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1718468

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help increase the rate of reunification of children in kinship care with their birth families.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	26536
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26537 26538 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718469

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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 assessment of the impact of local authority specialist family reunification teams on trends in the number of children who have been reunited with their birth parents in the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	26537
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26536 26538 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1718470

registered interest
date	15/05/2024
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 assessment of the potential merits of requiring local authorities to (a) measure and (b) publish their performance on reuniting children in kinship care with their birth parents.
tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
uin	26538
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their parents, there should be a robust decision-making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision-making would support the child’s transition home from care, and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms including through increased use of family group decision making. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions, engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification, including back to birth parents.</p><p> </p><p>The number and percentage of looked after children returning home to live with parents or other people with parental responsibility is published annually in the department’s children looked after statistical release and can be interrogated at local authority level on GOV.UK. Figures are available for the last five years. The department does not intend to break down the data any further to identify returns to birth parents from kinship care.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 26536 26537 question first answered 23/05/2024 16:33:56 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell

1717683

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
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, how many children in care are moved more than 10 miles away due to a lack of appropriate local care options.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	25989
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ 2023 data shows that 70% of children who were looked after on 31 March 2023 were placed within 20 miles of home and 21% were placed over 20 miles from home. This data is published on GOV.UK. Information for the remaining 9% was not known or not recorded. In most cases this will be because the child was an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child but it could also be because the home address was not known or for reasons of confidentiality. Information on reasons why children were placed more than 20 miles from their home is not held centrally by the department.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes out of area placements are essential to keep a child safe, but the department recognises there are challenges in the children’s social care sector. At the Spring Budget, the government announced a £165 million boost to expand places in secure and open residential children’s homes, on top of the £259 million secured at Spending Review 2021. This takes the total planned investment to over £400 million. This Spring Budget funding is expected to create a further 200 open children’s homes (OCHs) places and rebuild Atkinson and Swanwick secure children’s homes (SCHs). This is in addition to the 95 new OCHs, providing 360 additional placements, and two brand new regional SCHs in London and West Midlands created by the Spending Review funding. This total investment illustrates the department’s commitment to support councils in continuing to deliver high-quality services to vulnerable children and families.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 21/05/2024 11:38:14 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1714604

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	Children in Care
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of children in care experiencing multiple placements.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL4152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. The Children’s Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care and ensure placements safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. Further, the guidance is clear that the child’s allocated social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education and, where a child is in key stage 4, a move should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Responsibility for looked-after children sits with the local authority. The guidance and regulations of the Children Act 1989 can be found attached.</p><p> </p><p>Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s personal education plan.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the number of placements experienced by looked after children in a one year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, the government recognises there are issues with finding stable placements. That is why the government has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas which will aim to further reduce the number of children experiencing multiple placements.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL4153 question first answered 14/05/2024 11:55:13 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL4152 HL4153 attachment - The Children Act 1989 guidance and regulations.pdf title HL4152 HL4153 Attachment
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

1701270

registered interest
date	16/04/2024
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, what information her Department holds on the primary category of need for children in care aged (a) under one year, (b) one to four years, (c) five to nine years, (d) aged ten to 15 years and (e) 16 to 17 years in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	22055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/04/2024 answer text <p>The figures requested can be found in the attached table.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 23/04/2024 14:50:33 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston attachment 1 file name 22055 Table Attachment .xlsx title 22055 Table Attachment
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1700391

registered interest
date	12/04/2024
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, whether her Department is taking steps to support local authorities to prioritise the provision of high-quality reunification support for children in care to return home.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
uin	21278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that looked after children are able to achieve permanence. Where a looked after child’s permanence plan is to return to the care of their family, there should be a robust decision making process to ensure this decision is safe and sustainable and will safeguard and promote their welfare. Local authorities should set out what support and services will be provided following reunification.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023 update to the statutory guidance, titled ‘Working together to safeguard children’, the department set out that local authorities may consider whether family group decision making would support the child’s transition home from care and the role the family network could play in supporting this.</p><p> </p><p>The £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme will test family network reforms through increased use of family group decision making and implementing Family Network Support Packages. These packages will provide practical and financial support to enable family networks to help children stay safe and thrive at home. This reform area will empower families by prioritising family-led solutions engaging wider family networks throughout decisions made about a child which may support reunification.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 22/04/2024 12:26:37 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1695261

registered interest
date	12/03/2024
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 of children that are looked-after.
tabling member constituency	Mitcham and Morden
tabling member printed	Dame Siobhain McDonagh
uin	18030
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2024 answer text <p>The latest information on the number of children looked after in England on 31 March 2023 can be found in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’, which is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/03/2024 14:55:50 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	193 label Biography information for Dame Siobhain McDonagh

1691243

registered interest
date	22/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that (a) receiving councils are (i) involved in and (ii) able to object to decisions relating to out of county placements of looked after children and (b) adequate handovers take place between relevant service providers when such a placement is made.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	15215
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>The ‘Care Planning, Placement and Care Review (England) Regulations 2010’ and statutory guidance outline duties on local authorities regarding out of area placements, including to notify and consult other local authorities if they place a child in care within their area. A link to the regulations is available at: <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/959/contents/made" target="_blank">https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/959/contents/made</a>. The statutory guidance is also available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60e6fb43d3bf7f56896127e5/The_Children_Act_1989_guidance_and_regulations_Volume_2_care_planning__placement_and_case_review.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60e6fb43d3bf7f56896127e5/The_Children_Act_1989_guidance_and_regulations_Volume_2_care_planning__placement_and_case_review.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. Though the department wants to reduce out of area placements, they will always be part of the care landscape and sometimes circumstances make it the right decision for a child to be placed elsewhere, for example when they are at risk from sexual exploitation, trafficking or gang violence.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises that there are challenges in the placements market and that is why the government is investing £259 million of capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas. The funding for open residential placements, match-funded equally by the department and local authority investment, is expected to create 95 new children’s homes, providing 360 additional placements across England.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 27/02/2024 13:24:28 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1687677

registered interest
date	05/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to tackle the increase of children being taken into public care.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL2199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The number of looked-after children in the care of their local authority has increased by 2% to 83,840 at 31 March 2023 from 82,080 last year. The number of children in children’s homes has increased by 16% since 2019.</p><p>The department knows that the care system does not currently work for every child and that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care, resulting in some children living far from where they call home. Moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Directors of Children’s Services are required to sign off each decision and Ofsted can challenge where they believe poor decisions are being made. This is to encourage local authorities to place children locally wherever possible.</p><p>As the Competition and Markets Authority found in their 2022 market study, the largest private providers are making materially higher profits and charging materially higher prices than would be expected if the market was functioning effectively. The department recognises these issues, particularly around large providers with complex ownership structures, and agrees that sometimes placement costs can be too high.</p><p>In February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which sets out a broad, system-wide transformation. This can be accessed attached. As part of this strategy, the department is:</p><ul><li>Investing £36 million to support over 60% of all local authorities in England to recruit and retain more foster carers.</li><li>Investing over £142 million up to 2025 to implement new mandatory national standards and Ofsted registration and inspection requirements for providers who accommodate 16 and 17 year old looked-after children and care leavers, in addition to banning the placement of under-16s in supported accommodation.</li><li>Working with the sector to co-design and develop regional care co-operative pathfinders, which will plan, commission, and deliver children’s social care placements.</li><li>Investing £259 million capital funding for secure and open children’s homes.</li><li>Introducing a new market oversight regime that will increase financial transparency across the sector, for example, of ownership, debt structures and profit making.</li></ul><p>Finally, the department is supporting kinship families through the first ever national kinship care strategy, which is backed by the following funding: £20 million in 2024/25; over £36 million in a fostering recruitment and retention programme this Spending Review; and £160 million over the next three years to deliver the department’s adoption strategy, entitled ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 19/02/2024 13:35:05 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name Children_s_social_care_stable_homes_consultation_February_2023.pdf title Stable_Homes_PDF
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming