Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2022 to Question 111600 on Holiday Activities and Food Programme, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to each local authority was spent on (a) administration, (b) publicity and marketing, (c) activities, (d) transport, (e) staffing, (f) food (g) club provisions and (h) other expenses in the financial year2021-22.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not hold data for the breakdowns requested. The closest available information is published in the 2021 evaluation of the programme, published in March 2022, which provides analysis of local authority expenditure on the programme for the Easter and Summer holidays. The evaluation report indicates that 92% of the funding was spent on direct delivery of the programme including face-to-face holiday club provision, food costs, activity costs, staffing costs, and transport costs. The remaining 8% was spent on the administration of the programme by local authorities. This report can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065868/Evaluation_of_the_2021_holiday_activities_and_food_programme.pdf.
Our Holiday Activities and Food programme grant letter sets requirements for local authorities in relation to programme expenditure. It specifies that up to 10% of an authority’s funding allocation may be spent on programme administration, with the remaining 90% being spent on the direct delivery of free places for eligible children. Local authorities must confirm through an annual Certificate of Expenditure that the funding has been properly expended. The department does not specify how much local authorities should spend on food, activities, staff and transport as local circumstances will vary.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Holiday activities and food programme 2022, published on 28 January 2022, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to each local authority for the 2021-2022 financial year was spent on (a) administration, (b) publicity and marketing, (c) activities, (d) transport, (e) staffing, (f) food and (g) any other expense.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department's Holiday Activities and Food programme grant letter sets requirements for local authorities programme expenditure. It specifies that up to 10% of an authority’s funding allocation may be spent on programme administration, with the remaining 90% being spent on the direct delivery of free places for eligible children. Local authorities must confirm through an annual Certificate of Expenditure that the funding has been properly expended.
An evaluation of the programme, published in March 2022, provides analysis of local authority expenditure on the programme for the Easter and summer holidays in 2021. The evaluation report indicates that 92% of the funding was spent on direct delivery of the programme including face-to-face holiday club provision, food costs, activity costs, staffing costs, and transport costs. The remaining 8% was spent on the administration of the programme by local authorities. The evaluation report is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065868/Evaluation_of_the_2021_holiday_activities_and_food_programme.pdf.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2022 to Question 75936 on Children in Care: Siblings, how many siblings and half siblings were split up under local authority care in each of the last three years.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities provide information on looked after children through the SSDA903 annual return. However, this does not include information on the family background of looked after children, including whether they have siblings and/or half-siblings.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish all data and statistics on sibling and half sibling contact for children under local authority care.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities provide information on looked after children through the SSDA903 annual return. However, this does not include information on sibling and half-sibling contact.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the funding allocated to each local authority for the Holiday Activities and Food Programme 2022 has been spent on (a) administration, (b) publicity and marketing, (c) organisations asked to deliver activities and (d) food.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department is investing over £200 million a year in the holiday activities and food programme. This provides free holiday club places with enriching activities and healthy meals to children from low-income families. It is delivered through grants to local authorities, and the clubs are available in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.
Local authorities are required to follow the specification in the programme’s grant determination letter, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1042274/Grant_determination_letter_-_HAF_2022_Final.pdf.
This states that authorities can spend up to a maximum of 10% of their funding allocation on administration costs.
The department’s delivery for the 2022/23 financial year is not yet complete, as provision will continue during the Christmas holidays. After the end of the 2022/23 financial year, local authorities must confirm through an annual Certificate of Expenditure that the funding has been properly expended. Authorities must also provide an annual report after the financial year ends, including final information on expenditure.
As delivery in 2022 is still ongoing, the department is not in a position to collate or share breakdowns showing local authority expenditure for this full period on (a) administration, (b) publicity and marketing, (c) organisations asked to deliver activities and (d) food. However, there is relevant analysis of local expenditure in the external evaluation of the programme in summer 2021. The evaluation report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1065868/Evaluation_of_the_2021_holiday_activities_and_food_programme.pdf.
This indicated that 92% of the funding was spent on direct delivery of the programme including face-to-face holiday club provision, food costs, activity costs, staffing costs, and transports costs. The remaining 8% was spent on the administration of the programme by local authorities.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing local authorities to (a) submit more than one need as a reason for why a child is being looked after in their SSDA03 data returns and (b) include housing and homelessness as one of those reasons.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Data on reasons for the primary need of a child starting to be looked after is currently collected using an established code set for ‘primary need’ which is set out in the collection guide. Children looked after who were previously living with their family, but were homeless, are counted within the category ‘Family in acute stress’. The latest children looked after data collection guide is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/children-looked-after-return-guide-to-submitting-data. The primary need categories defined in the department’s data collection are not intended to be exhaustive, and housing and homelessness is not a specific category. However, all potential risk factors are taken into consideration when assessing the needs of a child and how they might best be supported.
More detailed information on the needs and additional assessment factors used for children who are assessed by children’s social care are collected within the annual Children in Need census. The latest guide can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/children-in-need-census.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, relating to the Independent review of children’s social care if she will (a) publish all evidence and research to support the removal of Independent Reviewing Officers, (b) publish any plans around Independent Reviewing Officers being considered for different roles and (c) and if her Department has considered the conflict of interest between a child and their advocate when considering the removal of Independent Reviewing Officers.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Independent reviewing officers (IROs) play an important part of the accountability mechanism for ensuring that children in care are supported appropriately by the local authority. They play an important role in quality assuring the care planning and review process for each child and to ensure that their current wishes and feelings are given full consideration.
The department is fully committed to ensuring the voice of the child in care is listened to when services are being developed and delivered in taking forward our response to the Independent Care Review.
The department will publish an implementation strategy later this year, which will set out how we will improve outcomes for vulnerable children and place the system on a sustainable footing.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish the agreement which his Department has made with the Children's Commissioner for England allowing her to take up a director position on the School-Led Development Trust, which is funded by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the arrangements in place to ensure that the Children's Commissioner for England maintains independence from (a) Government and (b) organisations outside Government.
Answered by Will Quince
The Children’s Commissioner’s role, functions, powers, and independence are set out in the Children Act 2004. Pursuant to Schedule 1 of the Children Act 2004, the Children’s Commissioner for England is a Corporate Sole and, therefore, independent from government and not to be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown.
The School-Led Development Trust (SLDT) is running the National Institute of Teaching under contract to the department. SLDT is currently a private limited company seeking independent charitable status and, as such, it is responsible for their own recruitment processes for staff and trustees.
The Children’s Commissioner has declared her role as Trustee of SLDT on the Office of Children’s Commissioner website under its register of interests.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department provides to English students studying a full degree at a university in the US.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Students are eligible for student finance only where their course is offered by a UK registered provider, and is substantially provided in the UK so that at least half of the teaching and supervision which comprise the course is provided in the UK. This ensures that funding is focused on eligible students studying within the UK.
To extend loan support to every student, no matter where they study, would involve substantial additional costs to the taxpayer, who already heavily subsidise the loan scheme.
The Fulbright Scholarship global programme provides the largest merit-based scholarship in the world, operating in 144 countries with bilateral programmes in 49 of them. The US-UK Fulbright Commission is responsible for administering the Fulbright Programme in the UK and is co-funded by the US and UK governments.
Asked by: Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour - South Shields)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 155805 and pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2022 to Question 24601, when his Department's policy changed to not contact the Children’s Commissioner with relevant Parliamentary Questions.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
There has not been a change of policy. The hon. Member has asked for information which is not held by the department. Given that the Children’s Commissioner works independently of government, the hon. Member should send relevant questions directly to the Children’s Commissioner.