Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the need to make sanitary products available in primary schools to address the needs of girls who begin menstruation in primary school.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
No one should be held back from reaching their potential because of their gender or background. That is why my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in his Spring Statement on 13 March 2019 that the Department for Education will lead a scheme to provide access to free sanitary products in all secondary schools and colleges in England. The scheme will be rolled out during the next academic year. As the scheme develops, we will also consider providing free sanitary products in primary schools.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the level of asbestos in schools; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department started to collect data on asbestos management in schools in 2016. All state-funded schools in England were invited to participate in the voluntary data collection and 25% responded. In February 2017, the findings were published in a report on GOV.UK. Of those taking part, 83% reported that asbestos was present in their school estate. It should be noted, however, that as this was only a proportion of state-funded schools, the responses may not be representative of all schools,
The Department launched a second data collection, the Asbestos Management Assurance Process, in March 2018. This was launched to help the Department develop a more comprehensive understanding of asbestos management in the school estate. This data collection has just closed, and responses are being analysed. The Department intends to publish the findings from this report in spring 2019.
To help local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts meet their legal duties and manage asbestos effectively, the Department refers to advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Department also published ‘Asbestos Management in Schools’ guidance in February 2017. The HSE advice is clear that if asbestos is unlikely to be damaged or disturbed then it is best managed in situ. Although, the Department is also clear that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety and cannot be effectively managed in situ, it should be removed.
Since 2015, the Department has allocated £6 billion to those responsible for school buildings and for essential maintenance and improvements, including removing or encapsulating asbestos when it is the safest course of action to do so. In addition, through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department is rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition in over 500 schools across the country. Asbestos was a factor in selecting buildings for the programme.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason he did not implement grant funding for Year Seven catch-up proposals.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Last autumn, the Department invited teaching schools to submit outline bids for grants to be made from an additional £500,000 funding (to be used within the 2017-18 financial year) to enable them to deliver small-scale projects to support other schools in making more effective use of their Year 7 catch up premium funding. In the event, the Department decided that awarding these grants so close to the end of the financial year would not provide best value for money and no funding was awarded.
The Department provides £50 million of funding per year directly to secondary schools through the Year 7 Catch Up Premium. This funding is for activity to help Year 7 pupils who did not meet the expected standard at Key Stage 2 catch up in mathematics and reading.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the equipment contribution payable by students in receipt of disabled student allowances on the number of disabled students claiming that equipment.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The most recent data show that, for full-time undergraduate students domiciled in England, 4,600 fewer students were in receipt of equipment Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) in 2015/16 than in 2014/15. The full data are available at http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx. The main reason for this fall is that the £200 student contribution to the costs of computer hardware took effect from September 2015.
We are keen to better understand the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including that of recent DSAs reforms. We have commissioned a research project to explore this and we will respond to the research findings when they are available in spring 2018.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will enable schools to teach British Sign Language to GCSE level; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government has introduced a number of recent changes to GCSEs, AS and A levels in England that will affect schools in the coming years. The Department knows that extensive changes need time to settle in to schools, and that school leaders will want stability to bring in the new qualifications. There are no plans to introduce new GCSEs, AS or A levels in this Parliament.
Schools are free to teach British Sign Language and there are existing qualifications available which schools can enter pupils into at any point of their school career. These include a Level 1 award, Level 2, 3 and 4 certificates and a Level 6 NVQ certificate. British Sign Language is also now an alternative to a Level 1 and Level 2 qualification in English when studying an apprenticeship, where British Sign Language is the apprentice’s primary language. This enables those who use British Sign Language to complete their apprenticeship without having to achieve another English qualification, such as GCSE or Functional Skills.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Education:
What plans she has to encourage the take-up of apprenticeships.
Answered by Anne Milton
A new phase of our communications campaign starts in early 2018 to encourage employers to offer high quality apprenticeship opportunities. This will build on the National Apprenticeship Service’s ongoing communications activity to increase awareness and benefits of apprenticeships among employers and learners.
We will also be holding National Apprenticeships Week from 5 – 9 March 2018.
In November, I launched the Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network in Birmingham, a group of past and current apprentices whose remit is to help grow and expand the apprenticeship programme by reaching out to young people and providing them information.