To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether he plans to issue guidance to local authorities on allocating personal education allowances to improve outcomes of children in care in addition to that published at the end of May 2008. (211462)

The statutory guidance to English local authorities published on 28 May set out how they

‘should provide personal education allowances for all of their looked after children who are at risk of not reaching the expected national standards of attainment’.

It gives a range of examples of the types of activities which a personal education allowance might be used to support and that these should be linked to a child’s personal education plan. Within this framework it is for local authorities to establish their local eligibility criteria based on the guidance. There are no plans to publish additional guidance on allocating personal education allowances for children in care.