Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of pupils that have experienced hygiene poverty in each of the last five years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to tackling child poverty as part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child.
Child poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. This not only harms children’s lives now, but it also damages their future prospects and holds back our society and economy.
The Child Poverty Taskforce recognises families' ability to afford essentials, including hygiene essentials, as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing acute poverty, including access to essentials, is a core focus of the work being developed through the Child Poverty Strategy. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.
Asked by: Julie Minns (Labour - Carlisle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve support for kinship carers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play. This government also appreciates that kinship carers often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.
We have recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.
The government also recently announced the appointment of the first ever National Kinship Care Ambassador. The Ambassador advocates for kinship children and their carers and works directly with local authorities to help them improve services, whilst sharing good practice across areas.
The department has recently published the updated guidance for local authorities, the Kinship Care statutory guidance, which is available on GOV.UK at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/670d3ed5e84ae1fd8592f2fa/Kinship_Care_-_statutory_guidance_for_local_authorities__October_2024.pdf. This guidance outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.
This government is also extending the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other. We are also delivering a package of training and support that all kinship carers across England can access.
I am determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.