Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reverse their decision to cap the funding of the National FGM Centre.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is abuse and we want to eradicate this practice once and for all. Between 2015-2020, the department made available over £3.5 million from the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme to Barnardo’s in order to establish and run the National FGM Centre. The department’s Innovation Programme funding was time-limited with the proportion of costs reducing from year to year. The funding was intended to build capacity in the sector.
The department has committed some further funding to spread good practice and end this abuse. We have also introduced tough safeguarding laws to compel certain professionals to report if they have encountered cases of FGM in under 18s, provided funding for charities to support victims of FGM and, through our new relationships, health and sex education curriculum, we are teaching pupils about the emotional and physical damage of FGM in an age-appropriate way, as well as teaching that it is a crime.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to recognise the contribution of nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to (1) end nursing student tuition fees, and (2) reimburse current debt for all nursing students.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government is extremely grateful to all students who chose to opt into a paid clinical placement in the NHS during this extremely difficult time. We have ensured that all students who do so are rewarded fairly for their hard work. Nursing, midwifery and allied health students who volunteered as part of the COVID-19 response have been receiving a salary and automatic NHS pension entitlement at the appropriate band. Time spent on paid placements as part of the COVID-19 response counts towards the requirement for students to complete a specified number of training hours in order to successfully complete their degrees.
Nursing students will continue to be required to pay tuition fees, and there are no plans for a specific debt write-off scheme for these students. Student loan borrowers are only required to make repayments from the April after they have finished their course, and once they are earning over the relevant repayment threshold. The amount borrowers are required to repay each week or month is linked to their income, not the interest rate or the amount borrowed. Repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the repayment threshold, and any outstanding debt is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, as part of their COVID-19 recovery strategy, they will enable (1) professional outdoor education, and (2) adventure holiday providers, to offer appropriately distanced and planned activities (a) for schools, and (b) in the school holidays.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government’s overriding priority remains keeping the public safe. Any steps taken as part of a phased lifting of restrictions need to be measured and guided by the science. It is for this reason that, while we have set out that primary schools can now welcome back some more of their pupils, we are advising that professional outdoor education and adventure holiday companies that would usually offer activities for schools and/ or summer holiday activities to children, should be remaining closed for the time being.
However, under the new social distancing guidelines, which allow up to, but no more than 6 people to gather outside, parents can take their children to a 1-1 outdoor coaching or training session, as long as the gathering does not exceed 6 people and social distancing is adhered to. Parents can also take their children to certain other outdoor sport and recreation activities, provided they are meeting these same social distancing requirements. Details of the types of activities included are set out in DCMS’s guidance for the public on the phased return of outdoor sport and recreation, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-phased-return-of-sport-and-recreation/guidance-for-the-public-on-the-phased-return-of-outdoor-sport-and-recreation.
The government will keep this position under review and continue to be guided by the best scientific and medical advice to ensure that the right decisions are taken at the right time.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, following reports that parents have withdrawn their children from Parkfield Community School in Alum Rock, Birmingham, what steps they have taken to ensure that pupils who have been withdrawn receive an adequate education whilst not attending school.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department is actively engaged in the situation at Parkfield Community School, where parents are objecting to an educational programme, No Outsiders, which contains elements of teaching around lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues. Senior officials from the Regional School Commissioner’s Office have been on site regularly since the start of this issue and have facilitated conversations between the community, the academy and Excelsior Multi Academy Trust. They are already working closely with the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill, Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Education Partnership to resolve the conflict and, as such, end pupil absences as soon as possible.
At this stage the department believes no extra provision is required, however every extra day of school missed can have a negative impact on pupils’ education; there must therefore be a good reason to take them out of school. The department is working with the school and its parents to find a solution.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will launch an inquiry into the removal of children from survivors of sexual exploitation in Rotherham; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has no plans to launch an inquiry into the removal of children from survivors of sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
The attached report ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’, published in March 2015, and the attached follow-up report ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report’, published in February 2017, set out a national response to the failures seen in Rotherham and elsewhere, where children were let down by the very people who were responsible for protecting them. We have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat to empower police forces to maximise their skills and expertise in order to tackle these crimes.
We are committed to ensuring that victims receive quality support when and where they need it. In each of the last three years, the government has provided £7 million in funding for non-statutory organisations supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
The government wants every child to be in a stable, loving home that is right for them. One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system is that children are best looked after within their families. However, as a last resort after other steps to support the child to remain safely at home have failed, local authorities may apply to the independent courts for a decision about removing a child from their family. In making their decision about each individual case, the courts must be satisfied that the threshold for significant harm has been met and that taking the child from his or her family’s care will be in the child’s best interests.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that victims of grooming gangs are not stigmatised by social services.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department published, in February 2017, a new definition of child sexual exploitation and guidance for practitioners. This non-statutory guidance was produced to help all safeguarding professionals who work with children and families to identify child sexual exploitation and respond to children to support and help them appropriately.
In July, the department published the attached revised and strengthened version of our statutory safeguarding guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’. This clarifies the core legal requirements on individuals and organisations to keep children safe. It makes clear that whatever the form of abuse or neglect, practitioners should put the needs of children first when determining what action to take. The guidance includes clear advice on child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The ‘Knowledge and Skills statement’ for child and family social work practitioners (attached) also sets out that in terms of abuse and neglect they should be able to consider the possibility of child sexual exploitation, grooming (on and offline), amongst other harms that pose a risk to children.
Asked by: Baroness Cox (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage schools to raise awareness of the risk of forced marriage and honour-based abuse, and of the availability of preventive measures.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). We are helping to end violence at home and abroad by allowing women to check their partner’s criminal history, introducing domestic violence protection orders, criminalising forced marriage and introducing a new offence of domestic abuse. We will strengthen victims’ rights further, with a new Victims’ Law that will enshrine key rights for victims. The previous government ring-fenced £40 million to VAWG services - £10 million per year, specifically for refuges. The government has committed to continuing that funding up to April 2016.
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) statutory guidance, issued by the Department for Education, outlines to schools and colleges their roles and responsibilities with regard to safeguarding their pupils. The department makes it clear that schools and colleges play a significant role in early identification of abuse and preventing concerns from escalating.
KCSIE signposts school staff to specific forced marriage information and guidelines produced by the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU). This information provides an overview of forced marriage, together with FMU contact details for further information and advice.
KCSIE also signposts schools to further information on faith abuse: the ‘National action plan to tackle child abuse linked to faith or belief’. This action plan serves to help raise awareness of the issue of child abuse linked to faith or belief, including honour based violence and forced marriage. The action plan encourages practical steps to be taken to prevent such abuse.
KCSIE recognises that forced marriage and honour based violence are safeguarding concerns. The guidance makes clear that any concerns identified by staff should be raised and discussed with the school’s designated safeguarding lead and escalated to children’s social care as appropriate.
Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, and Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) are curriculum subjects that may be used to raise pupil awareness of forced marriage and honour-based abuse. To support teaching in these areas, the PSHE Association has produced guidance for teaching about consent, covering the importance of building healthy relationships, as well as giving young people the confidence and knowledge about staying safe and respecting others. It also supports the government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, which helps educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships.