Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following a survey by the School and Public Health Nurses Association and the British Dental Association in June which showed that 65 per cent of health practitioners reported that children’s health had got worse over the last year as a result of hunger, what plans they have to address hunger and poor nutrition in children.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government understands concerns regarding food inflation and its impact on the current cost of living, and as such is providing support of over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24 to help households and individuals.
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 13.6% in the year to August 2023. This was down from 14.9% in July and a recent high of 19.2% in March 2023, which was the highest rate seen for over 45 years. This means that food prices are still increasing but at a slower rate than before.
Through the Healthy Food Schemes, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to those who need it the most. The three Healthy Food Schemes, namely Healthy Start, Nursery Milk and the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, together help more than three million children. They support wider Government priorities on obesity and levelling up. The schemes help to support children and babies when they are at home, in childcare and in early years at school, and pregnant women. From April 2021, the value of the Healthy Start increased from £3.10 to £4.25, providing additional support to pregnant women and families on lower incomes to make healthy food choices.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme provides approximately 2.2 million children in Key Stage 1 with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Around 419 million pieces of fruit and vegetables were distributed to children in 2022/2023. In addition, the Nursery Milk Scheme provides a reimbursement to childcare providers for a daily 1/3 pint portion of milk to children and babies.
Free school meals are provided to over one third of school children. This includes two million pupils who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals, making up 23.8% of all pupils, which is an increase from January 2021 when 1.7 million or 20.8% pupils were eligible. In addition, almost 1.3 million more infants enjoy a free and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of universal infant free school meals in 2014. A further 90,000 disadvantaged pupils in further education also receive a free meal at lunch time. Overall, we spend over £1 billion per annum delivering free lunches to a large proportion of school children.
The Government’s wider programme of work to create a healthier environment to help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight includes:
- regulations which restrict the placement of products high in saturated fat, salt or sugar in store and online;
- efforts to reformulate products high in calories, sugar and salt;
- the Soft Drinks Industry Levy; and
- calorie labelling regulations for food sold in large out of home businesses.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Durham (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use schools and nurseries as hubs for delivering health services to support families and meet the health needs of children and young people, especially within disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government supports the use of place-based services and integrated delivery, particularly where this will improve access for more disadvantaged communities. The Government is investing approximately £300 million through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme to deliver a step change in outcomes for babies, children, parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England with high deprivation. Through joined up and enhanced universal services delivered through transformed family hubs, the programme will ensure all parents and carers can access the support they need, at the time they need it. We are also continuing to roll-out Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges across England.
Health services should be available and accessible at times and locations that meet the needs of children, young people, and families. Schools and nurseries can function as particularly effective settings. However, decisions concerning the commissioning and location of provider premises are made locally, following engagement with service users and other key stakeholders.
Asked by: Jonathan Edwards (Independent - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the cost of (a) public and (b) private dentistry on people's ability to access those services.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our latest Dental Statistics Annual Report for England shows signs of improvements in people’s access to National Health Service dentistry. NHS dental activity, as measured by Courses of Treatments delivered, has increased by 23% between 2021/22 and 2022/23. Dental Statistics is available at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-dental-statistics
The Department has produced an Impact Assessment in respect of the uplift of National Health Service dental charges for patients in England from 24 April, which is available at the following link:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2023/367/impacts/2023/41(opens in a new tab)
Alongside this, and in line with our Public Sector Equality duty, the Department has also considered the impact of the change on equality and on those from disadvantaged groups.
Dental patient charges remain an important contribution to the overall NHS budget. 47.3% of courses of treatment were delivered to non-paying adults and children in 2021/22
We continue to provide financial support to those who need it most by offering exemptions to NHS dental patient charges, and support through the low-income scheme for patients who meet the eligibility criteria. Further information is available at the following NHS website:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/get-help-with-dental-costs/
No assessment has been undertaken on the impact on families who opt to access care from a private dentist.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on providing additional childcare support for single parents.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The early education entitlements are available to all family types, including single parents, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. The universal 15 hours free childcare offer is available to all 3 and 4 year olds regardless of parental circumstances. Parents may also be eligible for 15 hours for disadvantaged 2 year olds if they meet the eligibility criteria.
The 30 hours of free childcare is available to parents who earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 per year. This means that parents can be eligible if they earn over £167 per week or £8,670 per year.
In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The announcement included the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, through which eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school. This will be rolled out in phases starting from April 2024.
This latest investment demonstrates that improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare for working parents is important for this government.
Further information about childcare support is also available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the eligibility threshold for means-tested free school meals for Universal Credit recipients in line with (a) inflation and (b) national living wage increases.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Over 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits based free school meals (FSM). Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) policy.
The department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables pupils in low income households to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM. The department continues to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The department also continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other government departments to provide support to disadvantaged families.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Sunderland West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 187978 on Free School Meals, how her Department reviews the eligibility conditions for Free School Meals to ensure that they support those that most need them.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The provision of free school meals to children from households who are on low income or out of work is important to the Government.
Over two million pupils are currently eligible for benefits based Free School Meals (FSM). Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals policy.
The Department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM, but will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The Department continues to work with other Government Departments to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and the impact on disadvantaged families.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to use (a) schools and (b) nurseries to deliver health services in disadvantaged communities.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government supports the use of place-based services and integrated delivery, particularly where this will improve access for more disadvantaged communities. The Government is funding 75 local authorities in England with higher levels of deprivation through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. This will ensure that parents and carers can access Start for Life services locally during the critical period from conception to age two and will make an important positive difference to the experiences of families across the country. We are also continuing to roll-out Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges across England.
Health services should be available and accessible at times and locations that meet the needs of children, young people, and families. Schools and nurseries can function as particularly effective settings. However, decisions concerning the commissioning and location of provider premises are made locally, following engagement with service users and other key stakeholders.
Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of extending the eligibility criteria for free school meals on the educational outcomes of children in Enfield North constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since 2010, the number of pupils receiving a free school meal (FSM) has increased by more than two million. This increase in provision is due to the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals and protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM, compared with one in six in 2010.
The Department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables pupils in low income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The Department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM. The Department continues to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The Department also continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support to disadvantaged families.
The Department monitors the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. The latest published statistics on the attainment gap are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-2-attainment (see attainment by pupil characteristics), and: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance-revised/2021-22 (see attainment by disadvantage status).
The attainment gap narrowed by 9% at secondary school level and by 13% at primary school level between 2011 and 2019. For over a decade, the Department has consistently taken a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes that help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, and providing targeted support where needed. The Department understands that disadvantaged children have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
At a national level, the Department delivers a number of core policies to support disadvantaged pupils including FSM, the holiday activities and food programme, where we are investing over £200m a year for the next two years, and support for 2,500 breakfast clubs and family hubs. Additionally, the Department is also ensuring better targeting of deprivation factors through the National Funding Formula (over 9% of all funding), as well as record amounts of Pupil Premium funding, £2.6 billion in 2022/23 financial year and £2.9 billion this financial year.
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funds schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, more than £1 billion has been made available to support tutoring. From November 2020 to academic year 2023/24, nearly four million tutoring courses have been started, up to July 2023. By 2024, the Department will have embedded tutoring across schools in England. The Department expects tutoring to continue to be a staple offer from schools, with schools using their core budgets, including Pupil Premium, to fund targeted support for those children who will benefit.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled Addressing education and health inequity: perspectives from the North of England published by Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group on 11 September 2023, whether she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on (a) data sharing between and (b) needs assessments undertaken by agencies with a responsibility for children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils so that they can achieve their full potential no matter where they live.
The Department is taking a range of steps to support and deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system and providing targeted support where needed. Many of these programmes address the substantive points made in the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s (APPG) report.
The Government is providing around £300 million to enable 75 Local Authorities to open family hubs to improve vital services to give every child the best start in life and so that families can better access the support they need. This builds on the Government’s previous funding of family hubs, which included a £12 million transformation fund to open family hubs in a further 13 Local Authorities in England, including York.
To support the development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children, the Department is providing a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance and targeted support for the early years sector.
The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupil cohorts. In 2023/24, a greater proportion of schools NFF funding was targeted towards deprived pupils than ever before at 9.8% (over £4 billion). This will help schools to close attainment gaps. In 2023/24, schools with the highest levels of deprivation have, on average, attracted the largest per pupil funding increases.
On top of this core funding, the pupil premium, worth over £2.9 billion this year, continues to support schools to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Almost £5 billion has also been made available for education recovery programmes in early years, schools and colleges, especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged or vulnerable, wherever they live.
The Department is providing funding to 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest, including £86 million in trust capacity funding to help strong trusts to expand into areas most in need of improvement. 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs), that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage, will receive more intensive support in addition to the significant help available to all EIAs.
To facilitate cross Government working on the Levelling Up agenda, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities leads a regular group including Ministers from all Departments, including from the Department for Education and HM Treasury. The group provides support, challenge and accountability to drive progress and identify opportunities for collaboration on the Levelling Up missions as well as wider issues.
The Department also continues to work closely with Ministers and officials in the Department of Health and Social Care to collaborate on ways to improve data and information sharing. The Department has set out its plans in the ‘Improving multi-agency information sharing’ report to Parliament in July 2023 and is working across government to progress these.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with (a) the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and (b) the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the recommendations of the report entitled Addressing education and health inequity: perspectives from the North of England published by Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group on 11 September 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all pupils so that they can achieve their full potential no matter where they live.
The Department is taking a range of steps to support and deliver programmes designed to help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system and providing targeted support where needed. Many of these programmes address the substantive points made in the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s (APPG) report.
The Government is providing around £300 million to enable 75 Local Authorities to open family hubs to improve vital services to give every child the best start in life and so that families can better access the support they need. This builds on the Government’s previous funding of family hubs, which included a £12 million transformation fund to open family hubs in a further 13 Local Authorities in England, including York.
To support the development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children, the Department is providing a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance and targeted support for the early years sector.
The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly, based on the needs of schools and their pupil cohorts. In 2023/24, a greater proportion of schools NFF funding was targeted towards deprived pupils than ever before at 9.8% (over £4 billion). This will help schools to close attainment gaps. In 2023/24, schools with the highest levels of deprivation have, on average, attracted the largest per pupil funding increases.
On top of this core funding, the pupil premium, worth over £2.9 billion this year, continues to support schools to improve outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Almost £5 billion has also been made available for education recovery programmes in early years, schools and colleges, especially focused on helping the most disadvantaged or vulnerable, wherever they live.
The Department is providing funding to 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) where outcomes in literacy and numeracy are the poorest, including £86 million in trust capacity funding to help strong trusts to expand into areas most in need of improvement. 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs), that have particularly low attainment and high rates of disadvantage, will receive more intensive support in addition to the significant help available to all EIAs.
To facilitate cross Government working on the Levelling Up agenda, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities leads a regular group including Ministers from all Departments, including from the Department for Education and HM Treasury. The group provides support, challenge and accountability to drive progress and identify opportunities for collaboration on the Levelling Up missions as well as wider issues.
The Department also continues to work closely with Ministers and officials in the Department of Health and Social Care to collaborate on ways to improve data and information sharing. The Department has set out its plans in the ‘Improving multi-agency information sharing’ report to Parliament in July 2023 and is working across government to progress these.