Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 23
23
Rejected
The poor outcomes experienced by vulnerable adolescents are often overlapping.
Recommendation
The poor outcomes experienced by vulnerable adolescents are often overlapping. For example, we received written evidence highlighting research which shows people who have been in care are more likely to experience homelessness, long-term physical and 53 Q 39 54 C&AG’s Report, para 1.19 55 Q 44; HMI Probation, A thematic inspection of the experiences of black and mixed heritage boys in the youth justice system, October 2021 56 Qq 44, 45 57 C&AG’s Report, Figure 8 58 Q 50 59 Q 44 60 Q 46 Support for vulnerable adolescents 17 mental issues and be vulnerable to exploitation.61 The NAO’s report shows that 72% of children sentenced in 2019–20 were assessed as having mental health concerns.62 And Bristol City Council told us that its local data showed that 32% of care leavers were not in in education, employment or training in 2021, compared to 3% in Bristol’s 16–17 year-old population.63
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the recommendation, stating they are committed to data sharing and that a single definition of vulnerability is not appropriate. The Vulnerable Children and Families Strategy Board will monitor data sharing to safeguard vulnerable children.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
7. PAC conclusion: Data sharing exercises need to be better used to understand the support vulnerable adolescents need. 7: PAC recommendation: The Department for Education should take the lead in coordinating and setting out within six months an agreed approach to how departments will collect and use data to understand the pathways to adverse outcomes for vulnerable adolescents. 7.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 7.2 The government is committed to safe and effective data and information sharing across government to address the needs of vulnerable children and young people, including adolescents. This is taking place through the Longitudinal Education Outcomes and Pupil Parent Matched Data Programmes; Department for Education’s Data Matching and Linking function; The Data Improvement Across Government programme (which includes the Ministry of Justice / Department for Education data share; the Extended ECHILD work and facilitated in Ministry of Justice by Data First); and the Ministry of Justice BOLD project. Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation Strategy and Consultation also commits DfE to publishing a data strategy to set out the long-term plan for transforming data in children’s social care. 7.3 There is a reasoned basis for not giving any single department leadership responsibility for setting out an approach for collecting data on outcomes for all adolescents at risk (or indeed any age group at risk). The government does not maintain a single, all- encompassing definition of vulnerability because it is a broad and subjective term. Different agencies and professions define vulnerability differently and need flexibility. As a result, it is not appropriate for one department to set out a common approach for collecting and using data to assess outcomes for all vulnerable adolescents. 7.4 The Department for Education chairs and acts as the secretariat for the Vulnerable Children and Families Strategy Board which is attended by several departments and arms- length bodies. The Board will monitor the progress of data sharing designed to safeguard and protect vulnerable children and young people and identify risk factors across central and local government. This will include ensuring there is a coherent overarching approach, a clear line of sight on what datasets exist, that new opportunities for data sharing are identified and that best practise is disseminated.