Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential long-term economic benefits of ensuring that children are protected from the effects of (a) abuse and (b) neglect.

The educational outcomes for children who experience abuse and neglect are markedly worse than for all children and these children face long term challenges in education and beyond. Three fifths (61%) of children starting to be looked-after during the year ending 31 March 2018 were identified as having a primary need of abuse or neglect[1]. The average Attainment 8 score for all looked-after children was 19.3 in 2017 compared to 44.5 for non-looked after children[2]. In addition, two fifths (39%) of all care leavers aged 19 to 21 were not in education, employment or training during the year ending 31 March 2018 compared to around 12% of young people of a similar age[3].

Research evidence suggests that the care system generally provides a protective factor for vulnerable children with early admission to care being associated with better educational outcomes than later entry[4]. This is why we have increased spending on the most vulnerable children by over £1.5 billion since 2010 and at the budget we announced an extra £410 million next year for social care, including children – alongside £84 million over the next five years to keep more children safely at home with their families.

[1] Children looked-after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018.

[2] Outcomes for children looked-after by local authorities: 31 March 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-las-31-march-2017.

[3] Not in education, employment or training statistics quarterly brief: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-neet.

[4] The Educational Progress of Looked-After Children in England: Linking Care and Educational Data, Rees Centre Oxford, 2015.