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 extend his sanitary product scheme to primary schools; and if he will make a statement.
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 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.