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1236517

	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>The most recent figures for the number of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals is based on the school census for January 2020. The number of children eligible for and claiming FSM in January 2020, by major ethnic group and for Vauxhall constituency, London and England, are provided in the attached table. Education and free school meal provision is a devolved responsibility, so figures for the United Kingdom are not available.</p><p>Further information can be found in the annual 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' publication, available at:<br><a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 22/09/2020 16:54:48 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford attachment 1 file name 91750 table showing pupils from major ethnic groups eligible for free school meals in 2020.doc title 91750 Table Attachment

1242076

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Lifetime Skills Guarantee: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Prime Minister's recent announcement of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, whether he plans to extend the 30-hour childcare policy to single parents who have pre-school-aged children and are on universal credit and in training.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Neil Gray
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	101283
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>Childcare policy is a devolved matter and, as such, the free early education entitlements funded by the Department for Education are available only in England.</p><p>The aim of the 30 hours free childcare entitlement is to help eligible working parents of 3- and 4-year-olds in England with the cost of childcare and to enable them to work. In order to be eligible for this, parents must earn the equivalent of working at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum or Living Wage, or be in receipt of an eligible income-replacement benefit, such as the Employment and Support Allowance. Students that work in addition to their studies and meet these requirements are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare a week. Students that do not work and are not in receipt of a qualifying benefit are not eligible. There are no current plans to change this policy.</p><p>Students in England are, however, eligible for other forms of childcare support. All 3- and 4-year-olds in England are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week, regardless of whether or not their parents are working. Two year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds are also eligible for 15 hours of free childcare a week.</p><p>Other assistance with childcare costs for students in England include the childcare grant for parents in higher education undertaking a full-time undergraduate course. The amount payable is based on 85% of actual childcare costs up to a maximum of £174.22 a week for one child or £298.69 a week for students with 2 or more children.</p><p>The government also offers a Parents’ Learning Allowance for full-time undergraduate students with one or more dependent children. For the 2020-21 academic year students could receive up to £1,766 a year depending on household income.</p><p>For those in further education, Care to Learn provides childcare support and related travel costs to young parents aged under 20, so they can undertake education or training.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 15/10/2020 15:33:46 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1255415

	registered interest
	date	25/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Social Mobility
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to promote social and economic mobility throughout the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Arundel and South Downs
	tabling member printed	Andrew Griffith
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	121062
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2020 answer text <p>The government is committed to promoting opportunity throughout the UK.</p><p>The Social Mobility Commission – an arm’s length body sponsored by the Department for Education – has a statutory responsibility to monitor social mobility in the United Kingdom and to promote social mobility in England. It carries out this responsibility by appraising action on social mobility via their annual monitoring report laid in Parliament, making recommendations to the government and conducting other evidence-based research reports they publish throughout the year. The Social Mobility Commission’s reports are available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/social-mobility-commission" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/social-mobility-commission</a>.</p><p>A child’s earliest years are crucial to boosting economic and social mobility, which is why the government has invested in childcare places for the most disadvantaged 2 year olds, who are eligible for 15 hours of free childcare a week to give them a great start in life. Over one million disadvantaged 2 year olds have benefited from 15 hours of free childcare since the programme began in September 2013. Early years settings will continue to benefit from a planned £3.6 billion funding in the 2020-21 financial year to create free early education and childcare places for children.</p><p>Likewise, a world-class education system that works for everyone is the best way to give everyone the chance to make the most of their talents and give them the foundations to live happy and independent lives. That is why the government is investing over £7 billion more in schools by the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the 2019-20 financial year, plus additional funding to cover pension costs.</p><p>To support young people’s employment prospects, the government is investing £500 million in a package of support to ensure young people have the skills and training to go on to high-quality, secure and fulfilling employment. Adult skills are key in supporting the economy and tackling disadvantage. Starting next year, the government is providing £3 billion (£2.5 billion for England) for the National Skills Fund to help people learn valuable skills and prepare for the economy of the future.</p><p>To address economic mobility, this government is committed to levelling up opportunities across the UK, supporting people into employment and those on low pay. In its Plan for Jobs, the government has announced unprecedented support to help unemployed people in Great Britain find a job, and the 2020 Spending Review provides additional funding to build on this commitment. A link to the Plan for Jobs scheme can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/a-plan-for-jobs-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/a-plan-for-jobs-2020</a>.</p><p>For those on low pay, the government is making progress towards its long-term ambition for the National Living Wage (NLW) to reach two-thirds of median earnings by 2024. In April 2021, workers on the NLW will see a pay increase to £8.91 an hour, a rise of 2.2%.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 04/12/2020 14:21:58 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4874 label Biography information for Andrew Griffith

1312940

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Autism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support services are available for (a) children with autism and (b) the parents of those children.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Lee Anderson
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	444
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2021 answer text <p>The Children and Families Act 2014 provides a framework for ensuring that autistic children are identified early and that they receive the support they need. The upcoming Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review will look at how the system has evolved since 2014, and how it can be made to work best for all children and young people and their families.</p><p>The department is also working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to develop a refreshed cross-government autism strategy. This recognises the progress that has been made, as well as the challenges and priorities for reducing inequalities, and enabling autistic people of all ages to have the same opportunities as everyone else to lead healthy, happy and fulfilling lives. DHSC aims to publish the refreshed autism strategy, subject to COVID-19 pressures, this spring.</p><p>We also know how important expertise and training is for the workforce to give children with SEND, including autistic children, the best experiences in education. The department has funded the Autism Education Trust since 2011 to deliver autism awareness training in order to best support autistic students to education staff in early years, schools and further education settings.</p><p>The Children Act 1989 places a general duty on local authorities to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need, including the provision of social care services for disabled children, as some autistic children would be considered disabled. The Equality Act 2010 carried forward existing protections against discrimination and extended a duty on schools to supply auxiliary aids and services to disabled pupils as reasonable adjustments, where these children are not being supplied through education, health and care plans or other sources.</p><p>The Children and Families Act 2014 (Section 97) requires local authorities to assess and support the needs of parents and carers as well as those of children with SEND. Assessments are based on individual needs but should include parents’ wellbeing and ‘control over day-to-day life’. Further information is available here: <a href="http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/media/948959/socialcare_implementationofcfa2014_online.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/media/948959/socialcare_implementationofcfa2014_online.pdf</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 18/05/2021 11:19:33 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4743 label Biography information for Lee Anderson

1177991

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Care Homes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department allocated to place children under 16 in (a) unregulated and (b) unregistered care settings in each of the last five financial years.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1241
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>The information is not held centrally. Core funding for children’s services, including funding for placing looked-after children, is un-ring-fenced and part of the wider local government finance settlement. It is for local authorities to decide how best to spend the funding to meet their local needs, priorities and statutory responsibilities, including for children’s social care.</p><p>The local government settlement for 2020-21 set out proposals to increase local government resources by 4.4% above inflation, which is the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade. Under these proposals, core spending power will rise from £46.2 billion in 2019-20 to £49.1 billion in 2020-21.</p><p>We recognise the demand pressures on children’s social care. The government is providing local authorities with an additional £1 billion for adult and children’s social care in every year of this Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 1242 question first answered 24/02/2020 09:51:58 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1177992

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children: Care Homes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department allocated to place children over 16 in (a) unregulated, (b) unregistered, and (c) semi-independent care settings in each of the last five financial years.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	1242
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2020 answer text <p>The information is not held centrally. Core funding for children’s services, including funding for placing looked-after children, is un-ring-fenced and part of the wider local government finance settlement. It is for local authorities to decide how best to spend the funding to meet their local needs, priorities and statutory responsibilities, including for children’s social care.</p><p>The local government settlement for 2020-21 set out proposals to increase local government resources by 4.4% above inflation, which is the largest increase in spending power in almost a decade. Under these proposals, core spending power will rise from £46.2 billion in 2019-20 to £49.1 billion in 2020-21.</p><p>We recognise the demand pressures on children’s social care. The government is providing local authorities with an additional £1 billion for adult and children’s social care in every year of this Parliament.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 1241 question first answered 24/02/2020 09:51:58 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1182374

	registered interest
	date	03/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education's oral contribution of 2 March 2020, official report, columns 598-9, if it will remain his policy to provide a free school meal to all infant schoolchildren for the next five years.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	24362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2020 answer text <p>This government is committed to ensuring that children are well nourished and develop healthy eating habits that stay with them for the rest of their lives. We are making a significant investment in free school meals for children and have confirmed the funding arrangements for Universal Infant Free School Meals for the current academic year. Arrangements for 2020/21 will be confirmed in due course and funding arrangements after this date will be confirmed as part of the next Spending Review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 09/03/2020 16:36:49 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1183971

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department plans to take to support children eligible for free school meals in the event that schools are closed in response to the covid-19 outbreak, and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	27587
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2020 answer text <p>The advice from Public Health England (PHE) remains that childcare facilities and schools should stay open unless advised otherwise by PHE. However, the department is aware that pupils eligible for free school meals will miss out if their school is closed, or they are asked to self-isolate. We are closely monitoring the situation, and we are working closely with other government departments to consider what action can be taken. We recognise the challenge this could place on families and schools and education providers.</p><p>The department has launched a dedicated telephone and email service to allow quick access to the latest help and support for schools and parents. The purpose of the helpline is to ensure consistent and accurate information reaches education providers and should help ensure providers feel well-supported.</p><p>Details of the helpline:</p><p>Phone: 0800 046 8687 (8am to 6pm - Monday to Friday)</p><p>Email: DfE.coronavirushelpline@education.gov.uk</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 13/03/2020 14:16:05 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1186994

	registered interest
	date	23/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the practical implications of maintaining safeguarding checks for adults working with children in the event that education providers share staffing resources during the covid-19 oubreak.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	33569
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2020 answer text <p>It is essential that schools and colleges continue with their statutory duties regarding safer recruitment during the COVID-19 state. Schools and colleges are still required to ensure that those working in their settings are suitable to work in the children’s workforce. The department has published safeguarding guidance, to help schools and colleges who are providing care for vulnerable children and children of critical workers to keep those children (anyone under the age of 18) safe whilst they are at school or college:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-safeguarding-in-schools-colleges-and-other-providers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-safeguarding-in-schools-colleges-and-other-providers</a></p><p>This guidance includes advice on the portability of Disclosure and Barring Service checks where members of the school or college workforce are already engaging in regulated activity and have the appropriate check for that workforce. Schools and colleges should carry out a risk assessment in these circumstances as they would for a volunteer. Where schools and colleges are utilising volunteers, they should continue to follow the checking and risk assessment process as set out in the statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 30/03/2020 16:21:47 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1186997

	registered interest
	date	23/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's plans are for children who were in the process of applying for an Education, Health and Care plan at the time schools were closed due to the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	33571
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2020 answer text <p>The welfare of children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and their parents or carers is a high priority for the government, especially during this period of uncertainty. We are working closely with colleagues across government to ensure that appropriate arrangements, and support, are in place for all of the department’s sectors – from early years and childcare to schools and children’s social care, and for vulnerable groups including children with special educational needs.</p><p>If the local authority has not yet issued an education, health and care (EHC) plan for a child, then they will not automatically be identified in the group of children considered to be vulnerable. However, educational settings and local authorities have discretion to undertake a risk assessment and offer support to children who are in the process of obtaining an EHC plan, and any other children they consider vulnerable, if that is needed.</p><p>If a child already has an EHC plan the local authority remains responsible for maintaining it, including until any appeal to the tribunal has been heard and resolved. However, the Coronavirus Act 2020 allows the Secretary of State for Education, where appropriate, to temporarily lift the statutory duty on local authorities to maintain the precise provision in EHC plans, with local authorities needing instead to apply ‘reasonable endeavours’ to support these children and their families. Any changes made to a child or young person’s provision in their EHC plan would only remain in place temporarily.</p><p>We are also proposing to amend SEND regulations to provide for flexibility over matters such as the timescales in EHC needs assessments, and the review, re-assessment and amendment processes where particular cases are affected by the COVID-19 situation.</p><p>The government has published guidance on ongoing provision for and vulnerable children which can be found at the link below:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 08/04/2020 15:10:12 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner