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1701732

registered interest
date	17/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Subsidies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Government subsidies for childcare on the cost of childcare for people who are not eligible for subsidies.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	22345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2024 answer text <p>For families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare for working parents is important to the government.</p><p> </p><p>From April 2024, working parents of 2 year olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. This transformative roll out will benefit the parents of up to 246,000 children who have been issued 2 year old funding codes, of which 195,000 have been validated to date.</p><p> </p><p>From September 2024, this will be extended to working parents of children from nine months to 2 year olds. From September 2025, all working parents of children aged nine months up to 3 years will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week. The expansion of this entitlement will save eligible parents up to £6,900 per year per child helping even more working parents with the cost of childcare and making a real difference to the lives of those families.</p><p> </p><p>The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis. To be eligible, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum or Living Wage, which is £183 per week or £9,518 per year in 2024-2025, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income.</p><p> </p><p>For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet the threshold. The £100,000 level was chosen to correspond with income tax thresholds and to be easily understandable for parents. Only a very small proportion of parents, 3.1% in 2023, earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold.</p><p> </p><p>The eligibility criteria apply to the existing entitlements and were debated in, and agreed by, Parliament. The maximum income limit applies to both Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare, which allows parents to apply for both schemes through the same online application (Childcare Service).</p><p> </p><p>However, the universal 15 hours of free childcare offer remains in place for all parents of 3 and 4 year olds, regardless of parental circumstances, including those who earn over £100,000.</p><p> </p><p>Working families can also access support with the childcare costs through Tax Free Childcare worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged up to 11, or £4,000 per year for children aged up to 17 with disabilities. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare account, the government tops it up with another £2.</p><p> </p><p>There is a comprehensive evaluation programme underpinning the expansion of childcare entitlements. This includes a process evaluation which will explore how families not eligible for the new entitlements experience finding and accessing childcare, including the associated costs. Further, the impact evaluation will assess how the expansion has impacted upon the quality of childcare provision and children’s development, for all children, and wider family outcomes. As per Government Social Research guidelines, evaluation findings will be available within 12 weeks of the projects being finalised. The department expects the first to be available from spring 2026.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 25/04/2024 12:43:06 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1684523

registered interest
date	23/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of changes to SEND Regulations in 2014.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	11150
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2024 answer text <p>As part of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) review, the department examined how the SEND system has evolved since 2014 and how the department could ensure it works best for all families with effective and sustainable use of resources.</p><p>During the review, the department heard frequently that, whilst the 2014 reforms had high aspirations and were underpinned by principles that continue to be broadly supported, insufficient attention was paid to their implementation which meant their ambitions were never fully realised.</p><p>That is why the department has committed in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, and reaffirmed in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, to support delivery of the new reforms through a £70 million Change Programme which was launched in September 2023. The department is working through nine Change Programme Partnerships, covering 32 local areas, to test and refine key reform proposals and to support local SEND and AP systems across the country to manage local improvement.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 30/01/2024 16:14:52 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1677825

registered interest
date	13/12/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Transport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the need for health services to support local authorities that provide transport to school for children with complex health needs.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	6854
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/12/2023 answer text <p>The department’s school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. When a local authority makes travel arrangements for a child with medical needs, they should consider whether and how those needs might affect them during their journey to and from school and, where necessary, put in place proportionate arrangements to manage those needs.</p><p>Local authority school travel teams may need to work with local partners to make suitable travel arrangements for children with medical needs, and should be able to expect the support of their local authority’s special educational needs team, local health partners, and the schools to which they arrange travel.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 27/12/2023 15:23:33 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1671922

registered interest
date	21/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the national funding formula for schools and high needs.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	2936
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The National Funding Formula (NFF) replaced a system which was unfair, lacked transparency and was out of date. Schools and local areas received very different levels of funding, with little or no justification. By comparison, the NFF distributes funding fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics.</p><p>Moving to a ‘direct’ NFF, where all schools’ budgets are determined directly by the national formula, will ultimately ensure that mainstream schools in England are funded on a fair and equitable basis. This will complete the reforms started in 2018 when the department first introduced the NFF to ensure all schools were funded on a consistent assessment of need.</p><p>The department keeps the formula under review and will consider further whether and when additional changes might be necessary to ensure that our funding system is kept up to date in a way that is fair and is allocating funding where it is needed most.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 28/11/2023 09:48:23 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1670421

registered interest
date	15/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Hampshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the National Funding Formula for schools reflects the needs of children in Hampshire.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	2193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2023 answer text <p>The National Funding Formula (NFF) distributes funding fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The NFF includes proxy factors through which pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to their school, such as low prior attainment, socio-economic status, and English as an Additional Language.</p><p>Hampshire is attracting an extra £19 million for schools in 2024/25, an increase of 2.0% per pupil (excluding growth funding) through the schools NFF compared to 2023/24, and an increase of 13.3% per pupil compared to 2021/22. This takes total funding for 2024/25 in Hampshire to over £986 million, based on current pupil numbers. Final allocations for 2024/25 will be announced in December 2024.</p><p>All schools will receive additional funding, beyond that provided through the NFF, through the Teachers Pay Additional Grant (TPAG) in the 2024/25 financial year. A typical primary school with 200 pupils might be receiving around £20,000 through the TPAG in 2024/25, and a typical secondary school with 900 pupils might be receiving around £100,000.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 23/11/2023 15:13:29 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1665740

registered interest
date	18/10/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
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 introducing early intervention services for children without an education, health and care plan.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	203359
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2023 answer text <p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published March 2023, set out the department’s plans to deliver an inclusive system with improved, high-quality mainstream provision where children and young people have their needs identified early and can access prompt, evidence-based, targeted support. This will mean that more children and young people can have their needs met, without the need to rely on an Education, Health and Care plan to get the support they need. Our plan includes testing approaches to early intervention services through, for example, a Speech, Language and Communication Needs pilot, the Early Language Support for Every Child, co-funded with NHS England.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 203079 question first answered 25/10/2023 14:54:21 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1665498

registered interest
date	17/10/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of providing early intervention services on the number of children that require EHCPs.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	203079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2023 answer text <p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published March 2023, set out the department’s plans to deliver an inclusive system with improved, high-quality mainstream provision where children and young people have their needs identified early and can access prompt, evidence-based, targeted support. This will mean that more children and young people can have their needs met, without the need to rely on an Education, Health and Care plan to get the support they need. Our plan includes testing approaches to early intervention services through, for example, a Speech, Language and Communication Needs pilot, the Early Language Support for Every Child, co-funded with NHS England.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 203359 question first answered 25/10/2023 14:54:21 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1658400

registered interest
date	05/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Private Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing funding for education, health and care plan support for children with SEND at independent schools.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	197894
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>Local authorities have the flexibility to place children and young people with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans in independent schools. Where they choose to do so, the local authority must fund the cost of the placement. In January 2023, local authorities placed 21,324 children and young people in independent special schools and 6,337 in other independent schools.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 15/09/2023 17:30:38 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1625787

registered interest
date	03/05/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Fraud: Social Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to make false or malicious reports to social services a criminal offence.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	183765
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>The government considers any malicious reporting and false claims made to children’s social care as completely unacceptable. It is a cruel practice, a terrible ordeal for the families affected, and can distract services from undertaking vital child protection work.</p><p>However, it is right that people should remain able to flag concerns about children they believe to be vulnerable, and that social services fulfil their duty to treat each safeguarding case seriously and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer harm. Therefore government is not currently looking to make false or malicious reports to social services a criminal offence.</p><p>The information requested on the number of false or malicious reports to social services is not held by the department.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 183766 question first answered 15/05/2023 13:35:45 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

1625788

registered interest
date	03/05/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Social Services: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made on the number of false or malicious reports to social services since May 2022.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	183766
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2023 answer text <p>The government considers any malicious reporting and false claims made to children’s social care as completely unacceptable. It is a cruel practice, a terrible ordeal for the families affected, and can distract services from undertaking vital child protection work.</p><p>However, it is right that people should remain able to flag concerns about children they believe to be vulnerable, and that social services fulfil their duty to treat each safeguarding case seriously and to undertake enquiries if they believe a child has suffered or is likely to suffer harm. Therefore government is not currently looking to make false or malicious reports to social services a criminal offence.</p><p>The information requested on the number of false or malicious reports to social services is not held by the department.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 183765 question first answered 15/05/2023 13:35:45 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena