Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the accuracy of the figures produced by BBCRadio5 and the Observer that the numbers of 16 and 17 year olds in independent living placements without live-in support in England has increased by 28 per cent since 2010.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department collects annual data on looked after children in independent living, with or without live-in support. These figures are given in the attached table. This information is not broken down to bed and breakfast accommodation, adult hostels, campsites or independent living placements without live-in support. Securing suitable accommodation that meets the needs of looked after children is a vital step in delivering improved outcomes for this vulnerable group.
The number of children in independent living increased by 29% between 2010 and 2018. This category includes accommodation such as a flat, lodgings, bedsit, bed and breakfast or living with friends. Live-in visiting support may be included as part of this package. Care should be taken when interpreting this rise because changes to the collection resulted in improvements in the accuracy of reporting placements. The figures for 2015 and earlier years are therefore not comparable with later years and any assessment of trends should take this into account.
The department collects and publishes data on 17 year old care leavers who are accommodated in bed and breakfasts and emergency accommodation. This is published in Table F4 of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018’ and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) bed and breakfast accommodation, (b) adult hostels and (c) campsites used for 16 and 17 year olds requiring independent living accommodation.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department collects annual data on looked after children in independent living, with or without live-in support. These figures are given in the attached table. This information is not broken down to bed and breakfast accommodation, adult hostels, campsites or independent living placements without live-in support. Securing suitable accommodation that meets the needs of looked after children is a vital step in delivering improved outcomes for this vulnerable group.
The number of children in independent living increased by 29% between 2010 and 2018. This category includes accommodation such as a flat, lodgings, bedsit, bed and breakfast or living with friends. Live-in visiting support may be included as part of this package. Care should be taken when interpreting this rise because changes to the collection resulted in improvements in the accuracy of reporting placements. The figures for 2015 and earlier years are therefore not comparable with later years and any assessment of trends should take this into account.
The department collects and publishes data on 17 year old care leavers who are accommodated in bed and breakfasts and emergency accommodation. This is published in Table F4 of the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018’ and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Timpson school exclusions review is planned to report.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In March 2018, the Government launched an externally-led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.
The review has gathered substantial evidence, including over 900 submissions to the call for evidence. Edward Timpson has also chaired a series of roundtables and the review has met with over 100 organisations and individuals, including schools, local authorities, parents and children.
The review will report in early 2019.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) funding and (b) resources available to local authorities for appropriate living situations for 16 and 17 year-olds requiring independent living accommodation.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the local government finance settlement, which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including the provision of appropriate living conditions for 16 and 17 year olds requiring independent living accommodation. Through the settlement, the government has made available over £200 billion across this five-year spending period. Local authorities used this flexibility to spend around £9.4 billion on children and young people’s services in 2017 to 2018.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the availability of appropriate placements for 16 and 17 year olds requiring independent living accommodation.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally. The department collects annual data from local authorities on looked-after children who are in independent living accommodation, however, no information on the availability of these placements is provided in the data.
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 20 November 2018 to Written Question 191957 on Trimega, if he will list the local authorities identified as having commissioned tests by Trimega.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Given the ongoing criminal investigation, the department does not intend to publish a list of local authorities who have commissioned services from Trimega Laboratories Limited during the period of January 2010 and April 2014.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of resourcing of services for developmental language disorder.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring that children and young people with speech, language and communication needs get the support they need. The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice makes clear that local authorities, educational institutions, and relevant others must appropriately identify the needs of their local area and ensure that appropriate support is available to meet those needs.
We have given £391 million to local areas to support implementation of the 2014 SEND reforms. Nationally, funding for children and young people has risen by £1 billion since 2013 to just under £6 billion this year. In Sheffield, the local authority will receive £54 million in high needs funding for 2018-19.
We are aware of the concerns of local authorities about high needs cost pressures. We are monitoring the drivers of these pressures, and looking at what can be done to help local authorities manage them.
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield Heeley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of services for children with developmental language disorder.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government is committed to ensuring that children and young people with speech, language and communication needs get the support they need. The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice makes clear that local authorities, educational institutions, and relevant others must appropriately identify the needs of their local area and ensure that appropriate support is available to meet those needs.
We have given £391 million to local areas to support implementation of the 2014 SEND reforms. Nationally, funding for children and young people has risen by £1 billion since 2013 to just under £6 billion this year. In Sheffield, the local authority will receive £54 million in high needs funding for 2018-19.
We are aware of the concerns of local authorities about high needs cost pressures. We are monitoring the drivers of these pressures, and looking at what can be done to help local authorities manage them.
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 Written Statement of 21 November 2017 on Toxicology, HCWS265, how many local authorities the Department has identified as having commissioned tests from Trimega.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department wrote to all local authorities in England asking them to review whether they had commissioned forensic tests from Trimega Laboratories Limited between January 2010 and April 2014. 131 local authorities have confirmed that they used the services of Trimega Laboratories Limited during this period.
It is unlikely that decisions about the welfare of children will have been taken solely on the basis of toxicology test results, as this would only form part of the evidence that local authorities consider when making decisions about vulnerable children. The department does not have oversight of individual decisions made in local authority areas but have asked local authorities to consider whether any additional action is necessary in order to fulfil their safeguarding responsibilities.