Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the eligibility for Pupil Premium Plus funding to include children adopted from overseas.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government is currently considering the application of pupil premium plus to children adopted from care outside England and Wales and have not set a timetable for any changes. However, this should not prevent schools from providing full support to these children now, including, for example, the expertise of both designated teacher and virtual school heads, whose duties to promote the educational attainment of previously looked-after children include children adopted from care from abroad.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many young children placed into care out of area subsequently go missing or become victims of abuse.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold information on looked after children placed out of area who subsequently go missing or become victims of abuse. However, local authorities, police and other partners share current local data to safeguard on all looked after children if they go missing. This includes understanding patterns of missing episodes to put preventative steps in place.
The government considers this an important issue. The Missing Children and Adults strategy, (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/missing-children-and-adults-strategy) which focuses primarily on vulnerable people who go missing within England and Wales, provides a core framework in which we can all work to deliver collectively the best protection possible for missing children, adults and their families.
The government is clear that the needs of the child are paramount when making decisions about the right care placement. Local authorities have a statutory duty to consider the right placement for the child and take into account a number of factors, one of which is placement area. For some children in care a placement outside of a home local authority area is in their best interests, provided there is effective planning and oversight. In recent years we have strengthened the safeguards around children being placed out of area, for example since 2013, Directors of Children’s Services must approve all placements at ‘distance’ (i.e. more than 20 miles away).