Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to (a) submit more than one need as a reason for why a child is being looked after in their SSDA03 data returns and (b) include housing and homelessness as one of those reasons.

Data on reasons for the primary need of a child starting to be looked after is currently collected using an established code set for ‘primary need’ which is set out in the collection guide. Children looked after who were previously living with their family, but were homeless, are counted within the category ‘Family in acute stress’. The latest children looked after data collection guide is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/children-looked-after-return-guide-to-submitting-data. The primary need categories defined in the department’s data collection are not intended to be exhaustive, and housing and homelessness is not a specific category. However, all potential risk factors are taken into consideration when assessing the needs of a child and how they might best be supported.

More detailed information on the needs and additional assessment factors used for children who are assessed by children’s social care are collected within the annual Children in Need census. The latest guide can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/children-in-need-census.