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1140099

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Social Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve local authority support for vulnerable children.
tabling member constituency	Colne Valley
tabling member printed	Thelma Walker
uin	912085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>We are providing local authorities with more money to support vulnerable children, with an additional £410 million invested this year across adults’ and children’s social care. Separately, we are investing £84 million over 5 years to drive improvements in children’s services across local authorities, especially through early intervention.</p><p>In 2018, the department introduced a new, tougher Ofsted inspection framework to drive improvement in children’s services. The department intervenes robustly in every local authority judged ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, bringing in experts to assess which improvements will ensure better services. This might include removing service delivery from the council’s control by establishing a trust, giving children’s services a fresh start.</p><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 ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, halving failure rates within 5 years and providing consistently better services for thousands of children and families across the country.</p><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’s 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 ‘Partners in Practice’ 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> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 22/07/2019 16:46:42 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4649 label Biography information for Thelma Walker

1140212

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion of looked-after children that have (a) run away and (b) gone missing from homes and hostels not subject to the children’s homes regulations since 2014.
tabling member constituency	Bedford
tabling member printed	Mohammad Yasin
uin	279124
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Information on the proportion of looked after children who ‘run away’ from homes and hostels, not subject to children’s 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 ‘missing’ 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><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> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Number and percentage of children who went missing from residential homes<strong>[1]</strong> not subject to Children's homes regulations<strong>[2]</strong> <strong>[3]</strong> <strong>[4]</strong> </strong><strong>(Years ending 31 March 2015 to 2018)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>All children looked after during the year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Children who had a missing incident during the year<strong>[5]</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>4,690</p></td><td><p>1,460</p></td><td><p>31</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>4,310</p></td><td><p>1,170</p></td><td><p>27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>3,970</p></td><td><p>840</p></td><td><p>21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td><p>440</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The information provided does not mean that the number of children going missing is increasing in the volumes indicated in the table. All figures on the overall number of children who were looked after during the year - who were missing are still classified as experimental statistics. This is the fourth year these statistics have been collected in this way, and local authorities have reported some variation over recent years in how these incidents are recorded.</p><p>For more information, the latest national figures on looked after children who go missing and the number of incidents are published in Table G1 of the statistical release, Children looked after in England including adoption: 2017 to 2018, which is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018</a>.</p><p>1. Residential accommodation not subject to the Children’s Homes Regulations, but where some supervisory or advice staff are employed (although they do not have to live on the premises). This placement code includes hostels, foyers, YMCAs. Also includes lodgings, flats and bedsits where supervisory staff or advice workers are specifically employed and available to provide advice and support to the residents.</p><p>2. Missing is defined as a looked after child who is not at their placement or a place they are expected to be (e.g. school) and their whereabouts is not known.</p><p>3. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number. See the looked after children statistics guide for more information on rounding.</p><p>4. Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.</p><p>5. Includes children who were missing on 1 April, therefore carried over from previous years. Some very young looked after children may go missing with their mothers who may well be looked after themselves.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 23/07/2019 17:11:14 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4598 label Biography information for Mohammad Yasin

1140230

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Food Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to families with children who are at risk of experiencing hunger during the school summer holidays in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
uin	278893
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally.</p><p>In 2018, the department announced a programme of work to explore ways of supporting disadvantaged families during school holidays. We received 94 applications for funding from organisations across the country, for a share of £2 million.</p><p>The 2018 programme saw charities and community groups provide meals and activities such as football, play sessions, and cooking classes for more than 18,000 children across the country. Building on this, the department has quadrupled funding and strengthened the programme to encourage coordination in local communities, so that even more disadvantaged children can benefit from the programme. Applications were invited from organisations to act as coordinators in a specific local authority area. The 2019 programme received 92 applications and selected 11 locations for funding, including at least one in each of the 9 regions of England. This summer, around 50,000 disadvantaged children will be offered free meals and activities over the upcoming summer holidays, funded by £9.1 million.</p><p>The purpose of this programme is to allow us to gather more evidence about the scale of the issue, the most effective ways of tackling it, and the costs and delivery challenges associated with doing so. As a result, the department will be able to make an evidence based decision about whether and how we should intervene in the longer term.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi grouped question UIN 278892 question first answered 23/07/2019 15:27:47 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1140241

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to increase the accessibility of childcare in Merseyside.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Stephen Twigg
uin	278895
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The government provides the following childcare support to parents and foster parents:</p><ul><li>15 hours of free childcare a week for disadvantaged 2 year olds. This applies to all families in receipt of Universal Credit, with an annual net earned income equivalent to - or less than - £15,400. It also applies to families in receipt of benefits that currently entitle them to free school meals and those receiving working tax credits (with an annual gross household income of no more than £16,190). Equally, it applies to children entitled to certain benefits or support for a disability or special educational need and looked after children and certain children who have been in care, including those who have been adopted.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>15 hours of free childcare a week for all 3 year olds and 4 year olds, worth around £2,500 a year on average.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>30 hours of free childcare a week for working parents of 3 year olds and 4 year olds with working parents. 30 hours of free childcare is available to families where both parents are working (or where the sole parent is working in a lone parent family) and where each parent earns a weekly minimum equivalent to 16 hours at national minimum wage or living wage. This also includes self-employed parents.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Help with up to 70% of childcare costs for people on low incomes through working tax credits. In April 2016, this help increased to up to 85% through Universal Credit, subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for 2 or more children.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Tax-free childcare, for which 1.5 million families who have childcare costs will be eligible. For every £8 parents pay into an online account, the government will pay £2 – up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year, for children aged under 12. Parents of disabled children will receive extra support (worth up to £4,000 per child, each year and until their child is 17).</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Childcare vouchers provided through some employers, allowing parents to save money by paying for childcare from their pre-tax salary. This scheme is closed to new applicants from October 2018.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Shared Parental Leave, giving parents the chance to share up to 50 weeks’ leave and up to 37 weeks’ parental pay in the first year following their child’s birth or adoption.</li></ul><p>It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that every child that is eligible for the 15 hours and 30 hours of free childcare is able to access a place. Local authorities also have a statutory duty to provide parents with information, advice and guidance on their websites about how these childcare offers can be accessed locally.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 23/07/2019 16:56:10 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	167 label Biography information for Stephen Twigg

1140362

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Private Education: Overseas Aid
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of Official Development Assistance allocated to his Department is spent on independent schools; and what other programmes are funded by that Assistance.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	279002
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The department’s estimated Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend in 2018 was £20 million, which also included a £5 million contribution to the Association of Commonwealth Universities’ scholarship endowment fund. This spend was announced last April and exclusively funds master’s level scholarships for citizens of ODA-eligible Commonwealth countries.</p><p>This estimate of spending on ODA primarily relates to the provision of education of child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. The department estimates how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. The estimate does not include any spending on independent schools.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 23/07/2019 16:51:50 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1140406

registered interest
date	18/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Ethnic Groups
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many BAME staff are employed at (a) grade 7, (b) grade 5 and (c) grade 3 in his Department.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	279041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has 118 employees declared BAME at grade 7; 8 employees who have declared BAME at Grade 5 and; 2 employees who have declared BAME at Grade 3.</p><p> </p><p>Note that personal characteristics are voluntary declarations and only 54% of BEIS employees have declared their ethnicity.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 30/07/2019 16:31:23 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1139726

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Iron and Steel: Manufacturing Industries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what funding the Government plans to allocate to the modernisation of the UK steel industry.
tabling member constituency	Ipswich
tabling member printed	Sandy Martin
uin	278606
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2019 answer text <p>The Department commissioned independent research to identify high value opportunities for UK steel, worth up to £3.8 billion a year by 2030. We have made clear to the sector that we are keen to work with them to support their future investment proposals to secure these future opportunities as part of a steel sector deal. We stand ready to work with the sector as soon as their proposals are ready.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, we have been encouraging the UK steel sector to submit competitive proposals for UKRI funds, including Transforming Foundation Industries, and work with us to shape future funding programmes, such as the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, to further improve their efficiency and competitiveness.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 30/07/2019 16:32:41 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4678 label Biography information for Sandy Martin

1139744

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Working Hours
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much time off in lieu has been taken by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	278366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2019 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally.</p><p>BEIS is committed to maintaining working hours for all workers that comply with the requirements of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). The provisions of the WTR are incorporated into BEIS's terms, conditions and policies. Our Working Time policy is published on our intranet and accessible to all staff.</p><p>Line Managers are responsible for ensuring that staff are aware of the hours they are required to work and the arrangements for taking appropriate breaks so that working time is complied with. Managers are also responsible for monitoring the working hours of their staff. Any time off in lieu taken because of excess hours worked is agreed at a local level between an employee and their line manager.</p><p>BEIS operates a variety of flexible working approaches where, subject to the needs of their team and the business, individuals can agree working hours/patterns with their manager which enable them to maintain their work/life balance.</p><p>BEIS follows the Civil Service Wellbeing Strategy - ensuring the good health and wellbeing of our staff is a priority for us. We have a range of support in place for our employees which includes the delivery of an ongoing programme of in-house health and wellbeing events and access to employee assistance programmes. BEIS promotes good mental health for all and has trained in-house Mental Health First Aiders. We have also delivered a tranche of “Wellbeing Confident Leadership” training to around 69% of our Senior Civil Servants to enable them to create a working environment which recognises the importance of individual wellbeing and how this might be affected by working patterns and practices.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 30/07/2019 16:30:32 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1139800

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adult Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the adult education budget is for (a) financial year 2019-20 and (b) academic year 2019-20; and what proportion of that budget is devolved to the seven combined authorities in England.
tabling member constituency	Gateshead
tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
uin	278476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Adult Education Budget for the financial year 2019-20 is £1.34 billion, of which £52 million is held nationally for traineeships and continuing learners. The 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority have been allocated 49% of the remaining budget.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 23/07/2019 17:22:52 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

1139910

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Care Leavers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help increase the number of care leavers (a) accessing and (b) completing a higher education award.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	278347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2019 answer text <p>The government is committed to improving the outcomes of care leavers. To support this, in March 2019, the department published a set of principles to guide the higher education sector on improving care leavers’ access and participation. A copy of the principles is available at the following link: <a href="https://mycovenant.org.uk/featured-signatories/educational/" target="_blank">https://mycovenant.org.uk/featured-signatories/educational/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As part of its drive to galvanise the support that wider civil society can provide to support care leavers, the government has launched the Care Leaver Covenant. This asks organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors, including higher education providers, to commit to help care leavers to successfully transition from care to independence, by setting out clearly what support they can offer.</p><p> </p><p>17 higher education providers have already signed the covenant and published their offers on the covenant website: <a href="https://mycovenant.org.uk/offers/educational/" target="_blank">https://mycovenant.org.uk/offers/educational/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>We want all higher education providers to work with Spectra First (the delivery partner appointed by the department to promote the covenant), which provides support in developing offers, with a view to them signing the covenant. To support this, we are organising a workshop with Universities UK and Spectra First in September, for higher education providers who are yet to sign. The event will make clear why they should support care leavers and provide examples of best practice on how they can do this.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 24/07/2019 11:27:48 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe