Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many designated Sure Start Children's Centres there were in each local authority in England in (a) 2015 and (b) 2017.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Since 18 September 2017, data on Sure Start children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
Based on the information supplied by local authorities[1], the attached spreadsheet provides details of the number of children’s centre sites by local authority in 2015 and 2017[2].
Councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and local areas continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs.
[1] The number of children’s centres is based on information supplied by local authorities as at 3 January 2020 and shows the number of children’s centre sites in each local authority at the end of the 2015 and 2017 calendar years. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time.
[2] The GIAS database does not hold information on the date a children’s centre converts to a children’s centre linked site therefore, while a figure for the split between children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites at the point a query is made can be established, it is not possible to provide a historic breakdown of this figure in previous years.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff working at the Education and Skills Funding Agency are apprentices.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Education and Skills Funding Agency staff employed as apprentices was 6%.
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff working at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are apprentices.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Education and Skills Funding Agency staff employed as apprentices was 6%.
This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As at 31 December 2019, the proportion of Department for Education staff employed as apprentices was 5%.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £1 billion in additional funding allocated to children's and adult social care will be divided between (a) children's and (b) adult social care in each local authority in England.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The additional £1 billion grant for adults and children’s social care, and the continuing £410 million social care grant, can be used flexibly by local authorities to deliver both adults and children's social care based on local priorities.
Local councils understand the needs of their communities’ best and it is important that they have the freedom and flexibility to manage those needs.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2020 to Question 1022 on Breakfast Clubs: Schools, what the annual value was of the contract awarded to Family Action in March 2018.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
In March 2018, a contract was awarded to Family Action who are working in partnership with Magic Breakfast to deliver the National School Breakfast Programme. The initial value of this contract, broken down by financial year, was as follows: 2017-18: £0.3 million, 2018-19: £9.6 million and 2019-20: £13.9 million. Further information can be found on the Contracts Finder website, which is accessible from here:
In October 2019, this contract was extended by a further year. Up to £11.8 million additional funding will be invested in the financial year 2020-21. This will kick-start or improve breakfast clubs, making them sustainable in the long run. In total, the department has made over £35 million available to this programme between 2018 and 2021.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the base rate of funding was for 16-19 year olds in 2013, in 2019-20 prices.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
In 2013/14, the base rate of funding for 16-19 education was £4,000. Using the most recent GDP deflators to calculate the value of this rate at 2019-20 prices produces a figure of £4,435.
We are investing an extra £400 million in 16 to 19 education in 2020-21 to ensure we are building the skills that our country needs. This is the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010, with funding increasing faster for 16 to 19 education than in 5 to 16 schooling. This includes a 4.7% increase in the base rate to £4,188. With other funding announced, such as an additional £120 million of funding for high cost and high value subjects and £35 million to support students with Maths and English GCSE retakes, this represents an increase of around 7% in overall 16 to 19 funding.
Funding for future years beyond 2020-21 will be considered as part of the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the £1 billion additional funding allocated to (a) wraparound and (b) holiday childcare will result in an increase in the number of children eligible for free childcare.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department wants to give parents the freedom, support and choice to look after their children in the way that works best for them. That is why from 2021 the Department will be investing £1 billion to help create more high-quality wraparound and holiday childcare places. We will announce further details on this new investment in due course.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many designated Sure Start Children's Centres there were in each local authority in England in (a) 2010 and (b) 2019.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
Since 18 September 2017, data on Sure Start children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
Based on the information supplied by local authorities[1], the attached spreadsheet provides details of the number of children’s centre sites by local authority in 2010 and 2019.
Councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and that local areas would continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs.
On 7 November 2019, the department published annual figures for the number of children’s centres from 2003 and June 2019. This data is available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/844752/Number_of_Children_s_Centres_2003_to_2019_Nov2019.pdf.
[1] The number of children’s centres is based on information supplied by local authorities as at 3 January 2020. These figures may be different to previous answers and could change again in future, since local authorities may update their data at any time.