Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many supported internships are available in each local authority.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Local authority level data on the number participating in supported internships, as at January 2018, is published in table 5 of the following data set: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018.
There is some research evidence available which indicates that supported internships may be effective in supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes. The evaluation of a department-led trial of supported internships conducted across 15 colleges in 2012/13, for example, reported that 36% of the 109 supported internship participants had obtained paid employment (including apprenticeships) by the end of the year-long trial.
We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships and are considering how we can build the evidence base further. This includes looking into current models of supported internship delivery to enable us to share evidence with providers of promising practice.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many supported internships have been completed by local authority.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Data on the number of supported internships in each local authority, as at January 2018, is available in table 5 of the following data set: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2018.
There is some research evidence available which indicates that supported internships may be effective in supporting young people to achieve positive outcomes. The evaluation of a department-led trial of supported internships conducted across 15 colleges in 2012/13, for example, reported that 36% of the 109 supported internship participants had obtained paid employment (including apprenticeships) by the end of the year-long trial.
We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships and are considering how we can build the evidence base further. This includes looking into current models of supported internship delivery to enable us to share evidence with providers of promising practice.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the availability of supported internships in each local authority.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms have been designed to increase aspirations across the system, including among parents, children and young people themselves and the education and health professionals that support them. This includes making it a legal requirement that all children and young people with SEND must be prepared for adulthood, including employment.
Supported internships offer young people with SEND a clear pathway into employment. We are keen to do more to increase the uptake of supported internships and are considering how we can build the evidence base further, including looking into current models of supported internship delivery, to enable us to share evidence with providers of promising practice.
We continue to fund a range of support across the system to raise aspirations and also consistently communicate our expectations to stakeholders, including schools and colleges. This includes providing £9.7 million to local authorities, in 2018, to establish local supported internship forums, bringing together local partners to develop and deliver supported internships in their area. Funding can also be used to train job coaches.
Good practice examples of supported internships are also gathered by our delivery partner, National Development Team for Inclusion, and published on the Preparing for Adulthood website: https://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/downloads/employment.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, of 12 February 2019, Official Report, column 311WH, when he plans to launch his call for evidence on special educational needs.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
In order to better understand the financial incentives that influence how schools, colleges and councils support children and young people with special educational needs, the Department for Education will be issuing a call for evidence shortly. This will include looking at the first £6,000 schools pay for special educational provision before accessing additional funding from local high needs budgets.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of the 23 January 2019 to Question 208340 on Forensic Science: Misconduct, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on how to make individuals aware of the right of people to apply for a C650 Application notice to vary or set aside an order in relation to children as a result of the manipulation of forensic tests; and what information he holds on whether any local authorities have written to any such individuals.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Department for Education (DfE) wrote to all local authorities on 17 November 2017, informing them that a process for asking the court to vary or discharge an order would be established for individuals who believed that the outcome of their case was materially affected by a potentially unreliable test. In further correspondence of 17 February 2018, the DfE gave local authorities further information about how to access the C650 court process online and how to support individuals that may approach them for help in this matter.
The information on whether any local authorities have written to any such individuals is not held centrally.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) 16 and (b) 17 year olds living in unsupported independent living accommodation.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Data on children looked-after in independent living without live-in support is not collected or published by the department. The department collects annual data on looked-after children in independent living, with or without live-in support.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2018 to Question 191954, what additional required steps local authorities have identified to fulfil their statutory safeguarding responsibilities.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department does not have information on whether the local authorities that commissioned forensic tests from Trimega, between January 2010 and April 2014, have carried out a case by case assessment of the effect of toxicology on decision-making in relation to the welfare of children. However, the department wrote to local authorities on 17 November 2017 and 16 February 2018, asking them to review whether they had commissioned forensic tests from Trimega Laboratories Limited between January 2010 to April 2014, and to consider whether there was a need to take further action in order to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any of the local authorities that commissioned forensic tests from Trimega Laboratories Limited between January 2010 and April 2014 have carried out a case-by-case assessment of the effect of toxicology on decision-making in relation to the welfare of children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department does not have information on whether the local authorities that commissioned forensic tests from Trimega, between January 2010 and April 2014, have carried out a case by case assessment of the effect of toxicology on decision-making in relation to the welfare of children. However, the department wrote to local authorities on 17 November 2017 and 16 February 2018, asking them to review whether they had commissioned forensic tests from Trimega Laboratories Limited between January 2010 to April 2014, and to consider whether there was a need to take further action in order to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.