Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Acknowledged
Ensure consistent identifiers alert schools and GPs when children move into temporary accommodation.
Conclusion
Currently, schools are not always notified when a pupil becomes homeless or changes school due to a move into temporary accommodation. This prevents schools from offering additional support which those children may require. Similarly, GPs are often unaware that families are experiencing homelessness, leaving an incomplete picture of the health impacts of homelessness on children. (Conclusion, Paragraph 64) As the Government seeks to establish ‘consistent identifiers’ for children through its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, it should ensure that these can be used as a formalised notification system, so that a child’s school and GP are alerted when they move into temporary accommodation. This should be introduced alongside a focus on improving data reporting and sharing between public services, to fully understand the health impacts of temporary accommodation on children. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64)
Government response summary AI-generated
The government provided a vague commitment, stating that the homelessness strategy will provide more detail on balancing responsibilities and accountability between central and local government regarding children in temporary accommodation, without addressing the specific recommendation for a formalised notification system for schools and GPs.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
28. Keeping children safe is a priority for this Government. Practitioners supporting children and families must find, receive and share relevant information to assess risks effectively. A consistent identifier can help improve information sharing, but all barriers to poor information sharing must be addressed. We have taken swift action to lay provision in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) nationally. 29. Across the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, we are considering policy options on this issue to improve the lives of children in temporary accommodation.
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