Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2019 to Question 216293, on Children: Social Services, whether his Department has allocated specific funding to local authorities to facilitate the use of (a) Xantura and (b) other predictive algorithm technologies in children’s social care.

The department does not allocate any specific funding to local authorities to facilitate the use of Xantura and other predictive algorithm technologies in children’s social care. It also does not collect information on which local authorities use Xantura or other predictive algorithm technologies in children’s social care.

The department has commissioned a consortium led by Nesta to set up the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care. The centre is currently conducting a project that looks at the use of predictive analytics in local authorities. The report is due for publication in spring 2020.