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753930

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2017
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government (1) which local authority children's services departments have been found by Ofsted since January 2015 to be persistently or systemically failing; (2) which were made subject to the appointment of commissioners; and (3) which are currently run by commissioners.
	tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
	uin	HL1075
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The Department has categorised local authority children’s social care services as ‘systemic’ or ‘persistent’ failures since December 2015 when it introduced a tougher intervention regime. The following authorities have been subject to this new policy:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>LA</p></td><td><p>Systemic/Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Barnet</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bromley</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dudley</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kirklees</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norfolk</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Reading</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sandwell</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunderland</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Torbay</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcestershire</p></td><td><p>Persistent &amp; Systemic</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>All of these authorities have been subject to the appointment of Commissioners, with the exception of Barnet where recruitment for a Commissioner has not yet concluded. These authorities retain accountability for the effective running of their children’s services. Commissioners do not run the services, but do make recommendations to the Secretary of State on whether operational control of services should be removed from the council. Where Ministers accept a recommendation that services should transfer to alternative delivery arrangements, such as a new Children’s Services Trust, Commissioners will oversee this process</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:43:09 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753933

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2017
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to improve the performance of Ofsted in responding to family members who raise matters of concern in relation to children's services departments and children's homes.
	tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
	uin	HL1079
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:17 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753929

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2017
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps, short of the appointment of commissioners, they can take to deal with children's services departments which are a cause of concern.
	tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
	uin	HL1076
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The Department for Education intervenes in all local authorities that receive an inadequate Ofsted rating for children’s services.</p><p>In the most serious cases, improvement may require statutory intervention, whereby, under the Education Act 1996, the Secretary of State is able to direct a local authority to take whatever action is deemed necessary to secure improvement. In the last few years, Ministers have directed the setting up of new governance structures, including partnering with another local authority (e.g. Isle of Wight), bringing in extra improvement support (e.g. Somerset), or establishing a Children’s Services Trust (e.g. Doncaster).</p><p>In other cases the department takes non-statutory steps, issuing an ‘improvement notice’ detailing what actions a local authority is expected to take to improve its services and closely monitoring progress. We deploy government improvement advisers who are appointed to support and challenge these authorities to make rapid progress.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:44:14 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

755107

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they monitor the performance of Ofsted in relation to that agency's responses to family members who raise concerns relating to (1) children's services, and (2) children's homes; and what steps, if any, they are taking to improve that performance.
	tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
	uin	HL1116
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>Ofsted is a Non-Ministerial Government Department and is not an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). The responsibility for performance rests with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, with oversight undertaken by the Ofsted Board. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector also reports to the Education Select Committee on matters relating to Ofsted’s performance.</p><p>Officials from DfE’s and Ofsted’s social care teams engage with one another frequently so that any policy or operational issues, including how concerns raised by families are dealt with, can be addressed. Where appropriate DfE raises issues of concern with Ofsted and refers members of the public to Ofsted’s complaints procedure.</p><p>The details of how Ofsted addresses improvement in performance on these matters will be placed in the libraries of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:52 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753932

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2017
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the current detailed business plans of those sections of the Department for Education dealing with child welfare.
	tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
	uin	HL1078
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The department has recently responded to the Public Accounts Committee on this question. The department agrees it is appropriate to set out its vision with timescales, as it has done in ‘<em>Putting Children First’</em><em>.</em> The department will also produce a roadmap of how the Department intends to transform services, which will be a publically available document. This will address the challenge in the NAO report and set out more clearly a timeframe for delivery of the reforms.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:01 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

61502

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many, and which, local authorities have made representations to the Department for Education asking it to legislate to extend the power to outsource children's social work functions, including child protection, under the Children and Young Persons Act 2008.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
	uin	HL280
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>Formal representations concerning outsourcing of social care functions, potentially including child protection, have been made by Staffordshire, Kingston, and Richmond local authorities. In addition a number of informal discussions on this topic have taken place with other local authorities.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/06/2014 16:06:00 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch

60552

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to respond to concerns expressed by the leaders of the social care profession that profit-making companies should not determine sensitive family matters.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Meacher
	uin	HL141
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government's proposals regarding the delegation of children's social care functions would enable local authorities to delegate children's social care functions to a third party. The intention is to broaden the range of approaches available to secure the best outcomes for children in their area. The proposals do not oblige local authorities to delegate any functions and do not remove responsibilities from local authorities for ensuring their statutory obligations on child protection and children's social care are met.</p><p>The consultation on the proposals closed on Friday 30 May and the Government is currently considering the responses.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/06/2014 16:05:33 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3810 label Biography information for Baroness Meacher

60551

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government upon what evidence they have based their proposals to outsource children's services to private firms.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Meacher
	uin	HL140
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 (CYPA) allowed some local authorities to contract out looked after children and care leaver functions for a five-year pilot period. As a result, small autonomous practitioner-led organisations (Social Work Practices) were encouraged to develop. Between 2008 and 2012, 15 local authorities were involved in the pilot to create more tailored social work approaches.</p><p>The evaluation of Social Work Practices identified evidence of positive change through delegated arrangements for looked after children and care leavers. As a result, in November 2013, the freedoms in the CYPA were extended to all local authorities.</p><p>Staffordshire County Council have also recently received a ‘good' rating from Ofsted under the new single inspection framework, which included the social work practice 'Evolve YP'.</p><p>Some local authorities have asked the Government to extend these freedoms to other areas of children's social care. The current proposals will encourage greater innovative approaches for all local authorities to take the step from adequate or good children's services to excellent ones. The consultation on these proposals closed on 30 May and the Government is currently considering the responses.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/06/2014 16:10:22 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3810 label Biography information for Baroness Meacher

60553

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the recommendations of the Munro Review of Child Protection; and how the Review's recommendations will be reflected in their plans.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Meacher
	uin	HL142
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to promoting the welfare of children and protecting them from harm. The Government published its response to the Munro Review of Child Protection in July 2011, shortly after the publication of Professor Munro's final report. That response accepted Professor Munro's argument that the child protection system has lost its focus on the things that matter most: the views and experiences of children themselves. It also set out the Government's plans for implementation.</p><p>Of the fifteen recommendations made by Professor Munro, eleven have been implemented in full, including:</p><ol><li>In March 2013, we published the revised statutory guidance, <em>Working Together to Safeguard Children</em>, which focuses on the core legal requirements that all professionals should follow to keep children safe;</li><li>In September 2013, Isabelle Trowler began work as the Chief Social Worker for Children and Families. Lyn Romeo started her role as the Chief Social Worker for Adults at the same time; and</li><li>In November 2013, Ofsted began inspecting local authority children's services under the new ‘single' inspection framework.</li></ol><p>Substantial progress is being made on implementing the other key recommendations, including supporting local areas in the redesign of their social work practice. In respect of Professor Munro's recommendation on introducing a duty to secure provision of early help services, the Government has concluded there is sufficient legislation in place to deliver early help services to children and families. We are continuing to work with sector partners to reinforce existing legislation and understand how early help offers in local areas can be improved.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/06/2014 16:09:17 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3810 label Biography information for Baroness Meacher

61503

	registered interest
	date	11/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, in relation to their proposals to extend the power for local authorities to outsource their children's social work functions including child protection, what assessment has been made of (1) the risks to children and young people, (2) the risks to the impartiality and integrity of statutory decision-making and interventions, and (3) the risks of conflicts of interest arising for third-party providers that bid for social work functions and for commissioned care placement.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
	uin	HL281
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government is considering the outcome of its consultation on delegation of children's social care functions. The proposals would place no obligations on local authorities and do not remove their statutory accountability for child protection and wider children's social care.</p><p>Should the proposals proceed, local authorities will need to ensure that any arrangements they put in place allow them to meet their statutory duties and properly manage questions of risk and conflicts of interest.</p><p>Ofsted will consider these arrangements as part of local authority inspections and hold the authority to account for the quality of its children's services.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 17/06/2014 16:06:52 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	3792 label Biography information for Baroness Jones of Whitchurch