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1144117

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Geneva Conventions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how violations of the Geneva Convention should be addressed; and whether any such assessment includes provision for the handling of erring Parties.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL17605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Under the Geneva Conventions, States Parties must enact legislation to provide effective penal sanctions for those that commit, or order to be committed, grave breaches of the Conventions. States Parties must also search for persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be committed, grave breaches of the Conventions, and ensure that they may be prosecuted before their courts, regardless of their nationality, or extradited, as appropriate. For the UK, the domestic criminal framework has been in place since the Geneva Conventions Act 1957. The UK works closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross and in particular with the British Red Cross to promote compliance with the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law (IHL).</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">When there are allegations of violations of the Geneva Conventions around the world, we have actively influenced decisions in the international arena to take action against perpetrators and to hold them to account. Our leading role in establishing and supporting the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia are examples where grave breaches of the Conventions were proven and persons held accountable. The UK also supports the work of the International Criminal Court, which investigates and prosecutes individuals within its jurisdiction alleged to have committed the gravest crimes of concern to the international community.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">More recently The UK has repeatedly called on the Syrian regime to abide by the Conventions and has taken a leading role to hold Syria to account. Since 2016, we have committed almost £1 million to the UN International Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to support the preparation of legal cases for serious crimes committed in the Syrian conflict. Following UK-led lobbying, on 1 August the UN Secretary General announced a new Board of Inquiry to investigate attacks on civilian infrastructure during the recent violence in Northwest Syria.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Geneva Conventions are cornerstones of IHL but contemporary conflict brings challenges for IHL in a number of areas, such as new technologies and the classification of conflicts. To examine these challenges and to mark 70 years of the Conventions, the UK with the strong support of the British Red Cross, will hold an expert conference in October 2019.</ins></p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 09/09/2019 16:30:40 question first ministerially corrected 01/10/2019 10:59:32 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon previous answer version 133905 answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1144119

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Sudan: Food Supply
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Transitional Military Council, or relevant governing body, in Sudan about food insecurity in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL17607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our Embassy in Khartoum closely monitors the concerning humanitarian situation across Sudan, and specifically in the conflict-affected States. An estimated 8.5m in Sudan are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with 6.3m categorised as crisis level food insecure. Specifically, 778,000 people in South Kordofan and 162,000 in Blue Nile are categorised as being crisis level food insecure. On 25 August, our Ambassador in Khartoum directly discussed the food security and humanitarian situation with Prime Minister Hamdok and with Mohamed Hasan Al-Ta'yushi, a civilian member of the Sovereign Council, which has succeeded the Transitional Military Council. He also raised the issue of ensuring full humanitarian access to all parts of Sudan with both the Prime Minister and Al-Ta'yushi. The UK is one of the largest humanitarian donors in Sudan delivering life-saving aid to those affected by conflict and natural disasters. We will work with the new Government of Sudan, when appointed, and international partners to address the humanitarian needs of those affected by years of conflict, political marginalisation and economic neglect across Sudan, especially in the conflict-affected States including South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. I also reiterated UK support to the new Prime Minister in the margins of UNGA High Level Week. </ins></p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 09/09/2019 16:30:34 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 11:17:06 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon previous answer version 133907 answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1144120

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Sudan: Drugs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Transitional Military Council, or relevant governing body, in Sudan about the availability of basic drug supplies in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL17608
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our Embassy in Khartoum closely monitors the concerning humanitarian situation across Sudan, and specifically in the conflict-affected States. An estimated 8.5m in Sudan are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with 6.3m categorised as crisis level food insecure. Specifically, 778,000 people in South Kordofan and 162,000 in Blue Nile are categorised as being crisis level food insecure. On 25 August, our Ambassador in Khartoum directly discussed the food security and humanitarian situation with Prime Minister Hamdok and with Mohamed Hasan Al-Ta'yushi, a civilian member of the Sovereign Council, which has succeeded the Transitional Military Council. He also raised the issue of ensuring full humanitarian access to all parts of Sudan with both the Prime Minister and Al-Ta'yushi. The UK is one of the largest humanitarian donors in Sudan delivering life-saving aid to those affected by conflict and natural disasters. We will work with the new Government of Sudan, when appointed, and international partners to address the humanitarian needs of those affected by years of conflict, political marginalisation and economic neglect across Sudan, especially in the conflict-affected States including South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. I also reiterated UK support to the new Prime Minister in the margins of UNGA High Level Week. </ins></p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 09/09/2019 16:31:03 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 11:23:01 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon previous answer version 133909 answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1144121

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Sudan: Humanitarian Aid
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Transitional Military Council, or relevant governing body, in Sudan about permitting access by humanitarian aid organisations to South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL17609
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Our Embassy in Khartoum closely monitors the concerning humanitarian situation across Sudan, and specifically in the conflict-affected States. An estimated 8.5m in Sudan are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, with 6.3m categorised as crisis level food insecure. Specifically, 778,000 people in South Kordofan and 162,000 in Blue Nile are categorised as being crisis level food insecure. On 25 August, our Ambassador in Khartoum directly discussed the food security and humanitarian situation with Prime Minister Hamdok and with Mohamed Hasan Al-Ta'yushi, a civilian member of the Sovereign Council, which has succeeded the Transitional Military Council. He also raised the issue of ensuring full humanitarian access to all parts of Sudan with both the Prime Minister and Al-Ta'yushi. The UK is one of the largest humanitarian donors in Sudan delivering life-saving aid to those affected by conflict and natural disasters. We will work with the new Government of Sudan, when appointed, and international partners to address the humanitarian needs of those affected by years of conflict, political marginalisation and economic neglect across Sudan, especially in the conflict-affected States including South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. I also reiterated UK support to the new Prime Minister in the margins of UNGA High Level Week. </ins></p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 09/09/2019 16:31:10 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 11:23:17 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon previous answer version 133910 answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox

1144129

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pension Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Buscombe on 22 July (HL16979), whether they will provide details of the funding for charities that work with older people to support the take-up of Pension Credit in each of the three years specified in the original question.
tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
uin	HL17617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del><ins class="ministerial">The Government works with a wide range of stakeholders including charitable organisations to promote the take-up of Pension Credit. However, the DWP does not provide specific funding to such organisations for Pension Credit take-up related activities. Support is available through a variety of information resources including the Pension Credit toolkit, which is an on-line tool for organisations to use in order to encourage people to claim Pension Credit.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/09/2019 15:36:02 question first ministerially corrected 02/10/2019 14:06:45 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott previous answer version 134866 answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1144163

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
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 Her Majesty's Government whether they continue to use their "good parent" policy in relation to children in state care.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL17651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where a child cannot live at home, it is one of the state’s most important responsibilities to ensure that the child is kept safe and able to flourish. All looked-after children should have a secure, stable and loving family environment to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security, continuity, identity and belonging. The Children and Social Work Act (2017) sets out ‘corporate parenting principles’ to which local authorities should have regard as they take on the role of parent to looked-after children and care leavers.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The assumption that children in public care should ever be treated as a financial asset is a false premise. Local authorities have a legal duty to make decisions on care placements based on where their individual needs can be met. While children should be placed close to home where this is possible and appropriate, it can often be the right option for a placement further away from home. This might be, for example, when a child requires specialist care that is not always available locally or is at risk of exploitation.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where children are placed out of area, this must be agreed to by the local authority’s Director of Children’s Services, and the placing authority must inform the host local authority. We are providing funding through our £200 million Innovation Programme to increase local authorities’ capacity so fewer children are placed far away from home.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and statutory guidance is clear in recognising the importance of stability in education. When arranging a suitable care placement, a child’s social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education. Where a child is in key stage 4, children should only be moved in exceptional circumstances.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Ofsted inspect how well local authorities are meeting their duties for looked-after children under the Children Act (1989). Under their current inspection framework, they focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements in order to help and protect children.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The inspection framework also addresses the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home, as well as arrangements for permanence for looked-after children and the experiences and progress of care leavers. In addition, they evaluate the effectiveness of leaders and managers and the impact they have on the lives of children and young people, and the quality of professional practice.</ins></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:38:47 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 16:43:14 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 135470 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

1144164

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
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 Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether any children in public care are being treated as a financial asset.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL17652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where a child cannot live at home, it is one of the state’s most important responsibilities to ensure that the child is kept safe and able to flourish. All looked-after children should have a secure, stable and loving family environment to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security, continuity, identity and belonging. The Children and Social Work Act (2017) sets out ‘corporate parenting principles’ to which local authorities should have regard as they take on the role of parent to looked-after children and care leavers.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The assumption that children in public care should ever be treated as a financial asset is a false premise. Local authorities have a legal duty to make decisions on care placements based on where their individual needs can be met. While children should be placed close to home where this is possible and appropriate, it can often be the right option for a placement further away from home. This might be, for example, when a child requires specialist care that is not always available locally or is at risk of exploitation.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where children are placed out of area, this must be agreed to by the local authority’s Director of Children’s Services, and the placing authority must inform the host local authority. We are providing funding through our £200 million Innovation Programme to increase local authorities’ capacity so fewer children are placed far away from home.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and statutory guidance is clear in recognising the importance of stability in education. When arranging a suitable care placement, a child’s social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education. Where a child is in key stage 4, children should only be moved in exceptional circumstances.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Ofsted inspect how well local authorities are meeting their duties for looked-after children under the Children Act (1989). Under their current inspection framework, they focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements in order to help and protect children.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The inspection framework also addresses the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home, as well as arrangements for permanence for looked-after children and the experiences and progress of care leavers. In addition, they evaluate the effectiveness of leaders and managers and the impact they have on the lives of children and young people, and the quality of professional practice.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:38:47 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 16:43:29 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 134990 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

1144165

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
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 Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of children in care being placed outside their local authority area.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL17653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where a child cannot live at home, it is one of the state’s most important responsibilities to ensure that the child is kept safe and able to flourish. All looked-after children should have a secure, stable and loving family environment to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security, continuity, identity and belonging. The Children and Social Work Act (2017) sets out ‘corporate parenting principles’ to which local authorities should have regard as they take on the role of parent to looked-after children and care leavers.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The assumption that children in public care should ever be treated as a financial asset is a false premise. Local authorities have a legal duty to make decisions on care placements based on where their individual needs can be met. While children should be placed close to home where this is possible and appropriate, it can often be the right option for a placement further away from home. This might be, for example, when a child requires specialist care that is not always available locally or is at risk of exploitation.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where children are placed out of area, this must be agreed to by the local authority’s Director of Children’s Services, and the placing authority must inform the host local authority. We are providing funding through our £200 million Innovation Programme to increase local authorities’ capacity so fewer children are placed far away from home.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and statutory guidance is clear in recognising the importance of stability in education. When arranging a suitable care placement, a child’s social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education. Where a child is in key stage 4, children should only be moved in exceptional circumstances.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Ofsted inspect how well local authorities are meeting their duties for looked-after children under the Children Act (1989). Under their current inspection framework, they focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements in order to help and protect children.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The inspection framework also addresses the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home, as well as arrangements for permanence for looked-after children and the experiences and progress of care leavers. In addition, they evaluate the effectiveness of leaders and managers and the impact they have on the lives of children and young people, and the quality of professional practice.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:38:47 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 16:43:41 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 135471 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

1144166

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care: Schools
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of times children in public care change schools.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL17654
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where a child cannot live at home, it is one of the state’s most important responsibilities to ensure that the child is kept safe and able to flourish. All looked-after children should have a secure, stable and loving family environment to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security, continuity, identity and belonging. The Children and Social Work Act (2017) sets out ‘corporate parenting principles’ to which local authorities should have regard as they take on the role of parent to looked-after children and care leavers.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The assumption that children in public care should ever be treated as a financial asset is a false premise. Local authorities have a legal duty to make decisions on care placements based on where their individual needs can be met. While children should be placed close to home where this is possible and appropriate, it can often be the right option for a placement further away from home. This might be, for example, when a child requires specialist care that is not always available locally or is at risk of exploitation.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where children are placed out of area, this must be agreed to by the local authority’s Director of Children’s Services, and the placing authority must inform the host local authority. We are providing funding through our £200 million Innovation Programme to increase local authorities’ capacity so fewer children are placed far away from home.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and statutory guidance is clear in recognising the importance of stability in education. When arranging a suitable care placement, a child’s social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education. Where a child is in key stage 4, children should only be moved in exceptional circumstances.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Ofsted inspect how well local authorities are meeting their duties for looked-after children under the Children Act (1989). Under their current inspection framework, they focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements in order to help and protect children.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The inspection framework also addresses the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home, as well as arrangements for permanence for looked-after children and the experiences and progress of care leavers. In addition, they evaluate the effectiveness of leaders and managers and the impact they have on the lives of children and young people, and the quality of professional practice.</ins></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:38:47 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 16:43:49 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 135472 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

1144167

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children Act 1989
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place to ensure that local authorities carry out their duties as set out in the Children Act 1989.
tabling member printed	Lord Laming
uin	HL17655
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where a child cannot live at home, it is one of the state’s most important responsibilities to ensure that the child is kept safe and able to flourish. All looked-after children should have a secure, stable and loving family environment to support them through childhood and beyond and to give them a sense of security, continuity, identity and belonging. The Children and Social Work Act (2017) sets out ‘corporate parenting principles’ to which local authorities should have regard as they take on the role of parent to looked-after children and care leavers.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The assumption that children in public care should ever be treated as a financial asset is a false premise. Local authorities have a legal duty to make decisions on care placements based on where their individual needs can be met. While children should be placed close to home where this is possible and appropriate, it can often be the right option for a placement further away from home. This might be, for example, when a child requires specialist care that is not always available locally or is at risk of exploitation.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Where children are placed out of area, this must be agreed to by the local authority’s Director of Children’s Services, and the placing authority must inform the host local authority. We are providing funding through our £200 million Innovation Programme to increase local authorities’ capacity so fewer children are placed far away from home.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">We are committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and statutory guidance is clear in recognising the importance of stability in education. When arranging a suitable care placement, a child’s social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education. Where a child is in key stage 4, children should only be moved in exceptional circumstances.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Ofsted inspect how well local authorities are meeting their duties for looked-after children under the Children Act (1989). Under their current inspection framework, they focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements in order to help and protect children.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The inspection framework also addresses the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home, as well as arrangements for permanence for looked-after children and the experiences and progress of care leavers. In addition, they evaluate the effectiveness of leaders and managers and the impact they have on the lives of children and young people, and the quality of professional practice.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 09/09/2019 16:38:47 question first ministerially corrected 07/10/2019 16:43:55 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton previous answer version 135473 answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming