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1236517

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

1241346

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
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 looked after children were living in placements outside their local authority (a) from 1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020 and (b) in the same period in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
uin	100353
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>This information is currently not available.</p><p>The latest figures on children looked after in England and on children missing from care or placed in out of area placements relates to the year ending 31 March 2019 are published in the statistical release, ‘Children Looked after in England including adoptions 2018-19’, which is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019</a>.</p><p>Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2020 will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100354 100355 100356 question first answered 15/10/2020 16:03:27 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1241347

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
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 looked after children were living in placements outside their local authority area from 1 April 2020 to 1 September 2020 by (a) foster care, (b) registered children’s homes, (c) secure children’s homes and (d) other placement provision.
tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
uin	100354
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>This information is currently not available.</p><p>The latest figures on children looked after in England and on children missing from care or placed in out of area placements relates to the year ending 31 March 2019 are published in the statistical release, ‘Children Looked after in England including adoptions 2018-19’, which is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019</a>.</p><p>Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2020 will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100353 100355 100356 question first answered 15/10/2020 16:03:27 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1241351

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care: Missing Persons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children went missing from care placements in each month from 1 April to 1 September 2020; and how many missing episodes they had.
tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
uin	100355
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>This information is currently not available.</p><p>The latest figures on children looked after in England and on children missing from care or placed in out of area placements relates to the year ending 31 March 2019 are published in the statistical release, ‘Children Looked after in England including adoptions 2018-19’, which is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019</a>.</p><p>Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2020 will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100353 100354 100356 question first answered 15/10/2020 16:03:27 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1241353

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care: Missing Persons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children went missing from out of area care placements in each month from 1 April to 1 September 2020; and how many missing episodes each such child had.
tabling member constituency	Gillingham and Rainham
tabling member printed	Rehman Chishti
uin	100356
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2020 answer text <p>This information is currently not available.</p><p>The latest figures on children looked after in England and on children missing from care or placed in out of area placements relates to the year ending 31 March 2019 are published in the statistical release, ‘Children Looked after in England including adoptions 2018-19’, which is available here:<br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019</a>.</p><p>Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2020 will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 100353 100354 100355 question first answered 15/10/2020 16:03:27 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	3987 label Biography information for Rehman Chishti

1401340

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Consultants
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has had any (a) financial contract and (b) meetings with (i) Clifford Chance LLP, (ii) FTI Consulting and (iii) Fenchurch Advisory Partners in the last five years; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	100408
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2022 answer text <p>Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search</p><p>Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 19/01/2022 09:26:50 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1241321

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Foster Care: Key Workers
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 potential merits of including foster carers in the list of critical workers.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	100420
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The department recognises that this is a very difficult time for foster families, who are caring for some of our most vulnerable children and play a vital role in caring for looked after children.</p><p>The government considers foster carers to be essential to the country’s response in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, and as such, foster carers have been prioritised for access to COVID-19 testing where they are symptomatic. They are also able to access personal protective equipment supplies, via their fostering service, where they need them.</p><p>In some areas, fostering services have started to find ways to deliver respite to give foster families a break via household bubbles. We recognise that the government’s revised rules around social distancing and the experience of local lockdowns in some areas of the country may mean that respite is not available for all foster families. We would encourage respite carers to approach their agencies to see how they can be most useful and for fostering services to draw upon the experience and skills of respite carers when looking at how they can continue to best support children and their foster families.</p><p>The department remains committed to taking the necessary action to ensure that foster parents receive the respect and support that they need and deserve. We are considering options to help those services to boost their recruitment and maintain support for respite carers but have yet to publish plans. The role of foster parents is invaluable, especially now, and we want to drive forward change to empower them to care for our vulnerable children.</p><p>As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Our latest guidance for fostering services is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 12/10/2020 16:41:56 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1241323

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Foster Care: Coronavirus
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 ensure that foster carers that normally offer (a) respite care and (b) short breaks placements but are unable to offer those services during the covid-19 outbreak are paid a retainer fee.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	100421
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2020 answer text <p>The department recognises that this is a very difficult time for foster families, who are caring for some of our most vulnerable children and play a vital role in caring for looked after children.</p><p>The government considers foster carers to be essential to the country’s response in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak, and as such, foster carers have been prioritised for access to COVID-19 testing where they are symptomatic. They are also able to access personal protective equipment supplies, via their fostering service, where they need them.</p><p>In some areas, fostering services have started to find ways to deliver respite to give foster families a break via household bubbles. We recognise that the government’s revised rules around social distancing and the experience of local lockdowns in some areas of the country may mean that respite is not available for all foster families. We would encourage respite carers to approach their agencies to see how they can be most useful and for fostering services to draw upon the experience and skills of respite carers when looking at how they can continue to best support children and their foster families.</p><p>The department remains committed to taking the necessary action to ensure that foster parents receive the respect and support that they need and deserve. We are considering options to help those services to boost their recruitment and maintain support for respite carers but have yet to publish plans. The role of foster parents is invaluable, especially now, and we want to drive forward change to empower them to care for our vulnerable children.</p><p>As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer, have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Our latest guidance for fostering services is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 13/10/2020 15:26:58 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1241296

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Training
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 improve the provision of mental health training for (a) schoolteachers and (b) university lecturers.
tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
uin	100429
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The government is committed to promoting and supporting the mental health of children, young people and the school, college and university staff who support them.</p><p>School, college and university staff cannot act as mental health experts, and they should not try to diagnose conditions. However, it is important that they are able to identify possible mental health problems, so they are able to put appropriate support in place. It is up to schools and colleges to decide what training to offer their staff, but we have put in place a range of training for them to draw on.</p><p>Training has been particularly important to give schools confidence to deal with issues that will have arisen during the COVID-19 outbreak. To ensure that staff are equipped to support wellbeing as children and young people returned to schools and colleges, we made it a central part of our guidance both on remote education and on the return to school. We supported this with a range of training and materials, including webinars which have been accessed by thousands of education staff. We have also accelerated training on how to teach about mental health as part of the new relationships, sex and health curriculum, so that all pupils can benefit from this long-term requirement.</p><p>To provide further support during the autumn and spring terms the department has worked with our partners, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Health Education England, Public Health England and key voluntary sector organisations, to launch Wellbeing for Education Return. This project, backed by £8 million, will train local experts to provide additional training, advice and resources to schools and colleges, to help support pupil and student wellbeing, resilience and recovery. It will give staff the confidence to support pupils and students, their parents, carers and their own colleagues, and know how and where to access appropriate specialist support where needed.</p><p>This specific support is building on our longer-term activity to help support teacher knowledge. As part of this, the government has successfully delivered on the 2017 commitment of my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, to make mental health awareness training available to all eligible secondary schools by March 2020. To help embed knowledge and practice in schools, we are now in the process of developing a bespoke senior mental health lead training programme. The training will equip senior mental health leads with the knowledge to introduce or develop their whole school and college approach to mental health, implement effective processes for ensuring pupils and students with mental health problems receive appropriate support and to promote positive mental health within the school or college so that it becomes a key part of how schools and colleges operate. The knowledge requirements and expected outcomes for the training closely align to Public Health England’s ‘Promoting children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing. A whole school and college approach’, which is available here:<br><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414908/Final_EHWB_draft_20_03_15.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/414908/Final_EHWB_draft_20_03_15.pdf</a>.</p><p>We also remain committed to our major joint green paper delivery programme with DHSC and NHS England, including introducing new mental health support teams linked to schools and colleges, and testing approaches to faster access to NHS specialist support.</p><p>We also recognise the importance of supporting staff with their own mental health and wellbeing. This is why we are funding a £95,000 pilot project with the Education Support Partnership, to focus on leaders’ mental health, providing online peer-support and telephone supervision from experts to around 250 school leaders. This is in addition to funding of £45,000 we provided to Timewise, to provide practical support and resources on flexible working, in light of new arrangements for schools responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>It is up to higher education institutions to decide how to support their students and what training to offer to staff. The government strongly supports the University Mental Health Charter, which aims to drive up standards in promoting student and staff mental health and wellbeing. We are also working closely with Universities UK on embedding the Step Change: Mentally Healthy Universities framework, calling on higher education leaders to adopt mental health as a strategic priority and take a whole-institution approach, embedding it across all policies, cultures, curricula and practice.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 12/10/2020 16:41:37 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher

1241169

registered interest
date	07/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Care Leavers: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of funding available to young people leaving care announced in 2019 has been allocated to initiatives which provide dedicated support for girls and young women as a named group; and what steps he is taking to monitor and evaluate the effect of that funding on girls and young women leaving care and experiencing poor mental health.
tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
tabling member printed	Cat Smith
uin	100445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>In October 2019, during care leavers week, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced £19 million additional funding in financial year 2020-21 to support care leavers.</p><p>Of the additional funding, £10 million was allocated to local authorities to increase the resources available to them to implement Staying Put, which enables young people in foster care at age 18 to remain with their former foster carers until age 21. In total, £33 million will be allocated to local authorities to implement Staying Put this financial year.</p><p>Although Staying Close supports both young men and young women, some of the pilots are working with particular cohorts. For example, one of the pilots is supporting young women leaving a specialist children’s home that accommodates young women who have been victims of child sexual exploitation, and a number of Staying Close participants are young parents. As well as the core Staying Close offer, a number of pilots also provide access to specialist mental health services.</p><p>The final £3 million funding was to provide extra funding for Virtual School Heads to enable them to provide additional support to care leavers in further education. Again, this funding will support all care leavers in further education and is not targeted at young women specifically.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 16/10/2020 08:24:45 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith