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390934

registered interest
date	17/07/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will introduce legislative proposals to place a legal responsibility on local authorities to notify their neighbouring authorities when they place 16 to 21 year olds leaving (a) care and (b) young offender institutions in that area.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	7808
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2015 answer text <p>Our statutory guidance, ‘Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers<em>’</em> sets out local authorities’ responsibilities when care leavers are placed out of area. In these circumstances, the placing local authority must remain in close contact and take responsibility for planning the young person’s transition to adulthood. The guidance explains that local authorities should work together with relevant agencies such as health and adult social care services when planning a young person’s transition to adulthood.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Where a care leaver is placed in custody, pathway planning must continue. The young person must be visited on a regular basis by a personal adviser from the placing authority. It is good practice for the personal adviser to carry out a review of the pathway plan at least a month before release in order to give sufficient time for pre-release planning. This should include plans for the care leaver to move into suitable accommodation, with the right kind of support, on release from custody.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>A copy of the guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397649/CA1989_Transitions_guidance.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397649/CA1989_Transitions_guidance.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 22/07/2015 11:46:55 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

390751

registered interest
date	16/07/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in care have been placed in children's homes outside their local authority area in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	7603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p>The number of children who have been placed in children’s homes outside their local authority area in each of the last five years, 2010 to 2014, is shown in the table below:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of children accommodated in children homes outside council boundary at 31 March</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2,350</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2,390</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>2,540</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>2,730</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This information is published in table A3 of the statistical first release “Children looked after in England including adoption”, which is available online at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/07/2015 14:32:47 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

390752

registered interest
date	16/07/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to reduce the number of children in care placed out of their home local authority area.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	7604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p>Looked-after children should only be placed far from home where this is in their best interests. To improve practice in this area the Government has amended regulations so that:</p><ul><li>the Director of Children’s Services must approve that the decision to place a child at a distance from their home is the best decision for the child and that there will be ongoing support for them;</li><li>the local authority making the placement must consult with the authority in which the home is located before making the decision to place the child there. This consultation should include the quality of the home and the services available for the child.</li></ul> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 21/07/2015 09:44:05 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

389798

registered interest
date	14/07/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children who left care in the most recent year for which figures are available had more than (a) three, (b) five, (c) 10, (d) 20, (e) 30, (f) 40 and (g) 50 placements while they were in care.
tabling member constituency	Burton
tabling member printed	Andrew Griffiths
uin	7082
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2015 answer text <p>Information on the numbers of placements in the care history of children ceasing to be looked after in the year ending 31 March 2014 is published in Table D5 of the ‘Children looked after, including adoption’ statistical first release. This table sets out the total number of children who had between one and nine, or ten or more placements in their care history[1].</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2</a></p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 20/07/2015 12:58:53 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	3936 label Biography information for Andrew Griffiths

387287

registered interest
date	02/07/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the introduction of the category of distant placements for looked-after children on the number placed more than 20 miles from their last known address (a) in children's homes and (b) with foster carers; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Enfield, Southgate
tabling member printed	Mr David Burrowes
uin	5367
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2015 answer text <p>Data is collected on the distance of placements from home for looked after children. Data for 2014 is published in table A6 of the annual Children looked after in England, including adoption statistical first release. This can be found online here: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2</a></p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to attribute the change in the number of children placed more than 20 miles from their home area to the introduction of the category of distant placements as a number of factors will affect decisions on where to place children, including their specific needs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 07/07/2015 16:25:53 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	1518 label Biography information for Mr David Burrowes

381812

registered interest
date	17/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to raise the profile of the Care Planning and Fostering Regulations and Guidance among local authorities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	2918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2015 answer text <p>The government has made a series of important reforms to improve permanence for looked after children. We gave these reforms a high profile launch at the British Association of Adoption and Fostering conference on permanence in October 2014, where they formed the centrepiece of my speech.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Care Planning and Fostering (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2015 and associated guidance came into force on 1 April 2015. We have promoted these reforms to local authorities via the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) bulletin in March 2015; and again through the Department for Education’s official communication to local authority Directors of Children’s Services, Chief Executives and Lead Members earlier this month.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Care Planning and Fostering (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2015 have been published online here: <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/495/made" target="_blank">www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/495/made</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416720/Stat_Guidance_Permanence_2015.pdf" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416720/Stat_Guidance_Permanence_2015.pdf</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 24/06/2015 09:31:26 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

381813

registered interest
date	17/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to publish rates of re-entry to care rates in each local authority area.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	2917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2015 answer text <p>In 2013, the Government published the ‘Looked-after children: improving permanence - data pack’. The pack can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-permanence-for-looked-after-children-data-pack" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-permanence-for-looked-after-children-data-pack</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This provides information on children who returned home in 2006 – 2007 and had re-entered care by 2012. The pack illustrates why publishing the rate of re-entry to care for each local authority alone could be misleading. We do not, therefore, have current plans to publish this data. We expect local authorities to be examining their own performance using their data alongside individual children’s case histories.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 25/06/2015 13:16:33 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

349238

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on improving outcomes for looked after children by improving (a) the collection of data and (b) quality of care.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	1535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2015 answer text <p>The educational attainment of looked after children has improved over recent years at key stages 2 and 4, absence and exclusion rates have fallen, and offending and substance misuse rates have also fallen. Latest statistics are published in the statistical first release 'Outcomes for children looked after by local authorities': <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities</a>. It is not possible to attribute these improvements to single factors such as data collection improvements.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department, working with its key users and interested parties, is regularly making improvements to the annual looked after children data collection from local authorities. Through our work to provide timely and relevant transparency information, the department is striving to help drive local and national improvement in the outcomes for looked after children. For example, in 2014, for the first time, information was collected on the activity and accommodation of care leavers aged 19, 20 and 21 (previously it was just 19-year-olds), which enables a fuller understanding of the numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training when they leave care. In 2016, in order to help understand the causes of placement instability, the department will begin to collect data on the reason for placement moves.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Significant progress has been made in recent years to improve the quality of care. The department has taken steps to streamline and strengthen the assessment and approval for foster carers and improve their recruitment and retention. The department has also taken steps to encourage social workers to give foster carers a more active role in day-to-day decisions. New qualifications requirements have been introduced to improve the level of skills for care workers and children’s homes. In April 2015, new quality standards regulations were introduced in order to improve the experience of children in residential care. These new quality standards can be found online here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355577/Guide_to_the_children_s_homes_regulations.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/355577/Guide_to_the_children_s_homes_regulations.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The department has invested £36 million over the last four years in developing, testing and embedding evidence based interventions for looked-after children and those on the edge of care or custody. Long-term foster care as a distinct placement type was introduced in April 2015 to ensure that long-term arrangements are planned, stable and made in the best interests of the child. The department is also funding a two-year programme, until March 2016, to develop more effective ways of supporting vulnerable children through the Innovation Programme.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are committed to improving transitions from care. To that end we published a cross-departmental care leaver strategy in 2013 and a ‘one year on’ report in 2014 setting out the ways in which the strategy improved services for this group of young people.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 17/06/2015 15:24:52 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

349270

registered interest
date	09/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve support and training for foster carers and key workers in children's homes on (a) helping children overcome past experiences and (b) building positive relationships with children.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	1611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2015 answer text <p>New mandatory qualifications for those working in and managing children’s homes were introduced in January 2015. These assess the key workers’ ability to build positive attachments and relationships with children and provide support for children who have experienced harm or abuse. On 6<sup>th</sup> April, the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 came into force. The regulations introduced new quality standards, ambitious in the outcomes they set out for children in residential care. Staff are being trained and supported to meet the quality standards through a one year implementation programme, funded by the Department for Education.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The government has invested significantly in supporting local authorities to embed evidence based interventions, offering training and support to foster carers, kinship carers, birth parents, residential workers and adopters. These interventions include ‘Keeping foster and kinship carers safe and supported’ (KEEP) and ‘Multidimensional treatment foster care’ (MTFC) which enable foster carers to support children and young people to build on their strengths, address the difficulties in every area of their lives and promote placement stability by building the skills and confidence of carers. Through the Innovation Programme, the Department is also supporting the introduction of the ‘Mockingbird project’, focusing on support for kinship and foster carers looking after adolescents.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 16/06/2015 14:57:21 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

348297

registered interest
date	03/06/2015
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what figures her Department holds on the break-down rate of (a) adoption arrangements, (b) fostering arrangements and (c) family-based arrangements in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	1000
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2015 answer text <p>Information on the break-down rate of adoption arrangements, fostering arrangements and family arrangements since 2010, is not held by the Department for Education.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the previous permanence placement of children entering care was collected in the SSDA903 data collection for the first time in the year ending 31 March 2014. Figures for 2013-14 are published in Table C1 here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption--2</a></p><p> </p><p>The research report ‘Beyond the Adoption Order: challenges, interventions and adoption disruption’ was published last year at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beyond-the-adoption-order-challenges-intervention-disruption" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beyond-the-adoption-order-challenges-intervention-disruption</a></p><p> </p><p>The study estimated that, over a 12-year period, the post order national disruption rate was 3.2%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Crewe and Nantwich answering member printed Edward Timpson question first answered 10/06/2015 16:14:57 answering member 1605 label Biography information for Edward Timpson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe