Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ask Sheffield Hallam University to reconsider its proposal to close its Collegiate nursery provision.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I would like to say how sorry I was to read of the proposed closure of Sheffield Hallam’s nursery. I know how devastating such closures can be and the impact this can have on families and the wider community.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.
The department does not regulate the contracts between private businesses and parents buying childcare from them, and it would not be appropriate to become involved in local decision making. We are therefore unfortunately unable to directly intervene in individual cases.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action they are taking to address those issues and where needed support them with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. No local authorities
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the commitment to review early years funding, including national funding formulae, and consult the sector on changes by summer 2026; and when the consultation will launch.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We remain committed to engaging closely with stakeholders and launching the early years funding consultation in line with our stated timeframe of summer 2026. Further details on the date of publication will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the net cost to her Department of the student loans system associated with the student loan outlay provided to English Plan 2/Plan 5 undergraduate borrowers in England in (i) 2022/23, (ii) 2023/24, (iii) 2024/25 and (iv) in the future.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Details of the expected government subsidy in the financial years requested, in respect of student loan outlay when all future forecasted and discounted repayments are accounted for and otherwise known as Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge, can be found below.
2022/23 financial year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b2347ffa-4373-417c-f41c-08deb23852d3. This data is from table 4.1 in the fuller publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2022-23.
2023/24 financial year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/14f870b6-e141-4285-c5a6-08deb20526ae. This data is from table 4.1 in the fuller publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2023-24
2024/25 financial year and forecasts: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/fae8f4af-58bf-4647-c5a7-08deb20526ae. This data is from table 4.1 in the fuller publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposed 15 day limit for local authority visits to home educated children in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would apply during school holidays.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the proposed 15 day limit for local authority visits to home educated children in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill would apply to (a) requesting the visit, (b) finalising arrangements for a visit or (c) carrying out the visit.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to local authorities of the provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on visiting home educated children, including travel time.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of visiting several homes, including where the non-resident parent lives out of the area, on local authorities under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the resident parent will be subject to sanctions if the non-resident parent refuses a visit request under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the non-resident parent will be subject to sanctions if the resident parent refuses a visit request under provisions in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill for local authorities to visit home educated children at more than one home.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.
Asked by: Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds information on the number of home educated children with separated parents living at different addresses.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will empower local authorities to request to see a child in any of the homes in which the child lives within 15 days of the local authority recording the child’s home address(es) on their Children Not in School (CNIS) registers. The 15-day timeframe applies, irrespective of school holidays. After this point, the Bill also empowers local authorities to request a home visit for the purpose of determining whether to serve a preliminary notice or School Attendance Order (SAO).
If the parent on whom the request was made refuses the home visit, the local authority must take this into account when deciding whether to issue a preliminary notice or a SAO. As is the case now, parents of children subject to a SAO would only be subject to sanctions, such as fines, if found guilty in court of the offence of breaching the order. Parents may be found guilty if they do not enrol their child at the named school and are unable to demonstrate that they are providing a suitable education for their child and/or, where relevant, that education outside of a school is in their child’s best interests.
The department does not currently collect data on the number of home visits carried out by local authorities in relation to home educated children, nor on the living arrangements or family dynamics of those children.
However, we will provide local authorities with additional funding to support them to carry out their new duties. The amount of funding will be determined via a new burdens assessment.
We will also provide statutory guidance, which will be publicly consulted on, and a training package to support parents and local authorities to understand how the CNIS measures should work in practice, including how the measures apply in situations where children live across more than one household.