Written questions by Maskell.

What recent assessment she had made of the potential barriers to opportunity for adopted (a) children and (b) young people; and what steps her Department has taken to help tackle these in the last year.

The department recognises that many adopted children have experienced trauma and neglect. As part of the government’s Plan for Change, we are working to remove barriers to opportunity for all children, including those who are adopted.To support adopted children in school, we are prioritising their access to school admissions, providing Pupil Premium Plus funding, and ensuring support from designated teachers and virtual school heads.This year, we have allocated £50 million to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to provide essential therapeutic services for eligible children. Additionally, we have invested £8.8 million in Adoption England to improve adoption practices. This includes expanding multi-disciplinary teams to offer specialist support, introducing a new early support framework called ‘Becoming a family’ for the first 12 to 18 months of placement, and implementing an Adoption Support Plan to assess and guide families’ support needs.

If she will ensure that young people with care experience have support available from local authorities until the age of 30.

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.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of making care experience a protected characteristic.

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.

What steps she is taking to recruit foster carers.

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.

If she will set the minimum grant for young people leaving care to set up home at £3000.

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.

What steps she is taking to help care leavers to secure employment following 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.

What steps she is taking to ensure that people with care experience have direct access to mental health services.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The table below provides the data requested:Financial YearTherapeutic Services SpendOver spend2016/17£26,162,360.25£3,797,187.452017/18£27,643,580.09£194,021.492018/19£40,188,413.25£19,668,135.732019/20£41,575,278.06£6,755,560.462020/21£40,942,685.01-£1,805,992.592021/22£50,217,044.09£6,726,186.492022/23£27,659,930.00-£16,481,530.492023/24£45,591,102.00£639,996.352024/25£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.

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.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for York Central, to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.

If she will assess the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the number of applications received to that fund; and if she will publish that assessment.

The department expects the number of applications to the adoption and special guardianship support fund to continue to increase, in line with previous years. The changes we introduced were designed to maximise the number of children who can get support in this year. Application numbers are collected and assessed on a weekly basis as part of routine management reporting.

How much her Department has spent on its contract with Mott Macdonald to administer the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in each year since 2018.

The table below shows the requested information on spending each year on Mott MacDonald for their administration of the adoption and special guardianship support fund.Financial YearContract Spend (ex. VAT)2018/19£2,066,435.402019/20£1,816,902.002020/21£1,876,102.002021/22£2,090,952.002022/23£2,382,116.252023/24£2,540,745.29

How many applications were made under the fair access limit to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in each financial year since 2015; and what the (a) total and (b) average value was of those applications.

The attached table provides the information requested.Please note that the fair access limit (FAL) and match funding arrangements were introduced in October 2016. The separate FAL for specialist assessments was introduced in April 2017. However, match funding records were not captured by the department’s systems until July 2018. Because of this, prior data on match funding has been excluded.Applications may cover funding for more than one child. Hence, average values may not align with the FAL for individual children. In addition, some applications which include match funding also fund continuation of therapy where a previous application has been submitted at below the FAL level, but then a small amount is required to top-up the therapy provided. These small top-up applications are match funded, but small in value, and therefore fall below the £5,000 average. This will also affect the average costs.

How many applications were made under match funding arrangements to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund for (a) specialist assessments and (b) therapeutic support in each financial year since 2015; and what the (i) total and (ii) average value was of those applications.

The attached table provides the information requested.Please note that the fair access limit (FAL) and match funding arrangements were introduced in October 2016. The separate FAL for specialist assessments was introduced in April 2017. However, match funding records were not captured by the department’s systems until July 2018. Because of this, prior data on match funding has been excluded.Applications may cover funding for more than one child. Hence, average values may not align with the FAL for individual children. In addition, some applications which include match funding also fund continuation of therapy where a previous application has been submitted at below the FAL level, but then a small amount is required to top-up the therapy provided. These small top-up applications are match funded, but small in value, and therefore fall below the £5,000 average. This will also affect the average costs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 42565 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of the time taken to confirm funding for the 2025-26 financial year on the number of applications to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund that were not carried forward by adoption agencies.

The number of applications returned for re-work after the announcement was 727. This allowed changes to be made to align with the grant criteria where necessary and also allowed confirmation that the local authority or regional adoption agency still wished to submit the application.Applications are now being assessed and approved within the usual timeframes.

How many (a) applications and (b) approvals there were under the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in each financial year since 2015; and what the realised spend was in each financial year.

The data requested can be found in the attached spreadsheet.The similarity in the figures between applications and approvals is down to the work Mott MacDonald, the department’s delivery partner, does with the applicants. If an application is questionable, rather than being rejected, it is returned for amendments and dialogue with the relevant local authority or regional adoption agency (RAA) takes place to bring the application into criteria. On some occasions, applications are withdrawn by the local authority or RAA.

Whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on the ability of local authorities to (a) carry out their statutory duty to maintain appropriate service for adoption support under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 and (b) assess adoption support needs when requested under Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues over a range of important matters.Local authorities exercise their statutory duty to children previously in care and adopted children through regional adoption agencies (RAAs).The department has recently announced funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services, including adoption support. This includes supporting RAAs to provide an early support core offer for all families in the first 12 to 18 months after an adoption placement, as well as providing families with a new adoption support plan to give them information and guidance, including how they can access help.Adoption England will be supporting RAAs to develop and make sustainable Centres of Excellence with local health partners, so families receive holistic assessment and packages of support.They will also be supporting RAAs to put in place services that can respond quickly and more effectively to adoptive families in crisis. Currently, RAAs and local authorities can back-date applications to cover costs of therapies which begin in this financial year, even before the application is approved. This allows continuation of support for the most vulnerable families.Adoptive families can also receive help from local authority Family Help services. The government is doubling investment in these services to over £500 million in the 2025/26 financial year.

How many complaints were (a) received and (b) upheld against Mott MacDonald in its role administering the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

The department has received no complaints regarding Mott MacDonald’s administration of the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk of adoption and special guardianship disruption as a result of the delay in funding for therapeutic support via the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues over a range of important matters.Local authorities exercise their statutory duty to children previously in care and adopted children through regional adoption agencies (RAAs).The department has recently announced funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services, including adoption support. This includes supporting RAAs to provide an early support core offer for all families in the first 12 to 18 months after an adoption placement, as well as providing families with a new adoption support plan to give them information and guidance, including how they can access help.Adoption England will be supporting RAAs to develop and make sustainable Centres of Excellence with local health partners, so families receive holistic assessment and packages of support.They will also be supporting RAAs to put in place services that can respond quickly and more effectively to adoptive families in crisis. Currently, RAAs and local authorities can back-date applications to cover costs of therapies which begin in this financial year, even before the application is approved. This allows continuation of support for the most vulnerable families.Adoptive families can also receive help from local authority Family Help services. The government is doubling investment in these services to over £500 million in the 2025/26 financial year.