To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made on the pilots in two areas of the country on introducing pedagogy in working with children in care. (325693)

The social pedagogy pilots are progressing well. All the children's homes have been recruited, including those homes which will not recruit pedagogues and will therefore provide a comparison. The final recruitment round for social pedagogues has also just finished. The pilots are providing some good examples of creative work with children and young people and learning is emerging about the importance of a shared daily life within the home and the opportunities which that offers for relationship building through group activities. The evaluation contract has been awarded to the Universities of Bristol and York and will report in 2012.

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what formula is used to decide the amount of funding provided to local authorities for children taken into care by social services; and if he will make a statement. (325840)

Children in care are funded by local authorities who are funded via the local government funding system. There is no formula that sets a national amount that should be spent on children's social care. The level of spending on children in care is decided by each local authority based on local circumstances and priorities.