Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle educational disadvantage in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Raising attainment for all pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, is at the heart of this government’s agenda. Evidence shows that pupils with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential.
The department has consistently taken a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes that help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, and providing targeted support where needed.
The Pupil Premium, worth over £2.9 billion in 2024/25 continues to support schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Coventry local authority is a designated Education Investment Area, for which the department has published Trust Development Statements, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1159211/West_Midlands_Trust_Development_Statements_v2.pdf.
The Trust Development Statement for Coventry outlines the department's vision to reduce the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils across all education phases. In order to raise education standards across Coventry, the department welcomes proposals from high-quality Multi Academy Trusts with experience in supporting communities with higher rates of deprivation.
Schools and trusts can also receive up to 15 days of support from a system leader through the department's Trust and School Improvement Offer. Colleagues within the department work closely with Coventry City Council to identify schools and trusts that may benefit this support.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the number of people in (a) the West Midlands, (b) Coventry and (c) Coventry North East constituency who have been employed in the automotive industry in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alan Mak
According to the ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey (BRES) the estimated numbers employed in automotive manufacturing in the West Midlands, Coventry and Coventry North-East were as follows (latest published year 2022):
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
West Midlands | 54,000 | 57,000 | 46,000 |
Coventry | 7,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 |
Coventry North-East | 1,750 | 2,000 | 1,500 |
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent estimate he has made of the number of empty residential properties in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure empty residential properties do not fall into disrepair.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 24519 on 10 May 2024.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department plans to take steps to reduce health inequalities through housing in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Jacob Young
The Government is committed to improving the quality of rented homes and committed in the Levelling Up White Paper to reduce the number of non-decent rented homes by 50% by 2030, building on the extensive progress made since 2010. We are introducing a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector through the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will introduce new standards that all private rented sector homes must meet. The Social Housing (Regulation) Act introduced new measures to drive up the quality of social homes, including through a new proactive consumer regulation regime led by the Regulator of Social Housing. We are also introducing Awaab’s Law, which will set new strict timeframes for social landlords to fix health hazards in homes.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department provides to older jobseekers in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England who are looking to (i) reskill or (ii) change careers.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Eligible older jobseekers on Universal Credit benefit from Additional Work Coach Time (AWCT) and the delivery of Mid Life MOTs in Jobcentres across England which support people to review their health, wealth and skills.
77 50PLUS Champions are working in all 37 Districts across England, Wales and Scotland, and personalise support, including helping customers to reskill or change career.
At the 2023 Budget, the Chancellor announced increasing skills provision through Returnerships for those aged 50 and over which bring together three programmes to support older workers. These include Accelerated Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs).