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Written Question
Skills Bootcamps: British Overseas Territories
Monday 3rd July 2023

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will amend the residency requirement for the Skills Bootcamp programme so that newly arrived citizens from the British overseas territories under the BOTC (F), BOTC (M), and the BIOT (Chagossian) routes can take advantage of the programme to help them settle into employment in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Adults are eligible to apply for a Skills Bootcamp if they are aged 19 or over, have the right to work in the UK, live in England and meet residency requirements.

Skills Bootcamps follow the same residency eligibility criteria as other funding streams for further education for adults aged 19+, including the Adult Education Budget. The government has to prioritise which learners to support within the finite resources available.

Learners who have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years on the first day of learning are eligible for funding, irrespective of citizenship or nationality. Eligibility also extends to those with a right of abode in the UK, who have been residing in British Overseas Territories for at least the previous three years on the first day of learning.


Written Question
Children in Care: Education and Health
Tuesday 16th May 2023

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that living more than 20 miles from home has on (1) the mental health and wellbeing, and (2) educational outcomes, of children in the care system in England.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.

The department recognises that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care to live in. The way that local authorities currently plan for, commission and provide homes for children is at times not sufficient. This can result in some children living far from where they consider home and can have a negative impact on their wellbeing and outcomes. We want to reduce out of area placements, but sometimes circumstances mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority.

Information on placements, distance from the home placement and the location of the placement can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2022.

In response to the urgent calls from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Care Review to transform the way care is provided to children, the government is working to drive forward improvements at a national, regional and local level to increase sufficiency and improve standards of care and regulations.

By 2027, we will see an increase in the availability of high-quality, stable and loving homes for every child in care local to where they are from. To achieve this, the department is supporting local authorities to increase care placements and ensure they meet children’s needs, with £259 million of capital funding for secure and open children’s homes. We will also review legislation, regulations and standards of care to ensure the needs of all children in care are met.

We are also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the RCCs will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.


Written Question
Children in Care
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of multiple placement moves on the well-being and mental health of children in the care system in England.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All placement decisions are subject to the duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989, which requires the placement decision to be the most appropriate way to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. The welfare of children must always be paramount and local authorities have a duty to safeguard all children in their care. When the difficult decision is made to change a child’s placement, it must be in the best interest of the child. The department believes that social workers and the courts are best placed to make decisions for vulnerable children, in consideration of all the factors involved in often complex cases. Every child should experience a stable and loving home during their time in care.

Recognising the urgency of action in placement sufficiency, the department is prioritising working with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This will include pathfinder local recruitment campaigns that build towards a national programme to help ensure those carers approved are the right match for children coming into care, and children have access to the right placements at the right time, including supporting those children who have suffered complex trauma.

Figures on the number of looked after children who moved more than once (three or more placements during the year) were published for the year ending 31 March 2018 to the year ending 31 March 2022 in the table ‘CLA on 31 March with three or more placements during the year – LA’ in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’. The table can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2.


Written Question
Children in Care
Monday 13th February 2023

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the charity Become Home for Christmas, published on 2 January; and in particular, the finding that, on average, 150 children in the care system in England were moved each day in 2021–22.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All placement decisions are subject to the duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989, which requires the placement decision to be the most appropriate way to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. The welfare of children must always be paramount and local authorities have a duty to safeguard all children in their care. When the difficult decision is made to change a child’s placement, it must be in the best interest of the child. The department believes that social workers and the courts are best placed to make decisions for vulnerable children, in consideration of all the factors involved in often complex cases. Every child should experience a stable and loving home during their time in care.

Recognising the urgency of action in placement sufficiency, the department is prioritising working with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This will include pathfinder local recruitment campaigns that build towards a national programme to help ensure those carers approved are the right match for children coming into care, and children have access to the right placements at the right time, including supporting those children who have suffered complex trauma.

Figures on the number of looked after children who moved more than once (three or more placements during the year) were published for the year ending 31 March 2018 to the year ending 31 March 2022 in the table ‘CLA on 31 March with three or more placements during the year – LA’ in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England, including adoptions, 2022’. The table can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Migrants
Wednesday 16th November 2022

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure all schools are aware of the extension of the right to free school meals to children in all families subject to the 'no recourse to public funds' rule.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The permanent extension of free school meal (FSM) eligibility to families with no recourse to public funds has been in place since the start of the 2021/22 summer term. The department updated its FSM guidance page at that time to reflect this change. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools-and-local-authorities.

On 20 April 2022, an article on the expansion of FSM eligibility was included in the Education and Skills Funding Agency Update, which was emailed to academies and local authorities directly. The article can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-update-20-april-2022.

On 26 April 2022, the department issued a notice to all schools and local authorities through its sector bulletin that this change had come into effect.


Written Question
Schools: Uniforms
Tuesday 20th September 2022

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of the guidance on school uniforms.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is monitoring the impact of the school uniform guidance through continued engagement with key stakeholders, including via correspondence received by the department from parents, school leaders, and uniform suppliers.

While it is the responsibility of school governing boards to determine their uniform policy, we will continue to engage with the sector to ensure that schools are aware of their obligations to comply with the uniform guidance.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the level of support for (1) disabled children, and (2) families, of the proposed policy change in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) review to decide the services disabled young people receive on the basis of a new national banding system.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper sets out the department’s proposals to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families, so that they can fulfil their potential and lead happy, healthy, and productive adult lives. The proposals aim to drive national consistency in how needs are assessed, identified, and met across education, health, and care, through the introduction of national standards.

The department wants to ensure the most effective use of the investment in high needs funding and the proposal for a national framework of funding bands is to allow far greater consistency in funding arrangements throughout the system. We are consulting on how best to develop a national framework for funding bands and tariffs, to make it easier for children and young people, and their families, to understand not only the provision they can access locally, but also the funding levels that provision would attract, giving them greater assurance that their child’s needs will be met appropriately.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Migrants
Monday 11th April 2022

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families on 24 March (HCWS714) regarding children with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), whether the reference to "all families with NRPF" means that no family that meets the income and capital rules will be excluded from entitlement to free school meals; and what steps they are taking to inform schools of the decision to extend eligibility for free school meals permanently.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All children from families with no recourse to public funds will be entitled to free school meals. This is subject to income thresholds where appropriate.

This change will come into effect for the start of the summer term, commencing in April 2022. The department will shortly be providing updated guidance which will be communicated to relevant stakeholders.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Migrants
Wednesday 8th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Benyon on 17 November (HL Deb, col 282), what plans they have to make arrangements for the long-term provision of free school meals to children in families with no recourse to public funds; and when they intend to publish any such plans.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has temporarily extended free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds in light of the current unique circumstances many families face at this time.

We are currently working with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Migrants
Wednesday 8th December 2021

Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what review they are undertaking, if any, into the long-term provision of free school meals to children in families with no recourse to public funds; and when the outcome of any such review will be announced.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

We are working with departments across government to evaluate access to free school meals for families with no recourse to public funds. In the meantime, the extension of eligibility will continue with the current income threshold until a decision on long-term eligibility is made.

Once the review is complete, we will update our guidance accordingly. Our current guidance regarding the extension can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/guidance-for-the-temporary-extension-of-free-school-meals-eligibility-to-nrpf-groups.