Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1606476

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help school children with SEND access (a) therapy, (b) physiotherapy and (c) other support during the school holidays.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	171482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2023 answer text <p>​​To ensure children and young people receive the support they need to thrive in education, the department is developing new national special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision standards covering early years, school, and post-16 provision. These will set out what support should be available and who is responsible for providing it, to give families confidence and clarity on how the needs of children and young people will be met.</p><p>​To improve access to speech and language therapy, the department is funding the Early Language and Support For Every Child pathfinders in partnership with NHS England. This will fund nine Integrated Care Boards and one of the local areas within each of our nine Regional Expert Partnerships to trial new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech language and communication needs in early years and primary schools.</p><p>​To support the supply of more speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists to the NHS, since September 2020 all eligible undergraduate and postgraduate degree students have been able to apply for a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year, with further financial support available for childcare, accommodation, and travel costs.</p><p>The department is also investing more than £200 million each year in our Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, with all local authorities in England delivering in the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays.</p><p>Our HAF programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places for low-income families, providing vital holiday support for vulnerable children, including many with SEND or additional needs.</p><p>In summer 2022, the HAF programme reached over 685,000 children and young people across England.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 05/04/2023 13:38:06 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1606355

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of proposals to extend eligibility for free childcare per parent who is able to return to work.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Charlotte Nichols
uin	171575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2023 answer text <p>At the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced additional funding of £4.1 billion that the government will provide by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of the new early education free hours offer. All eligible working parents in England will therefore be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks of the year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school by September 2025.</p><p>The hourly rates for the existing entitlements will also be substantially uplifted. This is on top of additional investments announced at the 2021 Spending Review.</p><p>The government will provide £204 million of additional funding from September 2023, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25, for local authorities to further increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers. This will include an average 30% increase in the 2-year-old rate from September 2023 and means that the average hourly rate for 2-year-olds will rise from the current £6 per hour in 2023/24 to around £8 per hour. The average 3 and 4-year-old rate will rise in line with inflation to over £5.50 per hour from September 2023, with further uplifts beyond this. We will publish more details on this in due course.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 30/03/2023 16:13:07 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4799 label Biography information for Charlotte Nichols

1606400

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing parents to transfer free childcare allowances for the care of children currently ineligible for free childcare.
tabling member constituency	St Ives
tabling member printed	Derek Thomas
uin	171507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2023 answer text <p>Parents can benefit from the government’s current range of childcare offers, which includes the free early education entitlements, as well as Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare.</p><p>The free early education entitlements apply to childcare places taken up by a child who is within the correct eligibility age range for each offer.</p><ul><li>All parents of 3 and 4-year-old children can benefit from 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year of free early education, regardless of family circumstances. This helps children to develop social skills and prepare them for school.</li><li>Working parents on low incomes and in receipt of certain benefits can qualify for 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year of free early education for 2-year-olds. This significantly improves the educational attainment of these children.</li><li>Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are entitled to an additional 15 hours (30 hours) of free childcare per week over 38 weeks a year. The 30 hours offer aims to support working families with the cost of childcare, and to support parents back into work, or to work more hours should they wish to.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In addition to the entitlements, Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare can be used to pay costs associated with care of children in their early years, as well as those of school age.</p><p>Tax-Free Childcare is available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare and can be used to pay for childcare of children who fall within the eligible age range.</p><p>Low-income families who are in receipt of Universal Credit, and find that they are ineligible for Tax-Free Childcare, can have 85% of their childcare costs covered under the Universal Credit Childcare offer. This offer can be used to cover costs associated with childcare taken up at nurseries, preschools, after-school clubs, breakfast clubs, childminders, nannies and holiday clubs.</p><p>In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. This includes the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer where eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.</p><p>Further information on the support available to parents can be found at: <a href="https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 30/03/2023 15:52:51 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4532 label Biography information for Derek Thomas

1606481

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that children with SEND receive multi-agency support; and what steps her Department is taking to learn lessons from the provision of Family Hubs and Family Help when rolling out multi-agency SEND support.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	171483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2023 answer text <p>In March this year, the government published its proposals to deliver stronger multi-agency support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Key reforms include the introduction of Local SEND and Alternative Provision Partnerships, which will bring together representatives across the system, and ensure co-production is at the centre of decision making.</p><p>The department also committed to develop and test a standard for multi-agency advisory panels, to assess the most effective size, membership and remit of a group. These panels will inform local authorities in making decisions around Education Health Care (EHC) statutory assessments. The department will also test whether a standardised EHC form is effective.</p><p>The department will strongly encourage the adoption of the Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO) role in each local area. The job description and practice expectations for the DSCO will provide the capacity and expertise to improve the links and contributions from care services into the SEND process.</p><p>The government has published the Stable Homes: Built on Love strategy for children’s social care. This included a commitment to publish a Knowledge and Skills Statement for Family Help Workers. The Knowledge and Skills Statement will be informed by new research on current family support workers, helping to use learning from existing practice to inform future multi-agency working.</p><p>Family hubs also have an important role to play. The government announced a package of around £300 million last year, to transform a wide range of services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of upper tier local authorities across England, including by creating a network of family hubs. The department has published guidance setting out the expectations of local authorities receiving a share of the funding, which includes specific expectations around hubs helping families who have children with SEND to access appropriate support and services. A copy of the guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide</a>.</p><p>We will robustly evaluate the programme and build the evidence base around what works for family hubs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 30/03/2023 16:07:50 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1606482

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend his proposed 30 free hours of childcare outlined in the Budget 2023 to children aged between 12 and 24 months to households with a collective income over £100,000.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	171367
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/03/2023 answer text <p>In the Spring Budget 2023 on 15 March, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents and children. This includes the expansion of the 30 hours free childcare offer, where eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year, from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.</p><p>The government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education by 2027/28, helping working families with their childcare costs. This announcement represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England.</p><p>Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are currently eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2024, this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds, over 38 weeks a year. From September 2025, working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week, over 38 weeks a year.</p><p>To be eligible for this offer, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum or living wage, and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year. The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £8,670 from April but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year are eligible. In a two-parent family, both parents must meet these thresholds, unless one partner receives certain benefits. In a single-parent household, the single parent must meet these income thresholds.</p><p>The reforms announced build on our current early education entitlements that the government offers, which includes a universal 15 hour offer for all 3 and 4-year-olds, a 15 hour offer for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds, the existing 30 hours offer for 3 and 4-year-olds, Tax-Free Childcare, and Universal Credit Childcare.</p><p>Further information on the support available to parents is available at: <a href="https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 30/03/2023 15:59:37 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1606269

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on establishing a strategy group to commence the workforce planning across SEND.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	171467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, set out that the Department for Education will work with the Department of Health and Social Care to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning, informed by a stronger evidence base. We will establish a steering group this year to oversee this work. Further details on the steering group will be provided in due course.</p><p>Oversight of our reforms will be driven by a new national SEND and AP Implementation Board, jointly chaired by Ministers from the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 171475 question first answered 27/03/2023 16:51:18 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1606270

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Family Hubs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of all children with SEND having access to a Family Hub.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	171468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, which sets out the next steps we will take to deliver a more positive experience for children, young people and families. The plan can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1139561/SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_plan.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1139561/SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_plan.pdf</a>.</p><p>The department will establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.</p><p>Family hubs have an important role to play in supporting the delivery of this vision for children with SEND. The department has announced a package of around £300 million to transform a wide range of services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of upper tier local authorities across England, including by creating a network of family hubs. The department has published guidance setting out the expectations of local authorities receiving a share of the funding, which includes specific expectations around hubs helping families who have children with SEND to access appropriate support and services. The guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide</a>.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 27/03/2023 16:53:33 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1606272

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to an Education Health Care Plan on supporting young people with SEND.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	171470
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper sets out the government’s assessment of the challenges that the SEND and AP system face, including education, health and care (EHC) plans. The government has published its proposals to deliver improvements through developing reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent EHC plan process. which makes greater use of digital technology, with the aim to increase consistency and the speed with which support is put in place.</p><p>The government continues to support local authorities with their core budgets, increased to £60 billion for the next financial year. Local authorities have the flexibility to spend according to local needs and priorities, including to undertake the EHC needs assessments.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 27/03/2023 16:54:47 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1606279

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure the Government's proposals for free childcare for children aged over nine months, as announced in the Budget 2023, apply to parents who already have childcare arrangements in place.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	171398
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The department is expanding the current free childcare offer, so that eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.</p><p>From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (across 38 weeks of the year). From September 2024 this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds, and from September 2025 working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week (38 weeks a year).</p><p>Parents who already have childcare arrangements in place will be able to benefit from this new offer, as well as benefiting from the government’s current range of childcare offers, which includes the free early education entitlements as well as Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 27/03/2023 16:44:37 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1606300

registered interest
date	22/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 165328 from the Rt Hon Member for Bournemouth East, tabled on 14 March for answer on 17 March.
tabling member constituency	Bournemouth East
tabling member printed	Mr Tobias Ellwood
uin	171369
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>I can confirm that a response to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-03-14/165328" target="_blank">165328</a> has been provided to the right hon. Member for Bournemouth East.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 27/03/2023 16:48:54 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	1487 label Biography information for Mr Tobias Ellwood