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 her Department is taking to ensure that children with SEND are provided with the (a) educational and (b) wider support required by their education, health and care plan in school.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department shares the ambition that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should receive the vital support they need across Education, Health and Care (EHC). As set out in the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority has a legal duty to ensure that the special educational provision specified in an EHC plan is delivered. The department also has a number of measures in place to ensure that children receive the educational and wider support they need.
Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with SEND, the department works with them using a set of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors to address weaknesses. The department is also investing heavily in the SEND system, including £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to fund new special and alternative provision (AP) places and improve existing support, including the announcement of 41 new special free schools.
The department is also taking steps to improve the SEND system in the longer term, so that EHC plans can be issued as quickly as possible when needed and enable children and young people to access the support they require. In March 2023, the government set out its plans to reform and improve the SEND system through its SEND and AP Improvement Plan. This plan commits to establishing a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and are well prepared for adulthood and employment. The department is currently testing measures which it believes will make the biggest improvements to both the quality of plans, the experience of getting a plan and the quality and speed with which support is put in place.
The department is strengthening accountability across the system so that everyone is held to account for supporting children and young people. This includes the new Ofsted and Care Quality Commission Area SEND inspection framework, which gives more prominence to the quality integration and commissioning of EHC services, and a national and local dashboard, which gives parents the opportunity to monitor the performance of their local systems.
If a child or young person does not receive the support detailed in their EHC plan, the young person or parent can raise their concern with the school or local authority directly. Families can appeal to the First-Tier SEND Tribunal if they are unhappy with a local authority’s decision regarding an EHC assessment or plan. The Tribunal can also hear appeals and make non-binding recommendations about health and social aspects of EHC plans.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the (a) average and (b) longest time for a Child Maintenance Service caseworker to be in post before receiving training on supporting families with experience of domestic abuse.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the Service safely.
CMS has a Complex Needs Toolkit for its caseworkers, which includes clear steps to follow to support customers who are experiencing abuse. To improve the quality of the information we provide our customers, from 1 April we will start using the DWP District Provision Tool (DPT) and retire the Complex Needs Toolkit. The DPT contains the most up to date information for customer help and support across England, Scotland, and Wales.
CMS refreshed its approach and understanding of domestic abuse to include financial and coercive control and better awareness of how this affects all genders. A Domestic Abuse Plan has been developed which outlines key steps for caseworkers to follow to ensure victims of domestic abuse are supported. This includes advice on contacting the police if the parent is in immediate danger. Caseworkers can also call the police on behalf of the parent if requested to do so. As well as The Domestic Abuse Plan, CMS responds to cases involving domestic abuse in several ways, including by acting as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases, and providing advice on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code to limit the risk of a parent’s location being traced. There are no plans to publish The Domestic Abuse Plan as it is a tool within CMS instructions for caseworkers to follow.
We reviewed domestic abuse training in 2021 to ensure caseworkers are equipped to support parents in vulnerable situations. This included reviewing the Home Office’s updated statutory guidance on coercive and controlling behaviour to ensure CMS staff are equipped to recognise this form of domestic abuse and signpost parents appropriately. In November 2023, a range of external stakeholders were invited to two workshops and were provided with an overview of the current CMS domestic abuse training to ensure it is in line with best practice. This opportunity allowed stakeholders to offer insight and feedback which can help feed into the evolution of future domestic abuse training. We are currently consulting with a range of external organisations and charities to help us enhance and modernise our learning to incorporate the broadest and most up to date information about dealing with victims and survivors of abuse. There are no plans to publish the training programme.
We have a comprehensive learning journey for established and new colleagues. Domestic abuse training is covered in the second week of colleagues joining CMS to ensure colleagues have the knowledge and tools available to support customers.
Through extensive Stakeholder engagement and the evolution of domestic abuse training, CMS continues to evolve and make positive changes to the way we deliver our service in order to support our caseworkers; including developing a trauma informed approach to complex cases and cases involving domestic abuse.
We commenced trialling the use of a single, named case worker team to help ensure victims of domestic abuse are appropriately supported. Evaluation of the trial has commenced, and this will inform the future service offer for survivors of domestic abuse. Additionally, CMS has processes to ensure there is no unwanted contact between parents and provides advice on bank accounts with a centralised sort code so their location cannot be traced. We act as an intermediary in Direct Pay cases to facilitate the exchange of bank details, which helps to ensure no personal information is shared between parents. The Service also signposts to appropriate charities and support lines.
The Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act received Royal Assent on 28 June 2023 following a Private Members Bill that had full Government support. The Act will allow for a CMS to place a child maintenance case onto the Collect & Pay service where it is requested by either parent, and there is evidence of domestic abuse against the requesting parent or children in their household by the other parent involved in the case. The Act is reliant on secondary legislation required to implement the measures in the Act and set out the procedures and evidence requirements. We have announced a consultation to seek views on how the CMS collects and transfers maintenance in response to the Domestic Abuse Act receiving royal assent. We are in the process of finalising the details of the consultation and aim to publish it as soon as possible.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department plans to provide for the early years free hours entitlement to each local authority; and what guidance her Department has issued to providers on the costs that this funding should cover.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high quality, affordable childcare, which is why the 2023 Spring Budget announced significant new investments to expand the free early education entitlements from April 2024. Further, at the 2024 Spring Budget the department committed to increasing the national average hourly funding rate to deliver the entitlements in line with the metric used at Spring Budget 2023, in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years to reflect key cost providers face, at an estimated £500 million of additional investment over the two financial years, based on current forecast.
The department expects to provide over £4.1 billion by the 2027/28 financial year to facilitate the expansion and to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year overall on free hours and early education entitlements. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
In 2024/25 alone, the department expects to provide over £1.7 billion to support local authorities and providers to deliver the expansion. On top of this, the department is increasing the 2024/25 hourly rates to local authorities for the existing and new entitlements by over £400 million.
To ensure local authorities are fully supported in delivering the new entitlements, the department is funding local authorities an additional four weeks in the 2024/25 financial year, at an estimated cost of £120 million, for the under 2s working parent entitlement starting in September 2024.
Indicative funding allocations for individual local authorities for 2024/25 were published in December 2023 and can be found at: https://skillsfunding.service.gov.uk/view-latest-funding/national-funding-allocations/DSG/2024-to-2025. Funding allocations for local authorities for 2025/26 will be announced in the autumn.
The department’s statutory guidance for local authorities sets out that government funding is intended to deliver 15 or 30 hours a week (for 38 weeks of the year) of free, high-quality, flexible childcare. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The funding should cover the cost, including core business costs, of delivering this provision. The funding is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, such as nappies and sun cream, additional hours or additional services, such as trips and specialist tuition. However, as set out in paragraph A1.33 of the guidance, such charges for consumables or additional services should not be made a condition of accessing a free place. The statutory guidance for local authorities also specifies that local authorities ensure that providers do not charge parents top-up fees or require parents to pay a registration fee as a condition of taking up their child’s place. Providers who choose to offer the free entitlements are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges, including allowing parents to supply their own meals or nappies, or waiving or reducing the cost of meals and snacks.
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 an adequate provision of SEND services for children in the future.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through delivery of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department will establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND and in AP so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.
The department will give families greater confidence that their child will be able to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local setting.
For those children and young people with SEND who do require an Education, Health and Care plan and specialist provision, the department will ensure they get access to the support they need, and that parents do not face an adversarial system to secure this.
To ensure adequate provision of SEND services for children in the future, the department has already completed the following:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of including working parents subject to the No recourse to public funds condition in the extended 30 hours childcare offer for three- and four-year-olds on (a) maternal and (b) parental participation in the labour force.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.
The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.
The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.
Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.
The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the eligibility criteria for the extended 30 hours childcare offer for three and four year-olds to migrant parents with any immigration status who are resident in the UK, have the right to work and who work the requisite number of hours.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.
The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.
The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.
Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.
The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of three and four year old (a) children and (b) children with British citizenship who are not eligible for the extended 30 hours of childcare offer because their parents work the required number of hours but have no recourse to public funds.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is making the largest investment in childcare in England’s history. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. It will provide hard working parents 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for children aged 9 months to until they start school. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The department does not hold data on the numbers of 3- and 4-year-old children who are not eligible for 30 hours because their parents have no recourse to public funds, and what proportion of those children have British citizenship.
The expanded working parent entitlement, which will be rolled out in phases from April 2024, will be available to working parents who meet the eligibility criteria. These will be the same as the current 30 hours offer for 3- and 4-year-olds.
The free childcare entitlements for the children of working parents are not within the definition of ’public funds’ in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 or the Immigration Rules. However, there are requirements in the Childcare (Free of Charge for Working Parents) (England) Regulations 2022 for the parent, or one of the parents, not to be subject to immigration control. This means that where both parents have no recourse to public funds, they will not be eligible for the entitlements. However, if there are two parents and just one of them is subject to immigration control the family will still be eligible for the entitlements, provided they meet the other conditions.
Parents with no recourse to public funds are, however, able to access the 15 hours free early education entitlement available for all 3 and 4-year-olds and, if eligible, 15 hours free early education for disadvantaged 2-year-olds. In September 2022, the department extended eligibility for the 2-year-old entitlement to disadvantaged families who have no recourse to public funds. This is because these entitlements are intended to support children's development and help prepare them for school.
The government has no current plans to extend the free childcare entitlements offer for working parents to families with no recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support parents with changes to nursery funding.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the government’s Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, this government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free childcare hours and early education, helping families with pre-school children with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
Our reforms include:
The department will continue to work closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms and will set out further details in due course. This is a massive expansion in the offer and will take some time to implement and rollout. The department wants to make sure that taxpayers’ money is used efficiently and that the new offer is delivered in the best way.
The government’s Childcare Choices communications campaign aims to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for. Further information on Childcare Choices is available at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. Further information on the full range of support available to parents can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether 15 hours of free childcare will be extended to (a) all children from the age of nine months and (b) the children of working parents from the age of nine months; with reference to the blog post on her Department's Education Hub website entitled Budget 2023: Everything you need to know about childcare support, published on 16 March 2023, and to the blog post entitled Free childcare: How we are tackling the cost of childcare, published on 7 July 2023, for what reason this information is not consistent on that website; what sign-off processes are in place for the accuracy of information on that website; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the Government’s Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, the Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
From April 2024, all eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access their 15 hours of free childcare (over 38 weeks a year) from the term after their child’s 2nd birthday. From September 2024, eligible parents will be able to access 15 hours free childcare (over 38 weeks a year) from the term following their child turning 9 months, and the offer will be rolled out in full from September 2025, with eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and above able to access 30 hours (over 38 weeks a year) from the term following their child turning 9 months.
To be eligible for the 30-hour entitlement for children from age 9 months up, as with the current 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum or Living Wage (£167 per week/£8,670 per year in 2023/2024), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.
The department has communicated clearly that the offer is for working parents. The Education Hub is the Department’s parent-facing blog which aims to explain policy in a digestible format available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/. The Hub post in question references throughout that this policy applies to working parents. To avoid any unintended confusion, the sentenced cited, has been updated in the post. All communications are cleared by the relevant policy and communications leads before publication
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.163-4.166 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183, published on 15 March 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of support for childcare costs on unpaid carers with dependant children.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
The reforms announced build on the department’s current early education entitlement offers, which include a universal 15 hour offer for all three and four-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances, the existing 30 hours offer for three and four-year-olds, and the 15 hour offer for disadvantaged two-year-olds. This latter offer includes low-income households and parents on certain benefits, as well as looked after children and children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.
In addition to the entitlements, Tax-Free Childcare continues to be available to eligible parents. Tax-Free Childcare is available to parents who meet the same income criteria as the 30 hours offer and can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0 to 11, or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children aged 0 to 16.
The 30 hours free childcare offer in England aims to support working families of three- and four-year-olds with the cost of childcare and to help parents back into work or work more hours. To be eligible for the 30 hours offer, parents will need to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the National Minimum/Living Wage. This is equivalent to just over £8,670 per year, or £167 a week.
Two-parent households may still be able to meet the criteria for 30 hours free childcare where one parent is working and meeting the above income criteria, and the other is receiving one of certain benefits, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/30-hours-free-childcare?step-by-step-nav=f517cd57-3c18-4bb9-aa8b-1b907e279bf9. This includes unpaid carers receiving Carer’s Allowance.
All three and four-year-olds are eligible for the 15 hour free entitlement, regardless of their parents’ circumstances. This includes unpaid carers. The offer is available the term after a child turns three and is available for 38 weeks a year during term time, or across more weeks of the year if fewer hours a week are used.