Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had to enable local authorities to lead recovery in the education sector as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

The Department is working to support local authorities in their education, early years and children’s social care roles. Department for Education ministers and officials continue to engage regularly with representatives of local authorities about their role and the Department’s Regional Education and Care Teams continue to meet with local authorities to understand and tackle barriers to school attendance.

To help the system and local authorities monitor and respond to possible increases in demand for their services, the Department is continuing to deploy Ofsted inspectors and Partners in Practice resources to support local authorities most in need of extra help with children’s social care services.

The Department is providing a package of support totalling £4.3 billion to help meet the immediate COVID-19 related pressures, including in children’s social care and in delivering services for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Department is continuing to convene the early years COVID-19 local authority working group on a regular basis to discuss issues relating to the recovery of the early years sector and the role of local authorities.