Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department allocated to Solihull Council through the Secure Accommodation Grant.

The 2021 Spending Review announced a total of £259 million of funding to undertake a programme of work aimed at maintaining sufficiency and expanding provision of both secure and open residential children’s homes estates. The West Midlands Partnership project, of which Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is a member, is one of the expansion projects for secure accommodation and is at the construction feasibility stage. The West Midlands Partnership was awarded £165,000 of funding in 2022/23 to undertake this initial stage. The project is following a Gateway approach, which enables the department to review proposed project costs and progress at key delivery points, to ensure value for money and ensure that the project is on track as it progresses. Once operational, the new facility will provide an additional 18 beds and a further two step-down beds for young people with complex needs who require this care.