Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making care experience a protected characteristic.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to tackling stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and other relevant public bodies. This will ensure corporate parents are aware of issues that could negatively impact on children in care and care leavers.
The leaving care grant for care leavers was increased from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2023.
To support them to engage in education, employment, and training, care leavers are entitled to a £3,000 bursary for apprenticeships and a £2,000 bursary for university. They are also prioritised for the 16-19 bursary in further education.
Over 600 businesses, including John Lewis, Sky, and Amazon, have signed the department’s care leaver covenant, offering employment and training opportunities. The government's civil service care leaver internship scheme has provided over 1,000 paid jobs across government. Care leavers who access Staying Close will receive support to engage in education, employment and training.
The government currently has no plans to extend support to care leavers to age 30.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that young people with care experience have support available from local authorities until the age of 30.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to tackling stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and other relevant public bodies. This will ensure corporate parents are aware of issues that could negatively impact on children in care and care leavers.
The leaving care grant for care leavers was increased from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2023.
To support them to engage in education, employment, and training, care leavers are entitled to a £3,000 bursary for apprenticeships and a £2,000 bursary for university. They are also prioritised for the 16-19 bursary in further education.
Over 600 businesses, including John Lewis, Sky, and Amazon, have signed the department’s care leaver covenant, offering employment and training opportunities. The government's civil service care leaver internship scheme has provided over 1,000 paid jobs across government. Care leavers who access Staying Close will receive support to engage in education, employment and training.
The government currently has no plans to extend support to care leavers to age 30.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help care leavers to secure employment following education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to tackling stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and other relevant public bodies. This will ensure corporate parents are aware of issues that could negatively impact on children in care and care leavers.
The leaving care grant for care leavers was increased from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2023.
To support them to engage in education, employment, and training, care leavers are entitled to a £3,000 bursary for apprenticeships and a £2,000 bursary for university. They are also prioritised for the 16-19 bursary in further education.
Over 600 businesses, including John Lewis, Sky, and Amazon, have signed the department’s care leaver covenant, offering employment and training opportunities. The government's civil service care leaver internship scheme has provided over 1,000 paid jobs across government. Care leavers who access Staying Close will receive support to engage in education, employment and training.
The government currently has no plans to extend support to care leavers to age 30.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set the minimum grant for young people leaving care to set up home at £3000.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to tackling stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and other relevant public bodies. This will ensure corporate parents are aware of issues that could negatively impact on children in care and care leavers.
The leaving care grant for care leavers was increased from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2023.
To support them to engage in education, employment, and training, care leavers are entitled to a £3,000 bursary for apprenticeships and a £2,000 bursary for university. They are also prioritised for the 16-19 bursary in further education.
Over 600 businesses, including John Lewis, Sky, and Amazon, have signed the department’s care leaver covenant, offering employment and training opportunities. The government's civil service care leaver internship scheme has provided over 1,000 paid jobs across government. Care leavers who access Staying Close will receive support to engage in education, employment and training.
The government currently has no plans to extend support to care leavers to age 30.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to recruit foster carers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Currently, there are 10 regional fostering programmes active across England, collaborating with over 60% of all local authorities to recruit and retain foster carers. This government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to recruit more foster carers.
As part of my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Transformation Fund announced in the Spring Statement, we will provide an additional £25 million over two years (beginning in 2026/27 and 2027/28) for foster care, as part of children’s social care reform. This is on top of the £15 million of fostering investment that was announced in the Autumn Budget 2024, to cover investment taking place in 2025/26. This funding is to start work to ensure every local authority has the offer of access to a hub and to embed the existing regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs.
The hubs will transform the way people who are interested in fostering are supported and rollout the Mockingbird programme, which offers peer-support to foster carers and the children in their care. The department is also funding ‘Fosterlink’, a support service for local authority fostering services.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that people with care experience have direct access to mental health services.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care are updating guidance on promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children to ensure children in care and care leavers receive necessary health services and mental health support. This guidance sets expectations for local authorities, health service commissioners, the NHS, and others to promote physical, emotional, and mental health, including early intervention.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools bill aims to improve access to health services by enhancing information sharing between agencies and considering the needs of looked-after children. Measures include improving data sharing with a Single Unique Identifier and introducing new corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and public bodies, to create a culture of support and break down barriers to good outcomes. Finally, the government will expand Mental Health Support Teams in schools to provide early support for young people.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on changing the eligibility criteria for free school meals to include children whose parents claim Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consultation her Department carried out with (a) sector representatives and (b) people with lived experience in making its decision to cut the amount of therapy available per application via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in the financial year 2025 – 2026.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department was not able to consult organisations before the recent announcement, due to the need to open the fund for applications as soon as possible, for the benefit of the children involved. I meet regularly with adoption stakeholders, including recently with the charity Adoption UK and separately the department’s Adopter Reference Group, where we discussed the adoption and special guardianship support fund.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish any impact assessment carried out by her Department as part of its decision to reduce the amount of funding per application to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for York Central, to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the budget allocated to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund was spent on therapy in each financial year; and how much overspend there was in each financial year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below provides the data requested:
Financial Year | Therapeutic Services Spend | Over spend |
2016/17 | £26,162,360.25 | £3,797,187.45 |
2017/18 | £27,643,580.09 | £194,021.49 |
2018/19 | £40,188,413.25 | £19,668,135.73 |
2019/20 | £41,575,278.06 | £6,755,560.46 |
2020/21 | £40,942,685.01 | -£1,805,992.59 |
2021/22 | £50,217,044.09 | £6,726,186.49 |
2022/23 | £27,659,930.00 | -£16,481,530.49 |
2023/24 | £45,591,102.00 | £639,996.35 |
2024/25 | £56,676,643.00 | £11,355,181.91 |
Note: A negative number represents an underspend.
The large underspend in the 2022/23 financial year was due to a process change whereby the fund moved from payments on approval in advance to payments made in arrears on invoice.