The government remains committed to ensuring the most disadvantaged children continue to be supported.<\/p>
The department is investing up to £38 million in the National School Breakfast Programme. Overall, this money will set up or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. The focus of these clubs has been to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country \u2013 including the Department for Education\u2019s Opportunity Areas \u2013 to help make sure every child gets the best start in life. We will shortly be providing more information on the future of breakfast club provision, as our current contract is due to expire in July.<\/p>
During the periods of school attendance restrictions, schools have been asked to continue to provide support for eligible free school meal pupils learning at home. Schools have been able to choose the approach that works best for them, whether providing a lunch parcel, a locally arranged voucher or accessing the national voucher scheme. So far families have redeemed more than £90 million in supermarket vouchers during this school term.<\/p>
The government has taken unprecedented measures during the COVID-19 outbreak to protect the most vulnerable and put in place a strong package of financial support to support families and children. The COVID Winter Support Package was announced in November 2020. This included: the Department for Work and Pensions\u2019 £170 million COVID Winter Grant Scheme, which has now been extended until the end of the Easter holidays (16 April 2021); the £220 million national expansion of the department\u2019s Holiday Activities and Food Programme in 2021; and a further £16 million for FareShare to distribute to food charities.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4218", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Berridge"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Berridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-03-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-03-24T17:29:57.65Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-03-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Pupils: Food"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of state schools providing (1) breakfast clubs, (2) food banks, and (3) food and other parcels, to the families of pupils; and what plans they have to support schools to continue this provision in the long-term.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2018", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hylton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hylton"} ], "uin" : "HL14090"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1299849", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1299849/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
This government is fully committed to protecting and promoting children\u2019s rights. In 2020 we held a parliamentary reception to celebrate 30 years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which was ratified in 1991 by the government. We regularly report to the UN Committee on the work we have been doing across the UK to implement the UNCRC and promote children\u2019s rights.<\/p>
We intend to submit our combined sixth and seventh report to the UN Committee in accordance with the timelines prescribed by the Committee, in February 2022.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4218", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Berridge"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Berridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-03-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-03-18T14:05:42.43Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-03-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "UN Convention on the Rights of the Child"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish their response to the List of Issues for the combined 6th and 7th reports under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2018", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hylton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hylton"} ], "uin" : "HL13906"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1195334", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1195334/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Ensuring that vulnerable children remain safe and protected is our top priority. For children who have a parent in custody, their circumstances vary considerably and therefore local agencies are best placed to determine what support is needed. This may include early help, statutory social care services, or support for other needs, such as mental health. A child\u2019s need for support should be assessed individually. We do not believe a prescriptive approach \u2013 such as regarding all children of prisoners as children in need \u2013 is the right one. However, it is vital that all services consider the safeguarding and welfare issues that may be faced by children of prisoners.<\/p>
The statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018), is unequivocally clear that anyone who has concerns about a child\u2019s welfare should make a referral to local authority children\u2019s social care. The local authority and its social workers then have specific roles and responsibilities to lead statutory assessments or enquiries to determine whether the child is in need (section 17, Children Act 1989), or suffering or likely to suffer significant harm (section 47, Children Act 1989).<\/p>
We know that attending education settings is an important protective factor for vulnerable children. That is why we have ensured vulnerable groups, including children with a social worker and children assessed as otherwise vulnerable by educational providers or local authorities, can continue to attend educational settings. We are also providing laptops and tablets for children with a social worker and care leavers, and those in year 10 preparing for exams who do not already have such devices, to help children\u2019s social care services keep in touch and keep children safe, and to support remote education.<\/p>
For schools and colleges, the statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, sets out that staff should consider the additional needs of children with parents in prison. The guidance highlights the risk of poor outcomes including poverty, stigma, isolation and poor mental health. It signposts staff to the National Information Centre on Children of Offenders website which provides specialist advice and resources to support professionals working with offenders and their children, to help mitigate negative consequences for those children.<\/p>
We recognise the importance of supporting and maintaining links between offenders and their families, when this is in the best interests of the child. This is why HM Prison and Probation Service have been active in responding to this need and providing support for the families and children of those men, women and young people in their care. This includes the issuing of 900 mobile phones to establishments, piloting a video calling service, video messaging, using social media to update families, issuing letters from senior prison staff to prisoners\u2019 families with information and updates on conditions, weekly bulletins and updates from establishments, reassurance updates from healthcare and psychology teams, and running art competitions for children of prisoners.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4218", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Berridge"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Berridge"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-05-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-05-26T13:53:59.253Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-05-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Children: Coronavirus"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the best interests of children who have a parent in custody, during, and after, the COVID-19 pandemic.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2018", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hylton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hylton"} ], "uin" : "HL4337"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }