Research Briefing
Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England
The development of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England since its establishment in 2005, including the 2014 reforms.
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Research Briefing
Government support for childcare and childcare reform under the Coalition Government
This note provides an overview of Government childcare policies since 2010.
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Research Briefing
School funding: 2006–2010 policy changes under the Labour Government
This Note provides background to the introduction of the Labour Government's school funding reforms in 2006, details of the reforms (which included the introduction of a ring-fenced schools budget, known as the Dedicated Schools Grant), and the March 2010 consultation on the introduction of a school funding formula.
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Research Briefing
Children and Families Bill Committee Stage Report
The Children and Families Bill introduces a wide range of legislation concerning adoption and children in care, aspects of family justice law, special educational needs, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, child care, statutory rights to leave and pay for parents and adopters, time off work for ante-natal care, and the right to request flexible working. This paper complements Research Paper 13/11 prepared for the Commons Second Reading.
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Research Briefing
Children and Families Bill
The Children and Families Bill introduces a wide range of legislation concerning adoption and children in care, aspects of family justice law, special educational needs, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England, child care, statutory rights to leave and pay for parents and adopters, time off work for ante-natal care, and the right to request flexible working. This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading of the Bill.
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Research Briefing
Family Justice (Transparency, Accountability and Cost of Living) Bill
The Bill has three parts. Part 1 deals with transparency and accountability in connection with cases concerning children and proceedings in the Court of Protection. Part 2 contains other provisions relating to the administration of justice; and Part 3 deals with the cost of living and measures to achieve lower fuel bills.
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Research Briefing
Family Justice Review update: Contact and other issues for parents following separation
A brief overview of the Family Justice Review’s proposals relating to child contact issues and Government’s response to them, as well as the subsequent steps being taken.
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Research Briefing
Viral “Breadwinner” hoax email alleging abuse of fostering allowances
A number of MPs have contacted the Library concerning an e-mail that constituents have forwarded alleging abuse of the fostering system in order to benefit from the allowances available. The e-mail in question is not based in fact, and is a hoax. This short note explains the many errors in the “Breadwinner” email, and notes that an almost identical US version is also in circulation, which seems to be the source of the version discussed in this note.
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Research Briefing
Fostering – long-term, emergency, temporary and private placements; and care orders
This note provides information on the different types of fostering arrangements available, and the arrangements for taking a child into care.
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Research Briefing
Child Benefit for higher income families
At the Conservative Party conference in October 2010 the Chancellor announced that from January 2013 Child Benefit would be withdrawn from families with a higher rate taxpayer. Revised proposals were set out in Budget 2012 under which Child Benefit will instead be clawed back gradually from families with a taxpayer with an income between £50,000 and £60,000 a year.
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Research Briefing
Education Bill: Committee Stage Report
This is an account of the House of Commons Committee Stage of the Education Bill. It complements Research Paper 11/14, prepared for the Commons Second Reading debate, which examines the range of matters covered by the Bill. As originally presented, the Bill sought to make provision relating to the National Assembly for Wales’ framework powers. However, these clauses were removed from the Bill following the ‘yes’ vote in the Welsh Devolution Referendum. A Government amendment to clause 13 (reporting restrictions on alleged offences by teachers) was agreed to without a vote. This inserted new schedule 11B into the Education Act 2002, and was introduced to secure compliance with a European Electronic Commerce Directive. Several minor and technical Government amendments were also made to the Bill. The Opposition tabled many amendments, a considerable number of which were pressed to a division, but none was successful.
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Research Briefing
Restriction of the Sure Start Maternity Grant
The June 2010 Budget announced that from April 2011 the Sure Start Maternity Grant would be restricted to the first child only in a family, saving around £73 million a year. The Social Security Advisory Committee believes that the measure "lacks a coherently argued rationale", and the House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee has suggested that the Government needs to set out more clearly the rationale for the change and its anticipated impact. A particular concern is that changes to the Social Fund Budgeting Loans scheme to mitigate the impact on families will not come into effect until early 2012.
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Research Briefing
Education Bill [Bill 137 of 2010-11]
This paper has been written for the House of Commons Second Reading debate on the Education Bill [Bill 137] on 8 February 2011. The Bill seeks to implement the legislative proposals in the Department for Education’s schools White Paper, 'The Importance of Teaching', and measures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills relating to skills and the reform of higher education funding. It is therefore a very wide-ranging Bill.
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Research Briefing
Lone parents and Jobseeker’s Allowance
By April 2011 most lone parents with a youngest child aged seven or over will no longer be able to claim Income Support but will instead have to claim Jobseeker's Allowance and be available for and seek paid work.
Total results (page 9 of 10)