First elected: 7th May 2015
Left House: 3rd May 2017 (General Election)
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by David Mackintosh, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
David Mackintosh has not been granted any Urgent Questions
David Mackintosh has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Electoral Reform (Local Elections and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Ranil Jayawardena (Con)
National Health Service Provision (Local Consultation) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Victoria Prentis (Con)
Improving LGB&T people’s experience at work is a key priority for this government. The Equality Act 2010 provides one of the world’s strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination, harassment and victimisation in employment, including because of sexual orientation and gender reassignment.
We also fund the Equality Advisory & Support Service, which provides free information, advice and support on equality and human rights issues to LGB&T people and others who may have been discriminated against at work.
In addition, we recently published guidance for employers on the recruitment and retention of transgender employees. The guidance contains practical advice, suggestions and ideas to help improve knowledge and understanding about transgender issues in the workplace, and helps employers comply with the law.
We will continue to engage with LGB&T organisations, employers, trade unions and individuals to understand and address the challenges for LGB&T people in the workplace.
I am delighted that we exceeded Lord Davies’s target of 25% women on boards of the FTSE 100 last year. However, we know that there is more to be done, and we will support and promote Lord Davies’s recommendation for a business-led 33% target for FTSE 350 boards by 2020. That’s why we’ve appointed Sir Philip Hampton, Chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, Chair of UBM plc, as Chair and Deputy Chair of a new review which will focus on increasing the number of women in the executive layer of the FTSE 350.
Plans are in place for the creation of multi-departmental government Hubs in strategic locations outside London. These will further consolidate our office estate, whilst helping to attract and retain staff by stronger collaboration between departments and enabling staff to grow careers locally.
We are consolidating our estate in central London and, since 2010, have reduced the number of offices from 181 to 54. Rationalisation will continue, enabling more multi-departmental use of HQ buildings and civil servant moves to peripheries where property costs are lower.
The National Cyber Security Centre will be a unified source of advice for business, including owners and providers of critical national infrastructure. The Centre will work with lead government departments and regulators who are responsible for ensuring that the risks against our critical national infrastructure are appropriately managed by those running it.
Since its launch in October 2012, GOV.UK has handled over 2.6 billion visits. The site needs to continue operating during major events such as the annual Self Assessment peak and a national emergency. The GOV.UK website has been designed to handle issues and failures in a way which would not impact the public. We have robust incident management processes in place and regularly run disaster recovery simulations to test our response to any outages.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Stroud on 27 April UIN: 904721.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The Government is committed to the reform and modernisation of the public service ombudsman sector. In December 2015 we published our response to the consultation on the recommendations made by Robert Gordon’s report on this matter, and we intend to publish draft legislation to create a new Public Service Ombudsman, which will encompass the existing jurisdictions of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and the Local Government Ombudsman.
Electoral registers are compiled and maintained locally by Electoral Registration Officers primarily for the purposes of running Parliamentary and local elections in their area. A centralised, national electoral register would not necessarily help them do this, and would potentially create concerns about how government handles citizens personal data, so we have made no assessment of this kind.
The transition to IER is now complete and has been a great success. Over 14 million applications have been made to register since the introduction of IER, almost three quarters of them online. Ghost entries have been removed, which means the electoral registers are more accurate and less vulnerable to fraud than before. The Electoral Commission is expected to publish its assessment of the completeness and accuracy of the first full electoral registers under IER, published in December 2015, this summer.
The Government has made it easier and quicker to register to vote than ever before through online registration. Since June 2014, 3.6 million people aged 16-24 have applied to register to vote, with 2.7 million of these applications made online. The Government has also worked with various youth organisations such as NUS and Sixth Form Colleges Association, to encourage voter registration among students.
All public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice. The Government is committed to increasing the diversity of public appointments. The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office supports departments on all issues relating to the diversity of public appointments. Steps we are taking to increase diversity include streamlining the application process, placing an emphasis on ability over previous experience and increasing awareness of opportunities by using a central website, social media and engaging with a variety of diversity networks and groups.
The Cabinet Office recruits staff in line with the Civil Service Commissioners Principles which ensures that candidates are selected based on fair and open competition and on merit. To reduce bias in selection, the Cabinet Office will be implementing name-blind recruitment methods from 1st April. In addition, recruitment and selection training, which has a core focus on raising awareness of unconscious bias, is also offered to all Chairs of recruitment panels.
On 24 March, we published our 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups. It also sets out how we will increase social mobility in the Civil Service. The 2016 Talent Action Plan is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success
Improving efficiency, both across Government and between government departments, is central to the work of the Cabinet Office. By 2014/15 the Government had saved £18.6 billion through efficiency and reform, and tackling fraud, error and uncollected debt (against a 2009/10 baseline). This includes saving:
£6.1bn by improving how government buys goods, and services.
Generating £1.8bn net capital receipts and saving £750 million from reducing the annual running cost of the estate.
£4.6bn by addressing waste and inefficiency in construction and reducing costs in major projects.
£700m through reducing losses from fraud and error.
In autumn 2015 the Spending Review announced a range of additional measures to further improve effect and joint working between departments. These include co-locating Civil Servants though the Government Hubs programme, and introducing shared ICT though Common Technology Services and the Common Platforms Programme.
The Government is committed to helping ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote in polls is able to do so. The introduction of online registration makes it easier, simpler and faster for people to register to vote. The Government is working with organisations, including Operation Black Vote and Citizens UK, which represent under registered groups to develop solutions to ensure that as many people as possible are able to have their say at the ballot box.
Voter engagement is also influenced by factors such as whether electors feel the poll offers a clear choice on an issue which matters greatly to them and on the energy and effectiveness of the political campaigns behind each side of the debate. These are not under Government's direct control, but we hope that the decision to hold the referendum in the first place, as promised in our election manifesto, will nonetheless help.
The Government is committed to maximising electoral registration to help ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote in polls is able to do so. The introduction of online voter registration has made it easier, simpler and faster to register to vote. Since its launch in June 2014, 3.6 million people aged 16-24 have applied to register to vote, with 2.6 million applications online.
The Government has worked with youth organisations such NUS and UK Youth to deliver activities to engage people in the democratic process.
In addition, The Government has previously funded the British Youth Council to deliver Youth Voice activities including the UK Youth Parliament and the associated 'Make Your Mark' ballot.
The ballot led to nearly a million young people, aged 11 to 18, voting in this UK wide ballot; a record turnout. This decided the issues debated at UK Youth Parliament, including mental health, a living wage and tackling religious discrimination.
The Government has committed to support the Youth Parliament and associated activities for the remainder of the Parliament until 2020.
We have amended the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill, currently in Parliament, to require trustees of charities with an income of over £1m to take more responsibility for their fundraising and be more transparent and accountable about it in their annual reports. This includes where fundraising is undertaken by professional fundraisers on the charity’s behalf. It will require large charities to explain how they protect people, and in particular vulnerable individuals, from undue pressure to donate.
I asked Sir Stuart Etherington, Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary Associations, to chair a small cross-party panel to make recommendations to government, the charity sector and fundraisers on the changes needed to make self-regulation of fundraising work properly. I understand that the review is making good progress and that Sir Stuart will report shortly.
By the end of this year more young people than ever will have participated in NCS with over 200,000 benefiting from taking part since its launch in 2011. It is our intention to guarantee a place for every young person who wants one over this Parliament.
The Government intends to deliver on the manifesto commitment to scrap the arbitrary 15-year time limit on Britons overseas and will set out its plans in due course.
The Government believes that workers should be paid NMW if what they are doing amounts to work under the contract. In cases where the workers must be present at their place of work, and are in effect working even if their boss allows them to sleep rather than carry out other activities, the workers should get paid the NMW.
The Government has published guidance to help employers meet national minimum wage legislation. The calculating the minimum wage document sets out on page 29 the guidance relating to National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) and sleeping time.
The UK Government is committed to ensuring the UK continues to be a world leader in international research and innovation. My right hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has committed that HM Treasury will underwrite all competitively bid for EU research funding that is applied for before departure. Future access to EU collaborative research will be subject to the negotiation.
The UK already has a wide number of measures in place to help start-ups. Start-up loans provide both finance and business advice with over £250 million loans drawn down to date. Advice on starting and growing businesses is available from the 39 growth hubs around the country and the national Business Support Helpline.
Solar power is a good option for developers looking to improve the efficiency and sustainability of their building stock. We encourage such installations by allowing solar power on new building developments to qualify for the Feed-in-Tariff scheme, and through Building Regulations that set demanding energy performance targets for new buildings.
The Regulations were strengthened most recently in April 2014, to a level that means builders increasingly have to consider the use of renewable technologies in their designs. These could be solar panels, or they could be other types of renewables, which might be more appropriate depending on the location.
As the costs of panels continue to fall, we expect developers will increasingly see the value of installing solar power on new buildings.
The Scottish Government set up Wave Energy Scotland in December 2014 to take the development of the technology forward. DECC provides assistance as required.
The Government wants young people to have the opportunity to access high quality degree level training, whether through a full-time undergraduate route or a world-class degree apprenticeship.
Both traditional degrees and new degree apprenticeships meet the high quality criteria expected of a higher education qualification. Degree Apprenticeships are designed by groups of employers working with higher education institutions, and provide a valuable route for people to obtain a degree-level qualification alongside training for a career, with the prospect of a job from day one
Degree apprenticeships will feature in the new communications campaign being launched in May, promoting the benefits of apprenticeships to employers and young people.
Renewable energy technologies have successfully been part of the UK energy mix for many years.
Storage could help maximise the benefits and minimise the costs of low carbon energy. It is one of a number of flexible solutions which could be used, for example, demand-side response, interconnection with other countries and dynamic use of networks.
We are investigating the potential barriers to deployment of these technologies, including energy storage, and possible mitigating actions, focussing in the first instance on removing regulatory and policy barriers. We will be publishing a call for evidence on a smart systems route map, including storage, shortly.
There have been over 2.4 million apprenticeship starts over the previous parliament, and 153,100 between August and October 2015, demonstrating the continued expansion of the apprenticeships programme.
We are taking action to support and encourage the growth of apprenticeships in all sectors to meet our commitment to reaching 3 million starts by 2020. The UK-wide levy will be introduced in April 2017 for all employers in public and private sector with a pay bill of £3m or more, to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. All employers that hire apprentices will benefit from the levy.
Our apprenticeship reforms are giving employers the opportunity to create new apprenticeship standards. More than 1300 employers are involved with 204 new standards published (of which over 60 are Higher and Degree Apprenticeships) and more than 150 are in development. So far there have been over 1,000 starts on the new standards.
We are continuing to support small employers to hire apprentices through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE), which provides eligible employers with a £1,500 grant per apprentice (aged 16 to 24) for up to five new apprentices currently. The AGE will continue to operate until the apprenticeships levy is introduced in April 2017. From April 2016, all employers will not be required to pay employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under age of 25 on earnings up to the upper earnings limit.
There have been over 2.4 million apprenticeship starts over the previous parliament, and 153,100 between August and October 2015, demonstrating the continued expansion of the apprenticeships programme.
We are taking action to support and encourage the growth of apprenticeships in all sectors to meet our commitment to reaching 3 million starts by 2020. The UK-wide levy will be introduced in April 2017 for all employers in public and private sector with a pay bill of £3m or more, to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training in England. All employers that hire apprentices will benefit from the levy.
Our apprenticeship reforms are giving employers the opportunity to create new apprenticeship standards. More than 1300 employers are involved with 204 new standards published (of which over 60 are Higher and Degree Apprenticeships) and more than 150 are in development. So far there have been over 1,000 starts on the new standards.
We are continuing to support small employers to hire apprentices through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE), which provides eligible employers with a £1,500 grant per apprentice (aged 16 to 24) for up to five new apprentices currently. The AGE will continue to operate until the apprenticeships levy is introduced in April 2017. From April 2016, all employers will not be required to pay employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under age of 25 on earnings up to the upper earnings limit.
This is a matter for Ofcom. DCMS has noted Ofcom's competition and consumer assessment, as set out in its successive consultations on the forthcoming auction of 2.3 and 3.4 GHz spectrum.
This is a matter for Ofcom. DCMS has noted Ofcom's competition and consumer assessment, as set out in its successive consultations on the forthcoming auction of 2.3 and 3.4 GHz spectrum.
The Government is working closely with industry (Including SMEs), education and training bodies and charity organisations to understand and reduce our current skills gaps. We have committed, through the Digital Economy Bill, to introduce legislation which will mean publicly-funded basic digital skills training being offered by providers will be free of charge to adults who need it. We also supported a number of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Growth Hubs to provide advice at local level for businesses and deliver a network of local support to help businesses develop the skills they need to do more online. The Government also funds Tech City UK which provides an online tool (Digital Business Academy) providing digital business skills training.
The Government is also fully aware of the need for all businesses - including small businesses - to improve their cyber security, which is why ensuring the cyber security of the economy and society is a key feature of the recently published National Cyber Security Strategy. The strategy sets out how an investment of £1.9 billion and the opening of the National Cyber Security Centre will help make the UK one of the safest place to live and do business online. The Government offers a range of free cyber security guidance, training and support for small businesses on www.gov.uk, including the Cyber Essentials scheme to protect against the most common cyber attacks.
It is for Ofcom to implement its recommendations for the relationship between BT Group and Openreach. Nine out of ten homes and businesses now have access to superfast broadband, but our goal is to make sure the UK builds the right infrastructure to maintain our position as a world leading digital nation. We welcome Ofcom’s determination to tackle these issues.
We are clear that a more independent Openreach is needed to benefit consumers and the UK’s digital infrastructure. Swift and clear action is needed to give certainty to consumers, industry and investors in the UK’s broadband infrastructure and to deliver rapid improvements in the level of investment and service.
The Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy has met and written to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), encouraging it to strengthen its rules on broadband speed claims in advertising. We consider that the proportion of customers who can receive the headline speed should be higher than their guidelines stipulate (10%) and have asked to ASA to examine this.
This Government supports the system of co-regulation and self-regulation, overseen by the independent Advertising Standards Authority and underpinned by consumer protection legislation. This regulatory system is independent of the Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, ensuring that all adverts, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful.
The Government fully supports Ofcom’s plans to implement a system of automatic compensation for telecommunications customers who suffer a loss or reduction of their broadband services. This is in line with Ofcom’s remit to, amongst other things, protect the interests of end users. The Department anticipates that Ofcom will, in due course, define the specific parameters of the automatic compensation requirements that it will impose, and DCMS will liaise with it during this process.
In the recently published Culture White Paper we made it clear that more needs to be done to encourage diversity in leadership positions. From this year, Arts Council England will publish data on leadership looking at the diversity profile of Chief Executives, Artistic Directors and Chairs of the organisations that they fund. In December 2015, the Arts Council announced four new strategic funds for diversity, totalling £8.6 million. This included £2.1 million for the Elevate fund which has been created to develop the strength, management and governance of diverse-led organisations outside the Arts Council's National Portfolio. A new £2.6 million Change Makers fund will fund long-term relationships between National Portfolio Organisations and aspiring arts leaders from the BME and deaf and disabled communities, providing valuable experience to individuals. Both of these funds are now open for applications.
Ofcom's Broadband speeds Code of Practice requires that Internet Service Providers provide consumers with clear, accurate information on broadband speeds, including the maximum speeds they can achieve, the estimated speed on their line, and factors that may slow down the speed, such as any fair use or traffic management policies.
In addition, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) provides rules on how headline broadband speed claims are presented to consumers, including requiring the use of the qualification 'up to' when presenting the headline broadband speed, and that the maximum stated speed must be achieved by at least 10% of the relevant customer base.
Based on DCMS modelled estimates and current delivery plans, it is estimated that 99.7% of premises in the Northampton South constituency will have access to superfast broadband by December 2017. Additional funding sources, including Northamptonshire’s share of the £129 million of early gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Northampton South and the rest of the area covered by the Northamptonshire broadband project.
In addition, the Government's intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation will give people the legal right to request a broadband connection, no matter where they live, by the end of this Parliament. Our ambition is that this should be set at 10 Mbps.
Current estimates suggest that almost 90% of premises in the Northampton South constituency are subject to commercial rollout, and a further 2,739 premises now have coverage as a result of this Government's superfast broadband programme.
A national commemorative event will be held on 31 May 2016 to mark the Battle of Jutland and the wider war at sea.
There will be a national commemorative event to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme at the Thiepval Memorial in Northern France on 1 July 2016. The Government is working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on a £1.6m refurbishment of the Monument to ensure that it endures for future generations and on a lighting installation that will see the Monument lit from 1 July 2016. In addition we are working with partners to encourage Somme commemorative activity across the UK.
There will also be national events to commemorate the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in 2017 and the end of the conflict in 2018.
In addition Government will continue with established programmes for the conservation, repair and protection of War Memorials; the Cathedral Repairs Fund; Schools Battlefield Tours; and the laying of commemorative paving stones and the restoration of graves of Victoria Cross recipients buried in the UK.
The poppies sculptures 'Wave' and 'Weeping Window' will go to locations throughout the UK starting with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Woodhorn Museum and Northumberland Archives, and St George's Hall, Liverpool.
There will be a series of school debates beginning next year to look at the causes, conduct and consequences of the War.
We encourage local communities to get involved in commemorating First World War events. Heritage Lottery Fund has recently made available an extra £4m for communities to explore, conserve and share local heritage of the First World War to ensure that these projects can continue throughout the centenary period.
During the last Parliament the Government launched the Theatre Tax Relief, which supports the theatre sector right across the country, helping to promote economic growth and widening opportunities for people to participate in the arts. The relief also extends the reach of touring organisations so that the whole country can enjoy different productions.
Through the UK Government's public investment in the arts - which is distributed by Arts Council England - we support many regional and local theatres. Many theatres are Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations, which receive regular funding to support their work and productions. Other theatre organisations also receive National Lottery funding to support productions through the Grants for the Arts programme.
The Arts Council also operates capital programmes of varying size that seek to help organisations become resilient, more sustainable and innovative by improving their existing buildings and equipment and increasing their capacity to engage with digital audiences. One of the beneficiaries in 2014/15 was Watford Palace in the South East, which received £300,000 to enhance their rehearsal facilities, improve energy efficiency and replace specialist equipment.
The Save the Children report, The Lost Boys: How boys are falling behind in the early years, addresses the gender gap of boys falling behind in language and literacy in the early years. I would like to clarify to the Hon. Member that the report does not refer to pay. The answer to this parliamentary question therefore sets out what Government are doing to support disadvantaged children regardless of background or gender.
The Government recognises a key part of raising the standard of education for all children is to ensure they receive a good level of development in literacy and numeracy before they start school at age five. This is why in 2010 we extended the free entitlement to 15 hours for all three and four year olds, and in 2013 introduced the entitlement for two-year-olds which has increased early education take-up for children from the most disadvantaged families. We have also introduced an early years pupil premium to help providers support the learning and development of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework sets the prime areas of learning which early years providers must follow. This includes a focus on communication and language. The Early Years Foundation stage is published on gov.uk, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335504/EYFS_framework_from_1_September_2014__with_clarification_note.pdf
The 2014-15 EYFS Profile results tell us that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 66 % in 2015, compared to 60% in 2014 and 52% in 2013. The EYFS Profile results also show that more than 80% of children are reaching the expected communication and language skills by age five. A higher proportion of children eligible for free school meals are achieving a good level of development – 51% in 2015 compared to 45% in 2014. Although the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is narrowing, we recognise there is still some way to go.
The quality of early education is improving, the numbers of qualified staff have risen, the numbers of graduates in the workforce continues to rise, and a record number of providers are rated good or outstanding, with 86% of providers currently on the Early Years Register judged good or outstanding for overall effectiveness at 31 March 2016.
This Government is committed to narrowing the gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, including in the early years. We will be investing over £1 billion more per year by 2019-20 to fund our commitments on the early years entitlements – this includes £300 million per year from 2017-18 for a significant increase to the hourly rate paid for the two, three and four year old entitlements.
The 2014-15 Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results tell us that the proportion of children achieving a good level of development continues to increase – 66% in 2015, compared to 60% in 2014 and 52% in 2013. Furthermore, a higher proportion of children eligible for free school meals are achieving a good level of development – 51% in 2015 compared to 45% in 2014.
We need to continue this improvement. This is why we propose an additional needs factor in our new early years national funding formula, in order to channel funding towards local authorities with a higher relative proportion of children with additional needs. Our consultation on early years funding reform is currently open, and I would encourage my Honourable Friend and his constituents to submit their views.
The Government already provides additional funding for the most disadvantaged three- and four-year olds through the Early Years Pupil Premium. This will continue as a separate funding stream, additional to the early years national funding formula.
Demand for high-level skills in computing will only grow in the years ahead and will be crucial to supporting a successful economy. It is essential that we have a generation of pupils who have the knowledge and understanding they need to become active creators of digital technology, and not just passive consumers of it. We want them to have a deeper understanding of how digital technologies work and be able to write computer programs.
Since 2014, computing has been part of the National Curriculum at all four key stages. This replaced the outdated Information and Communications Technology (ICT) programme of study. The computing curriculum focuses on teaching children how computers work, the basics of programming, and encourages them to design computer programs to address real world problems. This includes introducing coding to primary pupils. At primary school, pupils are being taught what algorithms are, how to design and write programs to accomplish specific goals using sequencing, selection and repetition and how to apply logical reasoning to detect and correct errors.
The Government expects all pupils in secondary education to be taught a broad and balanced curriculum, and that includes the opportunity to study a foreign language at Key Stage 3 and 4. In 2010, only 43% of pupils were studying a GCSE in a foreign language, down from 76% in 2000. Since the Government introduced the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), the proportion of the cohort in state schools that are entered for a modern foreign language GCSE increased by 20% between 2011 and 2015. Our ambition is that 90 per cent of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects, including a foreign language.
The Government committed to develop a workforce strategy in 2016. We want to continue to attract quality staff into the early years, and to support those already working in the sector to progress, which is why we are reviewing career progression routes. We want to understand what improvements can be made to help more staff reach their potential and forge a successful career in the early years.
We began discussions with a range of stakeholders in the sector earlier this year on the elements of a workforce strategy, and we are continuing to speak to stakeholders as we develop the strategy further. We plan to communicate an update to the sector on the workforce strategy in the coming months.
In March 2016, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget statement that over £500 million of additional funding will be allocated to give 25 per cent of secondary schools the opportunity to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, such as sports, arts and debating. The Department is currently determining the details of how the funding with be allocated and will provide further details in due course.
Academies are already subject to inspection by Ofsted under the same framework that applies to maintained schools. The White Paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, sets out the intention that the Department will also publish new performance tables to show how well multi-academy trusts are leading their schools. This will be in addition to school-level inspection results and performance data. The White Paper is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere