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1653855

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling up Housing and Communities on the improving the speed of Local Authorities producing Educational, Health and Care plans.
tabling member constituency	Tatton
tabling member printed	Esther McVey
uin	194734
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>The Department for Education has met with the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) at ministerial level to discuss all aspects of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) policy, including Education Health and Care (EHC) plan reform. The department is acting to improve the SEND and AP system and works closely with our counterparts in DLUHC and other government departments on this as necessary.</p><p>In the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department set out plans to reform the EHC plan system.</p><p>The SEND and AP reforms seek to make best practice common practice in how EHC plans are delivered. They include establishing a single EHC plan form and supporting processes across England, including developing digital requirements for EHC plan systems to improve consistency and access to information. The department will also test the use of multi-agency panels to enable local authorities to make judgements based on a holistic view of the needs of the child or young person across education, health and care when deciding whether to issue an EHC plan. We are already engaging with children, young people, families, and practitioners to develop this work.</p><p>The department wants to ensure that EHC plans, where required, are issued as quickly as possible, so that the child or young person can access the support they need. In 2022 (the latest figures available), there were 114,457 requests for an EHC plan. 66,244 new EHC plans were issued, the highest number since they were introduced. 49.1% were issued within 20 weeks.</p><p>The department recognises the vital role local authority staff play in supporting families in the SEND and EHC plan system. We will consider the skills and training these staff require and, when consulting on amending the SEND Code of Practice, will propose new guidance on delivering a responsive and supportive casework service.</p><p>Where a council does not meet its duties, we do not hesitate to take action that prioritises children’s needs and brings about rapid improvement.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 26/07/2023 11:29:46 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey

1653941

registered interest
date	18/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Alternative Education: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of commissioning unregistered alternative provision places through all referral routes.
tabling member constituency	Meon Valley
tabling member printed	Mrs Flick Drummond
uin	194799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>The department does not hold any information about the annual cost of commissioning unregistered alternative provision places. These commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at that level of detail.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 26/07/2023 10:20:19 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4459 label Biography information for Mrs Flick Drummond

1653518

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make it her policy to require local authorities to undertake an assessment of SEND provision for pupils in schools in their area.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	194473
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The department is determined that all children and young people receive the support they need to benefit from their education and progress to the next stage of their lives. All teachers should be confident in identifying and supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The SEND code of practice: 0-25 Years (2015) sets out what schools should do to fulfil their duties to identify and support all children with SEND, regardless of whether they have an Education, Health and Care plan.</p><p>The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision improvement plan in March 2023. Quality teaching and support are vital for children with SEND, including those in mainstream schools, to reach their full potential. We will introduce a new leadership level special educational needs coordinator national professional qualification for schools. The department is also taking steps to build teacher expertise in meeting the needs of children with SEND through a review of the initial teacher training core content framework and early career framework.</p><p>The most recent Ofsted education inspection framework also places greater emphasis on what schools are doing to support children and young people with SEND to progress and achieve their goals.</p><p>All local authorities are subject to robust SEND inspections, and Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have just commenced a strengthened local inspection framework, which places greater emphasis on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people and their families. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them, using a range of improvement programmes and support from SEND specialist advisers, to address weaknesses</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194488 194489 question first answered 25/07/2023 11:41:36 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1653537

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
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 ensure an adequate provision of support for SEND pupils in mainstream schools.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	194488
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The department is determined that all children and young people receive the support they need to benefit from their education and progress to the next stage of their lives. All teachers should be confident in identifying and supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The SEND code of practice: 0-25 Years (2015) sets out what schools should do to fulfil their duties to identify and support all children with SEND, regardless of whether they have an Education, Health and Care plan.</p><p>The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision improvement plan in March 2023. Quality teaching and support are vital for children with SEND, including those in mainstream schools, to reach their full potential. We will introduce a new leadership level special educational needs coordinator national professional qualification for schools. The department is also taking steps to build teacher expertise in meeting the needs of children with SEND through a review of the initial teacher training core content framework and early career framework.</p><p>The most recent Ofsted education inspection framework also places greater emphasis on what schools are doing to support children and young people with SEND to progress and achieve their goals.</p><p>All local authorities are subject to robust SEND inspections, and Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have just commenced a strengthened local inspection framework, which places greater emphasis on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people and their families. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them, using a range of improvement programmes and support from SEND specialist advisers, to address weaknesses</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194473 194489 question first answered 25/07/2023 11:41:36 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1653538

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
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 ensure that children with additional needs are adequately supported in mainstream schools.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	194489
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The department is determined that all children and young people receive the support they need to benefit from their education and progress to the next stage of their lives. All teachers should be confident in identifying and supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The SEND code of practice: 0-25 Years (2015) sets out what schools should do to fulfil their duties to identify and support all children with SEND, regardless of whether they have an Education, Health and Care plan.</p><p>The department published the SEND and Alternative Provision improvement plan in March 2023. Quality teaching and support are vital for children with SEND, including those in mainstream schools, to reach their full potential. We will introduce a new leadership level special educational needs coordinator national professional qualification for schools. The department is also taking steps to build teacher expertise in meeting the needs of children with SEND through a review of the initial teacher training core content framework and early career framework.</p><p>The most recent Ofsted education inspection framework also places greater emphasis on what schools are doing to support children and young people with SEND to progress and achieve their goals.</p><p>All local authorities are subject to robust SEND inspections, and Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have just commenced a strengthened local inspection framework, which places greater emphasis on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people and their families. Where local authorities are failing, the department works with them, using a range of improvement programmes and support from SEND specialist advisers, to address weaknesses</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194473 194488 question first answered 25/07/2023 11:41:36 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1653569

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children below school age spend (a) 30 to 39 hours and (b) 40 hours or more per week in a formal childcare setting broken down by age of child in England for which the latest data is available.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Miriam Cates
uin	194603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/08/2023 answer text <p>The department does not publish the data required to answer this question. A range of related data is available in the 2022 childcare and early years survey of parents in England. This is a long-standing, nationally representative survey of 6,000 parents of children aged 0-14, with the latest data published on 27 July 2023. The survey can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2022</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 01/08/2023 10:51:57 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4865 label Biography information for Miriam Cates

1653571

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Employment: Mothers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of mothers in the workforce who would prefer to work fewer hours or not at all to enable them to provide childcare to their children.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Miriam Cates
uin	194604
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: <a href="https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021" target="_blank">https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021</a>, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.</p><p>The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.</p><p>In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194606 194607 question first answered 25/07/2023 12:22:10 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4865 label Biography information for Miriam Cates

1653572

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of hours children under the age of two are likely to spend in a formal childcare due to the Government's free childcare provisions in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Miriam Cates
uin	194605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>In the Government’s Spring Budget on 15 March 2023, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, the department will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.</p><p>From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year) from the term after their 2nd birthday, benefitting parents of up to 285,000 children. This will be extended to eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and over from September 2024, benefitting up to 640,000 children in total. From September 2025, this will be extended to 30 hours of free childcare per week.</p><p>Childcare is a vital enabler for parents to work. The new offer for working parents will tackle this barrier by closing the gap between parental leave ending and the government’s current entitlement offers so that more parents, and especially women, are supported to enter work.</p><p>The department monitors the average hours of childcare used by children of different ages via the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents.</p><p>In January 2023, 88.5% of disadvantaged 2-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement were taking up between 12.51 and 15 hours of funded childcare per week.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 25/07/2023 14:09:42 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4865 label Biography information for Miriam Cates

1653573

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements such as that provided by (a) parents and (b) grandparents.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Miriam Cates
uin	194606
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: <a href="https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021" target="_blank">https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021</a>, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.</p><p>The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.</p><p>In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194604 194607 question first answered 25/07/2023 12:22:10 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4865 label Biography information for Miriam Cates

1653574

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the average number of hours per week that children under the age of two spent in a formal childcare setting in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022 by household income.
tabling member constituency	Penistone and Stocksbridge
tabling member printed	Miriam Cates
uin	194607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: <a href="https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021" target="_blank">https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021</a>, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.</p><p>The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.</p><p>In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 194604 194606 question first answered 25/07/2023 12:22:10 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4865 label Biography information for Miriam Cates