Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had since her appointment with (a) the NEU and (b) other teaching unions about pay and working conditions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since her appointment, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has met with the National Education Union (NEU) and other unions and representative bodies to discuss a wide range of school and college policy issues, including pay and working conditions. The Department appreciates the work of the teaching profession to build a world class education system, and the Secretary of State will continue to engage in constructive dialogue on a broad range of issues.
Since 25 October, the Secretary of State for Education has met with unions and other representative bodies on 27 October, 1 November, 15 December, 13 and 18 January. Other Ministers from the Department have also met with unions on 9, 14, 15, 16 and 29 November.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help support the training of more (a) joiners and (b) plasterers.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department’s skills reforms provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to get good jobs and progress in their careers. This begins with the opportunities and social justice needed to access excellent education and skills training which lead to positive work outcomes.
We will deliver economic growth through building a skills system that is employer focused, high quality and fit for the future, and is flexible enough to lead to more people completing high-quality courses that meet employers’ needs. This includes supporting more people to complete an apprenticeship or a Higher Technical Qualification, rolling out more T levels, establishing our network of 21 Institutes of Technology and expanding our popular Skills Bootcamps and Free Courses for Jobs programmes.
This ambitious skills agenda is backed by £3.8 billion of investment over this Parliament. We are using this to expand and strengthen higher and further education, ensuring skills training is aligned to the needs of employers to enable communities to thrive.
With this investment, we are putting employers at the heart of our skills system, which is why we are working with industry to shape our training offers, creating more routes into skilled employment in key economic sectors, including construction.
Our high-quality apprenticeships are supporting people of all ages with the opportunity to earn and learn the skills needed to start, or progress in, an exciting career in the construction sector. Employers in the construction sector can access a range of high-quality apprenticeship standards to meet their skills needs, including the Level 2 Plasterer apprenticeship and the Level 3 Advanced carpentry and joinery apprenticeship.
T Levels are strengthening vocational options for young people finishing their GCSEs. These are two-year, technical qualifications designed with businesses and employers and are equivalent in size to three A levels. T Levels in Onsite Construction were introduced in 2021 and include an occupational specialism in Plastering.
The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A-level equivalent) for free. Building and construction courses are available as part of this offer, including the Level 3 Diploma in Plastering.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. Skills Bootcamps in construction provide the opportunity to develop in-demand skills, including joinery and plastering.
High quality, careers information, advice and guidance is key to helping people to make informed decisions about their future, including being able to find out about and consider the different options, including those in construction, available to them.
The Careers & Enterprise Company is supporting schools and colleges to embed best practice in the delivery of careers information, advice and guidance, so young people are aware of the full range of training and careers available to them and have access to a broad range of employers and workplaces, including those in the construction sectors. This will be delivered through the national roll-out of Career Hubs, Career Leader training, and the Enterprise Adviser Network.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the (a) University and College Union and (b) Universities and Colleges Employers Association on potential industrial action by university staff.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has regular meetings with representatives of trade unions that have members in the higher education sector, including the University and College Union, as well as Universities UK and the Universities and Colleges Employers Association.
These discussions include matters related to industrial disputes, such as use of fixed-term and casual contracts, the health of the Universities Superannuation Scheme pension fund and data on impacts of strikes on students and their learning, but not the industrial disputes themselves.
Universities are autonomous and responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff. While the government plays no role in such disputes, the department hopes all parties can reach an agreement that delivers good value for students, staff and the universities, so that industrial action can be avoided.
It is disappointing that students who have already suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic face further disruption to their learning due to industrial action. The department hopes that all sides can work together so that students do not suffer with further learning loss.
If students are worried about the impact of strikes on their education, they should raise this with their university.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education have published a guide to handling complaints arising from significant disruption: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/providers/handling-complaints-arising-from-significant-disruption/.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to fund free British Sign Language courses for parents or guardians of children who are deaf.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Funding is already available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) for qualifications in, or focusing on, British Sign Language (BSL) up to and including Level 2. About 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority who determine which provision to fund for learners in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency provides the remaining funding for learners in non-devolved areas. Some providers of Community Learning offer BSL courses, and those providers determine the course fees, including levels of fee remission.
For qualifications at Level 3 and above, Advanced Learner Loans are available for certain BSL qualifications.
There is a statutory duty, under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989, for local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of ‘children in need’ in their area, including disabled children, by providing appropriate services to them. Services for disabled children provided under Section 17 will typically include short breaks for parent carers, equipment or adaptations to the home, and support for parents.
Section H1 of an education, health and care plan must specify all services assessed as being needed for a disabled child or young person under 18, under section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. This may include services to be provided for parent carers of disabled children, including following an assessment of their needs under the Children Act 1989. Where this assessment judges that the family needs provision to learn BSL, it could be included here.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether extra funding is available for schools with pupils who have Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Local authorities allocate extra funding to mainstream schools through their local funding formula to allow them to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder. Schools can attract further funding for those with complex needs from their local authority’s high needs budgets.
For children with Fetal Valproate Spectrum Disorder who are educated in special schools, funding also comes from the local authorities’ high needs budgets.
In the 2022 Autumn Statement, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor announced that the core schools budget, including funding for both mainstream and high needs schools, will increase by £2 billion in 2023/24 and £2 billion in 2024/25, over and above totals announced in the 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review. This will bring the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25. Within this, high needs funding will be rising to £10.1 billion in 2023/24. This represents an increase of over 50% from the 2019/20 allocations. This extra funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting all children and young people with complex SEND.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to reduce the number of children who go missing from care homes.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The government takes the matter of any child going missing very seriously. Statutory guidance is in place on the responsibilities of local authorities working with partners, to prevent children going missing, and to gather and share information and intelligence to reduce this risk. The guidance applies to all children going missing, whether this is from the family home or from care.
The guidance requires that every children's home has clear procedures to prevent children from going missing. The guidance also ensures there are detailed interviews when a child has returned from being missing.
The government is firmly committed to ensuring that when care is the best choice for a child, the care system provides stable, loving homes close to children’s communities. The government is investing £259 million in capital funding to provide high quality homes for some of our most vulnerable young people to ensure that they can be closer to families, schools, and health services.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle repair backlogs in further education colleges in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The Further Education Capital Transformation Programme is delivering the £1.5 billion manifesto commitment to upgrade further education (FE) college estates.
Through this programme, £200 million was allocated to all FE colleges and designated institutions to undertake immediate remedial work and upgrade the condition of their estates. Warrington and Vale Royal College, in the Warrington North Constituency, received an allocation of £712,228 of capital funding to improve their estate in August 2020. College groups were able to prioritise how and at which sites they could use this funding to tackle immediate condition improvement projects.
The next stage of the programme of investment to upgrade the FE estate is due to be announced later this year.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the capital cost of tackling the backlog of repairs in (a) schools and (b) further education colleges in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Between 2017 and 2019, the department’s Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme visited every government-maintained school in England to collect data about the physical condition of the school estate. We are preparing detailed analysis of the data collected for the CDC programme and plan to publish by the end of the year.
The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme, were published in May 2021 in the report ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey – Key Findings’. The report is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/989912/Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf.
In 2019, departmental officials visited every further education (FE) college in England to collect similar data to provide a comprehensive picture of the condition of the college estate. Further details on this process can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-programme-information-and-guidance. A report outlining the high-level findings of the FE CDC programme will be published in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an estimate of the affordability of childcare provision in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, Warrington North constituency, which is covered by Warrington local authority, are reporting that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.
The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Warrington local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for 2-year-old children and for 3 and 4-year-olds in 2021 is £4.75.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the sufficiency of childcare provision in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015.
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. At present, Warrington North constituency, which is covered by Warrington local authority, are reporting that they are fulfilling their duty to ensure sufficient childcare.
The department is committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare. We collect data on the main characteristics of childcare and early years provision in England and fees data can be broken down to local authority level. The latest data for Warrington local authority shows that the mean hourly fee band for 2-year-old children and for 3 and 4-year-olds in 2021 is £4.75.