The Department for Education is responsible for children’s services and education, including early years, schools, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
Gavin Williamson
Secretary of State for Education
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
| Date | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 23 | Oral Questions | Oral Answers to Questions |
| May. 13 | Urgent Questions | Covid-19: School Reopening |
| Dec. 17 | Written Statements | Educational Settings: January 2021 Return and Funding |
| Jan. 13 | Westminster Hall | School Closures: Support for Pupils |
| Dec. 17 | Adjournment Debate | Free Sanitary Products in Schools |
Department for Education has not tabled any Bills during the current Session.
| Dates | Department | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Laid 8 Jan 2021 In Force 31 Jan 2021 |
Department for Education |
School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation |
Made negative procedure |
| These Regulations amend the School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (“the 2020 Amendment Regulations”). | |||
|
Laid 8 Jan 2021 In Force 29 Jan 2021 |
Department for Education |
Education and Inspections Act 2006 (Prescribed Education and Training etc) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Parliamentary Status - Text of Legislation |
Made negative procedure |
| These Regulations amend the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (Prescribed Education and Training etc) Regulations 2007. | |||
| Current Signatures | Final Signatures | Title | Petition Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
|
353,129 Petition Closed |
Reimburse all students of this year’s fees due to strikes and COVID-19 Gov Responded - 5 Jun 2020 Debated on - 16 Nov 2020 |
23 Sep 2020 closed 3 months, 3 weeks ago |
|
|
All students should be reimbursed of this years tuition fees as universities are now online only due to COVID-19, with only powerpoints online for learning materials which is not worthy of up to £9,250. Furthermore, all assessments are being reconsidered to ‘make do’ and build up credits. |
|||
|
268,226 c. 1,185 added daily |
282,455 (Estimated) |
Require universities to partially refund tuition fees for 20/21 due to Covid-19 Sign this petition Gov Responded - 24 Sep 2020 Debated on - 16 Nov 2020 |
29 Jan 2021 closes in 1 week, 4 days |
|
The quality of online lectures is not equal to face-to-face lectures. Students should not have to pay full tuition fees for online lectures, without experiencing university life. The Government should require UK universities to partially refund tuition fees while online teaching is implemented. |
|||
|
208,942 c. 945 added daily |
240,105 (Estimated) |
Cancel GCSEs and A Levels in 2021 Sign this petition Gov Responded - 20 Oct 2020 Debated on - 7 Dec 2020 |
19 Feb 2021 closes in 1 month |
|
The Government should cancel GCSEs and A Levels in 2021 due to the disruption of Covid-19. By the time students go back to normal learning, 6 months will have passed since schools were closed to most pupils. This has already had a huge impact on the studying of so many. |
|||
Department for Education Select Committee Home Page
Select Committees are a formally established cross-party group of backbench MPs tasked with holding a Government department to account.
At any time there will be number of ongoing investigations into the work of the Department, or issues which fall within the oversight of the Department. Witnesses can be summoned from within the Government and outside to assist in these inquiries, and the Select Committee will occasionally publish formal reports of their findings.
| Date | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 15 | Consultation launched on 2021 exam replacement | News and Communications |
| Jan. 15 | Consultation on how GCSE, AS and A level grades should be awarded in summer 2021 | Open consultation |
| Jan. 15 | Consultation on alternative arrangements for the award of VTQs and other general qualifications in 2021 | Open consultation |
Written Questions are submitted by Members of Parliament and the House of Lords to receive information or updates from a Department.
Departments are required to respond in a timely fashion and provide a response or requested information. Written Questions can compel detailed and specific information to be produced, and are frequently used as the source of news stories about the work of a Department.
| Date | Title | Questioner |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan 2021, 5:23 p.m. | Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak) | Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak) |
|
Question to the Department for Education: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) looked-after children and (b) care leavers can access (i) IT equipment and (ii) internet during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021. Answered by Vicky Ford - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education) The government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. This includes over 700,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities by 11 January. We have published the latest data here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data We prioritised the delivery of devices for children receiving support from a social worker and care leavers during the summer term of the 2019/20 academic year. The Department delivered devices to local authorities, so that all children receiving support from a social worker and care leavers would have access to a device. These devices are the property of the local authority and they are responsible for their ongoing maintenance and support. We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 54,000 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home. We are grateful to EE, O2, Smarty, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone. We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.
|
||