To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children died while living in (a) independent accommodation and (b) semi-independent accommodation in each of the last three years; and if he will publish (i) an age breakdown and (ii) the names of the local authorities that were corporate parents of those children.
Answered on
4 November 2021
The department does not collect information on the educational activity of looked after children.
Information on the proportion of looked after children living in independent or semi-independent accommodation within 20 miles of their home is shown in the attached table, Table A. Figures on the number of looked after children living in independent or semi-independent accommodation who went missing is shown in the attached table, Table B. More general information on children looked after in England by placement type, locality and distance and those who went missing is contained in the Children looked after in England statistics release, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2021 will be published in November 2021.
Information in the 2020 Annual Report of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel contained statistics showing in the 2020 calendar year that there were 43 incidents of serious harm involving looked after children. However, no further breakdowns were published in this report.
The number of children looked after who died whilst in independent or semi-independent accommodation during 2018-2020 was 22. All children were aged 16 or over. Due to the small numbers involved this figure cannot be broken down by individual age or local authority or into separate years to protect confidentiality.