Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made as part of their COVID-19 emergency planning to ensure that local authorities have adequate funding for children with child protection plans who may not be attending school.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

The government has announced £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak.

This funding is not ringfenced and is intended to help local authorities address any pressures they are facing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, across all service areas, including children’s social care.

Our latest guidance on vulnerable children is set out below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.