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Written Question
Foster Care: Lincolnshire
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Lincolnshire County Council is participating in the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder, which came out of the department’s children’s social care implementation strategy Stable Homes, Built on Love. The pathfinder aims to rebalance children’s social care away from costly crisis intervention to more meaningful and effective early support.

As part of the pathfinder, the department is working with a select number of local areas to test significant changes to how local areas help children and young people. This includes increasing support at the earlier end of the system, with the aim of keeping children with birth parents or wider family where safe to do so. This will help to reduce the number of children looked after and therefore drive down demand for foster care or other placements.

There is support available from the department where children are unable to stay with their birth families and foster care placements are sought. Lincolnshire County Council are being supported by the Fosterlink support service. Fosterlink provides support for local authorities to improve the way they recruit foster carers by reviewing current processes to identify areas for service and practice improvements, as well as creating a national network in which to share best practice.

More broadly, the department is investing over £36 million this parliament to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme, so foster care is available for more children who need it. This will boost approvals of foster carers, as well as taking steps to retain the foster carers we have.

Greater financial support for foster carers will help improve the experiences of all children in care. For the second year running, the department is uplifting the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) above the rate of inflation. For 2024/2025, the NMA will increase by 6.88%. This is on top of a 12.43% NMA increase in 2023/24.

In addition, the department estimates that changes to tax and benefit allowances will give the average foster carer an additional £450 per year as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers.

The department will also build on this investment since 2014 of over £8 million to help embed the Mockingbird programme, an innovative model of peer support for foster parents and the children in their care where children benefit from an extended family environment.


Written Question
Pre-school Education and Primary Education: Down's Syndrome
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) early years learning and (b) primary education for children with Down's Syndrome.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is committed to improving the life outcomes and opportunities for children with Down syndrome, including through follow-up to the Down Syndrome Act 2022. From 2025, the department will begin collecting data on the numbers of children and young people with Down syndrome in schools and colleges. This will help inform the planning locally of long term services.

The special educational needs and disability (SEND) system in education settings provides support for all children with SEND. The system focuses on removing barriers to education and putting the right support in place to meet need, regardless of the specific condition a child may have. The department set out its mission for more children and young people with SEND to have their needs met effectively in mainstream settings in the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in March 2023. The SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan.

In the Improvement Plan, the department confirmed that frontline professionals, such as teachers and early years practitioners, would be equipped with the skills and expertise to make best use of provision and to identify needs early, accurately and consistently. The department is developing a suite of practitioner standards to help early years staff, teachers and teaching assistants to identify and support the needs of children and young people they work with, prioritising areas such as speech and language development. The department is funding up to 7,000 early years staff to gain an accredited Level 3 early years special educational needs co-ordinator qualification.

Additionally, the department is investing £2.6 billion in new specialist places to increase the number of places for those children who need specialist support in mainstream and special schools, and alternative provision. These developments will help children with Down syndrome in early years settings and primary schools reach their full potential.

Specifically on early years learning, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow, including learning and development requirements. The EYFS includes specific requirements for supporting children with SEND, including those with Down syndrome. All early years providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND and all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice.


Written Question
Apprentices: South Holland and the Deepings
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) Level 4 and (b) Level 5 apprenticeships have been started in South Holland and the Deepings constituency since 2019 as of 20 March 2024.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Level 4 and 5 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and The Deepings constituency can be found in the following table:

Academic year

Level 4

Level 5

2018/19

70

50

2019/20

40

60

2020/21

50

60

2021/22

60

70

2022/23

80

60

2023/24 reported to date

50

30

Total

340

330

Note:

(1) Figures for 2023/24 are provisional and cover the first two quarters (Aug 2023 to Jan 2024). All other years are final, full-year figures.

(2) Apprenticeship start volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(3) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.


Written Question
Job Creation and Skilled Workers: South Holland and the Deepings
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what fiscal steps she is taking to support (a) training programmes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) other efforts to promote (i) job creation and (ii) skills development in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies.

The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system that is employer-focused, high quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives; and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this parliament to strengthen higher and further education.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the department is investing nearly £7 billion for education and training places for 16 to 19 year olds, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This funding is allocated to education providers to deliver study programmes and T Levels to young people.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which totalled £1.34 billion in the 2023/24 Funding Year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes funding going to Boston College, which includes the Spalding Campus in the South Holland and the Deepings Constituency.

The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. Around 400 qualifications are available on the offer, chosen specifically as they offer good wage outcomes and address skills needs in the economy. There have been over 61,000 enrolments since April 2021.

Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks in priority skills areas, with a guaranteed interview upon completion. The department is expanding Skills Bootcamps through increased national procurement and grant funding to 30 Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas to meet national and local skills needs in the 2024/25 financial year. The department granted Great Lincolnshire LEP, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, £2 million for Skills Bootcamps across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland in 2023, and a further £3 million for courses starting after April 2024.

The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support more high quality apprenticeship opportunities across the country, including in South Holland and the Deepings. There have been over 11,000 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and the Deepings since 2010.

The department has introduced employer-designed T levels, which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country. University Academy Holbeach in South Holland and the Deepings currently offers seven T Levels and is planning to offer three more from September 2024.

Multiply is the government’s programme for improving adult numeracy. Multiply is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is the government’s flagship fund for supporting people and places across the UK. Up to £270 million is directly available for local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy. Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £4.02 million of Multiply funding from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to improve adult numeracy in their area.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Lincolnshire
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

A joint local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection of Lincolnshire was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in October 2018. At the time, inspectors identified no significant areas of weakness in SEND services. The inspection covered all of Lincolnshire including South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Ofsted launched a new framework for area SEND inspections in January 2023. This framework introduced a continuous cycle of inspections, where each local area will have at least one full area SEND inspection within five years of the launch of the framework. Lincolnshire will be inspected under this framework in due course.


Written Question
Schools: Religion
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) new and (b) existing schools have built designated multi-faith areas since 2010.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not collect or hold data about the construction of designated multi-faith areas by schools.

It is the department’s understanding that the vast majority schools which provide multi-faith areas do so by using existing spaces such as classrooms and assembly halls.


Written Question
Education: Lincolnshire
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was for educational grants provided to (a) South Holland District Council and (b) South Kesteven District Council in (i) 2022-23 and (ii) 2023-24.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not make any grants directs to South Holland District Council or South Kesteven District Council.

The department is able to provide the schools National Funding Formula (NFF) allocations for schools in the South Holland and District Council and South Kesteven District Council for 2022/23 and 2023/24. Other funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of district councils.

NFF allocations for schools in the areas of South Holland District Council and South Kesteven District Council for 2022/23 and 2023/24 can be found in the attached tables. This covers mainstream schools funding only. The schools NFF determines school revenue funding for all mainstream schools in England, although schools’ actual allocations are based on local authorities’ local funding formulae. District council figures are based on an aggregate of schools’ NFF allocations.


Written Question
Department for Education: Stonewall
Thursday 29th February 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided to Stonewall in 2023.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department has not funded any Stonewall programmes in 2023.

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA), an executive agency of the department, paid a total of £2,160 to Stonewall in 2023. The contract the payment relates to has now expired and STA has confirmed it has no new contracts with Stonewall.


Written Question
Translation Services: Schools
Wednesday 21st February 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on translation services in schools from English to (a) Polish, (b) Arabic, (c) Urdu, (d) Panjabi and (e) Romanian in each of the last five years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South Holland and The Deepings, to the answer of 30 January 2024 to questions 10704 and 10705.


Written Question
Antisemitism
Wednesday 31st January 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of antisemitism incidents there have been on higher education campuses since 7 October 2023.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Departmental officials have assessed evidence of antisemitism and racial hatred linked to incidents at English universities. Where concerns have arisen, officials have reached out to relevant universities to understand what actions they have taken, including reporting issues to the police where appropriate. The department also continually reminds providers of their obligations under the Prevent duty, where they should be working to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. There is an online "Reporting Extremism" form where members of the public can raise concerns to the department directly.

The department also regularly meets with the Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors and reports on antisemitism in the UK. CST’s latest report indicates that there were 154 antisemitic incidents in higher education (HE) between 7 October 2023 and 13 December 2023.

This unprecedented level of antisemitism on campus is deeply concerning. On 5 November 2023, the department published a five-point plan detailing concerted action to protect Jewish students in HE. The plan involves:

  • Calling for visas to be withdrawn from international students who incite racial hatred.
  • Liaising with the Office for Students on its role in reviewing antisemitic incidents.
  • Continuing to make it clear in all discussions that acts that may be criminal should be referred to the police.
  • Communicating with Vice Chancellors to emphasise the use of robust disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement.
  • Establishing an antisemitism quality seal in HE, which will enable universities to demonstrate a tangible commitment to tackling antisemitism.

In the 22 November 2023 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an additional £7 million of funding over three years for a comprehensive package of measures to tackle antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities. The department will issue an invitation to tender shortly for organisations interested in delivering this package.