Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on the effect of the Augar Review of Post-18 Education and Funding on the higher education sector in Wales.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government’s Review of Post-18 education and funding is making good progress and the independent panel will report shortly, before the government concludes the overall review later this year. Higher and further education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. However, we recognise that students make choices across borders, and changes to the post-18 education system funding in England may have a direct impact on the Devolved Administrations. We are therefore engaging with the relevant governments as appropriate.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reducing tuition fees for English students on Welsh universities.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is making good progress and the independent panel will report shortly, before the government concludes the overall review later this year. As per the Terms of Reference, the review is looking at how we can best support education outcomes that deliver our Industrial Strategy ambitions, by contributing to a strong economy and delivering the skills our country needs. Higher and Further Education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. However, we recognise the direct impact the review may have on Devolved Administrations and are engaging with the relevant governments as appropriate.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the frequency and scope were of his discussions with the Welsh Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the Prime Minister’s review of post-18 education.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government’s Review of Post-18 education and funding is making good progress and the independent panel will report shortly, before the government concludes the overall review later this year. Higher and further education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. However, we recognise that students make choices across borders, and changes to the post-18 education system funding in England may have a direct impact on the Devolved Administrations. We are therefore engaging with the relevant governments as appropriate.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reducing tuition fees on the ability of universities in the Devolved Administrations to meet the objectives set out in the Government’s Industrial Strategy and create prosperity in the UK’s nations and regions.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is making good progress and the independent panel will report shortly, before the government concludes the overall review later this year. As per the Terms of Reference, the review is looking at how we can best support education outcomes that deliver our Industrial Strategy ambitions, by contributing to a strong economy and delivering the skills our country needs. Higher and Further Education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. However, we recognise the direct impact the review may have on Devolved Administrations and are engaging with the relevant governments as appropriate.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Written Statement of 24 July 2018 on Schools Update, HCWS911, whether he consulted with the Welsh Government on the pay rise for teachers announced in that Written Statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department received the School Teachers' Review Body report on 18 May 2018. This report considered the views of a wide range of consultees, including the Welsh Government. In line with previous years, there was no direct consultation between my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Welsh Government in respect of the Written Ministerial Statement. Statutory consultees, including the Welsh government, were invited to respond to a consultation on the report, the Government’s response to it, the revised School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, and accompanying Pay Order.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of job roles advertised within his Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 excluded the box under the Ban the Box initiative.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department is fully compliant with the Ban the Box initiative. No roles advertised in 2016 or 2017 required applicants to declare details of previous convictions.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department is already compliant with the Ban the Box initiative and, as such, there is no requirement for an implementation plan.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with a criminal record applied for a university place in the UK in each of the last three years for which data is available.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Marylebone
Information on the number of people with a criminal record applying to university is not held centrally.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the merits of introducing an initiative similar to the Welsh Government's initiative to tackle children's hunger in school holidays.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The Government will monitor the impact of the Welsh Government’s introduction of the holiday ‘lunch and fun’ scheme.
Whilst it is parents who, primarily, are responsible for the health and welfare of their children, we recognise the benefits of providing a healthy school meal to the most disadvantaged children and we are committed to continuing to provide free school meals to those families that need them.
In addition, all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England's state-funded schools, including academies and free schools, are entitled to free school meals. (Universal Infant Free School Meals)
This Government is committed to ensuring that the welfare system is a strong safety net for those that need it; that is why it continues to spend over £90 billion a year on benefits for people of working age.
Work remains the best route out of poverty and we are introducing major reforms including Universal Credit to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work.
This Government’s policies means that there are now 608,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the potential number of Acts or parts of Acts that will be subject to repeal as a result of provisions in the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Government departments have been analysing the UK statute book and directly applicable EU law in their areas of responsibility to enable an assessment of the scale of the changes needed. This is likely to include the repeal, but also the amendment, of provisions in Acts but we are not in a position to give a sense of scale at this time.
In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill [‘Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union’], published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required.