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1353297

registered interest
date	07/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Public Finance
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 potential merits of implementing a disabled children’s innovation fund to help evaluate and provide early-help services to improve outcomes for disabled children and families in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	44424
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2021 answer text <p>We believe it is right for local authorities, who know their areas’ needs best, to determine what services, including early help, are required locally.</p><p>Respite care services for disabled children are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs, and it is right that this individual focus continues. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we ensured that respite care services for disabled children and their families were allowed to continue to operate. This applied to services which care for children in and away from home. Where parents have a disabled child under the age of 5, they were also able to establish a support bubble with another household to provide respite care.</p><p>To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in unringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. We will continue to work with other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure the upcoming Spending Review reflects the needs of children’s services.</p><p>In addition to statutory services, we are providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in financial year 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 44425 question first answered 14/09/2021 16:01:46 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1353298

registered interest
date	07/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Public Finance
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 long-term financial costs of providing early intervention funding for support for disabled children and their families.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	44425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2021 answer text <p>We believe it is right for local authorities, who know their areas’ needs best, to determine what services, including early help, are required locally.</p><p>Respite care services for disabled children are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs, and it is right that this individual focus continues. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we ensured that respite care services for disabled children and their families were allowed to continue to operate. This applied to services which care for children in and away from home. Where parents have a disabled child under the age of 5, they were also able to establish a support bubble with another household to provide respite care.</p><p>To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in unringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services. We will continue to work with other government departments, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to ensure the upcoming Spending Review reflects the needs of children’s services.</p><p>In addition to statutory services, we are providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in financial year 2021-22 to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 44424 question first answered 14/09/2021 16:01:46 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1348332

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Respite Care: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the finding of the Disabled Children’s Partnerships Left Behind report that six in 10 parents remain socially isolated, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing funding for ring-fenced additional respite care for families with disabled children.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	35836
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Members for the City of Durham, Bath, and Stockton North to the answer I gave on 2 June 2021 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-05-25/7328" target="_blank">7328</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 35629 35896 35897 question first answered 22/07/2021 15:35:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1307770

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Disabled Children’s Partnership's Report entitled The Loneliest Lockdown, what plans his Department has to tackle social isolation among disabled children.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	179332
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>Supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families is a priority for this government, and their educational, physical and mental wellbeing remains central to our cross-government response to the COVID-19 outbreak. That is why education settings have remained open for children and young people with an education, health and care plan throughout periods of national lockdown.</p><p>The return to school for all pupils was prioritised due to the significant and proven impact caused by being out of school, including on wellbeing. The support schools provide to their pupils as they return to face-to-face education should include time devoted to supporting wellbeing, which will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing recovery. The expectations for schools in this regard are set out clearly in the main Department for Education guidance to schools, which also signposts further support, available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak</a>.</p><p>We have worked with our partners, including the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), Health Education England, Public Health England and other key voluntary sector organisations to deliver the Wellbeing for Education Return programme, which has provided training and resources to help school staff respond to the wellbeing and mental health needs of pupils. This £8 million government backed programme provided schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and access to resources they need to support children and young people, teachers and parents.</p><p>The return to school on 8 March 2021 has been supported with a new £700 million package, which includes a Recovery Premium for state primary, secondary and special schools to use as they see best to support disadvantaged students. This will help schools to provide academic and pastoral support for disadvantaged pupils that has been proven most effective in helping them recover from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>£200 million will be available to all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs. The size and shape of the summer schools will be decided by school leaders who know best what the most effective summer school will look like for their pupils, allowing them to tailor support for pupils, including those with SEND.</p><p>Additionally, we have expanded the Holiday Activities and Food programme, which has provided healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children since 2018. From 2021, the programme will cover the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays at a cost of up to £220 million. It will be available to children in every local authority in England, building on previous programmes and we are working to ensure that the programme is fully inclusive and accessible for children with SEND.</p><p>Sir Kevan Collins has been appointed as the Education Recovery Commissioner and is considering how schools and the system can more effectively target resources and support at pupils in greatest need. Additionally, Dr Alex George was appointed on 4 February as Youth Mental Health Ambassador to advise government and raise the profile of mental health education and wellbeing in schools, colleges and universities. He will use his clinical expertise and personal experience to champion government’s work on children’s and young people’s mental health and shape policy on improving support for young people in schools, colleges and universities.</p><p>In the long term, we remain committed to our joint green paper delivery programme with DHSC and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams for all schools and colleges, providing training for senior mental health leads in schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.</p><p>The department will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and its subsequent COVID-19 recovery plans on all pupils, including those with SEND, to ensure it targets support across the system most effectively.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 178648 question first answered 20/04/2021 12:01:58 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1272157

registered interest
date	17/12/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
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 changes in the (a) numbers and (b) hours of children attending early years settings since February 2019.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	131381
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>From January 2019 to January 2020, the numbers of children benefiting from funded entitlements at early years settings decreased slightly. However, the percentage of children aged 3 and 4 benefiting from funded entitlements at these settings remained stable, whilst the percentage of eligible 2-year-olds benefiting from funded entitlements increased slightly. Full data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/28af6122-62d8-4901-beb4-e02d9e56f069" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/28af6122-62d8-4901-beb4-e02d9e56f069</a>.[1]</p><p>From January 2019 to January 2020, the number of hours of funded childcare used by children in early years settings increased, with a higher percentage of all age groups taking between 12.5 and 15 hours per week, the highest band. Full data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/411250f5-91ca-4269-8ef5-72891b3f3216" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/411250f5-91ca-4269-8ef5-72891b3f3216</a>.</p><p>To understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, wave two of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and COVID-19 assessed attendance in September/October for open school-based providers, open group-based providers, and open childminders. Attendance during the survey was compared to the expected attendance for a typical autumn term. The survey showed that, on average, fewer children attended than would have been expected to attend across all age groups. The survey is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf</a>. Further information is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-2</a>.</p><p>[1] The figures for four-year-olds do not sum to 100% as 63.5% of four-year-olds are in maintained schools, benefiting from over 15 funded hours of provision per week.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 131382 question first answered 15/01/2021 11:15:56 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1272158

registered interest
date	17/12/2020
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 the changes in the number of eligible two year olds taking up 15 hours of funded childcare since March 2020.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	131382
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2021 answer text <p>From January 2019 to January 2020, the numbers of children benefiting from funded entitlements at early years settings decreased slightly. However, the percentage of children aged 3 and 4 benefiting from funded entitlements at these settings remained stable, whilst the percentage of eligible 2-year-olds benefiting from funded entitlements increased slightly. Full data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/28af6122-62d8-4901-beb4-e02d9e56f069" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/28af6122-62d8-4901-beb4-e02d9e56f069</a>.[1]</p><p>From January 2019 to January 2020, the number of hours of funded childcare used by children in early years settings increased, with a higher percentage of all age groups taking between 12.5 and 15 hours per week, the highest band. Full data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/411250f5-91ca-4269-8ef5-72891b3f3216" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/411250f5-91ca-4269-8ef5-72891b3f3216</a>.</p><p>To understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, wave two of the Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and COVID-19 assessed attendance in September/October for open school-based providers, open group-based providers, and open childminders. Attendance during the survey was compared to the expected attendance for a typical autumn term. The survey showed that, on average, fewer children attended than would have been expected to attend across all age groups. The survey is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf</a>. Further information is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-2</a>.</p><p>[1] The figures for four-year-olds do not sum to 100% as 63.5% of four-year-olds are in maintained schools, benefiting from over 15 funded hours of provision per week.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 131381 question first answered 15/01/2021 11:15:56 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1272159

registered interest
date	17/12/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Coronavirus
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 financial costs of securing (a) PPE, (b) cleaning costs and (c) staff replacements for early years providers delivering early education during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	131383
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2021 answer text <p>Keeping children and staff safe is our utmost priority. The majority of early years staff in settings will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work, and our early years guidance confirms what PPE should be used in the event a child becomes symptomatic while in a setting.</p><p>If an education or childcare setting cannot obtain the PPE they need they should approach their local authority.</p><p>Local authorities should support them to access PPE suppliers and available stock locally, including through coordinating the redistribution of available supplies between settings according to priority needs.</p><p>The department has undertaken surveys of providers about their finances throughout the pandemic. The latest report is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/945249/SCEYP_COVID-19_Wave2_Main_Report_171220.pdf</a>. The next wave of the study is currently taking place and asks questions about the cost of PPE, cleaning and workforce. Findings from this wave of the study will be published in due course.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 12/01/2021 16:54:25 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1272165

registered interest
date	17/12/2020
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, with reference to the finding of the survey by Pregnant Then Screwed that 46 per of mothers who had been made redundant or expected to be made redundant said that a lack of childcare provision played a role in their redundancy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of childcare places to support working parents.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	131384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2021 answer text <p>The government prioritised the opening of early years settings in full because of the clear benefits to children’s education and wellbeing, and to support working parents. In July 2020, when the Pregnant Then Screwed survey was in the field from the 16-18 of July, official data shows there were an estimated 43,000 settings open with 417,000 children attending. This data is available here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-29" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-29</a>.</p><p>Since then, we have continued to see more early years settings open, and attendance has steadily increased over the course of the 2020 autumn term. As of 10 December 2020, official data, also available via the above link, shows an estimated 55,000 early year settings were open with 792,000 children in attendance. On a typical day in the autumn term, we expect attendance to be 929,000, due to different and part-time patterns of childcare during the week. We estimate that the 792,000 children attending early years settings was approximately 85% of the usual daily level.</p><p>On 21 December 2020, I wrote to Directors of Children’s Services at local authorities, to remind them of the statutory responsibilities shared between local authorities and the Secretary of State for Education to ensure there is enough Early Years childcare for parents. We are not aware of any local authority reporting a current sufficiency issue. However, we anticipate that the role of local authorities in market stewardship through the next year may prove significant in ensuring that the market is able to continue providing free early education entitlements, and to meet the needs of parents.</p><p>We will continue to both monitor sufficiency of childcare places through our regular ongoing contact with early years departments in local authorities, and work in partnership with local authorities and the sector to support working parents.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 12/01/2021 13:20:46 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1250465

registered interest
date	10/11/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Music
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether group music and movement classes for children aged under five can continue during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	113619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2020 answer text <p>Music and movement classes for children under 5 need to meet necessary exceptions to continue during the COVID-19 November 2020 national restrictions.</p><p>Ofsted-registered early years settings can continue to engage peripatetic teachers for music, dance and drama, including staff from music education hubs, during the period of national restrictions, provided the relevant guidance is followed. Early years settings should continue to follow the guidance available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#infection-prevention-and-system-of-controls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#infection-prevention-and-system-of-controls</a>.</p><p>Support groups for new parents can continue to be held.</p><p>Where these are held in Ofsted registered settings, they should follow government guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak for early years and childcare providers. This is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures</a>.</p><p>Support groups for new parents in community settings, such as places of worship, community centres or halls, or libraries, and that are essential to deliver in person, can continue. These can be conducted with up to 15 participants where formally organised to provide mutual aid, therapy, or any other form of support. These groups must be organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent, or philanthropic institution, or a public body, and must follow COVID-19 secure guidance. Restricted businesses which are required to close, such as coffee shops, cannot hold support groups. When national restrictions apply, in determining the limit of 15 participants, no account is to be taken of any child who is below the age of 5.</p><p>Informal groups, such as those organised by a parent, need to comply with the gathering and household mixing rules. In practice, during the period of national restrictions, this means these groups should only meet virtually.</p><p>Supervised activity for children can continue to take place where it is reasonably necessary to enable parents to work, search for work or to undertake training or education, for example in indoor gyms, fitness studios, indoor sports facilities and other indoor leisure centres, community centres or halls.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 16/11/2020 18:13:29 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1203907

registered interest
date	15/06/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools are able to offer free fruit and vegetables for children aged four to six, following the suspension of the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme in March and the reopening of schools on 1 June.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	59547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2020 answer text <p>The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme is operated by the NHS Supply Chain on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. A decision was taken in March that the scheme would not operate for the whole of the summer term of 2020, recognising the substantial operational difficulties which would need to be resolved in order to restart a large, national scheme like this part-way through a term. This ensured that as little fresh produce went to waste as possible.</p><p>The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme will resume in September, helping infants to develop healthy eating habits by getting an extra portion of fruit or vegetables every day while at school.</p><p>The government does not collect or hold specific data in relation to schools’ provision of free fruit and vegetables during this period. However, infant pupils currently attending schools are entitled to a free lunch under universal infant free school meals. As stated within the School Food Standards, schools must offer one of more portions of fruit every day and one of more portions of vegetables or salad as an accompaniment to meals every day.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 59548 question first answered 21/07/2020 15:32:38 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse