Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consultation with Gypsy and Traveller families they undertook with regard to the use and implications of the term "mobile child" in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to provide clarity and support to local authorities with regard to the implementation of obligations associated with the concept of "mobile child" as used in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the use of the term "mobile child" in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February, does not adversely and unfairly affect Traveller children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure that Traveller families understand what the term "mobile child" means, as used in the statutory guidance Working together to improve school attendance, published on 29 February.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024 and accompanying statutory guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ use the term ‘mobile child’ to describe a child of compulsory school age who has no fixed abode and whose parent is engaged in a trade or business that requires them to move from place to place. This is a new term, but covers the same children as section 444(6) of the Education Act 1996.
Parents of mobile children have longstanding protection in attendance law and guidance, including how absence is recorded in the register, but feedback from parents, schools and local authorities suggested inconsistency in how these are applied. The term ‘mobile child’ is intended to clarify that the provisions are for all pupils who meet the definition as set out in regulation 3 of the 2024 Pupil Registration Regulations (and the statutory guidance) and that they concern the child’s mobility rather than ethnicity.
A draft of the new Regulations and guidance was subject to full public consultation in 2022 and training has been provided both to schools and local authorities to improve consistency and support implementation. The department will continue to monitor feedback on implementation during the 2024/25 academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made recent representations to the government of Nigeria in relation to (1) the ongoing detention of Mubarak Bala, President of the Nigerian Humanist Association; and (2) securing his unconditional and immediate release.
Answered by Lord Benyon
The UK Government is aware that the Court of Appeal in Kano has reduced the sentence of Mubarak Bala, from 24 years to five. The UK Government continues to raise Mr Bala's case with the Nigerian authorities. In August 2023, the British High Commissioner handed over a letter from Fiona Bruce MP, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, on Mubarak Bala's case, to the Kano State Governor, and in January 2024, FCDO officials raised the case again with the Deputy Kano State governor. In the UK, officials remain in communication with Humanists UK and received an update on Mr Bala's case from them on 16 May. The right of individuals to express opinions, including expressing their non-belief, is essential to a free and open society. Dialogue on human rights, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, will remain an important part of the UK's partnership with Nigeria.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings from their consultation on lifting the cap on faith-based admissions in religious free schools; and the possible socio-economic impacts of lifting the cap.
Answered by Baroness Barran
The consultation was launched on 1 May 2024 and will run for seven weeks, closing on 20 June 2024.
The department will then carefully consider all responses to the consultation and use them to inform the department’s recommendations for better meeting the policy objectives of faith schools.
The government’s response will be published on the GOV.UK website within 12 weeks following closure of the consultation.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to request that Ipsos includes a category of "Speech, Language, and Communication Difficulties” in the annual GP Patient Survey.
Answered by Lord Markham
The 2024 GP Patient Survey includes a question on long-term conditions, which currently lists 15 such conditions. ‘Speech, Language, and Communication Difficulties’ is not one of the specific options listed in this question in the 2024 survey.
We appreciate that there are many people in England who are living with speech, language, and communication difficulties. We must strike a careful balance between breadth of coverage and the availability of space in the questionnaire. Anyone who is living with a long-term condition which is not listed is able to select ‘Another long-term condition’.
However, we record all questionnaire feedback given to us and take it into account when we review the survey every year.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of South Africa's relationship with the proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas, and the statements of support for Hamas by former ANC minister Ronnie Kasrils.
Answered by Lord Benyon
We are clear with South Africa that Hamas are a proscribed terrorist organisation by the UK. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas in line with International Humanitarian Law, as we have said from the outset. The vital elements for a lasting peace include the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new pitches, as opposed to the refurbishment of existing pitches, were funded by the Affordable Homes Programme since its inception, excluding any funded by the Traveller Site Fund 2022/23.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Opposition Whip (Lords)
Between 2016 and 2023 108 new traveller pitches have been delivered from the Affordable Homes Programmes. 85 of these have been through the 2015-18 and 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programmes, and 23 from the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for establishing a separate contracts for difference funding pot for wave energy generation, so that its funding is no longer in competition with technologies which are closer to market.
Answered by Lord Callanan
The Government is developing auction parameters for the sixth allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, including any for wave technologies. This will take into account several factors, including evidence of the pipeline of available projects. Final parameters, including the budget, will be published ahead of the round opening in March 2024.