Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing a disabled children’s innovation fund to help evaluate and provide early-help services to improve outcomes for disabled children and families in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We believe it is right for local authorities, who know their areas’ needs best, to determine what services, including early help, are required locally.
Respite care services for disabled children are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs, and it is right that this individual focus continues. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we ensured that respite care services for disabled children and their families were allowed to continue to operate. This applied to services which care for children in and away from home. Where parents have a disabled child under the age of 5, they were also able to establish a support bubble with another household to provide respite care.
To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in unringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. We will continue to work with other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure the upcoming Spending Review reflects the needs of children’s services.
In addition to statutory services, we are providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in financial year 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the finding of the Disabled Children’s Partnerships Left Behind report that six in 10 parents remain socially isolated, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing funding for ring-fenced additional respite care for families with disabled children.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Members for the City of Durham, Bath, and Stockton North to the answer I gave on 2 June 2021 to Question 7328.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timetable is for publishing his Department's (a) response to the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and (b) updated impact assessments for that review.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The department has consulted in two stages on proposals for the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3. The second stage of consultation ran from 23 October 2020 to 31 January 2021. It set out proposals for ensuring that all qualifications that are approved for funding alongside A levels and T Levels are high quality, necessary, and allow progression to good outcomes. We will publish our response and updated impact assessment shortly.