Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 14 June 2023 to Question 187978 on Free School Meals, how her Department keeps eligibility for free school meals under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government has extended Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. Around 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related FSM. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Taken together, over one third of pupils are receiving free meals.
The department invests over £1 billion in support of these policies. Schools are currently funded at £480 per eligible pupil per year as a factor value within the National Funding Formula. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. For UIFSM, schools receive £2.53 per meal per child. This was uplifted from £2.41 for the current academic year. Further Education institutions have received the same uplift.
In setting an income threshold for FSM, the government’s judgement is that the current level enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools and the taxpayer. It is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on the lowest incomes. The department does not have any plans to further extend provision at this time. The department will keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department facilitates this by working with other government departments to monitor the cost of living and impact on disadvantaged families and considering a wide range of evidence, including findings produced by the Child Poverty Action Group. In addition to this, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including school leaders, pupils and catering organisations.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will raise the threshold for receipt of free school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government has extended Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. Around 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related FSM. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Taken together, over one third of pupils are receiving free meals.
The department invests over £1 billion in support of these policies. Schools are currently funded at £480 per eligible pupil per year as a factor value within the National Funding Formula. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. For UIFSM, schools receive £2.53 per meal per child. This was uplifted from £2.41 for the current academic year. Further Education institutions have received the same uplift.
In setting an income threshold for FSM, the government’s judgement is that the current level enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools and the taxpayer. It is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on the lowest incomes. The department does not have any plans to further extend provision at this time. The department will keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department facilitates this by working with other government departments to monitor the cost of living and impact on disadvantaged families and considering a wide range of evidence, including findings produced by the Child Poverty Action Group. In addition to this, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including school leaders, pupils and catering organisations.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Barnardo's entitled Double discrimination: Black care-experienced young adults navigating the criminal justice system, published in September 2023.
Answered by David Johnston
The department recognises that children in care are more likely than their peers in the general population to have contact with the criminal justice system. In 2018, the department published a joint national protocol with the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-protocol-on-reducing-criminalisation-of-looked-after-children. Since the publication of the protocol, the proportion of children in care aged 10 to 17 who are charged with an offence or receive a caution has reduced from 3% in 2019 to 2% in 2023. The latest data for the year ending in March 2023 also shows that 3% of care leavers age 19 to 21 were in custody. This figure has remained the same for the last 5 years.
The department is also taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour, including through its work to improve school attendance.
Through the care leaver Ministerial Board, the department is working closely with MoJ to improve the support for and outcomes of care-experienced people in the criminal justice system.
MoJ is currently updating its strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure that their time in the criminal justice system is used to support them to lead crime-free lives. The strategy will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system. The MoJ are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department takes to monitor the (a) safety and (b) repair standards of (i) school and (ii) further education buildings; and whether this information is published.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools and colleges - academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their buildings and they should alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. Those carrying out works must comply with Building Regulations, Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations and any relevant Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance.
The Department does not monitor school or further education repairs. However, this Government has gone further than any previous administration and now carries out a visual, condition based survey of all Government funded schools in England. This means schools and their Responsible Bodies then receive condition reports following the survey and are able to better manage their estates.
The Department sets building standards for all centrally delivered new school buildings and major refurbishment projects. These documents are published on GOV.UK. The standards for schools can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief. The standards for further education can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-for-college-projects-part-a-and-part-b.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether capital funding for the maintenance of schools has increased in line with levels of inflation.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Safe and well maintained school buildings that support a high quality education are a priority for the Department. That is why the Department has allocated £15 billion since 2015 for keeping schools safe and operational. Capital allocations for condition are not tied to inflation rises in England.
The Department has increased our annual condition funding to £1.8 billion over the last three years, an increase of over 20% on the 2020/21 financial year’s £1.4 billion annual allocations. The 2021 Spending Review announced a total of £19 billion of capital funding to support the education sector between 2022/23 and 2024/25. The amount spent last year, 2022/23, was the highest in a decade, and the Department’s capital budget is a record £7 billion in 2023/24.
In addition, the School Rebuilding Programme will carry out major rebuilding and refurbishment projects at 500 schools across England, with buildings prioritised based on their condition. There are now 400 projects in the programme. The most recent set of 239 schools were announced in December 2022. All new buildings in the programme will be net zero carbon in operation, making these schools much more economical.
In the 2022/23 financial year, eligible schools also received an allocation from an additional £447 million in capital funding for improvements to buildings and facilities, prioritising works to improve energy efficiency.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish details of schools (a) at risk of collapse and (b) containing unsafe building materials.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out.
The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase funding for (a) schools and (b) colleges.
Answered by Nick Gibb
This Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has channelled significant funding into education to achieve that.
The Autumn Statement in November 2022 announced that there would be an additional £2 billion of funding in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review. In July 2023, the Department announced a further £525 million of funding in 2023/23, to support schools with the teachers’ pay award, and £900 million in 2024/25. This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is over £3.9 billion higher in 2023/24 alone, compared to 2022/23, on top of a £4 billion cash increase last year. That represents a 16% increase in just two years.
In 2024/25, school funding will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
This additional funding will enable head teachers to continue to spend in the areas that the Department knows positively impact educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the children who need it most.
The Department has also increased overall funding for 16 to 19 education, with an extra £1.6 billion of funding provided in the 2024/25 financial year compared with 2021/22, which is the biggest increase in 16 to 19 funding in a decade.
16 to 19 funding has seen significant recent increases. In January 2023, the Department announced funding of £125 million for the 2023/24 financial year. In July 2023, the Department announced a further £185 million for the 2023/24 financial year and £285 million for the 2024/25 financial year.
This funding will help colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to address key priorities as they see fit, including tackling recruitment and retention issues in high value technical, vocational and academic provision which are of critical importance to economic growth and prosperity.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with trade unions on trends in levels of per pupil spending since 2010-11.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department meets regularly with trade unions to discuss a wide range of issues, including school funding.
The November 2022 Autumn Statement announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review, and matching what unions told us was needed in their open letter last year.
The Department recognises that inflation continues to impact schools, as it does in other sectors. In July 2023, the Department announced an additional £525 million this year to support schools with the teachers’ pay award, and £900 million in 2024/25.
This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is over £3.9 billion higher in 2023/24 alone, compared to 2022/23, in addition to a £4 billion cash increase last year. That’s a 16% increase in two years. Next year, school funding will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with trade unions on the impact of increases in inflation on schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department meets regularly with trade unions to discuss a wide range of issues, including school funding.
The November 2022 Autumn Statement announced additional funding of £2 billion in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25, over and above totals announced at the 2021 Spending Review, and matching what unions told us was needed in their open letter last year.
The Department recognises that inflation continues to impact schools, as it does in other sectors. In July 2023, the Department announced an additional £525 million this year to support schools with the teachers’ pay award, and £900 million in 2024/25.
This means funding for mainstream schools and high needs is over £3.9 billion higher in 2023/24 alone, compared to 2022/23, in addition to a £4 billion cash increase last year. That’s a 16% increase in two years. Next year, school funding will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil, as measured by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to introduce funding for adults in families with deaf children to learn British Sign Language; and whether funding is available for local authorities that wish to commission sign language courses.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
Funding is available through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) for qualifications in, or focussing on, British Sign Language (BSL), up to and including level 2. Approximately 60% of the AEB has been devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who determine which provision to fund for learners who live in their areas. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) provides the remaining funding for learners who live in non-devolved areas.
ESFA funded AEB qualifications include, for example, the Level 1 Award in BSL which allows learners to communicate in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use, thereby giving them the basic skills and confidence in production and reception of BSL. It will depend on an individual’s circumstances as to whether they are entitled to free provision or are expected to meet part of the cost through co-funding. Where community learning providers offer BSL courses, those providers are responsible for determining the course fees, including levels of fee remission.
For some BSL courses, Advanced Learner Loans (ALLs) are available and parents can find more information about which qualifications are eligible here: https://www.qualifications.education.gov.uk/Search. More general information about the provision of ALLs is available at: https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan.
For parents learning BSL on an AEB funded course, there is also additional support available. The AEB provides funding to colleges and providers to help adult learners overcome barriers preventing them from accessing learning. Providers have discretion to help learners meet costs such as transport, accommodation, books, equipment, and childcare. Learning support funding also helps colleges and training providers to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.