Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support land-based education.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Land-based colleges play a central role in meeting local and national skills needs, including supporting the department's commitments on Net Zero. These colleges are significant assets to their local communities, enabling people of all backgrounds to gain sought-after skills, get good jobs and climb the ladder of opportunity.
Departmental officials are working closely with Landex and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to develop a strategy for land-based colleges which recognises their central role in supporting the delivery of key national priorities. This strategy will position land-based colleges within the Green Jobs Plan as hubs of skills training and technical innovation, boosting take-up in rural areas of high-quality skills training and ensuring high-quality, updated technical qualifications are available in each local area.
In addition to receiving capital funding, land-based colleges have benefitted from the £300 million the department has invested in the 21 employer led Institutes of Technology, which are leading the development of technical qualifications in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics related areas.
In the 2023/24 academic year, land-based colleges also benefitted from a significant uplift in the specialist programme cost weighting from 1.75 to 1.975. This means where young people are taking specialist land-based courses at these institutions, they now attract a 97.5% uplift on the core funding rate.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to support students in rural areas to be physically active.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In July 2023, the Department published an update to the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which will support teachers and schools to deliver two hours of high quality physical education (PE) and to provide competitive and extracurricular opportunities to pupils in all areas of England.
The Department has announced over £600 million of funding across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years for the Primary PE and Sport Premium, along with £22 million of funding for the School Games Organiser network.
The Department is funding up to £57 million to deliver phase three of the Opening School Facilities programme, which allows schools to open their sports facilities outside of the core school day to provide more extracurricular opportunities for pupils and communities to play sport and be physically active. The programme targets groups who have lower participation levels in sport, where funding will have the most positive impact. 1,419 schools across England have already signed up to deliver the programme, including 16 schools in Cumbria.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure the safety of students using public transport to access their place of education.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Transport is responsible for maintaining high standards of safety and security in transport.
The Department for Education is responsible for home to school travel. The Department requires Local Authorities to arrange free home to school travel for eligible pupils of compulsory school age. They decide what travel arrangements to make, provided they are suitable. They might provide a pass for free travel on public transport.
Local Authorities are also required to publish an annual transport policy statement specifying the arrangements they consider necessary to facilitate attendance at education or training by young people of sixth form age. The Department expects them to take account of local transport infrastructure in doing so.
The Department also publishes statutory guidance which highlights that everyone who works with children has a responsibility for keeping them safe and sets out what professionals and organisations need to do to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. A link to the statutory guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department have made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the statutory requirement for funding of educational and training transport to people aged over 16.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has given local authorities the flexibility to decide what transport arrangements to put in place to help young people aged 16 to 19 and those aged up to 25 with a special educational needs to access education or training, based on the needs of their population, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available.
The department recognises that the cost and availability of transport can be difficult for some pupils. Many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport to young people over the age of 16. In addition, our 16 to 19 bursary provides financial support to pupils from low income households and this can be used to support travel costs. For example, Westmoreland and Furness Council offer concessionary fares and free transport for young people from low income families, and that local schools and colleges offer the 16 to 19 bursary fund.
In academic year 2023/24 the department allocated over £160 million of bursary funding to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with costs including travel. The department has also made available £20 million each year specifically to support pupils in defined vulnerable groups, such as those in care, care leavers and those supporting themselves in receipt of certain social security funds.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of schools using vaping sensors in school buildings.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has not assessed the number of vaping sensors in schools. Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including which items are banned from school premises.
My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, recently announced that the Government will be ensuring pupils are made aware of the health risks of vaping. The Department will be including this important topic in relationships, sex and health education lessons (RSHE), as part of the review of the RSHE statutory guidance, to further discourage pupils from taking up vaping.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Statement 2022 on university students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and impacted students. To better understand the impact of the rising cost of living for university students, the department commissioned the ONS to survey a sample of HE students between October 24 and November 7. The report based on this survey was published on 23 November and is available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/educationandchildcare/bulletins/costoflivingandhighereducationstudentsengland/24octoberto7november2022.
There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged HE students in need of additional help. The department is working with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship, using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year.
A HM Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Autumn Statement 2022 on students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The 2022 Autumn Statement ensures the most vulnerable are protected from the worst of the price rises, with increases to benefits, targeted support with energy bills, one-off payments to people on benefits, disabled people and increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.
There were significant increases in funding for other education sectors announced at the last Spending Review. The department is investing an additional £3.8 billion on skills over the course of this Parliament (comparing 2024/25 with 2019/20).
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.
There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged HE students who need additional help. The department has also worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.
In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill, introduced on 12 October, includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.
Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.
A Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.
The department provides a range of financial support for further education (FE) students aged 16-19 (or aged up to 25 with an Education and Health Care Plan) who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (such as travel, books, equipment, and trips), plus support for childcare and residential costs where required. We have increased total discretionary Bursary funding by 6.8% in 2022/23 to support disadvantaged students to continue in FE or training.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support post-16 students with the rising cost of living.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The 2022 Autumn Statement ensures the most vulnerable are protected from the worst of the price rises, with increases to benefits, targeted support with energy bills, one-off payments to people on benefits, disabled people and increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage.
There were significant increases in funding for other education sectors announced at the last Spending Review. The department is investing an additional £3.8 billion on skills over the course of this Parliament (comparing 2024/25 with 2019/20).
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.
There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged HE students who need additional help. The department has also worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.
In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill, introduced on 12 October, includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.
Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.
A Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.
The department provides a range of financial support for further education (FE) students aged 16-19 (or aged up to 25 with an Education and Health Care Plan) who need it to enable them to participate in post-16 education, including free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (such as travel, books, equipment, and trips), plus support for childcare and residential costs where required. We have increased total discretionary Bursary funding by 6.8% in 2022/23 to support disadvantaged students to continue in FE or training.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has made an estimate of the potential cost or the provision of free school meals to primary aged children whose families are in receipt of Universal Credit in England.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department does not have plans to assess the effects of changing the current eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM). However, the department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM. Extending FSM to all families on Universal Credit would carry a significant financial cost.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he has made an assessment of the potential cost of providing free school meals to all primary aged children in England.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department does not have plans to assess the effects of changing the current eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM). However, the department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.
The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM. Extending FSM to all families on Universal Credit would carry a significant financial cost.