Free School Meals
Baroness Barran Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
I suspect that there are ways in which AI could help. As we talk to stakeholders and others who are involved in trying to encourage the full take-up of free school meal entitlement, there are also some less technological ways in which, for example, those who work closely with families, let us say in local authorities, on other areas of their benefits—housing benefit, for example—can be facilitated through the sharing of data that I have talked about to make the links for those families to the sharing of free school meals. There is a whole range of other areas of stigma, as my noble friend outlined, where sometimes work, both in schools and at a local level, can help to overcome those barriers and make sure that children and their families are getting what they are entitled to.
Baroness Barran (Con)
My Lords, the Minister mentioned DWP. She will be aware of the concerns about the loss of entitlement to free school meals when those on legacy benefits migrate to universal credit. The estimates I have seen are as high as 1 million children. Could she say what assessment the department has made of this? If she does not have the figures, perhaps she could write to me and put a copy in the Library.
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Baroness is talking about the changes to the transitional protections: as she knows, phase one has now come to an end. To reassure families, no pupil will feel any change as a result of the move to phase two of the protections until after the summer. I can assure the noble Baroness that, as with all government policy, we will keep our approach to free school meals under review. I am happy to write to her with the figures for those who have had transitional protections and how they will be supported until the end of this school year. Then, we will bring forward more information about what will happen at that particular point.
Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund
Baroness Barran Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Barran (Con)
My Lords, this last-minute announcement of the renewal of the fund, while welcome in itself, feels extraordinary, as it came after weeks of obfuscation and a day after the previous fund had expired. Will the Minister explain what happened, what went wrong, when applications will open and what the Government are doing to make sure that the most urgent cases are fast-tracked for support?
The Minister of State, Department for Education (Baroness Smith of Malvern) (Lab)
I am sure that all noble Lords will recognise the very important role played by the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which provides valuable therapeutic support to adopted children and special guardianship children who were previously in care. I very much appreciate that the delay in confirming the continuation of this fund has been a very difficult time for many people. In relation to individual arrangements, we put in place transitional funding arrangements ahead of the full 2025-26 budget announcements that we were able to make yesterday. This means that therapy that started in the last financial year has continued into this financial year, so most children who are in the middle of their therapy have not missed out. I am pleased that the Government were able yesterday to confirm that £50 million has been allocated for the adoption and special guardianship support fund. We will be announcing further details in coming days and opening applications to families and children across the country as soon as we can.
Schools: Special Educational Needs
Baroness Barran Excerpts(4 weeks, 2 days ago)
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Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
Yes, it was bad. We are having to make some enormously difficult decisions. Having said that, we are in the process of business planning, as well as planning for the next spending review, and we hope to be in a position to announce the future of schemes like that as soon as possible.
Baroness Barran (Con)
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that recent reports have highlighted the very variable quality of education, health and care plans, and have identified a number where interventions were recommended that are proven not to work. In parallel with that, there have been suggestions that there should be the equivalent of NICE for special educational needs. Given how complex this area is and how long it will take to make the big structural reforms that I know the Government want to do, is this not something that the Government could press on with quickly to improve the lives of children within the system?
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a fair point about us being as clear as possible about which interventions are most effective for children, as well as the broader reform that is going to be necessary. That is why, to be fair to the noble Baroness, some of the work that was started under the change programme is identifying where there is good practice in relation to EHCPs. That is why, in the engagement that this Government have started, led by Christine Lenehan as the strategic adviser for special educational needs and disability, we are looking at what is working effectively and what we need to change. I take the noble Baroness’s point about how we more quickly identify what high-quality interventions are and how to spread that as quickly as possible across the system.
Campus Antisemitism in Britain: Community Security Trust Report
Baroness Barran Excerpts(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Lord is right about the impactful testimony that we were able to hear yesterday evening. I agree with him about the types of action we should be taking, particularly focusing on how the introduction of the new OfS condition will ensure that universities respond quickly, appropriately and with sufficient independence to the sorts of complaints we heard about yesterday.
Baroness Barran (Con)
My Lords, I was glad to hear the Minister refer to the University Jewish Chaplaincy, which offers invaluable practical and emotional support in universities all around the country. Will she join me in thanking it for its work, recognising that it is in exceptionally difficult circumstances, and for the leadership of the chief executive, Sophie Dunoff, and her team?
Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)
I am very pleased to join the noble Baroness in recognising that work. The University Jewish Chaplaincy not only provides safeguarding and support for Jewish students, at a time that we have already agreed has been enormously difficult, but, as the right reverend Prelate outlined, is increasingly working with other chaplaincies to develop the tolerance, and the ability to discuss and debate on our university campuses, that we should absolutely expect—as should Jewish students, given the experiences they have had. As a Government, we will definitely promote that work.