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1047034

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	16-19 Bursary Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of current funding for the 16 to 19 bursary.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
	uin	211663
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The department provides a number of financial support programmes for economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds to help with the education-related costs associated with staying in post-16 education. The 16-19 Bursary Fund is the principal scheme. Under the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, young people are eligible for awards of up to £1,200 per year (in particular, vulnerable groups that generally do not receive financial support from their families). Those not in these particular vulnerable groups, but who still need financial support, can apply to their education institution for discretionary bursary support. Each institution receives an allocation to make available these discretionary bursaries.</p><p>The department spoke with a sample of schools, colleges and other 16-19 education providers in 2018 to help us understand how the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund was being used and to assess the extent to which discretionary bursary allocations met the needs of students in the different institutions. Providers were using the available funds to support their most disadvantaged students, but there were different responses on the adequacy of funding. We are continuing to keep the use of the fund under review to inform our understanding of whether it is providing effective support to our most economically disadvantaged students.</p><p>With regard to its effectiveness in promoting social mobility, providers have the flexibility to target those young people in most need of financial support to stay on in further education and training. This flexibility helps to ensure that the poorest students get the same opportunities available to those with more financial support, for example, by purchasing equipment for technical courses, taking part in trips, purchasing books, participating in industry placements and getting support with UCAS fees. The majority of providers that the department spoke to in 2018 confirmed that this funding was making a significant impact on the ability of young people to access opportunities.</p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 29/01/2019 16:49:43 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton previous answer version 97554 answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

1047035

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	16-19 Bursary Fund: Social Mobility
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the 16 - 19 bursary in promoting social mobility.
	tabling member constituency	Blackpool South
	tabling member printed	Gordon Marsden
	uin	211664
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The department provides a number of financial support programmes for economically disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds to help with the education-related costs associated with staying in post-16 education. The 16-19 Bursary Fund is the principal scheme. Under the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund, young people are eligible for awards of up to £1,200 per year (in particular, vulnerable groups that generally do not receive financial support from their families). Those not in these particular vulnerable groups, but who still need financial support, can apply to their education institution for discretionary bursary support. Each institution receives an allocation to make available these discretionary bursaries.</p><p>The department spoke with a sample of schools, colleges and other 16-19 education providers in 2018 to help us understand how the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund was being used and to assess the extent to which discretionary bursary allocations met the needs of students in the different institutions. Providers were using the available funds to support their most disadvantaged students, but there were different responses on the adequacy of funding. We are continuing to keep the use of the fund under review to inform our understanding of whether it is providing effective support to our most economically disadvantaged students.</p><p>With regard to its effectiveness in promoting social mobility, providers have the flexibility to target those young people in most need of financial support to stay on in further education and training. This flexibility helps to ensure that the poorest students get the same opportunities available to those with more financial support, for example, by purchasing equipment for technical courses, taking part in trips, purchasing books, participating in industry placements and getting support with UCAS fees. The majority of providers that the department spoke to in 2018 confirmed that this funding was making a significant impact on the ability of young people to access opportunities.</p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 29/01/2019 16:50:11 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton previous answer version 97893 answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	465 label Biography information for Gordon Marsden

1047710

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	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 his Department has made to support local authorities with the number of young people entering the care system.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	212414
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>At Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on social care services, along with £84 million over five years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families.</p><p>This builds on the £200 billion government has already made available to councils up to 2020 to provide services in the best interests of local residents, including those for children and young people.</p><p>In residential care we are investing part of our £200 million children’s social care innovation programme to three projects to increase councils’ capacity and ensure more young people can be matched to the right care placement. We have also recently provided grant funding to three local authorities to conduct feasibility studies into opening new secure provision to increase available capacity and continue to invest in the secure estate through our £40 million capital programme.</p><p>We will shortly be providing seed funding to fostering partnerships to increase sufficiency of foster parents. As part of our digital discovery, we are exploring whether, and how, digital solutions could help give a more accurate picture of fostering capacity both locally and nationally, to drive targeted recruitment and improve streamline vacancy management.</p><p>We know that local authorities have experienced an increase in the numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) who have particular care needs. That is why, in the 2017 UASC safeguarding strategy, we committed to providing 1,000 training places for foster carers and support workers who care for UASC. We commissioned the Refugee Council to deliver this training across England and training is now underway across the country.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 29/01/2019 17:40:37 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1045763

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Communication
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to (a) identify and (b) tackle children’s communication difficulties under its Children in Need policy.
	tabling member constituency	Taunton Deane
	tabling member printed	Rebecca Pow
	uin	210671
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The government is committed to ensuring that children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) get the support they need to lead safe, fulfilling lives and to reach their potential.</p><p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice makes clear that local authorities, clinical commissioning groups and relevant others are responsible for commissioning specialist support locally using their high needs funding budgets. This includes support for SLCN. We have given an additional £250 million to high needs funding across 2018-19 and 2019-20 to help them fulfil these duties, on top of the £6 billion already provided for the high needs budget. Local authorities are required to develop and publish their local SEND offer based on an analysis of local need and we expect details of services for SLCN, including how they can be accessed, to be included.</p><p> </p><p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out his ambition to halve the 28% of children who finish their reception year without the early communication and reading skills they need to thrive by 2028. The Department for Education is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England to support health visitors and early years practitioners to identify and support children’s early SLCN. We are investing £26 million to set up a network of English hubs, £20 million to provide professional development for early years practitioners, and £7.5 million to understand what works in partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation. We are investing £6.5 million in voluntary and charity sector grants supporting the home learning environment.</p><p> </p><p>Where children are at risk of harm, it is particularly important that they are supported to communicate their needs. The statutory guidance 'Working together to safeguard children' (2018) is clear that special provision should be put in place to support dialogue with children who have communication difficulties. This child-centred approach is supported by the Children Act (1989) and emphasised further in the interim findings of the children in need review.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 29/01/2019 16:55:11 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4522 label Biography information for Rebecca Pow

1045510

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Day Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional financial provision local authorities have received to help implement the Government’s commitment for 30 hours free childcare for working parents.
	tabling member constituency	Salford and Eccles
	tabling member printed	Rebecca Long Bailey
	uin	210569
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The department is committed to supporting local authorities (LAs) in the delivery of the childcare entitlements, including the new 30 hours free childcare entitlement, and has made significant investment into the offer. We will be spending around £6 billion on childcare support in 2019-20 – a record amount. That will include funding for our free early years education entitlements, on which we plan to spend £3.5 billion this year alone.</p><p> </p><p>Since 30 hours free childcare was announced, the department has also invested heavily in specific projects to support delivery of the offer at a local level.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016, the department made available £100 million in capital funding for which LAs, in partnership with providers, were invited to submit bids. Over 350 projects across 123 LAs were successful in this bid round.</p><p> </p><p>Following this, in 2017 the department allocated £2.15 million as part of the Digital Accelerate grant, supporting LAs in the development of their IT systems.</p><p> </p><p>And in 2018, £7.7 million in grant funding was allocated to LAs through our Delivery Support Fund. This funding was intending to support LAs during the first year of delivery of 30 hours and allowed LAs to undertake projects that directly benefit 30 hours’ delivery and created (directly or indirectly) 30 hours places.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to specific funding, LAs continue to receive support directly from departmental officials and through our delivery partners, Childcare Works, who provide a package of universal and targeted support to ensure LAs are best placed to deliver the government’s childcare offers.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 29/01/2019 16:57:35 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4396 label Biography information for Rebecca Long Bailey

1045737

	registered interest
	date	21/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Social Mobility
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the Every Child Matters programme on social mobility.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
	tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
	uin	210661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>Every Child Matters refers to a 2003 green paper that sets out a high-level approach to improving children’s and young people’s wellbeing. The department, including under previous administrations, has not conducted a separate assessment of its impact on social mobility. However, research and evaluations of a range of programmes and policies proposed in Every Child Matters are published on GOV.UK and relevant national archive sites, for example: <a href="https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090810165308/http:/www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/research/" target="_blank">https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090810165308/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/research/</a>.</p><p>Social mobility remains one of this government’s top priorities. We strongly believe that everyone should have the chance to fulfil their potential, and where you start in life should not determine future success. Since 2010 we have transformed opportunities for young people, including more children who are in good and outstanding schools. We’re targeting extra support at the poorest areas of the country to raise standards in schools and attract great teachers, and more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are going to university.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 29/01/2019 16:53:16 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1047695

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	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, how much of the money disbursed from the budget of her Department's Children's Social Care Innovation Programme has been allocated to organisations in the (a) public, (b) private and (c) voluntary sectors in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	212377
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>Launched in 2013, the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme has invested in 98 projects across three funding rounds (2014-2020).</p><p>We have allocated £106.36 million to the public sector, £22.64 million to the private sector and £86.02 million to the voluntary sector.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 29/01/2019 17:38:14 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1045984

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Department for Education: Cleaning Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which service providers are contracted to carry out third party cleaning contracts for his (a) Department and (b) executive agencies; if he will list all of the services delivered by third party contractors to his (i) Department and (ii) executive agencies; and how many people working for those third party contractors are paid less than the Living Wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	211111
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>Cleaning services in buildings managed by the department are undertaken by outsourced providers, OCS and Sodexo, as part of large facilities management service contracts. The cleaning of Cheylesmore House, occupied by the Standards and Testing Agency and the Teaching Regulation Agency, is undertaken by Engie.</p><p>A list of all services delivered by third party contractors to the department is not held in a centralised location and the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p>Rates of pay for people working for third party contractors are determined by their respective employers and not held by the department. All outsourced providers are required to pay, as a minimum, either the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 29/01/2019 13:21:07 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1047769

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	English Baccalaureate: Disadvantaged
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of disadvantaged students who leave secondary education having completed the English Baccalaureate.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	212315
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>The revised GCSE performance tables[1], published on 24 January 2019, show that in 2018 26.4% of disadvantaged pupils were entered for the EBacc, the highest this figure has been since the measure was introduced in 2010. In 2011, just 8.6% of disadvantaged pupils were entered for the EBacc subject combination. An increase has also been seen this year in EBacc attainment amongst disadvantaged pupils. The gap between EBacc entry for disadvantaged pupils and their non-disadvantaged peers has closed by 1.2 percentage points since 2017. Schools such as Dixons Trinity Academy (which is in an area of high disadvantage) lead the way. They entered 86% of their pupils for the EBacc in 2018.</p><p>Overall, however, disadvantaged pupils remain less likely to be entered for the EBacc subjects as their non-disadvantaged peers, and the gap in EBacc subject entry persists, even among the most academically able disadvantaged pupils. The Department has said that it would like to see 90% of year 10 pupils starting to study GCSEs in the EBacc combination of subjects by 2025.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/key-stage-4-and-multi-academy-trust-performance-2018-revised" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/key-stage-4-and-multi-academy-trust-performance-2018-revised</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 29/01/2019 16:35:51 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1045527

	registered interest
	date	22/01/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals: Working Tax Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the potential additional cost to the public purse of extending free school meals to households in receipt of working tax credit who meet the income threshold currently used to determine eligibility for households not in receipt of working tax credit.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	210458
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2019 answer text <p>We do not routinely collect or publish data on families in receipt of working tax credit with earnings below the threshold for free school meals eligibility,</p><p>The department does not have any plans to extend free school meals entitlement to families in receipt of working tax credit and therefore have not made an assessment of the potential additional costs or benefits of extending free school meals to those households in receipt of working tax credit who meet the earned income threshold.</p><p>​Working tax credit, alongside other legacy benefits are being phased out and replaced by Universal Credit. As families move from working tax credit onto Universal Credit, those with incomes below the earned income threshold of £7,400 per annum will benefit through becoming eligible to receive free school meals.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi grouped question UIN 210459 210460 question first answered 29/01/2019 16:44:25 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead