We are providing local authorities with more money to support vulnerable children, with an additional £410 million invested this year across adults\u2019 and children\u2019s social care. Separately, we are investing £84 million over 5 years to drive improvements in children\u2019s services across local authorities, especially through early intervention.<\/p>
In 2018, the department introduced a new, tougher Ofsted inspection framework to drive improvement in children\u2019s services. The department intervenes robustly in every local authority judged \u2018inadequate\u2019 by Ofsted, bringing in experts to assess which improvements will ensure better services. This might include removing service delivery from the council\u2019s control by establishing a trust, giving children\u2019s services a fresh start.<\/p>
Since May 2010, 46 local authorities have been lifted out of intervention and have not returned, and the number of inadequate local authorities has reduced from 30 to 19 since July 2017. We aim to continue making these improvements at pace so that, by 2022, less than 10% of local authorities are rated \u2018inadequate\u2019 by Ofsted, halving failure rates within 5 years and providing consistently better services for thousands of children and families across the country.<\/p>
To get ahead of failure, we are investing an additional £20 million in our regional improvement strategy, working collaboratively with the Association of Directors of Children\u2019s Services, Local Government Association, Solace and the rest of the sector to identify local authorities that need additional support. Our Regional Improvement Alliances and high-performing \u2018Partners in Practice\u2019 local authorities support those at risk of failure, embedding a system of sector-led improvement with more than 70 local authorities receiving support to date.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4113", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Stratford-on-Avon"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nadhim Zahawi"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-22T16:46:42.68Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Social Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve local authority support for vulnerable children.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4649", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Thelma Walker"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colne Valley"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Thelma Walker"} ], "uin" : "912085"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140175", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140175/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
An assessment of the potential merits of extending consumer protection law to cover further education (FE) courses has not been made. However, the government promotes high quality FE within a regulatory framework, that aims to protect the rights of learners accessing FE courses.<\/p>
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FE college corporations operate as independent charities and are subject to robust accountability arrangements for the public funding they receive. Ofsted inspects and publicly reports on the quality of education within FE providers. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) allocates significant annual funding to providers of education and skills training for young people and adults. ESFA holds providers to account for their performance to ensure they consistently raise standards.<\/p>
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The FE Choices learner satisfaction survey 2017-18 captures learners\u2019 experiences of their college or training organisation. The most recent survey was published by the department on 19 July and reports that 82% of learners were \u2018likely\u2019 or \u2018extremely likely\u2019 to recommend their learning provider to friends or family.<\/p>
FE providers must also ensure that complaint handling processes and practices are accessible, clear and fair to learners.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1523", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Anne Milton"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Guildford"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Anne Milton"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-23T07:13:04.18Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Further Education"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits in extending consumer protection law to cover further education courses.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4616", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Rosie Duffield"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Canterbury"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Rosie Duffield"} ], "uin" : "279134"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140179", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140179/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The department does not collect information on the number of sexual offences committed on university campuses. The responsibility for this, and for meeting legal obligations, lies with individual higher education (HE) providers.<\/p>
<\/p>
The government expects HE providers to keep records of incidents disclosed to them and act swiftly to investigate and address them. It is important to recognise that under-reporting is common and HE providers should continue to break down barriers to reporting by ensuring that students and staff feel safe and are able to disclose sexual misconduct.<\/p>
<\/p>
The government takes all forms of sexual harassment extremely seriously. Therefore, the government is working closely with Universities UK (UUK) and the Office for Students (OfS) to support work to address sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in HE institutions. This includes implementation of the UUK\u2019s sexual violence and harassment taskforce\u2019s recommendations on handling of reports and disclosures, as well as enabling accurate data to be captured to determine the scale of the problem and track year on-year trends.<\/p>
<\/p>
The government expects HE providers to take these recommendations seriously. Furthermore, the government has tasked the OfS to support this work. The OfS have invested £2.45 million in projects tackling sexual harassment, including supporting the development and improvement of reporting procedures.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4021", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Chris Skidmore"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Kingswood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Chris Skidmore"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-23T16:43:01.107Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Sexual Offences"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of sexual offences committed on university campuses in each of the last three years.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4006", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hendon"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dr Matthew Offord"} ], "uin" : "278962"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140201", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140201/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Launched in November 2018, the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is a comprehensive programme aimed at improving the teaching of computing and participation in computer science. Funding and delivery of this programme is through a network of computing hubs, and in July 2019, NCCE announced the first tranche of 23 hubs.<\/p>
Truro and Penwith College is the first hub appointed in Cornwall. The Department will have a network of computing hubs offering full geographical coverage across England, by the end of the year. Schools and colleges can access support for teaching through the NCCE website or through their local computing hub.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Nick Gibb"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-24T11:26:32.1Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Computers: North Cornwall"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how North Cornwall can bid for the National Centre for Computing funding of £84 million.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4496", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Scott Mann"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Cornwall"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Scott Mann"} ], "uin" : "279106"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140212", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1140212/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Information on the proportion of looked after children who \u2018run away\u2019 from homes and hostels, not subject to children\u2019s home regulations, is not collected and categorised under this definition. The information that is collected is the number of looked after children who go missing from residential homes or hostels not bound by children homes regulations. The definition of \u2018missing\u2019 is defined as a looked after child who is not at their placement or a place they are expected to be, such as a school, and their whereabouts is not known.<\/p>
The table presents the proportion of the number of children who had been looked after at some point during this year in this same type of placement. As these statistics are experimental statistics and based on data collected for the first time in 2015, the figures are not comparable between years. Some authorities have informed the department that they do not record any incidents as 'away without authorisation' but instead report all incidents as 'missing' information. We estimate that around 1 in 3 local authorities record this data this way. We will continue to assess whether the figures are considered robust enough to be classed as national statistics, rather than experimental.<\/p>
<\/p>