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1714501

registered interest
date	29/04/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Foster Care
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 review current practices for commissioning of foster care services.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	24137
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/05/2024 answer text <p>The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recommended that the government introduces a network of Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs) to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements in fostering, children’s homes and secure homes on a regional basis. The department has committed to trialling this approach with two RCC pathfinders to build an evidence base before future rollout.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s long-term vision is that RCCs will help improve commissioning and sufficiency, and better enable local authorities to meet the needs of the children in their care, whilst reforming foster parent recruitment and retention.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the department is investing £36 million to deliver a fostering and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain existing foster carers. Darlington local authority, as part of the North East pathfinder, were one of the first local authorities to take part in this programme.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 10/05/2024 16:30:30 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1693521

registered interest
date	04/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free Schools: Darlington
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on appointing a provider for the new 48 place Autism Spectrum Disorder special free school in Darlington.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	16918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2024 answer text <p>The application process for potential providers to operate Darlington’s new special free school has been completed. Ministers are considering the outcome before confirming the successful applicant.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 22/03/2024 13:24:47 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1693530

registered interest
date	04/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Holiday Activities and Food Programme: Darlington
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding was provided through the holiday activities and food programme to projects in Darlington in each year since it was introduced.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	16921
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2024 answer text <p>The department has invested more than £200 million a year in our holiday, activities and food (HAF) programme since 2021. Since 2022, the HAF programme has provided 10.7 million HAF days to children and young people in this country. The expansion of the programme year-on-year has meant a total of 5.4 million HAF days provided between Christmas 2022, Easter and summer 2023.</p><p>For the 2021 programme, Darlington were allocated £519,040 in total, which included £49,090 paid to them in the 2020/21 financial year to help with start-up costs, and a further £469,050 was allocated to them during the 2021/22 financial year.</p><p>For the 2022 programme, the department allocated £466,240, for 2023 the department allocated £468,150 and this year, the department has allocated a further £469,170, bringing the total to more than £1.9 million in Darlington since the programme began, ensuring thousands of children across Darlington local authority have benefitted from healthy meals and taking part in a range of enriching activities during the longer school holidays.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 11/03/2024 14:12:34 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1686749

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care: North East
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2024 to Question 11541 on Children in Care, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the higher proportion of looked after children per head of population in the North East; and what steps she is taking to remedy those causes.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	12664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2024 answer text <p>The number of looked after children across local areas varies for a range of reasons.</p><p>In February 2023, the department set out the ambitious and bold plans to reform children's social care through 'Stable Homes, Built on Love'.</p><p>The department’s strategy focuses on six pillars of action to transform children’s social care, including to help families overcome challenges at the earliest stage, keep children safe from significant harm, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships and opportunities for a good life.</p><p>As part of this, the department is investing over £36 million this Spending Review to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This includes working with local authorities across the North East to co-design the North East Fostering Pathfinder to develop a foster care recruitment and retention programme of support, which launched in September 2023.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 09/02/2024 14:54:54 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1685099

registered interest
date	25/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Care Leavers: Housing
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help support care leavers to find a home when they leave local authority care.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	11539
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2024 answer text <p>Supporting care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this government. Care leavers face barriers to securing and maintaining affordable housing, which is why the department committed to delivering the actions within ‘Mission 5’ of the Care Review implementation plan to increase the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and to reduce care leaver homelessness by 2027.</p><p>This commitment includes bringing forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, for ‘Staying Put’ to support young people for longer and for ‘Staying Close’ to be a national entitlement, recognising that young people in the general population are leaving home at older ages. The department will also bring forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to remove the local connection requirement for care leavers seeking access to social housing at the next available opportunity.</p><p>The government is providing funding for the following programmes in the current spending review period (2022/2025) to support care leavers to find suitable accommodation. This includes:</p><ul><li>£99.8 million to local authorities to increase the number of care leavers that stay living with their foster families in a family home up to the age of 21 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme.</li><li>£53 million to increase the number of young people leaving residential care who receive practical help with move-on accommodation, including ongoing support from a keyworker, through the ‘Staying Close’ programme.</li><li>£3 million this and next financial year to deliver extra support for care leavers at highest risk of rough sleeping.</li></ul><p>Ofsted inspects the adequacy of the support provided by local authorities for care leavers. In January 2023, Ofsted introduced a new, separate judgement in the inspection framework for local authority children’s services, specifically assessing the experiences and progress of care leavers.</p><p>​Alongside this, a care leaver Ministerial Board, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, brings together relevant Ministers from across government to consider what more can be done to improve outcomes for care leavers and to help to achieve the five care-leavers-related ‘Missions’ as set out in the government’s children’s social care strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. This includes looking to increase the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and to reduce care leaver homelessness.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 11540 question first answered 01/02/2024 11:20:00 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1685100

registered interest
date	25/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Care Leavers: Local Government
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 assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the support provided by local authorities for care leavers.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	11540
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2024 answer text <p>Supporting care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this government. Care leavers face barriers to securing and maintaining affordable housing, which is why the department committed to delivering the actions within ‘Mission 5’ of the Care Review implementation plan to increase the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and to reduce care leaver homelessness by 2027.</p><p>This commitment includes bringing forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, for ‘Staying Put’ to support young people for longer and for ‘Staying Close’ to be a national entitlement, recognising that young people in the general population are leaving home at older ages. The department will also bring forward legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to remove the local connection requirement for care leavers seeking access to social housing at the next available opportunity.</p><p>The government is providing funding for the following programmes in the current spending review period (2022/2025) to support care leavers to find suitable accommodation. This includes:</p><ul><li>£99.8 million to local authorities to increase the number of care leavers that stay living with their foster families in a family home up to the age of 21 through the ‘Staying Put’ programme.</li><li>£53 million to increase the number of young people leaving residential care who receive practical help with move-on accommodation, including ongoing support from a keyworker, through the ‘Staying Close’ programme.</li><li>£3 million this and next financial year to deliver extra support for care leavers at highest risk of rough sleeping.</li></ul><p>Ofsted inspects the adequacy of the support provided by local authorities for care leavers. In January 2023, Ofsted introduced a new, separate judgement in the inspection framework for local authority children’s services, specifically assessing the experiences and progress of care leavers.</p><p>​Alongside this, a care leaver Ministerial Board, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for the Department for Education and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, brings together relevant Ministers from across government to consider what more can be done to improve outcomes for care leavers and to help to achieve the five care-leavers-related ‘Missions’ as set out in the government’s children’s social care strategy, ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’. This includes looking to increase the number of care leavers in safe, suitable accommodation and to reduce care leaver homelessness.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 11539 question first answered 01/02/2024 11:20:00 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1685101

registered interest
date	25/01/2024
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 she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of children that are looked-after in (a) the North East and (b) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	11541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2024 answer text <p>The latest information on the numbers and rates of children looked after (CLA) in England as of 31 March 2023, including in the North East, can be found in the 'CLA numbers and rates per 10,000 children aged under 18 years - LA' table in the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’, which is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/213d8053-d566-431e-96a7-08dc1cb7c782" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/213d8053-d566-431e-96a7-08dc1cb7c782</a>.</p><p>The department publishes statistics for CLA in England only. Similar statistics for other countries in the UK are the responsibility of the devolved administrations.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 31/01/2024 13:18:52 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1684186

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Attendance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Department for Education's press release entitled Major national drive to improve school attendance, published on 8 January 2024, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of this policy on children with long term conditions.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	10915
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2024 answer text <p>Improving attendance remains a top priority for the department. This is why it has launched a national communications campaign to remind families that “moments matter, attendance counts”.</p><p>The campaign reflects feedback from schools and local authorities and aims to primarily reach those parents whose children are taking preventable odd days of absence, or “avoidable absence”. It builds on NHS guidance and messages from the Chief Medical Officer’s letter to schools to reassure families that children can attend school with a mild cough or cold and that prolonged period of absence is likely to heighten a child’s anxiety about attending school in the future. The guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/" target="_blank">https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/is-my-child-too-ill-for-school/</a>, and the letter can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-school-leaders-on-mild-illness-and-school-attendance/letter-to-school-leaders-on-mild-illness-and-school-attendance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-school-leaders-on-mild-illness-and-school-attendance/letter-to-school-leaders-on-mild-illness-and-school-attendance</a>.</p><p>The campaign is not aimed at parents of children who face greater barriers to attendance, such as pupils with long term medical conditions. Campaign materials shared with schools and local authorities reminded them that strategies to increase attendance should take a ‘support first’ approach in all instances. The department’s ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance expects schools to have sensitive conversations with children and families and work with them to put support in place for their individual needs. This guidance is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63049617e90e0729e63d3953/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63049617e90e0729e63d3953/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance.pdf</a>. Schools must also follow the ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ statutory guidance that outlines the support that pupils with medical conditions must receive at school so they have full access to education and it is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ce6a72e40f0b620a103bd53/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ce6a72e40f0b620a103bd53/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions.pdf</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 30/01/2024 12:27:35 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1684203

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Bereavement Counselling: Teachers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce bereavement training for teachers.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	10917
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2024 answer text <p>Losing a loved one can be a devastating experience for a child. Schools can play an essential role in supporting children with bereavement by providing effective pastoral support and ensuring there is a supportive school culture.</p><p>Schools are best placed to decide what pastoral support each pupil needs, including for children who have experienced a bereavement. To help schools make informed decisions about what support to provide, the department is offering every state school in England funding to train a senior mental health lead who can oversee a whole-school approach to mental wellbeing.</p><p>This training equips mental health leads to identify pupils or groups of pupils, which could include children affected by bereavement, in need of mental wellbeing support and to put in place effective support, working in partnership with specialists and families as needed. The training also supports leads to identify the training needs of other school staff, ensuring all staff can recognise and respond to pupils’ mental health concerns.</p><p>The department has recently launched a mental health lead resource hub and a targeted mental wellbeing support toolkit, both of which signpost mental health leads and other school staff toward resources and guidance, including support for bereavement.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 10919 question first answered 30/01/2024 11:44:43 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1684240

registered interest
date	22/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Bereavement Counselling: Pupils
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides on bereavement support for children in educational settings.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	10919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2024 answer text <p>Losing a loved one can be a devastating experience for a child. Schools can play an essential role in supporting children with bereavement by providing effective pastoral support and ensuring there is a supportive school culture.</p><p>Schools are best placed to decide what pastoral support each pupil needs, including for children who have experienced a bereavement. To help schools make informed decisions about what support to provide, the department is offering every state school in England funding to train a senior mental health lead who can oversee a whole-school approach to mental wellbeing.</p><p>This training equips mental health leads to identify pupils or groups of pupils, which could include children affected by bereavement, in need of mental wellbeing support and to put in place effective support, working in partnership with specialists and families as needed. The training also supports leads to identify the training needs of other school staff, ensuring all staff can recognise and respond to pupils’ mental health concerns.</p><p>The department has recently launched a mental health lead resource hub and a targeted mental wellbeing support toolkit, both of which signpost mental health leads and other school staff toward resources and guidance, including support for bereavement.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 10917 question first answered 30/01/2024 11:44:43 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson