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1140099

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	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, what steps his Department is taking to improve local authority support for vulnerable children.
	tabling member constituency	Colne Valley
	tabling member printed	Thelma Walker
	uin	912085
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We are providing local authorities with more money to support vulnerable children, with an additional £410 million invested this year across adults’ and children’s social care. Separately, we are investing £84 million over 5 years to drive improvements in children’s services across local authorities, especially through early intervention.</p><p>In 2018, the department introduced a new, tougher Ofsted inspection framework to drive improvement in children’s services. The department intervenes robustly in every local authority judged ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, bringing in experts to assess which improvements will ensure better services. This might include removing service delivery from the council’s control by establishing a trust, giving children’s services a fresh start.</p><p>Since May 2010, 46 local authorities have been lifted out of intervention and have not returned, and the number of inadequate local authorities has reduced from 30 to 19 since July 2017. We aim to continue making these improvements at pace so that, by 2022, less than 10% of local authorities are rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, halving failure rates within 5 years and providing consistently better services for thousands of children and families across the country.</p><p>To get ahead of failure, we are investing an additional £20 million in our regional improvement strategy, working collaboratively with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, Local Government Association, Solace and the rest of the sector to identify local authorities that need additional support. Our Regional Improvement Alliances and high-performing ‘Partners in Practice’ local authorities support those at risk of failure, embedding a system of sector-led improvement with more than 70 local authorities receiving support to date.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/07/2019 16:46:42 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4649 label Biography information for Thelma Walker

1085847

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2019
	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	What recent progress his Department has made on helping families to access childcare.
	tabling member constituency	Sittingbourne and Sheppey
	tabling member printed	Gordon Henderson
	uin	909697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2019 answer text <p>By 2020 this government will be spending £6 billion on supporting families with childcare. All 3 and 4 year olds, and the most disadvantaged 2 year olds, can access 15 hours a week of early education. From September 2017, this government doubled the childcare entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that parents’ working patterns vary significantly and want to ensure that the free entitlements deliver childcare to meet their needs, as well as being high quality early education to support the development needs of children. We are also encouraging partnerships between providers to support flexible provision.</p><p> </p><p>In particular, we want 30 hours to continue to build on the flexible provision that we were already seeing across the country with the universal 15 hours. All the free entitlements can be “stretched” by taking fewer hours per week over up to 52 weeks of the year to cover term-time and the school holidays, for example 23 hours for 48 weeks of the year, and free places can be delivered at weekends.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 11/03/2019 17:01:50 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4050 label Biography information for Gordon Henderson

1026695

	registered interest
	date	17/12/2018
	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	What recent discussions he has had with directors of children’s services on their ability to fulfil their statutory duties.
	tabling member constituency	Dudley North
	tabling member printed	Ian Austin
	uin	908224
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I regularly meet Directors of Children’s Services (DCS), and we have full and frank conversations on the delivery of children’s services. For example, just last week we met DCSs from Yorkshire and London. I understand the challenges facing the sector and I will continue to work with local government colleagues, particularly in advance of the next Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 17/12/2018 16:51:10 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	1511 label Biography information for Lord Austin of Dudley

1020142

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2018
	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 recent discussions he has had with Ofsted on the delivery of local authority-run children’s services.
	tabling member constituency	Enfield, Southgate
	tabling member printed	Bambos Charalambous
	uin	908095
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2018 answer text <p>Ministers and officials at the department meet representatives of Ofsted frequently to discuss the delivery of local authority-run children’s services. I last had such a discussion with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector in November. I also meet regularly with Ofsted’s National Director for Social Care, most recently in October.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 10/12/2018 10:05:26 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4610 label Biography information for Bambos Charalambous

1139247

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2019
	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 steps he is taking to assist local authorities to increase the (a) provision and (b) affordability of childcare for disabled children in the school summer holidays.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	277636
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>Local authorities are required to secure sufficient childcare in their area, so far as is practicable, for working parents, or parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0-14 (or up to 18 for disabled children).</p><p>Since 2011, all local authorities have a duty to provide a range of short breaks services for disabled children and their families. Responsibility for funding short breaks rests with local authorities. They are best placed and have the freedom to decide how to deliver services, target their resources and priorities, and be flexible to meet the local needs of disabled children and young people.</p><p>Tax-Free Childcare was introduced in 2017 to support families with the costs of childcare, for which 1.6 million families are eligible. For every £8 parents pay into an online account, the government pays £2 – up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, for children aged up to 12. Parents of disabled children receive extra support (worth up to £4,000 per child, for each year and until their child is 17) which can be used to pay for childcare provision both during term time and in school holidays.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/07/2019 15:39:13 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138672

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	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, how much money has been spent by each school in England on children with special educational needs in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Hitchin and Harpenden
	tabling member printed	Bim Afolami
	uin	276598
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally. Children with special educational needs are funded through the schools and high needs national funding formulae, which have been separate since 2013. Local authorities and schools have statutory duties under the Children and Families Act (2014) to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. However, we do not prescribe in detail how local authorities should allocate their high needs funding, or how schools should use their funding.</p><p>The total funding amounts for schools, and for high needs, since 2013 are as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Schools Funding Amount (billion)</p></td><td><p>High Needs funding Amount (billion)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>£30.4</p></td><td><p>£5.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>£30.7</p></td><td><p>£5.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>£32.2</p></td><td><p>£5.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>£32.7</p></td><td><p>£5.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>£33.1</p></td><td><p>£5.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>£33.7</p></td><td><p>£6.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>£34.5</p></td><td><p>£6.3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/07/2019 15:36:29 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4639 label Biography information for Bim Afolami

1138607

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Academies: Multi-academy Trusts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure that schools take the leading role in deciding whether to (a) form and (b) join a multi-academy trust.
	tabling member constituency	Walsall North
	tabling member printed	Eddie Hughes
	uin	276587
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The process to become an academy is school led, with schools’ Local Governing Bodies taking the initiative to apply to their Regional School Commissioners’ office on whether to join an existing academy trust, or form one with partner schools. The only exception to this, where the department takes a leading role, is where a school is judged as ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, as the law requires the Secretary of State to make an order enabling the school to become an academy.</p><p> </p><p>The department aims to ensure that all schools considering becoming academies are able to join strong academy trusts, and this has historically been supported through trust capacity funding. Ultimately, our ambition is for every school that wants to, to benefit from the autonomy and freedom to innovate that academy status offers, and for schools to collaborate through strong academy trusts.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 17/07/2019 14:43:33 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4635 label Biography information for Eddie Hughes

1138616

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	School Meals: Vegetarianism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on encouraging schools to expand vegetarian options for school meals.
	tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
	tabling member printed	Catherine West
	uin	276580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Requirements for School Food Regulations (2014), which came into force in January 2015, regulates the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. Beyond this, we believe that headteachers, school governors and caterers are best placed to make decisions about their school food policies, taking into account local circumstances and the needs of their pupils. In doing so, we expect schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with particular requirements, for example to reflect dietary and cultural needs. School food policies work best when schools discuss them with parents and pupils, so that parents have the opportunity to raise pupils’ particular dietary needs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/07/2019 16:35:32 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1138407

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Primary Education: Free School Meals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the provision of free school meals to all infant school aged children does not adversely affect (a) the allocation of and (b) level of registration for pupil premium funding.
	tabling member constituency	Ipswich
	tabling member printed	Sandy Martin
	uin	276288
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>We are determined to give every child, regardless of their background, the very best start in life. Free school meals are key to this and we want all parents whose children are entitled to them to apply for them. The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government. We want to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals, and to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.</p><p>To support this, we provide an Eligibility Checking System to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities. We have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for free school meals. We also provide guidance to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that they can make Universal Credit recipients aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including free school meals.</p><p>We understand there are some concerns that schools could be missing out on valuable pupil premium funding due to under registration for free school meals. However, school census data shows that the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals has not adversely affected infant registration rates.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 16/07/2019 16:28:30 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4678 label Biography information for Sandy Martin

1138492

	registered interest
	date	11/07/2019
	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 assessment he has made of trends in the level of the (a) opening and (b) closure of childcare settings in (a) affluent and (b) disadvantaged areas.
	tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
	tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
	uin	276259
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>Ofsted publishes termly data on childcare providers and inspections. This statistical release confirms the number of providers that have registered with Ofsted (joiners) and the number that have left (leavers) in the relevant period. No data is published on trends of childcare settings opening and closing in affluent areas compared to disadvantaged areas.</p><p>As at 31 March 2019, there were 76,600 childcare providers registered with Ofsted, down by 1% (600) since December 2018. However, the overall number of childcare places increased by 3,200 since December 2018. This information is available at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2019/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2019-main-findings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2019/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-march-2019-main-findings</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 16/07/2019 11:21:05 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq