Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support looked after children who are placed out of borough in homes not registered with Ofsted.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Every child and young person should have access to a stable and secure placement in accommodation that can meet their needs and, most importantly, keep them safe. On 5 November 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all local authorities reminding them of their duty to keep children safe, particularly if they are placed away from their area, which requires approval by a Director of Children’s Services.
Reform is needed as a matter of urgency to ensure this provision is being used appropriately and meets the needs of the young people placed there. On 12 February 2020 we announced proposals to drive up the quality of children’s social care. The consultation invites views on a set of new measures to ensure appropriate use of these placements. The proposals include:
The consultation is open for response until 8 April and is available at the following link: https://consult.education.gov.uk/unregulated-provision/unregulated-provision-children-in-care/.
Ofsted has conducted over 150 investigations in the last year into settings suspected to be operating as an unregistered children’s home. They are expediting applications to make sure new homes can be inspected and have implemented a new process for informing local authorities when cease and desist letters are sent to unregistered providers so that they know not to place children with them.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children under the age of (a) 11 and (b) 18 were taken into care in each of the last three years as a result of their mother being imprisoned; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the financial effect of the new national funding formula on the salaries of teachers in schools in England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Decisions on increases to teachers’ pay for the forthcoming academic year will be informed by the School Teacher Review Body process, which is ongoing.
The Department has reformed the unfair, opaque and outdated school funding system, ensuring that, for the first time, school funding will be distributed based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country.
Spending on schools will rise from just under £41 billion now to £43.5 billion in 2019-20. As the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed, overall funding per pupil across the country will now be maintained in real terms until 2020, representing an increase of at least 70 per cent since 1990.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve participation of students from under-represented areas in further or higher education.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Widening participation in further and higher education is a priority for this government and we want to continue to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from it, regardless of background or where they grew up. 'Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential' published in December 2017 set out our plan for improving social mobility through education.
Whilst more disadvantaged 18 year olds are going to university than ever before we have, through our first guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), asked the OfS to encourage higher education (HE) providers to undertake outreach work with schools, and to focus particularly in those parts of the country with the greatest challenges, including in opportunity areas. These areas have been identified as those weakest in both the 2016 Social Mobility Commission’s index and the Department for Education’s data on school standards and capacity to improve.
In addition, the National Collaborative Outreach Programme run by the Higher Education Funding Council for England is supporting 29 consortia (including HE providers, further education (FE) colleges, schools, employers and others) to undertake outreach activities in geographical areas where the HE participation of young people is both low and much lower than expected based on GCSE-level attainment.
FE providers already fulfil a crucial role in driving social mobility by equipping or reskilling individuals with relevant labour market skills, providing routes into further study and often acting as a second chance at a basic education.
FE providers will play a key role in our reforms to technical education, leading to more and better opportunities for young people, whatever their background and ensuring that they are on a high quality route to employment.
A thriving careers system, that is accessible to everyone, is at the heart of our focus on social mobility. Our recently published careers strategy will support everyone, whatever their background, to go as far as their talents will take them and have a rewarding career.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of apprenticeship starts since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017.
Answered by Anne Milton
There have been over 1.2 million apprenticeship starts since May 2015. We publish progress on the number of apprenticeships starts within the department for further education and skills statistical first release, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education-and-skills-statistical-first-release-sfr#2017-releases.
We’ve introduced the apprenticeship levy to encourage sustained employer investment in high quality apprenticeships.
The previous year has seen significant changes for employers and understandably, it will take them time to adjust and respond. We must, however, not lose sight of why we introduced our reforms – to put quality at the heart of the programme for apprentices, and putting control in the hands of employers.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to support kinship carers.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The government recognises the important role that family and friends play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. Most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust rather than a stranger.
The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities (LAs) about supporting family and friends providing care for children who cannot live with their parents. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. It explains that support, including financial support, can be provided under section 17 of the Children Act 1989. There is no limit on the level of financial support that local authorities can provide.
LAs are required to publish a policy setting out their approach to promoting and supporting the needs of all children living with family and friends carers, regardless of their legal status. The department has recently written to local authorities to remind them of this requirement and that the policy should be clear, regularly updated, and made freely and widely available.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how he fulfils his duty under section 1(1) of the Childcare Act 2016 alongside or in conjunction with the duty of local authorities as set out in regulation 33 of the Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Extended Entitlement) Regulations 2016.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Childcare Act 2016 places a duty on the Secretary of State to secure 30 hours free childcare for three and four year olds of working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. Regulations made under the Childcare Care Act 2016 allow the Secretary of State to discharge his duty to secure this free childcare through English local authorities. All local authorities have the support of our delivery contractor, Childcare Works, to help ensure that all eligible children can take up a place.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking in schools better to educate young people in the dangers of knife crime.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department knows how important it is that young people understand the dangers of knife crime. Schools can choose to include lessons on weapons awareness and gangs as part of their Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) or Citizenship curriculum, with high quality materials available to schools to support teaching in these areas.
Through the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the government is also making the subjects of Relationships Education compulsory in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) compulsory in secondary schools. These subjects will help young people understand safe, respectful and positive relationships and appropriate ways of resolving conflict, including conflicts that are voiced and fuelled through the negative use of social media platforms.
The Government is currently running a Call for Evidence on what pupils should be taught in Relationships Education, RSE and PSHE, and will be engaging with the Police and Home Office through that process.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children aged three and four who are entitled to free childcare for 30 hours a week are disabled.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We do not hold data relating to the number of children eligible for 30 hours who are disabled.
We will collect data about the number of children taking up 30 hours free childcare in the January 2018 Early Years and Schools Census. This will be published in the ‘Education provision: children under 5 years of age’ statistical first release in summer 2018. This will include data about the number of children with special educational needs or a disability taking up government-funded hours.
Asked by: Marie Rimmer (Labour - St Helens South and Whiston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 1(1) of the Childcare Act 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure that childcare is available free of charge for disabled three and four-year-old children for a period equivalent to 30 hours in each of 38 weeks in any year.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
I refer the hon. Member for St Helens and Whiston, to the answer I gave on 19 January 2018 to Question 122942: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-01-16/122942/.