Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much (1) has been spent to date and, (2) further has been allocated, for the rebranding of rolling stock and personnel uniforms to London North Eastern Railway from Virgin Trains East Coast.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The estimated cost of rebranding the existing rolling stock and issuing new uniform items to staff is approximately £550,000. The incurring of these costs are normal at the end of any franchise where the operator changes as LNER could not use the Virgin brand following the transfer of the services to LNER.
It was also important to spend this money in order to help establish this new brand in the market and maintain customer awareness of the services on offer. Further expenditure will be incurred in the future on developing and marketing the LNER brand as the operator of the East Coast route. This will be a matter for the LNER Board and decisions will be taken by them on a commercial basis.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to include Reception and early years' physical activity for spend within Primary Physical Education and Sport Premium funding with specific mention of play.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
It is important that all children have the opportunity to engage in physical activity and sport in a way that interests them. We want all schools to understand the importance of being physically active in keeping children healthy and the positive impact it can have on a child’s health and wellbeing. The government has doubled the PE and sport premium from September 2017 using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Use of the primary PE and sport premium is already considered as part of school inspections. The inspection framework is the specific responsibility of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted. Ofsted expect all schools to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes sporting opportunities for pupils.
The premium is intended to support schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport they offer. Play and activity is essential for children’s development in the early years and is a therefore an integral part of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS Statutory Framework sets out a requirement that educational programmes must provide opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement to aid their physical development. In addition, the programmes set out each area of learning and development and must be implemented through planned, purposeful play through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.
Schools were required to publish information on use of the PE and sport premium on their websites by 4 April 2018. The department has committed to sample a number of schools in each local authority, with the schools chosen based on a mix of random selection and prior non-compliance with the online reporting requirements. We are considering what further use we might make of that, and other sources of information, in making an assessment of the use and impact of the premium and reviewing our future approach.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require that physical education provision, and specifically, the use of the Primary Physical Education and Sport premium, is part of every primary Ofsted inspection.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
It is important that all children have the opportunity to engage in physical activity and sport in a way that interests them. We want all schools to understand the importance of being physically active in keeping children healthy and the positive impact it can have on a child’s health and wellbeing. The government has doubled the PE and sport premium from September 2017 using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Use of the primary PE and sport premium is already considered as part of school inspections. The inspection framework is the specific responsibility of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted. Ofsted expect all schools to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes sporting opportunities for pupils.
The premium is intended to support schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport they offer. Play and activity is essential for children’s development in the early years and is a therefore an integral part of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS Statutory Framework sets out a requirement that educational programmes must provide opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement to aid their physical development. In addition, the programmes set out each area of learning and development and must be implemented through planned, purposeful play through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.
Schools were required to publish information on use of the PE and sport premium on their websites by 4 April 2018. The department has committed to sample a number of schools in each local authority, with the schools chosen based on a mix of random selection and prior non-compliance with the online reporting requirements. We are considering what further use we might make of that, and other sources of information, in making an assessment of the use and impact of the premium and reviewing our future approach.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for a comprehensive review of the Primary Physical Education and Sport Premium including (1) Ofsted inspection procedure, (2) differentiated guidance and outcomes for physical activity, (3) teacher development, (4) pupil attainment, and (5) participation in competition and sport.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
It is important that all children have the opportunity to engage in physical activity and sport in a way that interests them. We want all schools to understand the importance of being physically active in keeping children healthy and the positive impact it can have on a child’s health and wellbeing. The government has doubled the PE and sport premium from September 2017 using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Use of the primary PE and sport premium is already considered as part of school inspections. The inspection framework is the specific responsibility of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at Ofsted. Ofsted expect all schools to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, which includes sporting opportunities for pupils.
The premium is intended to support schools to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport they offer. Play and activity is essential for children’s development in the early years and is a therefore an integral part of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The EYFS Statutory Framework sets out a requirement that educational programmes must provide opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination, control, and movement to aid their physical development. In addition, the programmes set out each area of learning and development and must be implemented through planned, purposeful play through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.
Schools were required to publish information on use of the PE and sport premium on their websites by 4 April 2018. The department has committed to sample a number of schools in each local authority, with the schools chosen based on a mix of random selection and prior non-compliance with the online reporting requirements. We are considering what further use we might make of that, and other sources of information, in making an assessment of the use and impact of the premium and reviewing our future approach.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that all Government health campaign messaging is comprehensive, particularly in regard to dental health.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Public Health England’s (PHE) health campaigns are developed with expert guidance from the relevant PHE teams to ensure messaging is comprehensive and evidence-based.
Change4Life is PHE’s flagship social marketing campaign, inspiring families to eat well and move more. Dental health content is included in the campaign and has been developed with guidance from PHE’s Diet and Obesity and Dental Public Health teams. The Top tips for teeth dental toolkit includes materials to help support dental professionals in their engagement with parents. The toolkit focuses on delivering three key messages to parents: cut down on sugar; brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste; and visit the dentist regularly. The toolkit is available for National Health Service dental practices to order.
The Start4Life Information Service for Parents email programme also encourages pregnant women to take up free dental care and advises expectant and new parents on caring for the oral health of their babies and young children.
In addition, NHS England has launched Starting Well: A Smile4Life Initiative. This programme of dental practice-based initiatives aims to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health in children under the age of five years. The programme has been launched in 13 high priority areas chosen on the basis of decay experience at a local authority area level, existing oral health improvement plans and trends in oral health.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what has been the saving to the two Houses arising from the changes to the opening hours of the switchboard service that were introduced in February.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
The changes made in 2017-18 to the service, including the changes in opening hours introduced in February 2018, have delivered a saving of £23.1k in the financial year 2017-18 and are forecast to deliver a saving of £124.3k in the financial year 2018-19.
The service changes included a change to the call answering Service Level Agreement from 90% of calls being answered in 10 seconds to 85% of calls being answered in 20 seconds, and a change of opening hours during sitting times and recesses, including closure on Sundays and UK Bank Holidays. The change to the Service Level Agreement, of 85% of calls being answered in 20 seconds, remains a higher standard than the Service Level Agreements of many top companies renowned for delivering excellent service.
Asked by: Lord Palmer (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what, if any, has been the annual saving to the two Houses of the outsourcing of the switchboard service; and how are the costs of that service apportioned between the two Houses.
Answered by Lord Laming
The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chairman of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf.
The saving projected when the outsourced switchboard provider, 3C Ltd, changed to Capita PLC in May 2012 was £1.53m. The saving was projected over the course of 7 years, meaning that the average forecast annual saving was £218.57k. Saving over the full 7 year term is now forecast to be £1.88m, providing an average annual saving of £269.33k. The actual saving after 6 years has been £1.45m, with an average annual saving of £242.36k.
Until 31 March 2015, 20% of costs were apportioned to the House of Lords and 80% to the House of Commons. Since 1 April 2015, 30% of costs are apportioned to the House of Lords and 70% to the House of Commons.