Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to widen the participation of girls in sport in secondary schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for children and young people, including girls. Our manifesto set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education (PE) in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.
On 19 June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced next steps for the future of PE and sport in schools. As part of our mission-led approach and Plan for Change, the government will co-design PE and School Sport Partnership networks. We are looking to develop and build strong partnerships between schools, national governing bodies, local organisations and clubs. The planned model will look to strengthen and broaden partnership-based support with the aim to increase equal access for children to high quality PE and extracurricular sport.
Schools are also supported to increase girls’ engagement in sport through programmes delivered by sector organisations, such as the Football Association’s ‘Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships’ programme and Sport England’s online Studio You programme.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 March (HL5463), how many people the Department for Education employs on zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department does not have any employees on zero-hour contracts.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of impact of false positive results from a COVID-19 rapid lateral flow test on the number of children who will not be permitted to attend school.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department has confidence in the value and accuracy of lateral flow tests. The tests are highly specific, with low chances of false positives.
More than 130 types of lateral flow devices (LFDs) have been assessed and over 20,000 evaluations completed. Results indicate that LFDs are effective at detecting COVID-19 in an individual and registering an appropriate positive result, including for the current variants.
The speed and convenience of the tests supports the detection of the virus in asymptomatic individuals, who would not otherwise have been tested. LFD tests are approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for home use.
The Government has temporarily removed confirmatory PCR testing for Lateral Flow Tests taken at test sites, such as those situated in some workplaces, universities, secondary schools and colleges. This follows advice from Public Health England that, when COVID-19 prevalence rates are high, the performance of lateral flow devices and PCRs are broadly comparable when used at test sites, significantly reducing the need for routine confirmatory testing. In line with clinical advice, confirmatory PCR testing will remain in place, for pupils, students, and staff for whom testing is done at home to reduce the risk of false positives.