Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Sheryll Murray

Monday 11th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I of course extend my condolences to the friends and family of Ruth Perry. It was the most awful tragedy. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will say a word on that tragedy and Ofsted in a moment. For now, let me just say that of course the inspection framework and process must both be fully informative to parents, and supportive to teachers and schools.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

15. What recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of free school meals on children and their parents.

[The Minister for Schools (Damian Hinds)]

Free school meals support disadvantaged families to the value of £480 a year, ensuring that eligible pupils receive a healthy, nutritious meal. The Government have expanded free school meals more than any other in recent decades; now, more than a third of pupils in England receive them, compared with a sixth in 2010.

[Mrs Murray]

Recently, we have had high food inflation. While I welcome the fact that the Government have now halved inflation, one of my small schools has told me that it is unable to provide free meals within the money allocated, as it cannot benefit from the same economies of scale as larger schools. Will my right hon. Friend review the funds available for small schools?

[Damian Hinds]

I acknowledge my hon. Friend’s point. The national funding formula recognises that some schools are necessarily small and do not have the same opportunities to realise economies of scale. Every school receives a lump sum, irrespective of its size—£134,000 for next year—and the Government have reformed the sparsity factor, increasing funding for that from £42 million in 2021-22 to £98 million in 2024-25.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Sheryll Murray

Tuesday 12th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

First, may I join you, Mr Speaker, in welcoming the hon. Lady to her place? I look forward to working constructively with her. She raises an important point about the protection of people from domestic abuse from those who are on probation. I can reassure her that we have put in place further measures and, indeed, invested additional money—£1.5 million a year—to support those extra checks into addresses of where offenders may be going, to make sure that there is not that domestic abuse risk.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

2. What steps his Department is taking to help offenders find employment following release from prison.

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Damian Hinds)]

We continue to develop opportunities for work and training, both during custody and on release. I am pleased to say that the proportion of prison leavers employed six months after release has increased markedly over the past two years.

[Mrs Murray]

What help can the Department give to aid the mobility of this potential workforce and get them to where they need to be?

[Damian Hinds]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. Going to where the job opportunities are is incredibly important; I would mention to her opportunities such as the Jobcentre Plus railcard through the Department for Work and Pensions. We also need to make sure that, at the point of release, prisoners are put in touch with opportunities near to where they live—where they are going to. Although we work with employers large and small, there is a particular value in working with multi-site firms that have locations in many different places.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Sheryll Murray

Monday 27th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T2. I warmly welcome the latest fall in unemployment, particularly the 52% reduction since 2010 in my constituency. Will the Minister please endorse the work of Motiv-8 South West, which supports young people into employment and training, and continue to do all that he can to help those who are still struggling to find employment?

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

I welcome the news from my hon. Friend’s constituency, which has seen such a strong fall in unemployment. I certainly acknowledge the key role played by third sector organisations. We continue to work with outside organisations and on programmes such as work experience, sector-based work academies, the new youth obligation and, of course, the roll-out of universal credit.