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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

1418671

registered interest
date	01/02/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Absenteeism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has received representations on the impact of marking children as absent for illness during covid-19 isolation periods where the child is not unwell and is taking part in lessons at home on the attendance records of those children.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	115889
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>Schools are responsible for recording absence in the register using the most appropriate code in line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. The attendance register is a legal record of why a pupil is not physically in school at any given time. We have advised schools throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that, where a pupil tests positive for COVID-19, they should be recorded as ill (Code I) in the register to reflect the fact that they were absent with an infectious illness. Schools should authorise absences due to illness unless they have genuine cause for concern about the veracity of an illness.</p><p>Schools may keep a record of and monitor engagement with remote education, but this does not need to be tracked in the attendance register.</p><p>Considering the disruption caused by COVID-19, last year we also amended the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, which meant that schools were not required to include attendance data in pupil end of year reports to parents. We are considering the position again for this academic year.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 04/02/2022 14:31:24 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
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

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

1385565

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Sefton Central
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for School Standards of 6 December 2021, which schools in the Sefton Central constituency are included in the New Rebuilding Programme.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	87658
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>Earlier this year, the department announced the first 100 schools in the new School Rebuilding Programme as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade. There is one school in the Sefton Central constituency: Deyes High School. We are currently in the procurement, design, and planning stage, with a planning application submission currently scheduled for spring 2022. One school in the constituency, Maghull High School, has benefited from the Priority School Building Programme.</p><p>The department will publish details of how schools will be prioritised for future places in the programme following a review of the results from our recent consultation, which closed on 8 October 2021.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 09/12/2021 16:32:06 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1346832

registered interest
date	14/07/2021
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, what the budget is for the Adoption Support Fund for the financial year 2021-22; and how much and what proportion of that budget has been spent as of 14 July 2021.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	33209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2021 answer text <p>The Adoption Support Fund budget, spend and proportion spent as at 14 July 2021, is set out below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>2021/22 Budget</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Spend</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proportion Spent</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>£46m</p></td><td><p>£31,203,545</p></td><td><p>67%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 19/07/2021 13:45:43 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1345517

registered interest
date	09/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adoption: Young People
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 implications for his policies of the report entitled Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer 2021, published in June 2021, on the 28 per cent of adopted young people aged between 16-25-years who were not in education, employment or training at the end of 2020.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	30348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2021 answer text <p>Improving adoption is a manifesto commitment and Adoption UK’s Adoption Barometer report is a valuable resource for informing policy debate. We will be considering Adoption UK’s barometer report carefully as part of our planning for funding for future years.</p><p>Contact will continue to be a challenge for adopted children, their birth parents, and their adoptive parents, particularly when this contact comes through social media. It is important that social workers help children, birth parents, and adoptive parents to understand the implications of disclosing personal information on social networking sites, and the harm unauthorised or unmediated contact can have.</p><p>We continue to work with Regional Adoption Agencies and Voluntary Adoption Agencies to ensure that services including contact support are delivered to a high-quality standard.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 30350 question first answered 14/07/2021 11:32:05 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1345518

registered interest
date	09/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Reviews
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Department will publish its SEND review, commissioned in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	30349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2021 answer text <p>The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review has been making good progress, but the COVID-19 outbreak has frustrated the pace of this important review and materially altered the context for reform.</p><p>The SEND Review continues to work with system experts to make sure we are designing a system fit for the future. We are drawing on the best evidence available to review the system, before publishing proposals for public consultation as soon as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 14/07/2021 11:25:18 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson