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1667514

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Asbestos
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have asbestos on their estate; how many schools have an asbestos management plan in place; and what funding her Department has provided to the London Borough of Harrow for the (a) removal and (b) management of asbestos in each of the last 13 years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	22
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2023 answer text <p>The Department takes the safety of children and those who work with them very seriously and expects Local Authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties.</p><p>Asbestos duty holders, such as Local Authorities and academy trusts, are responsible for understanding the presence of asbestos in schools and putting appropriate measures in place for its management.</p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely. These require duty holders to have a robust asbestos management plan, train staff, and maintain an asbestos register detailing location, type, and condition of asbestos in their buildings.</p><p>Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now being collected via the Department’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which started in 2021 and will complete in 2026.</p><p>The Department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition, the Department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and colleges through the School Rebuilding Programme.</p><p>The Department provides annual capital funding to Local Authorities to improve the condition of their schools and keep them safe and compliant with relevant regulations, including removing asbestos, when it cannot be managed safely in situ. Harrow local authority was allocated £2.7 million in School Condition Allocations for the 2023/24 financial year to provide funding to the schools for which it is responsible. This is part of £19 million allocated since 2015, when School Condition Allocations were introduced.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 17/11/2023 12:33:34 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1667572

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Greater London
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children with SEND are not in formal education in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London as of 7 November 2023.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Feryal Clark
uin	562
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>The department holds data on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care plan, including the setting in which the child or young person is typically educated or where they are not in education or training for any reason. The information is available in the National Statistics publication at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans</a>.</p><p>The data can be broken down by region and local authority. Data is not available at parliamentary constituency level.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 13/11/2023 10:03:01 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4822 label Biography information for Feryal Clark

1667615

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Greater London
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 improve support for children with special educational needs in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) the London Borough of Enfield and (c) London.
tabling member constituency	Enfield North
tabling member printed	Feryal Clark
uin	583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) get the support they need wherever they live.</p><p>​The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan outlines the government’s mission to create a single, national SEND and AP system; the proposal to develop National Standards is a fundamental part of this. The Standards will set out what support should be available and who is responsible for providing it to give families confidence and clarity on how the needs of children and young people will be met. These Standards will apply nationally, including London.</p><p>​The SEND and AP Improvement Plan also sets out proposals to improve the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan assessment and planning process, by introducing standardised forms and processes, as well as supporting guidance to provide greater consistency.</p><p>In addition, the department’s Delivering Better Value programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people and put the SEND system on a more sustainable footing by funding high needs system transformation in up to 55 local authorities, including the London Borough of Enfield, with significant Dedicated Schools Grant deficits. It does so by providing diagnostic support to the local authority, identifying opportunities to improve services and meeting children’s needs better, and then grant funding the local authority’s plan.</p><p>​Furthermore, high needs funding to support children and young people with complex SEND is rising to £10.1 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, which is an increase of over 50% compared to 2019/20. Of this, the London Borough of Enfield’s high needs funding allocation for 2023/24 is £76 million, which is an 11.5% per head increase compared to the amount of high needs funding allocated in the 2022/23 financial year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 14/11/2023 16:28:05 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4822 label Biography information for Feryal Clark

1667742

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Care Homes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 12 September 2023 to Question 196441 on Children: Social Services, how the £259 million capital funding for residential children’s homes will be allocated.
tabling member constituency	Knowsley
tabling member printed	Sir George Howarth
uin	66
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>The 2021 Spending Review (SR) announced £259 million over the 2021 SR period to maintain capacity and expand provision in secure and open residential children’s homes.</p><p> </p><p>Following this announcement, the department launched several waves of bidding rounds for local authorities to submit applications for this funding for both open and secure children’s homes.</p><p> </p><p>A total of £80 million has been allocated to open children’s homes over two bidding rounds. The remaining £179 million is being allocated to secure children’s homes over two bidding rounds. This includes funding the development of two new Secure Children’s Homes in London and the West Midlands and a rebuild of an existing Secure Children’s Home in Lincolnshire, as well as a number of smaller projects to improve sufficiency in existing secure homes. The department is currently in the process of allocating further funds over the remaining SR period for existing secure homes following the conclusion of a review of the secure estate.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 14/11/2023 15:44:24 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

1667750

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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, with reference to the report by Become entitled Gone Too Far, published in April 2023, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her Department's policies of the proportion of local authorities that do not have a published sufficiency plan for children's social care.
tabling member constituency	Knowsley
tabling member printed	Sir George Howarth
uin	68
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care. Ofsted currently inspect local authorities’ children’s services and how they are meeting their range of statutory duties.</p><p> </p><p>The department recognises that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care. The department wants to reduce out of area placements, but in some circumstances, it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is working to drive forward improvements at a national, regional, and local level to increase sufficiency and improve standards of care and regulations.</p><p> </p><p>By 2027, there will be an increase in the availability of high-quality, stable, and loving homes for every child in care, close to where they are from. To achieve this, the department is supporting local authorities to increase care placements and ensure they meet children’s needs. The department has allocated £259 million of capital funding for secure and open children’s homes and over £27 million to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme.</p><p> </p><p>In the longer-term, Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) will plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the RCCs will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements. The department is investing in two pathfinders to test the RCC model in collaboration with local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 14/11/2023 16:22:20 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	481 label Biography information for Sir George Howarth

1667851

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Capital Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding her Department allocated for new SEND schools in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	515
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>The department has allocated a total of £1.9 billion in high needs capital funding to local authorities in England between 2018/19 and 2022/23. The department expects local authorities to use this funding to create new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or who require Alternative Provision. Local authorities can provide these places by expanding existing mainstream schools, special schools, or other specialist settings, or through new special schools.</p><p>On top of this, the department has opened 61 centrally delivered special free schools since 2018/19. The capital spend for these schools cannot be readily broken down for the last five years.</p><p>In addition to the funding for new places, high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing to over £10.5 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, including those in special schools.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 516 question first answered 30/11/2023 17:19:13 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1667852

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Capital Investment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding her Department spent on new SEND schools in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/11/2023 answer text <p>The department has allocated a total of £1.9 billion in high needs capital funding to local authorities in England between 2018/19 and 2022/23. The department expects local authorities to use this funding to create new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or who require Alternative Provision. Local authorities can provide these places by expanding existing mainstream schools, special schools, or other specialist settings, or through new special schools.</p><p>On top of this, the department has opened 61 centrally delivered special free schools since 2018/19. The capital spend for these schools cannot be readily broken down for the last five years.</p><p>In addition to the funding for new places, high needs revenue funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing to over £10.5 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND, including those in special schools.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 515 question first answered 30/11/2023 17:19:14 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1667860

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to issue updated guidance to schools on supporting pupils with medical conditions.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Current guidance is clear that governing bodies should ensure that a school’s policy covers individual healthcare plans, and who is responsible for their development, to support pupils at school with medical conditions. The governing body should also ensure that plans are reviewed at least annually, or earlier if evidence is presented that the child’s needs have changed. Healthcare plans should be developed with the child’s best interests in mind; they should be developed to ensure that the school assesses and manages risks to the child’s education, health and social wellbeing, as well as ensuring that disruption is minimised.</p><p>In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, which was published in March 2023 in response to the Green Paper, the department outlined its ambition to build a consistent national SEND and AP system that enables children, young people, and their families to access the support they need consistently.</p><p>The consultation on the Green Paper received a very small number of specific responses related to medical conditions in schools. The department will factor these into further policy development and will consider updating the statutory guidance when making decisions on wider reforms.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 522 question first answered 14/11/2023 16:44:31 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1667868

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that every school pupil with a medical condition has an individual healthcare plan.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>Current guidance is clear that governing bodies should ensure that a school’s policy covers individual healthcare plans, and who is responsible for their development, to support pupils at school with medical conditions. The governing body should also ensure that plans are reviewed at least annually, or earlier if evidence is presented that the child’s needs have changed. Healthcare plans should be developed with the child’s best interests in mind; they should be developed to ensure that the school assesses and manages risks to the child’s education, health and social wellbeing, as well as ensuring that disruption is minimised.</p><p>In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, which was published in March 2023 in response to the Green Paper, the department outlined its ambition to build a consistent national SEND and AP system that enables children, young people, and their families to access the support they need consistently.</p><p>The consultation on the Green Paper received a very small number of specific responses related to medical conditions in schools. The department will factor these into further policy development and will consider updating the statutory guidance when making decisions on wider reforms.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 521 question first answered 14/11/2023 16:44:31 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1667950

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Sign Language
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Education Health and Care Plans include (a) courses and (b) other forms of training in British Sign Language for (i) children and (ii) family members.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2023 answer text <p>The department does not hold the data requested.</p><p>The department collects data from local authorities on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan, but this does not include information on the contents of the plan.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 13/11/2023 10:04:34 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft