Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of times children in care must change school.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. The Children’s Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care and ensure placements safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. Further, the guidance is clear that the child’s allocated social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education and, where a child is in key stage 4, a move should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Responsibility for looked-after children sits with the local authority. The guidance and regulations of the Children Act 1989 can be found attached.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s personal education plan.
Whilst the number of placements experienced by looked after children in a one year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, the government recognises there are issues with finding stable placements. That is why the government has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas which will aim to further reduce the number of children experiencing multiple placements.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reduce the number of children in care experiencing multiple placements.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The needs of the child are paramount when deciding the right care placement. The Children’s Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care and ensure placements safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. Further, the guidance is clear that the child’s allocated social worker, supported by local authority management and resources, should do everything possible to minimise disruption to the child’s education and, where a child is in key stage 4, a move should only be made in exceptional circumstances. Responsibility for looked-after children sits with the local authority. The guidance and regulations of the Children Act 1989 can be found attached.
Every local authority must appoint a Virtual School Head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s personal education plan.
Whilst the number of placements experienced by looked after children in a one year period has remained broadly stable over the past 5 years, the government recognises there are issues with finding stable placements. That is why the government has announced over £400 million in capital funding to help local authorities create more beds in their local areas which will aim to further reduce the number of children experiencing multiple placements.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to improve the education of children in care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that looked-after children are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. Every local authority must appoint a virtual school head (VSH), who has a statutory duty to promote the educational attainment of all children in their care. All maintained schools and academies must appoint a designated teacher to act as a source of advice and expertise about the needs of the looked-after children on the school’s roll. Looked-after children also have top priority in school admissions and attract pupil premium plus funding of £2,570 per child, up to age 16. This is managed by the VSH, who works with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in the child’s Personal Education Plan.
In February 2023, the department announced the national rollout of £24 million of pupil premium plus style funding to looked-after children and care leavers at post-16 for the next two years, from 2023/24. This funding, which builds on an initial £8 million pilot that launched in October 2021, gives VHSs the financial levers to positively impact the educational outcomes of looked-after children and care leavers in post-16 education.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report from the Local Government Information Unit, The State of Local Government Finance in England 2024, published on 28 February, which suggests that half the councils in England will face bankruptcy within the next Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
I refer the Noble Lord to the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities HCWS241 and by the Minister for Local Government HCWS300 on 5 February.
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24 – an above inflation increase. This Settlement includes additional measures worth £600 million announced on 24 January.
On the 29 February, the Government published details of financial flexibilities agreed with a small number of other councils that requested financial support on an exceptional basis, due to specific local issues that they are unable to manage themselves. Nearly three quarters of the support announced relates to six councils where there has been severe local failure, forcing the government to step in and take action through statutory intervention.
As a result of this action by Government, we anticipate that all councils will be able to set a balanced budget and continue to deliver vital services for their communities.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking in response to the final report of the Competition and Markets Authority's children’s social care market study published on 10 March 2022, particularly with regard to the finding on excessive charging by private providers of residential care homes for children in public care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of looked-after children in the care of their local authority has increased by 2% to 83,840 at 31 March 2023 from 82,080 last year. The number of children in children’s homes has increased by 16% since 2019.
The department knows that the care system does not currently work for every child and that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care, resulting in some children living far from where they call home. Moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Directors of Children’s Services are required to sign off each decision and Ofsted can challenge where they believe poor decisions are being made. This is to encourage local authorities to place children locally wherever possible.
As the Competition and Markets Authority found in their 2022 market study, the largest private providers are making materially higher profits and charging materially higher prices than would be expected if the market was functioning effectively. The department recognises these issues, particularly around large providers with complex ownership structures, and agrees that sometimes placement costs can be too high.
In February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which sets out a broad, system-wide transformation. This can be accessed attached. As part of this strategy, the department is:
Finally, the department is supporting kinship families through the first ever national kinship care strategy, which is backed by the following funding: £20 million in 2024/25; over £36 million in a fostering recruitment and retention programme this Spending Review; and £160 million over the next three years to deliver the department’s adoption strategy, entitled ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to achieve a better distribution of residential care homes for children so that they are not placed great distances from their families, friends and school.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of looked-after children in the care of their local authority has increased by 2% to 83,840 at 31 March 2023 from 82,080 last year. The number of children in children’s homes has increased by 16% since 2019.
The department knows that the care system does not currently work for every child and that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care, resulting in some children living far from where they call home. Moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Directors of Children’s Services are required to sign off each decision and Ofsted can challenge where they believe poor decisions are being made. This is to encourage local authorities to place children locally wherever possible.
As the Competition and Markets Authority found in their 2022 market study, the largest private providers are making materially higher profits and charging materially higher prices than would be expected if the market was functioning effectively. The department recognises these issues, particularly around large providers with complex ownership structures, and agrees that sometimes placement costs can be too high.
In February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which sets out a broad, system-wide transformation. This can be accessed attached. As part of this strategy, the department is:
Finally, the department is supporting kinship families through the first ever national kinship care strategy, which is backed by the following funding: £20 million in 2024/25; over £36 million in a fostering recruitment and retention programme this Spending Review; and £160 million over the next three years to deliver the department’s adoption strategy, entitled ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young children in public care are not placed in unregistered accommodation.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of looked-after children in the care of their local authority has increased by 2% to 83,840 at 31 March 2023 from 82,080 last year. The number of children in children’s homes has increased by 16% since 2019.
The department knows that the care system does not currently work for every child and that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care, resulting in some children living far from where they call home. Moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Directors of Children’s Services are required to sign off each decision and Ofsted can challenge where they believe poor decisions are being made. This is to encourage local authorities to place children locally wherever possible.
As the Competition and Markets Authority found in their 2022 market study, the largest private providers are making materially higher profits and charging materially higher prices than would be expected if the market was functioning effectively. The department recognises these issues, particularly around large providers with complex ownership structures, and agrees that sometimes placement costs can be too high.
In February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which sets out a broad, system-wide transformation. This can be accessed attached. As part of this strategy, the department is:
Finally, the department is supporting kinship families through the first ever national kinship care strategy, which is backed by the following funding: £20 million in 2024/25; over £36 million in a fostering recruitment and retention programme this Spending Review; and £160 million over the next three years to deliver the department’s adoption strategy, entitled ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to tackle the increase of children being taken into public care.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The number of looked-after children in the care of their local authority has increased by 2% to 83,840 at 31 March 2023 from 82,080 last year. The number of children in children’s homes has increased by 16% since 2019.
The department knows that the care system does not currently work for every child and that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care, resulting in some children living far from where they call home. Moving a child away is not a decision to be taken lightly and there are legislative safeguards around this. Directors of Children’s Services are required to sign off each decision and Ofsted can challenge where they believe poor decisions are being made. This is to encourage local authorities to place children locally wherever possible.
As the Competition and Markets Authority found in their 2022 market study, the largest private providers are making materially higher profits and charging materially higher prices than would be expected if the market was functioning effectively. The department recognises these issues, particularly around large providers with complex ownership structures, and agrees that sometimes placement costs can be too high.
In February 2023, the department published ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, which sets out a broad, system-wide transformation. This can be accessed attached. As part of this strategy, the department is:
Finally, the department is supporting kinship families through the first ever national kinship care strategy, which is backed by the following funding: £20 million in 2024/25; over £36 million in a fostering recruitment and retention programme this Spending Review; and £160 million over the next three years to deliver the department’s adoption strategy, entitled ‘Achieving excellence everywhere’.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that non-custodial sentences command public and judicial confidence by ensuring that, when offenders undertake such interventions, they are demanding, well organised, purposeful, and with the clear intention of reducing recidivism.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to the effective delivery of non-custodial sentences, and it is important that both judges and the public have confidence in the delivery of these sentences.
Courts have the power to impose a range of requirements to sentences served in the community. All community orders must have a compulsory punitive element to ensure that offenders are punished for their crime, and to deter further reoffending. For example, Unpaid Work (UPW) ensures offenders are making visible reparations for their crimes, such as cleaning graffiti. We have invested up to £93m in Community Payback over a three-year period to boost delivery of UPW hours. We have also relaunched the UPW nominations website on GOV.UK to make it easier and more accessible for the public to have a say in how and where UPW hours should be used.
Electronic monitoring is a well-established tool available to courts and probation staff to strengthen offender management in the community. We are increasing the number of defendants and offenders that can be tagged at any one time to 25,000 by March 2025.
Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTRs) can also be imposed as part of a community sentence for offenders with mental health, drug or alcohol issues, offering a robust alternative to custody which addresses the root causes of offending. We have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators across all probation regions to ensure strong links between probation and healthcare to support these requirements.
Public confidence is maintained by ensuring our staff are equipped with the right tools so that they can make the most of their expertise and judgement. We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit record levels of staff, so that we can bring down caseloads, and deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community.
We recognise the importance of ensuring the public is properly informed about sentencing as a whole and that the public has access to a range of information to enable this. We are also building and maintaining the confidence of the judiciary by improving arrangements to increase understanding and transparency in probation delivery at national, regional and local levels.
Asked by: Lord Laming (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide support to local authorities in financial difficulty.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
We monitor the financial health of local authorities closely, including through extensive direct engagement with councils. We stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances, or that faces pressures it has not planned for.
The provisional local government finance settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to an additional £3.9 billion to local authorities in England, an increase of 6.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. We have launched a consultation on the provisional settlement, which closes on 15 January 2024.