Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support care leavers after the age of 21 to help ensure that they have stable living arrangements.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Supporting care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this government.
Housing and concerns about accommodation rank as one of the highest worries for care leavers, and for professionals trying to support them.
The department is introducing, through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a new duty for local authorities to consider whether former relevant children, up to age 25, require support to find and keep suitable accommodation, and support to access services relating to health and wellbeing, relationships, education and training, employment and participating in society. If support is required, the local authority should then provide this in the form of a ‘staying close’ arrangement.
The Bill also introduces an additional requirement on local authorities to publish the arrangements they have in place for the purpose of supporting and assisting care leavers in their transition to adulthood. This information in the local authority’s local offer will aid care leavers to look at all the options open to them and help them make informed decisions when deciding upon accommodation and other support they might wish to access.
The Bill also includes a measure to ensure that where a council is their corporate parent, no care leaver can be found to have become homeless intentionally.
All care leavers are entitled to support from a Personal Adviser (PA) until they are 25. PAs help care leavers to access services like housing, health and benefits, as well as providing practical and emotional support for independent living. PAs also work with care leavers to create a mandatory pathway plan outlining the support provided by the local authority.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of (a) weekly minimum payments and (b) other financial support provided to foster carers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The ‘Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards’ set out the expectations that are placed on foster carers and their agencies at standard 28. The department is clear that no one should be financially disadvantaged because of their fostering role, and we expect all foster carers to receive at least the national minimum allowance (NMA) plus any agreed expenses to cover the cost of caring for each child placed with them. The standards are available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192705/NMS_Fostering_Services.pdf.
The NMA was introduced by the Labour government in 2007 and has kept pace with inflation over time. The current levels of the NMA are available at: https://www.gov.uk/support-for-foster-parents/help-with-the-cost-of-fostering. The NMA is being uplifted by 3.55% in the 2025/26 financial year. Combined with increases to qualifying care relief, which provides tax relief and is uplifted with inflation every year, this provides additional support for foster carers and the children in their care. There are currently no plans to review the way the NMA is calculated.
The NMA was developed by calculating the cost of caring for a birth child and accounting for the additional cost of caring for a foster child. The criteria for calculating fees and allowances should be applied equally to all foster carers, whether the foster carer is related or unrelated to the child, or the placement is short or long term.
The department knows that many fostering service providers offer incentive schemes as rewards for their foster carers and we encourage the use of these. Discount schemes, free or discounted leisure centre passes, IT grant schemes and council tax exemptions are common examples.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered broadening the range of foster care representative bodies it engages with on policy development.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is keen to ensure that the department meets with stakeholders from across the fostering sector, so that a variety of voices are heard. Departmental officials meet with foster carers and young people who have experienced the fostering system, as well as fostering charities, unions and those who represent and oversee fostering services.
The department also runs a fostering advisory board, which brings together strategic leaders and people with lived experience of fostering to advise on government policy. This is just one of the ways that the department interacts with fostering stakeholders when considering policy. Departmental officials also meet bilaterally with several fostering organisations and have recently hosted a roundtable meeting which had representation from a wide range of stakeholders.
Finally, the department also ensures that the voices of children and young people are heard when formalising policy. This includes our Children and Young People Advisory Board, which aims to give children and young people a say in the services that directly affect them. This provides an opportunity for them to feed into policy development and create a feedback loop to show them where their views are being incorporated. The Board is run by the National Children’s Bureau on behalf of the department, with membership for those aged 11 to 25.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered introducing a transitional funding arrangement for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond March 2025 to prevent a gap in therapeutic support for eligible children.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible. The department will, of course, always consider the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
ASGSF applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are agreed, therapy which starts before March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children currently undergoing therapy funded by the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund do not experience disruption to their care due to uncertainty around the fund’s future.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible. The department will, of course, always consider the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
ASGSF applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are agreed, therapy which starts before March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund funding not being extended beyond March 2025 on children receiving therapy through that fund.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate our budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the future of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being considered as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible. The department will, of course, always consider the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
ASGSF applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are agreed, therapy which starts before March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) childminders, (b) after-school clubs, (c) holiday clubs and schemes and (d) other childcare services are accessible to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities and early years providers, including early years childminders, have duties via the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice, the Equality Act 2010, and the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework to promote equality and inclusion for children with SEND, removing the barriers that prevent children from accessing early education.
In addition, local authorities are required by legislation to provide sufficient childcare places for children in their area for children aged 0 to 14 or up to 18 for children with SEND. The local authority statutory guidance on early education and childcare sets out a clear requirement that local authorities must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND, and make this report available and accessible to parents.
The National Wraparound Childcare Programme is helping local authorities discharge this duty with regard to after school clubs, by distributing funding on the basis of anticipated need. Local authorities across England can decide how best to use the funding to set up or expand wraparound childcare in their area to meet the needs of their local community, including children with SEND. Local authorities have been working in partnership with primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers, including childminders. Since the programme began, the government has set clear expectations that all wraparound childcare delivered through the programme should be inclusive and accessible.
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme funding is primarily for school aged children from reception to year 11 (inclusive) who receive benefits-related free school meals (FSM). Local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children, who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. The department encourages local authorities to engage with local and national organisations, including special schools with expertise in working with children with SEND or additional needs. Local authorities are obligated to include the numbers of children with SEND or additional needs who have participated in their programme in their post provision reporting to us.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in the devolved Administrations on encouraging participation in the OECD’s next PISA financial literacy assessment, scheduled for 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assessment, so a decision on participation is not imminent.
Departmental officials engage with the devolved governments on a range of areas, including on PISA. We have had initial discussions about the timeline for a decision on participation in future PISA financial literacy assessments and will continue to actively engage with them on this topic as more information is provided by the OECD.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure England's participation in the OECD’s PISA financial literacy assessment in 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Financial literacy is not an option offered by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD) in the current (2025) cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign-language assessment, so a decision on participation is not imminent.
Departmental officials engage with the devolved governments on a range of areas, including on PISA. We have had initial discussions about the timeline for a decision on participation in future PISA financial literacy assessments and will continue to actively engage with them on this topic as more information is provided by the OECD.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve the teaching of financial literacy through (a) enhanced teacher training programmes, (b) increased funding for financial education (i) resources and (ii) initiatives and (c) other steps.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
In general, decisions relating to teachers’ professional development rightly rests with schools, headteachers, and teachers themselves, as they are in the best position to judge their own requirements. The government has committed to introducing a Teacher Training Entitlement which would support teachers to access more high quality continuing professional development across a range of topics.
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has a statutory duty to coordinate the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing 2020. In 2022, MaPS launched a grant-funded programme totalling £1.1 million to test approaches to supporting teachers and practitioners working with children and young people in vulnerable circumstances and to deliver financial education. The evaluation of this programme can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/en/publications/research/2024/evaluating-grants-improving-financial-education-for-vulnerable-young-people.
The department will work with MaPS to use the findings to promote consistent and evidence-informed practice. MaPS has also published financial education guidance for schools, which can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/en/work-with-us/financial-education-in-schools.
Oak National Academy (Oak) is a non-departmental public body which provides free, optional, and adaptable high quality digital curriculum and lesson resources. Oak has completed its initial curriculum resources in mathematics and will produce additional lessons on financial education and applying mathematics in real life contexts across key stages 1 to 4, which is expected from spring 2025. Lessons on finance and the economy also feature in Oak’s new citizenship curriculum, which was launched earlier this academic year, with lessons to be released by autumn 2025. Oak’s resources are available here: https://www.thenational.academy/.
The department continues to work closely with MaPS, and in partnership with others, to monitor the evidence for financial education and assess school support needs.