Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in what timeframe parents can expect to hear whether their child’s school is affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.
The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.
The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.
The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.
Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.
All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.
Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.
While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.
The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.
All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what process her Department has put in place for identifying schools at risk of closure due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.
The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.
The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.
The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.
Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.
All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.
Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.
While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.
The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.
All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on reducing levels of theft from shops.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Following the recent police commitment to investigate all reasonable lines of enquiry I have made clear to forces I expect them to take a zero-tolerance approach to retail crime. The Home Office is supporting Pegasus which will provide a national picture of organised retail crime. I continue to work with the sector to tackle this important issue.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is her Department's policy to assess the age of every person that arrives in the UK illegally on a small boat.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office will only conduct an age assessment in circumstances where an individual who arrives does not have genuine documentary evidence of their age and where there is doubt about their claimed age.
An initial age assessment is conducted as a first step to prevent individuals who are clearly an adult or child from being subjected unnecessarily to a more substantive age assessment and ensure that new arrivals are routed into the correct accommodation and processes for assessing their asylum or immigration claim.
The Home Office will only treat an individual claiming to be a child as an adult, without conducting further enquiries, if two Home Office members of staff independently determine that the individual's physical appearance and demeanour very strongly suggests they are significantly over 18 years of age. The lawfulness of this process was endorsed by the Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of BF (Eritrea)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 38.
Where doubt remains and an individual cannot be assessed to be significantly over 18, they will be treated as a child for immigration purposes until further assessment of their age by a local authority or the National Age Assessment Board (NAAB) which launched in March 2023. This will usually entail a careful, holistic age assessment, known as a ‘Merton compliant age assessment’, which are undertaken by social workers and must adhere to principles set out in case law by the Courts.
Separately, secondary legislation laid by the Ministry of Justice will, once approved by Parliament, authorise the use of x-rays in scientific age assessments, paving the way for the Home Office to improve their ability to effectively determine the age of illegal entrants making disputed claims to be children. Age assessment is an important process to help to prevent asylum seeking adults posing as children as a way of accessing support they are not entitled to, and allow genuine children to access age-appropriate services.
Legislation will then be laid by the Home Office, taking forward powers under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which will specify that x-rays of teeth and bones of the hands and wrist and MRIs of knees and collar bones can be used as part of the age assessment process.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help promote careers in (a) carpentry, (b) brick laying, (c) roofing and (d) other trade industry jobs outside of traditional education routes.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Trades and professions in construction are skilled roles. New entrants to construction can join the industry through an apprenticeship, T-levels and further and higher education qualifications.
This Department works jointly with the Department for Education and the construction industry through the Construction Skills Delivery Group to promote opportunities and all skills routes for the new generation of construction workers, and for ongoing career progression, to support all construction roles.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to strengthen relations with the Republic of Cyprus.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The bilateral relationship between the UK and Cyprus has never been stronger. Our shared commitment to working together on a wide range of priority areas is underlined in the 2019 Defence and Security Co-operation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the comprehensive bilateral MoU signed last year. In June the Foreign Secretary hosted Foreign Minister Kombos for wide-ranging discussions. They discussed multiple bilateral initiatives, including the UK's recent technical support for Cyprus in refreshing its approach to sanctions enforcement, and re-affirmed our commitment to accelerate implementation of other issues covered in the MoU.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken with the Secretary of State for Education to increase the number of Combined Cadet Forces in state schools.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Through the joint Department for Education (DfE) and Ministry of Defence (MOD) Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP), over 250 new cadet units have opened in state schools, with priority given to less affluent areas. Prior to CEP, 75% of school units were in independent schools, with 25% in state schools. There are now over 500 cadet units in UK schools, and now more than 60% of these units are in the state sector.
Since 2021, DfE have been providing additional funding for state schools in England to help with the administrative support of Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingents. This funding, which DfE has recently extended until the end of Academic Year 2023-24, directly supports School Staff Instructors who are vital for the sustainment of a school's CCF unit.
DfE and MOD are continuing to work on the Government's ambition to increase the number of cadets in schools to 60,000 by April 2024, ensuring that more children in state schools have the opportunities that have long been a feature of the independent sector.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has taken recent steps to increase the number of joint training exercises between the British and Cypriot armed forces.
Answered by James Heappey
The UK Armed Forces and the Cypriot Armed Forces have a long-standing and fruitful bilateral defence relationship. The UK regularly participates in joint exercises with the Cypriot Armed Forces, including Ex APHRODITE SHIELD earlier this year and annual participation in Ex ARGONAUT, Ex NEMESIS and Ex CAMBRIAN PATROL.
Our Armed Forces' participation in joint exercises with the Cypriot Armed Forces is driven through the Bilateral Defence Cooperation Programme (BDCP). First signed in 2016, and reviewed at annual Staff Talks, the implementation of the BDCP has resulted in the growth of our bilateral defence relationship with the Republic of Cyprus. We continue to explore opportunities to deepen our co-operation across the breath of defence, including through joint training exercises.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to help neurodiverse people make a contribution to the work of the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 November 2022 to Question 89028.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of accusations of discrimination against white men in recruitment decisions by the Royal Air Force on quality of recruits.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
There has been no reduction in the quality of recruits joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) and all individuals joining the RAF must meet the required standard. Defence will continue to do all it can to attract the best people from the widest pool of talent, whatever their background, gender or ethnicity.