drive stronger accountability where opportunities have been missed. They called for a body that has a laser focus on child protection, that can build on the strengths of the sector and that can support a system that can take swift and direct action where children are at risk of significant harm. The CPA will be that body.
Reform programme
The measures we are announcing today sit within a wider programme of reform. Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and Crime and Policing Bill, we are strengthening multi-agency safeguarding arrangements, introducing a mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse, and improving information sharing. Through the families first partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion, we are rolling out family help, family group decision making and multi-agency child protection teams in every local area, and we are taking targeted action to support victims and survivors, including reforms to the disclosure and barring system and removing the three-year time limit for civil claims. We will build a system that can prevent the tragedies we have seen in the past, and one that has enduring relationships at its core.
Baroness Louise Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse
Today, we have also published analysis of child protection data to meet recommendation 9 of Baroness Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse. This includes analysis of children who were assessed as being affected by child sexual abuse or exploitation, giving valuable insight into their demographics and outcomes, and into trends over time. It will help us to better understand practice and recording for these children.
This is another important step in building our understanding of how we need to improve.
CPA consultation
This consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, sets out our proposals and invites views on the CPA’s scope, powers, and priorities. We will publish the Government response in summer 2026, alongside plans for legislation to establish the CPA.
This Government are unwavering in their commitment to act. Every child deserves a system that is expert, decisive and compassionate—and today’s announcements mark a bold step toward making that vision a reality.
[HCWS1156]
Franchising in Higher Education Consultation: Government Response
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
Today I am announcing the publication of the Government response https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/franchising-in-higher-education to the consultation on franchising in higher education, as announced in the “Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper”. This response sets out the steps we will take to lock in stronger long-term oversight of provision and ensure accountability where it matters most.
Alongside this, the Secretary of State has written to all registered providers https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-higher-education-providers-9-december-2025 to reaffirm the shared responsibility for protecting public money from exploitation and asking them to assure themselves that practices are being managed appropriately within their institution and within organisations delivering on their behalf.
There has been a significant expansion in franchised provision in higher education since 2019. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 and other regulatory changes created the conditions for this expansion. Between 2018-19 and 2022-23, the number of franchised students more than doubled, from 50,430 to 135,850, representing 5.7% of all students in the higher education sector. A majority—62%—of franchised students study business and management. This expansion has given rise to concerns regarding quality, governance and the integrity of higher education provision, and recent reports from the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee have highlighted serious issues, including poor-quality provision and the misuse of public funds.
Students invest heavily in their future and deserve world-class teaching, robust support and genuine value for money. Taxpayers expect absolute assurance that public funds are safeguarded against fraud and deliberate misuse. We will deliver that assurance.
We are tightening the regulatory net. Any franchised provider with 300 or more students will now be subject to direct regulation by the Office for Students as a condition for access to student loan funding. This requirement will be brought in for academic year 2028-29, with the first decisions on designation being made in September 2027.
The requirement on unregistered franchised providers with 300 or more students to register with the OfS will not apply to franchised providers in the following categories: state-funded schools, the statutory further education sector—further education corporations, sixth-form colleges corporations and designated institutions—providers of National Health Service services, including an NHS trust as defined in section 25 of the National Health Service Act 2006, police and crime commissioners, local authorities, Government Departments, the armed forces and mayoral combined authorities.
This latest action forms part of a comprehensive strategy to stamp out malpractice and raise standards. It builds on recommendations from the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee and complements cross-Government action to prevent fraud and misuse of public funds.
As set out in the written statement in March, the Public Sector Fraud Authority is taking action to ensure cross-Government data sharing is in place to detect and to stamp out fraudulent behaviour where bad actors are targeting several sources of Government funding. These measures will be further enabled by the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which has now completed its passage through both Houses of Parliament and will give Government the powers required to act quickly and decisively.
The Office for Students has already introduced a new initial registration condition requiring providers to have robust and comprehensive arrangements in place to prevent, detect and address fraud and the inappropriate use of public funds. If they have previously received public funds, providers must also demonstrate a track record of managing public money responsibly before gaining registration.
The OfS has also published student outcomes data for all sub-contractual partnerships, which underlines the responsibility lead providers have to ensure that where franchising occurs it is in students’ interest. It has consulted on additional proposals for the oversight of all sub-contractual arrangements in English higher education, and I look forward to the outcome of that consultation early next year.
As set out in the “Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper”, we will be taking legislative powers at the next available opportunity to further strengthen the OfS powers to intervene decisively to tackle poor-quality provision and prevent abuse of public money at registered providers as well as safeguard against provision with poor outcomes for students. This will ensure there is tighter oversight for all franchise arrangements and all other third-party relationships in future, as well as a higher bar for their market entry and expansion.
We want to ensure that higher education continues to be a source of opportunity, excellence and national pride. It should support learners to succeed, drive economic growth and deliver this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. This Government are taking the action needed to end the poor practice of the past and ensure that access to public funding is earned through quality and strong governance.
A copy of the Government response will be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
[HCWS1141]
Self-employed Adoptive Parents: Statutory Support
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 month ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for securing this debate and highlighting these important issues. Having spoken to her in our first week in this place as newly elected Members of Parliament, I know she cares deeply about these issues, and I welcome her bringing them to the attention of the House in this Adjournment debate.
I will open my remarks with a word of special thanks to everybody in our country who has stepped up to adopt children. It is an extraordinary act that makes a transformational difference for children and families right across this country. I recognise that self-employed adopters do not have access to statutory adoption pay. I appreciate, too, that they do not qualify for statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.
Josh MacAlister
I am pleased that the parental leave and pay review is looking at these issues as part of its work, and I encourage Members to engage with the review as it continues.
The Department for Education’s statutory guidance is clear that where self-employed adopters do not qualify for any statutory payment, local authorities can consider making a payment that is equivalent to the maternity allowance.
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
The Minister mentioned the review and said that it is under way. He did not mention how long it will take, and I note that the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) asked for some guidance on the timeline. I would be grateful if he could give that and, further, if he could use his good offices to encourage local authorities to let potential self-employed adopters know that their discretionary funds exist because, as the hon. Lady mentioned, most do not.
Josh MacAlister
I thank the hon. Member for those questions. I will directly answer the questions that the hon. Member for South West Devon asked in a moment, but I take the broader point about encouraging local authorities to ensure that adopters in their area are aware of the support available to them.
As I was saying, local authorities can consider making a payment that is equivalent to the maternity allowance. That allows authorities to target adopters most in need of financial support, though I take the hon. Member’s point—a point powerfully made—on the inconsistency of that offer across England at the moment.
To answer the hon. Member’s questions directly, first, the parental leave review started in July and is expected to last 18 months, so we should be able to work back from there on when we expect its conclusions and publication. The review has a wide scope, but specific work on adoption support is firmly within that scope.
Finally, I turn to broader adoption support, which the hon. Member also asked me about. The Department for Education does make wider support available for all adoptive families. This year, £50 million was made available to support adopters and adoptive families through the adoption and special guardianship support fund. I appreciate that the changes we made to the ASGSF in April have been very difficult for some families, and I have listened carefully to what families have told me about those changes. I speak regularly with adopters and those working in the adoption system. We will start a formal process of engagement on long-term decisions in the new year. Details of the ASGSF from April 2026 will be made available once departmental business planning decisions are completed, and I expect that to be very soon.
So far this year, we have approved applications to support over 14,000 families through the fund. We have also invested £8.8 million this year into Adoption England for services across the country. Adoption England is doing a huge range of work to develop support for families through regional adoption agencies—for example, a new core offer of support for the first 12 to 18 months of a match between a child and a family.
Fundamentally, beyond adoption leave, the Government are taking bold steps to transform the entire children’s social care system. That is set out in our recently announced Families First Partnership programme. We have upped the funding to take it to £2.4 billion over the next three years. That change is fundamental to the whole system because it will reset the system—in a way that many Members across the House have for years argued for—away from late-stage crisis intervention and towards earlier, more intensive support for families, of all shapes and sizes, and that should be the bedrock of the future children’s social care system. In parallel, the investment and changes going into the NHS to ensure that health services can respond to the mental health needs of families and children—particularly the most vulnerable—will also act as a bedrock. We recognise, however, that adoptive families have special support needs.
I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon for securing the debate and for her speech. I welcome her acknowledgment of the difference that adopters make across the country. I also welcome the attention of the parental pay and leave review to this area of work. I look forward to engaging in the new year with adopters and Members from across the House, as well as with stakeholders who work in the adoption system, including my Department’s adopter reference group, as we work to confirm the long-term arrangements for adoption support.
Question put and agreed to.
Oral Answers to Questions
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
Rolling out technical excellence colleges is one way that Labour is rewiring our skills system, to unlock opportunity for our young people and drive growth for our country, and alongside techs for construction, clean energy, digital and advanced manufacturing, they will build the talent pipeline to deliver our industrial strategy. Applications for defence technical excellence colleges will open shortly, creating pathways for engineers, cyber-experts, and technicians.
Will Stone
I thank the Minister for his response. Recently I have been engaging with fantastic defence companies such as Rowden Technologies. Its owner, Rob, is keen to support me setting up a technical college in Swindon to support our emerging drone cluster, so will the Minister meet me to see whether we can push that further?
Josh MacAlister
I appreciate my hon. Friend championing the work of local businesses such as Rowden’s, and other defence industries across the UK, and I will gladly ask my noble friend the Minister for Skills, who I am sure would welcome the opportunity to meet him in the coming weeks.
Ian Roome (North Devon) (LD)
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
Our curriculum and assessment review recommended the introduction of new V-levels, which will simplify the qualification landscape while giving students choice and flexibility. The Department for Education is now consulting on plans to introduce the qualifications. We are also proposing the introduction of new T-levels.
Gareth Snell
I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a governor of the City of Stoke-on-Trent sixth-form college. The Minister will know that the further education sector welcomes V-levels to fill the gap between T-levels and A-levels, but he will also know that the Department is continuing with a programme of defunding some existing BTECs before the V-levels come online, meaning that some young people will be denied the opportunity of the right course for them during their FE career. Will he seriously consider freezing the defunding programme until V-levels are online, so that we protect student choice for students now and in the future?
Josh MacAlister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue, and I will be happy to ask my noble Friend in the other place to meet him. The qualifications that we are defunding are large qualifications that directly overlap with T-levels. The Government’s policy is very clearly to back T-levels as a good choice for students in colleges.
Wera Hobhouse (Bath) (LD)
In Bath, our economy depends on highly skilled workers in engineering, the creative industries and the digital sector. Employers tell me time and again that the current apprenticeship system simply does not deliver the pipeline they need. Will the Government be serious about growth by replacing the broken apprenticeship system with a more flexible skills and training levy, as well as guaranteeing apprentices at least the national minimum wage?
Josh MacAlister
I thank the hon. Member for this timely question, following the Budget last week, when the Government made the welcome decision to change the apprenticeship system by fully funding apprenticeships for small and medium-sized enterprises, which will open up opportunities for many more. The latest data shows that under this Government, apprenticeship starts, progression and completion are up, up, up.
Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)
Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
I appreciate the strength of feeling regarding the adoption and special guardianship support fund. Last month, I met campaigners, adopters and those running adoption services to discuss their views. This year, we have invested £50 million in the adoption and special guardianship support fund, and we have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April. I want to work with families and those delivering adoption support towards a positive and sustainable solution for the future.
Alison Bennett
Alison Roy is a constituent of mine. She is a therapist and works with adopted children. Last week, she drew to my attention the BBC Radio 4 programme “File on 4” on the impact and state of adoption, which highlighted that more than 1,000 adopted children have been returned to care in the past five years. Does the Minister think that per-child cuts to the ASGSF will help or hinder keeping children with their adoptive families?
Josh MacAlister
I thank the hon. Member for drawing the attention of the House to a very powerful radio documentary, which I listened to last week. We do not have perfect data on this issue, but the data that we do have shows that cumulative adoption breakdowns have been at a rate of 4.8% over the past 12 years. I think that is too high, and it is the view of the Government that it is too high. We want to ensure that we get adoption support right for families, and I will go through a process of engagement with those who work in the sector and families affected to ensure that we can make improvements to it in the future.
Lisa Smart
I am an adoptive auntie, and I know the power that comes to young children when they are in a stable, loving family and the impact that that can have on their lives. One of my constituents from Romiley tells me that despite a likely diagnosis of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder for two of her three adopted children, their therapy funding will soon come to an abrupt end, and there is no clarity on whether it will be extended. The only way she can see for her family and for many others like them to achieve safety, security and certainty for their children is through that support. Will the Minister update the House on whether they plan to extend the adoption and special guardianship support fund? If so, will they consider making a multi-year funding guarantee to offer adoptive families and—let us face it—some of the country’s most vulnerable children greater certainty about future support?
Josh MacAlister
We want to ensure a sustainable, long-term future for adoption support in this country. I will set out plans in the near future that will hopefully address a number of the concerns that the hon. Member has mentioned. That sits on top of the really quite widespread changes and improvements we are making to children’s social care, with £2.4 billion of investment over the next three years to ensure that earlier family help is there for all families, regardless of their legal status, whether they are an adopter or a birth parent.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I met people from my regional adoption agency just last Thursday—I thank them and all their partners for their excellent work—who raised the adoption and special guardianship support fund, recognising that the quantum in resource is not there and that the demand is so high. Will the Minister meet the all-party parliamentary group on adoption and permanence to talk about the future of the fund and work with people who have lived experience to ensure that we get it right in the future?
Josh MacAlister
I know that my hon. Friend has been a long-standing campaigner and champion for these issues. When I was doing the independent review of children’s social care, she was a powerful voice advocating for support for adopters, and has continued to be one. I will gladly speak to and meet the all-party parliamentary group.
Jim McMahon (Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton) (Lab/Co-op)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
In 2017, the Government’s spending watchdog estimated that free schools would create 57,500 surplus places. This Government took the sensible, pragmatic decision to pause a number of proposed free schools due to real concerns about value for money. We recognise the need for clarity, and we will provide a substantive update on this project and others in the mainstream pipeline review very soon.
Jim McMahon
The previous Government announced the free schools for sixth-formers programme over two years ago. It is now over a year since this Government announced a review of that programme, meaning that the local authority, alongside parents and other sixth-form providers, has been waiting over two years to find out whether Eton Star sixth-form college will go ahead. Can I urge the Government to give clarity on that programme before Christmas?
Of course, that deals with academic education, but vocational education in my town is important too. Can I ask the Government to pay some attention to the mismatch between apprenticeship vacancies and when children are leaving school? So few vacancies are advertised in July and August; the highest number of vacancies is in February, six months after young people have left school. Surely there is a mismatch?
Josh MacAlister
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. As somebody who was a teacher in Oldham, I know many of the institutions he is referring to, and I particularly know about the great work that is done by Oldham sixth-form college and the secondary schools in his constituency. We want to make sure that where we are spending significant sums on capital investment, which the Budget and the spending review allow us to do, it reflects the Government’s priorities around special educational needs and extra school places. We want to get that right, and we will provide an update very soon to my hon. Friend and others.
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
As was mentioned earlier, the Government took the sensible, pragmatic decision to pause a number of free school applications in order to consider real concerns about value for money and to make sure new places are created in parts of the country that need them.
Paul Holmes
Parents and pupils deserve a school system that builds on success, not one that holds it back. The coalition Government opened 24 free schools in 500 days, yet this Government have spent over 400 days reviewing 44 already-approved schools. Free schools outperform non-selective state schools at every key stage, so why are this Government blocking more children from accessing a good education?
Josh MacAlister
There is a very simple answer to that question: the last Government left us with crumbling school buildings and a limited capital budget to allocate across the entire school estate. We have to balance rebuilding crumbling school buildings—which, as the National Audit Office and others have highlighted, were in a deteriorated state—with the need to prioritise extra school places in parts of the country that need them. That is what the country expects from us.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
The special needs budget mess is not the only uncertainty caused by this Government. The special needs White Paper is overdue, and 44 approved mainstream free schools and a number of approved special needs schools are in limbo. Schools, trusts or councils that want to open new special needs schools do not know the policy, the budget, or whether they will be allowed to open at all, so by what date will we get the White Paper? When will we get an answer to the budget mess, and when will we be told whether those free schools can go ahead? The Minister has just said “very soon”, but we had been promised an answer before Christmas. Will he get on with it?
Josh MacAlister
The reason this Government need to create a policy and a budget for this system is that it was left in a complete mess—not that many months ago, the former Education Secretary described it as a “lose, lose, lose” situation. Getting the special educational needs system right and fixing it will take time, but we have already put £740 million of capital into the system. As the hon. Member highlighted, there is a list of special school projects; we are looking through those projects now, and will make a decision very soon.
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)
Lauren Edwards (Rochester and Strood) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
I thank my hon. Friend for her question. My noble Friend the Minister for Skills is working across both Departments to ensure that we bring the very important work on careers and early entry to work programmes together across the Government. I have myself seen great collaboration between both Departments in my own constituency. The Government are still committed to improving work experience for children in secondary schools and early careers education as well.
Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
Josh MacAlister
My hon. Friend himself was an apprentice before entering this place, and he welcomed the Secretary of State to his constituency to open a construction technical excellence college not that long ago. The main thing that I took away from the Budget last week, which is extremely welcome, is that we will fully fund apprenticeships at small and medium-sized enterprises for people aged 16 to 24 from the next academic year, which will do a lot to answer my hon. Friend’s question.
Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)
A game of strategy, tactics and sometimes outright brinkmanship might sound familiar to the Cabinet at the moment, but I am actually talking about chess. Meadow View primary school in my constituency has qualified for the London chess classic, which takes place tomorrow. Will the Education Secretary join me in congratulating the pupils on getting so far and wishing them luck?
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
Red Hall primary school in Lower Gornal is sited on either side of a busy road, connected by a zebra crossing. Children are put at risk each day as they cross between the sites, as there is no patrolling and frequent unsafe driving. I have urged the council to act. What work is my right hon. Friend doing with the Secretary of State for Transport to ensure adequate funding and support for road safety?
Josh MacAlister
If my hon. Friend writes to me with the details, I would be very happy to speak to colleagues at the Department for Transport.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Despite the Secretary of State’s robust answer on Chinese influence on academia, dare I set her a little homework? If she would like to take a look at the relevant section of the non-partisan Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on China, published in July 2023, she would find a lot of interesting and worrying information in it.
Dr Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
In Herefordshire, families of children with special educational needs, and indeed Herefordshire council, have been waiting more than 18 months for an update on two crucial schools: a new free school, with specialist provision for children with autism spectrum disorder, and the rebuild of Westfield special school. Will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can make progress on ensuring that those vital school places are provided locally?
Josh MacAlister
As I have previously said to the House, it is really important that we get the policy regarding special educational needs and the future of the schools system in exactly the right place. We are getting there, and very soon I will be able to share an update on those projects. I would be happy to meet the hon. Member in the near future.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
City of York council has gone from “requires improvement” to “outstanding” in all areas due to the innovation it is driving. In particular, it has been working on halving the number of children in social care, ending the use of agency workers and setting up a SEND hub. The director of children’s social care would like the Secretary of State to visit. Will she come to York and see what we are doing?
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
The NSPCC revealed that in 2022-23 some 9,000 sexual abuse offences that were recorded by police involved an online element. What has been done in schools to improve children’s safety online and to ensure that whatever changes need to be made are made now?
Josh MacAlister
Strengthening our child protection system is a key priority for this Government. Very soon we will bring forward plans for the child protection authority. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains a number of measures that would make a big difference to the safety of children across the UK, although those measures are unfortunately being blocked and frustrated by colleagues in other corners of this House.
Damian Hinds (East Hampshire) (Con)
There is nowhere in the DFE budget from which £6 billion could possibly come other than the core schools budget, so either SEN funding is being cut, the core schools budget is being cut—that implies 5% per head—or the Secretary of State has an explicit agreement with the Chancellor for the money to come from somewhere else, or from new taxes. Which is it?
Sixth-form Provision: Bolsover
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(2 months ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I start by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Bolsover (Natalie Fleet) on securing this important debate on post-16 education in Bolsover, and on championing the needs of young people in her constituency. She is a tremendous advocate for the people who elected her.
Every young person deserves access to high-quality post-16 education and training options. It is essential that we provide clear, ambitious pathways for all children across the country. By investing in diverse education and training options, we unlock the potential of our young people, and we meet the evolving needs of employers and the wider economy. I commend my hon. Friend’s continued advocacy for securing post-16 education in Bolsover. Her commitment ensures that local voices are heard loud and clear, and that her constituents get the best chance of meaningful change as soon as possible. From her speech, I recognise the strength of local feeling on this matter.
Young people across England should have choices after their GCSEs, but those choices are currently unevenly spread across our country. The Prime Minister, at the Labour party conference earlier this year, announced a new ambition that two thirds of young people gain higher-level qualifications, which will set them up for a fulfilling career and life. This new ambitious goal will be challenging to meet for the Government and the country, but in meeting it, we will create incredible life chances for children and young people in progressing not just to university but to higher-level qualifications through other routes.
Our skills strategy puts the detail on how we will go about achieving that to deliver fantastic outcomes for young people when they turn 16. It includes a targeted system that prioritises training pathways where skilled labour is needed and demand is growing. We will ensure high-quality routes for young people at all levels of attainment, including the new vocational level—the V-level—and the recently introduced T-levels, as well as A-levels, which have a really important role to play.
Let me directly address the proposal for North Derbyshire university academy, which my hon. Friend put so well. I recognise her tireless support for the new academy in Bolsover, which would provide much-needed academic post-16 education in a town that currently has none.
I also recognise that participation rates for young people in my hon. Friend’s constituency going into some form of education or training at 16 or 17 are below the national average. The anecdote she shared about £25 a week bus costs and 30-minute bus journeys resonates with me personally; I represent a constituency in rural, post-industrial Cumbria, where transport links to colleges and opportunities have a big impact on young people’s chances. The story of the young boy needing to run, or to consider running, to college paints a vivid image of the challenge faced by young people in Bolsover. I commend Redhill Academy Trust for its work and perseverance in developing its exciting proposals.
I will now say a little about the mainstream free school review that we are undertaking. My hon. Friend will be aware that we are reviewing 44 free school projects that are in the pipeline, including the college in question. I understand that she and the proposers of the school—Redhill Academy Trust, Derbyshire county council and families in her constituency—want certainty about the project as soon as possible, and I thank everyone for their continued patience. Our review has a clear rationale: we want a school system in which all children and young people can achieve and thrive.
The previous Government spent substantial amounts on free schools, despite evidence that they would create surplus capacity, diverting resources from much-needed work to improve the condition of the existing school estate. The image of crumbling roofs and the RAAC crisis was a vivid demonstration of the previous Government’s failure to keep on top of the school estate. We want children everywhere to have the excellent places they need, not extra places they do not. We must drive efficiency and reduce wasteful spending so that we get the best bang for every pound that we spend.
That is why, in October 2024, the Secretary of State for Education announced a review of mainstream free schools planned by the previous Government that have not yet opened. We want to ensure that the places are needed in the local areas where they are proposed, and that they represent value for taxpayers’ money. We recognise that academy trusts play a vital role in fostering collaboration and improving education, especially in disadvantaged areas. They have an essential role to play in the future of new schools and colleges as well.
We have been carefully evaluating evidence-based recommendations for all 44 projects in scope of the review, which has been a substantial exercise. In taking final decisions, we are considering all projects in the round. We are also taking into account the recent multi-year spending review and competing priorities across the Department. I am happy to personally assure my hon. Friend that I will provide her with an update on the matter before Christmas, and as soon as possible, so that we can answer the questions put by her and her community.
I again commend my hon. Friend’s continued commitment to improving outcomes for those in her constituency, and her desire to see 16-to-19 provision in the town of Bolsover. Education is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity at every stage and give every young person the best start in life, no matter their background. We know that potential is spread right across the country, especially in places such as Bolsover, but that opportunity is not. We need to make sure that it is.
Question put and agreed to.
Independent Review of Social Work Regulation: England
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
The Government are taking a step today to ensure that social workers can continue to support and protect the most vulnerable and marginalised members of our society by announcing an independent review of Social Work England. This statement to the House sets out the scope of the review and the timeline for delivery.
Under section 64 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Secretary of State for Education is required to commission an independent person to undertake a review of the operation of part 2 of the Act. The review will cover the period from December 2019 to September 2025.
The Secretary of State for Education has appointed Dame Annie Hudson to conduct a review to ensure the regulation of social work is fit for purpose and continues to benefit both the professionals it oversees and the individuals it aims to protect.
Dame Annie was appointed for the wealth of experience and knowledge she has of social work, both as a former social worker and her roles as former strategic director of children’s services for Lambeth London borough council and former director of children’s services for Bristol city council. She was also chief executive of the college of social work and more recently chair of the child safeguarding practice panel.
The primary focus of the review will be to assess how effectively Social Work England is discharging its statutory functions and delivering against the objectives set out in the Act, which are:
To protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and well-being of the public;
To promote and maintain public confidence in social workers in England;
And to promote and maintain proper professional standards for social workers in England.
The review will engage in a call for evidence, review the evidence available and consult representatives and those with expertise or experience of social work as required by the Act.
Through this statement we are committing to assessing:
The establishment of SWE and the transfer of powers from the health and care professions council to SWE.
The regulatory mandate of SWE as set out by the 2017 Act, and to reviewing the Social Workers Regulations 2018, to understand how SWE is delivering against the legislation in co-ordination with other bodies concerned with the delivery of social care functions in England and the devolved Administrations.
SWE’s governance and accountability mechanisms, including reporting on activities and providing information and advice.
The effectiveness and efficiency of SWE’s core regulatory functions: registration, professional standards, education and training standards, and approval, including for approved mental health professionals and best interests assessors, and fitness to practise.
The delivery of the Secretary of State’s powers as set out in the 2017 Act in relation to SWE’s fees income; grants; oversight of SWE’s transparency and performance; the use of improvement standards as set out in the 2017 Act for social workers; and to ensure adequate provision of social work training.
How SWE’s functions relate to the wider social work landscape, with particular reference to how initial education and training standards and professional standards align with others, including those from Government.
In addition, the review will consider the current model of professional regulation for social workers and make recommendations on whether any changes to SWE’s delivery of its functions are needed to enable more efficient and effective regulation and/or to improve the standards of social work practice.
The review will commence from today, 5 November 2025, and is expected to conclude by spring 2026. The report and a Government response will be laid before Parliament.
[HCWS1025]
Care Leavers
Josh MacAlister Excerpts(2 months, 1 week ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Josh MacAlister)
I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central (Sally Jameson) for securing this debate at the start of Care Leavers Month. She brings to this place her insights from the prison system, in which she saw the tragic and avoidable over-representation of the care-experienced community.
There have been many excellent interventions and contributions by Members from across the House. I particularly want to mention the repeated mention of the important role that supported lodgings can play in our care system. I agree that they are underused—I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) and others for flagging that. I will gladly work with all Members to improve outcomes for this group throughout my time in this role. On calls for a national approach to care leavers in custody, I can share that my colleagues in the Ministry of Justice are looking at this, and will give Members an update by the end of 2025.
Let me start by making a point that may seem obvious: the disadvantage faced by the care-experienced community is one of the greatest social justice issues of our time. Ensuring that those who grow up in the care of the state have a shot at a good life is a collective obligation, and for too long, we have been found wanting when it comes to ensuring that the obligation is met. That is in part because meeting it is about providing assets that any Government or service would struggle to provide. These assets are so fundamental. They are the need for belonging—a tribe—and the need for something intrinsic to the human condition: lifelong, loving relationships. That is why, at the start of this first ever Care Leavers Month, I say plainly, as the Minister for Children and Families, that the creation and sustenance of those relationships must become the obsession of the care and leaving care systems in England.
When we fail care-experienced people in that endeavour, we leave them with lives that are more isolated, a weaker sense of belonging, and questions about their self-worth. The tragic consequences for some is a life cut short. Suicide and early death are, tragically, a part of the care experience for too many. To start to solve a problem, we must first confront it. That is why I have commissioned the Department for Education to review the shockingly high number of early deaths in the care-experienced community.
However, we do not need to wait to act, and this Government certainly have not waited. We have a comprehensive plan to fix the children’s social care system at every single level. That is core to the relentless focus of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on breaking down barriers to opportunity at every stage. Let me give the House a sense of the recent action that we have taken to improve support for care leavers. We have removed the local area connection test in social housing allocations for care leavers. That is crucial for those who have grown up in care and moved around between different local authorities. We have expanded corporate parenting duties to public bodies, especially the NHS. We have committed to expanding Staying Close and local authority offers of support for housing. We have disapplied the intentionally homeless test for eligible care leavers, meaning that they should no longer have to declare themselves homeless to their corporate parent in order to receive housing support. Very recently, the Secretary of State for Education automatically made care leavers able to get the highest level of maintenance support at university. Overall, we have doubled down on the Families First programme, which will see many more families stay together successfully, avoiding the need for the care system, including through much greater support for kinship care.
Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)
My hon. Friend has outlined the vast range of steps that the Government have taken in short order to fix a very broken care system, but these things take time, and local authorities are under unimaginable pressure—they are at breaking point in many cases. What can he do in the short term to ensure that local authorities can continue to provide care for looked-after children and do not reach breaking point?
Josh MacAlister
I thank my hon. Friend for that important intervention. As a country, we must reset the children’s social care system. We must move away from the crisis-led approach that the system has been stuck in for far too long, and towards earlier effective intervention for families. Local authorities need help and support to do that. They will have my full backing in making that transition. We are rolling out a national programme that will leave no local authority behind in the pursuit of that goal. I will speak to local authorities at the end of this month to set out more detail of how they will get the Government’s full backing to make those changes.
Further to that point, we must do much more to support the recruitment and retention of foster carers across our country. Much of what we see in the care system is a symptom of a fostering system that has been in decline for too long. Next year is the centenary of the fostering system in England, and I cannot think of a better time than now to reset how we do fostering.
Gareth Snell (Stoke-on-Trent Central) (Lab/Co-op)
Stoke-on-Trent has the second highest number of children in care per capita—second only to Blackpool. The items that the Minister has outlined are welcome for children in my city, but because we have that high per-capita number, the costs are such that more money is spent on children in care than can be found for those who are transitioning out of care. What is available to local authorities with acute demand that are in distress, so that as a vast number of young people leave care and go forward in life, we are able to put social support around them?
Josh MacAlister
I am in the unusual position of having been commissioned to do a review for a Government, and of then being in a position to start implementing its findings. One of the things I called for was additional spending to help local authorities that are in exactly the situation that my hon. Friend described get out of that vortex with additional spending, and that is what this Government are doing.
Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)
One of my constituents came to my surgery to talk about her experience of being a care leaver. We discussed making care-experienced children a protected characteristic, and the discrimination that she felt in the education system. On local authorities, should we not do more to ensure that schools and colleges have the tools needed to educate our young people about the difficulties that people go through in the care system, so that discrimination is eradicated?
Josh MacAlister
I completely agree. I first came across these issues as a secondary school teacher, and I see fully the impact that teachers, schools, colleges, and universities can have when these issues are spotted in the classroom and acted on. We absolutely should do more on that.
I conclude by celebrating the extraordinary people who make up the care-experienced community in England. When I meet people who have grown up in care, I always sense a remarkable determination, and the special perspective that they have on humanity and relationships. It is often called a superpower by others, and we should do as much as we can as a country to tap into the incredible talents of that community—talents such as those of Tony Simpson, partner at Oliver Wyman; Meera Mistry, director of strategy at an NHS trust; Allan Jenkins, the award-winning former editor of The Observer “Food Monthly”; Ivor Frank, a barrister at Church Court Chambers; Jack Holton, a baritone opera singer; Lemn Sissay, author, poet, and former chancellor of Manchester University; Samantha Morton, Oscar-nominated BAFTA-winning actress; Kriss Akabusi; Fatima Whitbread; the noble Baroness Lola Young; the noble Baroness Floella Benjamin; and AJ, a young care-experienced person from Coventry whom I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago. He is embarking on his first few months of adulthood with the support of his grandfather, who the care system managed to find and reconnect him with. He has a bright future ahead of him.
I will close with the words of Richard Henry Tawney:
“What a wise parent would wish for their children, so the state must wish for all its children.”
That is the spirit in which we should change the care system. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster Central for securing this important debate. We must all get to work for those in and leaving care.
Question put and agreed to.