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1416314

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Adoption
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's data published on 18 November 2021, what steps his Department is taking to (a) tackle the declining number of adoptions and (b) ascertain the reasons for the 18 per cent decrease in adoptions in 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	111561
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2022 answer text <p>Our national adoption strategy, published last year, sets out our bold vision to deliver excellent adoption services across England. It sets our commitment to:</p><ul><li>boost adopter recruitment so that adoptive children are found permanent loving families quickly;</li><li>improve how children are matched with families through removing unnecessary barriers and bureaucracy placed in the way of those seeking to adopt;</li><li>continue to support adoptive families through the Adoption Support Fund; and</li><li>employ a new full-time national Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) strategic leader and support staff to drive collaboration between adoption agencies across the country and lead engagement with other services such as health and education to help children and adopters get the support they need.</li></ul><p>To support delivery of the strategy, we have provided additional funding of £48.1 million in the 2021-22 financial year.</p><p>We continue to discuss adoption numbers with the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board and with the RAA Leaders’ group. These discussions have suggested that reasons for the decrease include the impact of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-21, including on the courts and on wider decision-making processes within local authorities and RAAs.</p><p>Since the national #YouCanAdopt campaign began, we have seen a continued increase in the number of approvals of adopters. We now have more adopters (2,140) than children waiting (2,020).</p><p>Over 1,000 enquiries were received by the 6 adoption agencies sampled for evaluation purposes. Scaled up, the National Adopter Recruitment Steering Group estimated 10,000+ enquiries across all agencies in England during the campaign period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 111562 111563 question first answered 28/01/2022 11:36:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1416315

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Adoption
	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 (a) encourage more people to adopt and (b) give prospective adopters assurance of lifetime support.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	111562
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2022 answer text <p>Our national adoption strategy, published last year, sets out our bold vision to deliver excellent adoption services across England. It sets our commitment to:</p><ul><li>boost adopter recruitment so that adoptive children are found permanent loving families quickly;</li><li>improve how children are matched with families through removing unnecessary barriers and bureaucracy placed in the way of those seeking to adopt;</li><li>continue to support adoptive families through the Adoption Support Fund; and</li><li>employ a new full-time national Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) strategic leader and support staff to drive collaboration between adoption agencies across the country and lead engagement with other services such as health and education to help children and adopters get the support they need.</li></ul><p>To support delivery of the strategy, we have provided additional funding of £48.1 million in the 2021-22 financial year.</p><p>We continue to discuss adoption numbers with the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board and with the RAA Leaders’ group. These discussions have suggested that reasons for the decrease include the impact of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-21, including on the courts and on wider decision-making processes within local authorities and RAAs.</p><p>Since the national #YouCanAdopt campaign began, we have seen a continued increase in the number of approvals of adopters. We now have more adopters (2,140) than children waiting (2,020).</p><p>Over 1,000 enquiries were received by the 6 adoption agencies sampled for evaluation purposes. Scaled up, the National Adopter Recruitment Steering Group estimated 10,000+ enquiries across all agencies in England during the campaign period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 111561 111563 question first answered 28/01/2022 11:36:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1416316

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Adoption
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what initial assessment his Department has made of the impact of the national #YouCanAdopt campaign on the number of (a) adoption enquiries and (b) adoption approvals.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	111563
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2022 answer text <p>Our national adoption strategy, published last year, sets out our bold vision to deliver excellent adoption services across England. It sets our commitment to:</p><ul><li>boost adopter recruitment so that adoptive children are found permanent loving families quickly;</li><li>improve how children are matched with families through removing unnecessary barriers and bureaucracy placed in the way of those seeking to adopt;</li><li>continue to support adoptive families through the Adoption Support Fund; and</li><li>employ a new full-time national Regional Adoption Agency (RAA) strategic leader and support staff to drive collaboration between adoption agencies across the country and lead engagement with other services such as health and education to help children and adopters get the support they need.</li></ul><p>To support delivery of the strategy, we have provided additional funding of £48.1 million in the 2021-22 financial year.</p><p>We continue to discuss adoption numbers with the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board and with the RAA Leaders’ group. These discussions have suggested that reasons for the decrease include the impact of COVID-19 restrictions in 2020-21, including on the courts and on wider decision-making processes within local authorities and RAAs.</p><p>Since the national #YouCanAdopt campaign began, we have seen a continued increase in the number of approvals of adopters. We now have more adopters (2,140) than children waiting (2,020).</p><p>Over 1,000 enquiries were received by the 6 adoption agencies sampled for evaluation purposes. Scaled up, the National Adopter Recruitment Steering Group estimated 10,000+ enquiries across all agencies in England during the campaign period.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 111561 111562 question first answered 28/01/2022 11:36:50 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1416929

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Adoption Support Fund
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to rename the Adoption Support Fund, to make it clear that it is also available to special guardianship families.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	112544
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The Adoption Support Fund (ASF) has had a significant and positive impact on the adoptive and special guardianship families that are able to access the important support it funds. Local authorities continue to promote the availability of the ASF to eligible families.</p><p>The department has worked with local authorities and voluntary sector organisations such as the Family Rights Group and Kinship, to promote the ASF amongst special guardians and we have seen an increase in the take up by these families over the past 2 years.</p><p>The department will be able to confirm more detailed plans for the ASF in due course but remains deeply committed to these families.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 31/01/2022 17:56:08 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1441007

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2022
	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 he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that all looked after children aged 16 and 17 live in accommodation that has carers and provides care.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	139340
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high quality home that meets their needs and keeps them safe. The vast majority of looked after children up to the age of 18 live with foster carers or in a children’s home. These placements are subject to robust regulatory checks and balances by Ofsted, to ensure that they meet the needs of children they accommodate and keep them safe.</p><p>When local authorities make a placement decision, they are responsible for ensuring the placement is suitable. This includes ensuring staff who will be looking after the child at the placement are appropriately trained and have the skills needed to meet the needs of the child and to keep them safe. It is not in accordance with the law to place a looked after child in a placement that does not meet their needs and keep them safe, and it is unacceptable for any child or young person to be placed in such a placement.</p><p>The government is clear that supported accommodation for young people, also referred to as unregulated provision, can be the right option for some older children. However, the government is equally clear that the support and accommodation provided in this provision must always be of high quality, and that the young person must be ready for the level of independence it promotes. That is why, in December 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the government will invest over £142 million across the next three financial years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards, Ofsted registration, and inspection for these providers.</p><p>This means that all placements accommodating looked after children and care leavers up to age 18 will now be regulated by Ofsted, will ensure that local authorities can be confident when making placements in this provision, and strengthen our ability to take action against poor providers.</p><p>Further information on the government’s plans to reform this vital area is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transformational-investment-in-childrens-social-care-placements" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/transformational-investment-in-childrens-social-care-placements</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 17/03/2022 17:47:34 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1486228

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Sefton Central dated 16 May 2022 regarding Lydiate Primary School, sent via email on 16 May 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	30006
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2022 answer text <p>The hon. Member for Sefton Central’s correspondence of 16 May 2022 was responded to by my noble Friend, the Minister for the School System, Baroness Barran on 8 June 2022, reference 2022-0018471, and was issued to the email address: <a href="mailto:bill.esterson.mp@parliament.uk" target="_blank">bill.esterson.mp@parliament.uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 19/07/2022 16:56:00 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1658376

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2023
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the email correspondence of 19 July 2023 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central relating to Impact Medical Ltd.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	197768
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Lord Markham) has received your letter and will reply shortly.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 12/09/2023 15:24:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1189949

	registered interest
	date	20/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Food Supply: Delivery Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to remove restrictions on delivery times throughout the food supply chain to mitigate the effects of the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	39530
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2020 answer text <p>On 13 March, the Government issued a statement encouraging retailers to increase the frequency of deliveries. It also strongly encouraged local authorities not to enforce planning action unnecessarily that would restrict deliveries of food and other essentials during this time, given the exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has granted a temporary relaxation of the enforcement of the drivers’ hours rules for all road haulage until 31 May 2020 (which is being kept under review), to help alleviate some of the unprecedented pressures on local and national supply chains. This is on the understanding that driver welfare and road safety must not be compromised and the relaxations only used if absolutely necessary.</p><p><br> The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we have intensified our discussions with the industry and together we continue to monitor the situation closely, taking the necessary steps to address issues wherever they arise. We welcome the actions that the industry is taking and we will continue this engagement with industry to keep food supply chains flowing and make sure people have the food and products they need.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 04/05/2020 16:03:06 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1235632

	registered interest
	date	17/09/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Organic Food
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure equivalence agreements for organic products with her international counterparts.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	91629
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>Defra is engaging with the 13 third countries with which we have organic equivalency arrangements and we expect to have arrangements in place for the end of the transition period. For countries with non-reciprocal arrangements, we will send them a letter confirming that we will continue to recognise their organic goods as we do now. For those countries with which we have reciprocal arrangements, we are updating the specific arrangements to reflect the end of the Transition Period.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the UK has proposed a technical annex which would include mutual recognition for organics as part of the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 22/09/2020 12:11:56 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1245593

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept id	13
	answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
	hansard heading	Animals: Exports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of additional veterinary professionals required to process animal health export certificates prior to consignment after the end of the transition period in the event that a deal is not reached with the EU.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	106987
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/11/2020 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr on 5 October 2020, PQ 96843.</p><p> </p><p>[https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-29/96843]</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 02/11/2020 16:23:08 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson