Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking ensure that sixth form colleges receive adequate funding to offer (a) student support and (b) extra-curricular activities.
Answered by Anne Milton
We want young people to have a range of options so that they can develop the skills they will need in adult life. We encourage and support colleges, schools and other providers to provide a range of study programmes to help students develop these skills.
We have protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds for all types of providers until the end of the current spending review period in 2020. Overall, the government plans to invest nearly £7 billion during 2018/19 to make sure that there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19 year old who wants one. This includes over £500 million in funding for disadvantaged young people to get the educational support they need and £127 million for discretionary 16-19 Bursary Fund allocations to provide financial support for those students who need it to participate.
Providers are funded for an average of 600 planned hours per year per full-time student. This level of funding supports a significant programme of study, typically including qualifications and extra-curricular enrichment activity as well as pastoral support and employability support. However, the viability of individual courses depends on student numbers and student choices. Some providers, in particular smaller institutions, may not always be able to offer the full range of subjects where small class sizes make it expensive to deliver less popular subjects. Ultimately, it is up to individual colleges to decide which courses to offer and, as part of their curriculum planning, they can consider working with other providers to combine resources and maximise their offers.
We are considering the efficiency and resilience of the sector and are assessing how far the current funding and regulatory structures enable high quality provision for young people. We will continue to look carefully at these issues in preparation for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges have adequate funding to offer courses in all STEM subjects.
Answered by Anne Milton
We want young people to have a range of options so that they can develop the skills they will need in adult life. We encourage and support colleges, schools and other providers to provide a range of study programmes to help students develop these skills.
We have protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds for all types of providers until the end of the current spending review period in 2020. Overall, the government plans to invest nearly £7 billion during 2018/19 to make sure that there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19 year old who wants one. This includes over £500 million in funding for disadvantaged young people to get the educational support they need and £127 million for discretionary 16-19 Bursary Fund allocations to provide financial support for those students who need it to participate.
Providers are funded for an average of 600 planned hours per year per full-time student. This level of funding supports a significant programme of study, typically including qualifications and extra-curricular enrichment activity as well as pastoral support and employability support. However, the viability of individual courses depends on student numbers and student choices. Some providers, in particular smaller institutions, may not always be able to offer the full range of subjects where small class sizes make it expensive to deliver less popular subjects. Ultimately, it is up to individual colleges to decide which courses to offer and, as part of their curriculum planning, they can consider working with other providers to combine resources and maximise their offers.
We are considering the efficiency and resilience of the sector and are assessing how far the current funding and regulatory structures enable high quality provision for young people. We will continue to look carefully at these issues in preparation for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that sixth form colleges have adequate funding to offer courses in modern foreign languages.
Answered by Anne Milton
We want young people to have a range of options so that they can develop the skills they will need in adult life. We encourage and support colleges, schools and other providers to provide a range of study programmes to help students develop these skills.
We have protected the base rate of funding for 16 to 19 year olds for all types of providers until the end of the current spending review period in 2020. Overall, the government plans to invest nearly £7 billion during 2018/19 to make sure that there is a place in education or training for every 16 to 19 year old who wants one. This includes over £500 million in funding for disadvantaged young people to get the educational support they need and £127 million for discretionary 16-19 Bursary Fund allocations to provide financial support for those students who need it to participate.
Providers are funded for an average of 600 planned hours per year per full-time student. This level of funding supports a significant programme of study, typically including qualifications and extra-curricular enrichment activity as well as pastoral support and employability support. However, the viability of individual courses depends on student numbers and student choices. Some providers, in particular smaller institutions, may not always be able to offer the full range of subjects where small class sizes make it expensive to deliver less popular subjects. Ultimately, it is up to individual colleges to decide which courses to offer and, as part of their curriculum planning, they can consider working with other providers to combine resources and maximise their offers.
We are considering the efficiency and resilience of the sector and are assessing how far the current funding and regulatory structures enable high quality provision for young people. We will continue to look carefully at these issues in preparation for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the correlation between funding for children’s services between 2010-11 and 2017-18 and the number of (a) referrals to children’s services, (b) re-referrals within 12 months, (c) children in need, (d) child protection enquiries, (e) child protection plans and (f) looked after children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the the effect of the change in the level of funding for children’s services in West Lancashire on the number of (a) referrals to children’s services; (b) re-referrals within 12 months, (c) children in need, (d) child protection enquiries, (e) child protection plans and (f) looked after children since 2010.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the change in the level of funding per child for children’s services on the number of (a) children in need (b) child protection plans and (c) looked after children since 2010.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of local authority children’s services departments.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the local government finance settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education are working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at LGFSs.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what provisions are in place to ensure a sustainable future for children’s services in West Lancashire.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement. We are in the final year of a multi-year settlement deal – worth over £200 billion in the 5 years to 2020.
At the Autumn Budget 2018, the government made £410 million available to local authorities, in 2019/20, for adult and children social care. The government also announced £84 million in targeted, evidence-based interventions which will transform services to reduce demand, saving money for local authorities but most importantly, improving the quality of services for our most vulnerable children.
The Department for Education is working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at local government finance settlements.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on extending supplementary funding for nursery schools after April 2020.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Maintained nursery schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. They experience costs that other providers do not and we are providing local authorities with approximately £60 million a year in supplementary funding to enable them to protect the funding of MNS.
I announced on 28 February that the government would extend the supplementary funding paid to local authorities by approximately £24 million to enable them to fully fund MNS for the whole of the 2019/20 academic year. This provides local authorities with the reassurance to allocate places for this September with confidence. The announcement was made with the agreement of HM Treasury. Next steps after the 2019/20 academic year will be determined by the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure nursery school funding is sustainable for the future.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Maintained nursery schools (MNS) make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children. They experience costs that other providers do not and we are providing local authorities with approximately £60 million a year in supplementary funding to enable them to protect the funding of MNS.
I announced on 28 February that the government would extend the supplementary funding paid to local authorities by approximately £24 million to enable them to fully fund MNS for the whole of the 2019/20 academic year. This provides local authorities with the reassurance to allocate places for this September with confidence. The announcement was made with the agreement of HM Treasury. Next steps after the 2019/20 academic year will be determined by the next Spending Review.