Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the review of free school meals to children from families with no recourse to public funds.
Answered by Will Quince
The work that has been done on reviewing the relationship between the no resource to public funds (NRPF) condition, and access to free school meals (FSM) will not be published.
FSM eligibility will be extended to children from all groups with NRPF from the start of the summer term, with guidance for schools being published shortly. Information on the number of children who received a free meal, and attracted pupil premium funding under the temporary extension of free school meal eligibility to some NRPF households in the 2021/2022 financial year can be found in the third document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of the continued provision of free school meals to children whose families are subject to the no recourse to public funds condition.
Answered by Will Quince
The department is 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. The department's 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.
Asked by: David Simmonds (Conservative - Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the scope is of the review of the care system; whether that review will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) amending the Children Act 1989 and other proposals for changes to legislation and (b) the decisions of the Scottish and Welsh Government to remove the reasonable chastisement defence; and if it will consult lead members for children's services that have statutory and political responsibilities for children's social care in their area.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The care review is a fundamental part of the government’s Manifesto. We are moving forward with plans to undertake this at the earliest opportunity. This includes considering the review’s scope, which has yet to be finalised but which we will confirm in due course. The scope will be broad and bold and take a fundamental look across children’s social care, with the aim of better supporting, protecting and improving the outcomes of vulnerable children and young people. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that the review would be independently led in a written statement on 12 February, which is available at the following link: https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2020-02-12/HCWS110/. The review scope will need to be developed alongside the independent leadership of the review.
We anticipate that the review will involve a wide range of figures with experience both within and around local agencies, in addition to the lived experience of children, young people and families.