Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support schools with rising energy costs.
Answered by Robin Walker
I refer the hon. Member for Bristol West to the answer I gave on 22 March 2022 to Question 138095 and on 28 March 2022 to Question 145876.
The department recognises that schools will be facing cost pressures in the coming months, particularly due to the increase in energy prices. We are looking carefully at how this will impact schools and considering what additional support we can offer. Cost increases should be seen in the wider context of funding and support for schools.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that (a) administrative and (b) communication support is available to maintain relationships between birth and adoptive families (i) during and (ii) after child adoption processes where safe and appropriate.
Answered by Will Quince
Local authorities have a legal duty to provide a comprehensive adoption service.
This specifically includes 'Assistance, including mediation services, in relation to arrangements for contact between an adoptive child and a natural parent, natural sibling, former guardian or a related person of the adoptive child.'
As set out in our ‘Adoption Strategy: achieving excellence everywhere’, the department will be working with Regional Adoption Agencies to develop and trial what good practice around contact looks like, with a view to setting national standards in this area. This will include working closely with birth parents and those with lived experience.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to support families with the cost of childcare.
Answered by Will Quince
The department knows that the cost of childcare is a key concern for parents, which is why the government has made an unprecedented investment in childcare over the past decade, with over £3.5 billion spent in each of the past three years on early education entitlements.
The government’s range of childcare offers includes 15 hours free early education for all three and four-year-olds, regardless of parental income or working status. This helps children to develop social skills and prepare them for school, regardless of their background.
In 2013, the offer was extended to the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, providing a developmental boost to disadvantaged children who are less likely to use formal childcare, but who stand to benefit from it the most.
In 2017, the department introduced 30 hours free childcare for working parents of three and four-year-olds. To be eligible for this, a lone parent must earn from just over £7,400 a year, and a couple, where both parents are working, from just over £14,800 per year, to access 30 hours. This can save parents over £6,000 per year.
The department have also introduced tax-free childcare, which is available for working parents of children aged 0-11 (or up to 16 if their child is disabled), with the same income thresholds as 30 hours free childcare. This scheme can save parents up to £2,000 per year (or up to £4,000 for children with disabilities) and can be used alongside 30 hours free childcare.
Working parents on Universal Credit may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through the childcare element of Universal Credit. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children aged 0-16.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's Investigation Report into Child sexual exploitation by organised networks, what assessment the Government has made of the the implications for its policies of that report's recommendations; and whether the Government plans to accept and implement recommendation six of that report on unregulated placements.
Answered by Will Quince
The department welcomes the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s report on child sexual exploitation in organised networks and its findings. The department will carefully consider the inquiry’s recommendations and will respond within the inquiry’s deadline of six months.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government provides a crown guarantee to the Universities Superannuation Scheme via the Office for Students.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The Department for Education agreed to guarantee liabilities due to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) built up by the Higher Education Funding Council for England prior to its cessation in 2018. The department also agreed to guarantee future liabilities due to the USS built up by the Office for Students (OfS), in the event that there is winding up of the OfS or its successor body if no other body assumes the OfS’ functions.
The department’s liability in acting as guarantor for the USS was originally valued at £5 million, as recorded in the remote contingent liabilities section of the Department for Education’s 2017/18 financial year annual report and accounts. The liability valuation has remained at £5 million for all subsequent years, as shown in the department’s annual reports and accounts: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending access to the Adoption Support Fund to allow foster children who have experienced trauma to apply for funding for therapeutic services.
Answered by Will Quince
The Adoption Support Fund was developed in recognition that children who have left the care system, through adoption or special guardianship orders, were not getting the therapeutic support necessary for them to attach to their new permanent parents and carers.
The law is very clear that children in foster care must have a care plan that sets out their needs and how their local authority will meet them. The care plan should include information about the child’s emotional and behavioural development, and how any emotional or behavioural difficulties are to be managed. It must also include what support should be available to the foster carer to meet the needs of the child.
From 2019 to 2021, the government have invested over £1 million to pilot high quality mental health assessments to maximise learning and inform changes needed to the mental health assessments of looked after children going forward.
The pilots generated considerable learning and we will be working closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure learning from the pilots is embedded in service delivery for looked after children moving forward, building on the commitment in the NHS Long-Term plan. The department aims to support pilot sites to embed and sustain the learning and good practice from the pilot within their local areas.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timescale is for announcing the successful bids for stage 2 of the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Further education (FE) colleges that were successful at stage 1 of the bidding process for the FE Capital Transformation Fund were invited to submit stage 2 applications.
The department is currently assessing stage 2 applications and hopes to be in a position to inform all applicants of the outcome of the process in March 2022.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to improve provision of social services to protect vulnerable children.
Answered by Will Quince
Local authorities children’s social care spending on the most vulnerable children – those needing a social worker, children in care, and care leavers – has increased by over £3 billion since financial year 2012-13.
The department takes robust action when an authority does not meet its requirements to protect all children and young people. Local authorities rated inadequate by Ofsted receive comprehensive support from the department. Those performing well are supported to share best practice.
In this financial year, 2021-22, we have invested £5.7 million to expand our sector-led improvement (SLI) programme so that 19 of our strongest performing local authorities are able to work with their peers, to improve children’s social care services. Since July 2021, SLI partners have worked with 42 local authorities, the majority of which are judged to be inadequate or require improvement by Ofsted, and have delivered around 5,500 days of support to the sector.
We are investing over £4 million over the three years to March 2024 to support the development of corporate and political leadership across children’s services, working closely with the Local Government Association. 146 local authorities out of a total of 151 have benefited from the programme to date.
We have also invested £22.2 million in the COVID-19 Regional Recovery and Build Back Better Fund this year, which seeks to support local authorities to work together to address COVID-19 pressures, where a regional approach would be beneficial in addressing issues that face the sector.
Looking to the future, this government is committed to making a real difference to the needs, experience and outcomes of vulnerable children and families supported by children’s social care. To do this, we need to make fundamental changes to the current system. That is exactly why this government launched the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, a bold and broad review with the aim of contributing to ambitious and deliverable reforms.
The review will share its final recommendations in spring 2022 and the government will then consider and respond to them. Further, the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’s death and the Joint Targeted Area Inspection of Solihull will make sure we learn what needs to be changed nationally, and that we can understand and strengthen local work to safeguard children.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department will make a final decision on school exams going ahead in 2022.
Answered by Robin Walker
We are determined to press ahead with examinations this year. We regularly engage with stakeholders throughout the education sector and there continues to be widespread support for examinations to go ahead.
Together with Ofqual, we consulted on and have confirmed a range of adaptations to GCSE and A/AS level exams. By 7 February, exam boards will be releasing advance information about the focus of the content of examinations in most GCSE and A/AS level subjects. Combined with the choice of content or topics in some GCSEs, and a transition year for grading, this package provides unprecedented support, reflecting the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have been clear our intention is for examinations to go ahead, but think it is right that we continue to have contingency plans in place for the unlikely event that examinations cannot go ahead fairly or safely, and have confirmed that students would receive teacher assessed grades instead.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she made of the impact on (a) children aged five to 11 who are clinically extremely vulnerable or who have a close relative who is immunosuppressed and (b) the staff working with those children who are either clinically extremely vulnerable or have a close relative who is immunosuppressed, of allowing children aged five to 11 in families where there is a confirmed covid-19 case to continue attending school; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department will always prioritise the health and welfare of staff, pupils and students.
At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, shielding was introduced as one of the few ways to support those who, at the time, were considered clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV).
The situation is now very different to when shielding was first introduced. We know a lot more about COVID-19 and what makes someone more or less vulnerable to the virus. The vaccine continues to be successfully rolled out, and other treatments and interventions are becoming available.
We are committed to protecting education, which is why the safety measures are based on the latest scientific advice and strike a balance between managing transmission risk with measures such as regular testing, enhanced ventilation and hygiene, and reducing disruption to face-to-face learning.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have not advised people to shield since 1 April 2021, and people previously identified as CEV were advised to follow the same guidance as the general population. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do.
All children and young people previously considered CEV were advised to return to childcare and education provision when shielding paused on 1 April. The decision to include children as part of the CEV group was based on the information that we had at the time. Now that we have more evidence, the clinical review panel has been able to recommend that all children and young people are no longer considered to be CEV and have been removed from the Shielded Patient List. However, if a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that children aged 5 to 11 in a clinical risk group, and household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, should be offered 2 10mcg doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, with an interval of 8 weeks between the first and second doses. The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised in due course.
Vaccines remain an effective measure against COVID-19. We recommend all school staff take up the offer of a vaccine.
Education providers should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19. They should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances and take appropriate action in line with our guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.
It is important that we reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education, particularly given that the direct clinical risks to children are extremely low. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health, which is why children should continue to attend their education provision, unless they are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19. All students and pupils aged 5 and above are strongly advised to take seven daily lateral flow device tests if they are identified by Test and Trace as a close contact of a confirmed positive case.