Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of (a) elements of school estates currently in use and (b) open schools containing at least one such element which were constructed using High Aluminia Cement in (i) each local authority area and (ii) England.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of those running schools - academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies - to collect and record information about their buildings, as well as to ensure that they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations. The department supports schools and colleges on how this should be done in the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance, which is available on GOV.UK.
Departmental officials have regular discussions with relevant professional bodies and leading material specialists to ensure they are aware of any emerging evidence regarding the safety of construction materials used in the education estate. The department does not hold a central register of construction types used in the education estate.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether guidance is available to schools on the management of (a) buildings and (b) building elements made from high alumina cement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of those running schools - academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies - to collect and record information about their buildings, as well as to ensure that they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations. The department supports schools and colleges on how this should be done in the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance, which is available on GOV.UK.
Departmental officials have regular discussions with relevant professional bodies and leading material specialists to ensure they are aware of any emerging evidence regarding the safety of construction materials used in the education estate. The department does not hold a central register of construction types used in the education estate.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the (a) Confederation of School Trusts, (b) Roman Catholic Church, (c) Church of England and (d) Local Government Association on the safety of (i) block and beam concrete and (ii) high alumina cement constructions in schools for which they and their member organisations are responsible since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ministers and officials of the department meet regularly with unions and other stakeholder organisations to discuss a wide range of issues, including the safety of school buildings. There is a regular meeting on school buildings run by departmental officials which includes representatives of the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, NASUWT, Unison, Unite, GMB, the Local Government Association, the Confederation of School Trusts, the Church of England, and the Catholic Education Service. This group has discussed issues around block and beam concrete and high alumina cement.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Confederation of School Trusts on the safety of (a) block and beam concrete and (b) high alumina cement constructions since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ministers and officials of the department meet regularly with unions and other stakeholder organisations to discuss a wide range of issues, including the safety of school buildings. There is a regular meeting on school buildings run by departmental officials which includes representatives of the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, NASUWT, Unison, Unite, GMB, the Local Government Association, the Confederation of School Trusts, the Church of England, and the Catholic Education Service. This group has discussed issues around block and beam concrete and high alumina cement.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Local Government Association on the safety of (a) block and beam concrete and (b) high alumina cement since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ministers and officials of the department meet regularly with unions and other stakeholder organisations to discuss a wide range of issues, including the safety of school buildings. There is a regular meeting on school buildings run by departmental officials which includes representatives of the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, NASUWT, Unison, Unite, GMB, the Local Government Association, the Confederation of School Trusts, the Church of England, and the Catholic Education Service. This group has discussed issues around block and beam concrete and high alumina cement.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings are operating past their intended design life by local authority area; and how many schools have one or more of those buildings by local authority area.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsible for collecting and recording information about their buildings and for ensuring that they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations.
The department does not hold data on the design life of school buildings.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Condition Data Collection studies collected information on elements of the school estate made using (a) block and beam concrete and (b) high alumina cement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold this information. The Condition Data Collection does collect data on the type of construction of each block.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there were any meetings between senior officials in his Department and (a) the Early Years Alliance, (b) the National Day Nurseries Association, (c) Busy Bees, (d) Bright Horizons, (e) Koru Kids and (f) other individual private providers of childcare services subsequent to the release of transparency information for HM Treasury ministerial meetings between 1 January and 31 March 2023.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Treasury officials have regular meetings with external organisations, including in the childcare sector as part of the process for policy formulation.
Details of Ministerial and Permanent Secretary meetings are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of (a) the Jewish chaplain and (b) Jewish staff and students at the University of Leeds.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Antisemitism, intimidation and threats of violence must never be tolerated on university campuses. University Jewish Chaplains play a vital role in supporting Jewish students and staff across the country. The disgraceful abuse targeted at the Chaplain in Leeds is appalling and extremely disturbing. The government has worked closely with West Yorkshire Police to ensure robust action is taken in relation to these matters. As the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I have visited Leeds University, spoken to the Vice Chancellor to seek reassurances that the University is taking appropriate action in the wake of these appalling incidents and have met with the Chaplain and his wife. The department remains in regular contact with the University Jewish Chaplaincy, the Community Security Trust and West Yorkshire Police and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Last week’s report by the Community Security Trust highlights the devastating increase in antisemitic incidents in higher education. This government takes antisemitism extremely seriously and is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since 7 October 2023. That is why, on 22 November 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The department has issued an invitation for interested organisations to tender for contracts to deliver a comprehensive package of measures across schools, colleges and universities and aim to have suppliers in place for the start of the new financial year. A link to the report by the Community Security Trust can be found here: https://cst.org.uk/data/file/9/f/Antisemitic_Incidents_Report_2023.1707834969.pdf.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools, colleges, and universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The department wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five point plan for tackling antisemitism in higher education, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan involves:
The department will not hesitate to take further action across the education estate to stamp out antisemitism and harassment of Jewish pupils, students and staff.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of Jewish chaplains at universities in England.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Antisemitism, intimidation and threats of violence must never be tolerated on university campuses. University Jewish Chaplains play a vital role in supporting Jewish students and staff across the country. The disgraceful abuse targeted at the Chaplain in Leeds is appalling and extremely disturbing. The government has worked closely with West Yorkshire Police to ensure robust action is taken in relation to these matters. As the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I have visited Leeds University, spoken to the Vice Chancellor to seek reassurances that the University is taking appropriate action in the wake of these appalling incidents and have met with the Chaplain and his wife. The department remains in regular contact with the University Jewish Chaplaincy, the Community Security Trust and West Yorkshire Police and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Last week’s report by the Community Security Trust highlights the devastating increase in antisemitic incidents in higher education. This government takes antisemitism extremely seriously and is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since 7 October 2023. That is why, on 22 November 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The department has issued an invitation for interested organisations to tender for contracts to deliver a comprehensive package of measures across schools, colleges and universities and aim to have suppliers in place for the start of the new financial year. A link to the report by the Community Security Trust can be found here: https://cst.org.uk/data/file/9/f/Antisemitic_Incidents_Report_2023.1707834969.pdf.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools, colleges, and universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The department wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five point plan for tackling antisemitism in higher education, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan involves:
The department will not hesitate to take further action across the education estate to stamp out antisemitism and harassment of Jewish pupils, students and staff.