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755107

registered interest
date	20/07/2017
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they monitor the performance of Ofsted in relation to that agency's responses to family members who raise concerns relating to (1) children's services, and (2) children's homes; and what steps, if any, they are taking to improve that performance.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL1116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>Ofsted is a Non-Ministerial Government Department and is not an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). The responsibility for performance rests with Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, with oversight undertaken by the Ofsted Board. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector also reports to the Education Select Committee on matters relating to Ofsted’s performance.</p><p>Officials from DfE’s and Ofsted’s social care teams engage with one another frequently so that any policy or operational issues, including how concerns raised by families are dealt with, can be addressed. Where appropriate DfE raises issues of concern with Ofsted and refers members of the public to Ofsted’s complaints procedure.</p><p>The details of how Ofsted addresses improvement in performance on these matters will be placed in the libraries of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:52 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753929

registered interest
date	19/07/2017
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps, short of the appointment of commissioners, they can take to deal with children's services departments which are a cause of concern.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL1076
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The Department for Education intervenes in all local authorities that receive an inadequate Ofsted rating for children’s services.</p><p>In the most serious cases, improvement may require statutory intervention, whereby, under the Education Act 1996, the Secretary of State is able to direct a local authority to take whatever action is deemed necessary to secure improvement. In the last few years, Ministers have directed the setting up of new governance structures, including partnering with another local authority (e.g. Isle of Wight), bringing in extra improvement support (e.g. Somerset), or establishing a Children’s Services Trust (e.g. Doncaster).</p><p>In other cases the department takes non-statutory steps, issuing an ‘improvement notice’ detailing what actions a local authority is expected to take to improve its services and closely monitoring progress. We deploy government improvement advisers who are appointed to support and challenge these authorities to make rapid progress.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:44:14 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753930

registered interest
date	19/07/2017
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government (1) which local authority children's services departments have been found by Ofsted since January 2015 to be persistently or systemically failing; (2) which were made subject to the appointment of commissioners; and (3) which are currently run by commissioners.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL1075
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The Department has categorised local authority children’s social care services as ‘systemic’ or ‘persistent’ failures since December 2015 when it introduced a tougher intervention regime. The following authorities have been subject to this new policy:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>LA</p></td><td><p>Systemic/Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Barnet</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bromley</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dudley</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kirklees</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norfolk</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Reading</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sandwell</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sunderland</p></td><td><p>Systemic</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Torbay</p></td><td><p>Persistent</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Worcestershire</p></td><td><p>Persistent &amp; Systemic</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>All of these authorities have been subject to the appointment of Commissioners, with the exception of Barnet where recruitment for a Commissioner has not yet concluded. These authorities retain accountability for the effective running of their children’s services. Commissioners do not run the services, but do make recommendations to the Secretary of State on whether operational control of services should be removed from the council. Where Ministers accept a recommendation that services should transfer to alternative delivery arrangements, such as a new Children’s Services Trust, Commissioners will oversee this process</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:43:09 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753932

registered interest
date	19/07/2017
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish the current detailed business plans of those sections of the Department for Education dealing with child welfare.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL1078
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>The department has recently responded to the Public Accounts Committee on this question. The department agrees it is appropriate to set out its vision with timescales, as it has done in ‘<em>Putting Children First’</em><em>.</em> The department will also produce a roadmap of how the Department intends to transform services, which will be a publically available document. This will address the challenge in the NAO report and set out more clearly a timeframe for delivery of the reforms.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:01 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

753933

registered interest
date	19/07/2017
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to improve the performance of Ofsted in responding to family members who raise matters of concern in relation to children's services departments and children's homes.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL1079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/07/2017 answer text <p>This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to you and a copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 31/07/2017 08:46:17 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

510296

registered interest
date	11/04/2016
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they apply, and what circumstances they take into account, in deciding whether to appoint a Commissioner to take over the running of a local authority’s children’s service.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL7502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2016 answer text <p>Commissioners are appointed where Ofsted find persistent or systemic failure by a council to deliver children’s services to an acceptable quality.</p><p> </p><p>Persistent failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate more than once within a five year period. Systemic failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate across the board on all key Ofsted judgements.</p><p> </p><p>Commissioners are appointed to direct the improvement of children’s social care services; the Council’s leadership and management of them; and, increasingly, to review whether these services should be removed from council control in order to secure more rapid and sustainable improvement.</p><p> </p><p>Since January 2015 the Secretary of State has appointed five Children’s Services Commissioners.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash grouped question UIN HL7503 question first answered 19/04/2016 16:25:05 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

510297

registered interest
date	11/04/2016
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Commissioners have been appointed to run local authority children’s services since January 2015.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL7503
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2016 answer text <p>Commissioners are appointed where Ofsted find persistent or systemic failure by a council to deliver children’s services to an acceptable quality.</p><p> </p><p>Persistent failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate more than once within a five year period. Systemic failure is defined as a council being rated inadequate across the board on all key Ofsted judgements.</p><p> </p><p>Commissioners are appointed to direct the improvement of children’s social care services; the Council’s leadership and management of them; and, increasingly, to review whether these services should be removed from council control in order to secure more rapid and sustainable improvement.</p><p> </p><p>Since January 2015 the Secretary of State has appointed five Children’s Services Commissioners.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash grouped question UIN HL7502 question first answered 19/04/2016 16:25:05 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

510298

registered interest
date	11/04/2016
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to consult family members and children in the London Borough of Lambeth about their experience of children’s services in the Borough.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL7504
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2016 answer text <p>As part of Ofsted’s inspection of children’s social care services in Lambeth (reported on 12 May 2015), Ofsted met with children, young people, parents, carers, care leavers and Lambeth’s Children in Care Council, who provided direct evidence about their experiences of Lambeth’s children’s services.</p><p>Ofsted inspectors also talk to young people as part of bi-annual visits to children’s homes; and take children’s and parents’ views as part of an annual survey of all children’s homes and fostering agencies. These surveys inform Ofsted’s lines of enquiry for subsequent inspections and decisions about the timing of inspections.</p><p>The independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, led by the Hon. Dame Lowell Goddard DNZM, is taking evidence from those affected by child sexual abuse in Lambeth.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 19/04/2016 16:23:43 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood