Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in Sefton Central have indicated in response to the Government questionnaire that they believe Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) was used in their construction.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department has sent a questionnaire on reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) to all responsible bodies, asking them to provide information on RAAC in their estates. Responses from the questionnaire will allow the Department to better understand the prevalence of RAAC across the education estate and ensure the correct support is in place to meet the responsible bodies’ needs.
The questionnaire remains open for responsible bodies to respond to. Identifying RAAC can be difficult, so all reports of suspected RAAC are investigated by structural engineers commissioned by the Department and, where needed, site surveys are undertaken to confirm its presence. For this reason, the Department only holds partial data and is not able to provide details of schools that contain RAAC elements. The Department will consider releasing outcomes from the questionnaire in the future.
Since 2015, over £13 billion has been allocated for keeping schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion committed in the 2023/24 financial year.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond to the letter from the Sefton Association of Primary Headteachers, dated 26 March 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Cabinet Office target is for Departments to reply to 95% of correspondence within 20 working days. The Department and its Ministers understand the importance of providing timely responses to correspondence, and have set an internal target for responding to MP correspondence within 18 working days.
The hon. Member’s correspondence was received in the Department on 26 March and a response has been sent.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to correspondence of 20 March 2023 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central on the repair of school buildings in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
A response to the hon. Member for Sefton Central’s correspondence will be sent shortly.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Sefton Central dated 11 November 2022 regarding schools funding.
Answered by Nick Gibb
A response was sent to the hon. Member for Sefton Central on 13 December 2022.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for schools in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department engages regularly with His Majesty’s Treasury on a number of matters, including on school funding.
The Government is prioritising further funding for schools, including those in the Sefton Central constituency. The Autumn Statement has provided an additional increase in the core schools’ budget of £2.3 billion for both 2023/24 and 2024/25. After adjusting to account for the removal of the compensation for employer costs of the Health and Social Care Levy, this brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, £2 billion greater than published in the 2021 Spending Review. Schools funding is already £4 billion higher this year than last year, and this additional funding means that it will rise by a further £3.5 billion next year. Combined, that means a 15% increase in funding within two years.
The Department will set out plans for the distribution of the additional funding provided through the Autumn Statement in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant of the Answer of 27 September to Question 44953 on Schools: Finance, how much funding schools in Sefton Central have received in the 2021-2022 academic year as of 14 November 2022; and what estimate he has made of his expected expenditure in those schools in that constituency in the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools in Sefton Central attracted over £68.6 million in the 2021/22 financial year, based on the schools National Funding Formula. This is an extra £2.6 million compared to the 2020/21 financial year. This represented an increase of 3.5% per pupil for their pupil-led funding compared to the 2020/21 financial year. Constituency figures are based on an aggregate of school allocations.
Core schools' funding is £4 billion higher this year than last year; and the additional funding announced in the 2022 Autumn Statement means it will rise by another £3.5 billion next year. Taken together, that means a 15% increase in funding in two years. The Department will set out its plans for allocation of the additional funding provided by the Autumn Statement shortly.
Information on school expenditure for maintained schools can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-local-authority-school-finance-data, and here for academies: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/academies-sector-annual-reports-and-accounts.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase funding for schools in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is prioritising further funding for schools. The 2022 Autumn Statement has provided an additional increase in the core schools’ budget, including £2.3 billion in funding for both mainstream schools and high needs in 2023/24 and 2024/25. After adjusting to take account of the removal of the compensation for employer costs of the Health and Social Care Levy, this brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, £2 billion greater than published in the 2021 Spending Review.
The Department will set out plans for allocation of the additional funding provided by the Autumn Statement, including plans for funding in Sefton Council, in due course.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on improving skills training in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department regularly discusses skills matters with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but not specifically about individual constituencies.
The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education (FE) and skills over the Parliamentary session to ensure people nationwide, including in Sefton, have access to the skills they need to build a fulfilling careers in jobs the economy needs.
Funding has been boosted by an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 academic year, compared with 2021/22. This is the biggest increase in 16-19 funding in a decade, and will help to fund the additional students anticipated in the system, 40 extra hours per student, and an affordable increase in funding rates per 16-19 student.
This additional funding will help providers such as Hugh Baird College in South Sefton, which is a very strong general FE college, focused on technical education that engages employers locally to co-design their curriculum and offer opportunities for learners in the Sefton area.
Hugh Baird College is also delivering T levels, which are new qualifications for 16 to 18-year-olds that have been developed with employers to ensure that young people will have the skills they need to get good jobs. It is currently delivering Digital, Education and Health and Science T levels. Other colleges in the surrounding area are also delivering T levels.
The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 and supporting employers in all sectors and all areas of the country, including Sefton, to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need. Since May 2010, there have been a total of 32,990 apprenticeship starts in Sefton local authority.
There is also the introduction of the Free Courses for Jobs scheme. This enables adult learners without a level 3 qualification (or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage) to gain a qualification for free.
In addition, the department has also introduced Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. Skills Bootcamps are being delivered in digital, green, HGV driving, and rail and engineering across Liverpool City Region through the combined authority. These will target skills gaps and shortages highlighted by local employers for local people.
Investment in education and skills training for adults is continuing through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) at £1.34 billion in the 2021/22 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.
Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London. This includes Liverpool City region which covers Sefton. This gives Liverpool City Region direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides the local area with the opportunity to meet local needs.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the letter of 11 November 2022 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central on funding for schools in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Cabinet Office minimum target is for Departments to reply to 95% of correspondence within 20 working days. The Department and its Ministers understand the importance of providing timely responses to correspondence, and have set an internal target for responding to MP correspondence within 18 working days. A response to the hon. Member’s letter will be sent by 7 December 2022 at the latest.
Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for sixth forms in Sefton Central constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is committed to investing in 16-19 education to ensure every young person has access to an excellent education.
The 2021 Spending Review settlement will provide an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year compared with the 2021/22 financial year. This is the biggest increase in 16-19 funding in a decade, which will help to fund the additional students anticipated in the system, 40 extra hours per student, and an affordable increase in funding rates per 16-19 student.
The funding system for 16-19 education is used to calculate the funding for all students in this phase whether in school sixth forms, further education colleges, sixth form colleges or other providers. The department expects to publish the 2023/2024 academic year funding rates for 16-19 education later this autumn.