First elected: 7th June 2001
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 John Pugh, 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.
John Pugh has not been granted any Urgent Questions
John Pugh has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to establish the right of schools and academies to challenge the timing and format of schools inspections; to appeal against the outcomes of such inspections; to make provision about increasing accountability and quality assurance within the school inspection system; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require public sector bodies to include in their annual reports and similar documents their responses to suggestions and proposals made by public sector employees for the efficiency and improvement of their service.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to amend the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to require the Local Government Boundary Commission to respond to public representations requesting principal area boundary reviews; and for connected purposes.
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require the Government to publish a list of the powers of local councils and a code of conduct defining the degree of autonomy attached to those powers and areas where a council may act autonomously; to create a mechanism to identify and adjudicate on breaches of the code by either central or local government; and for connected purposes.
Landlord and Tenant (Reform) Bill 2015-16
Sponsor - Tom Brake (LD)
In 2015 responsibility for construction, maintenance and refurbishment was held by the Parliamentary Estates Department. The Pass Office database shows that 2,529 CTC (Counter Terrorist Check) clearances were conducted on those working in PED in 2015. Of these, 366 were non-UK nationals. This equates to 14.47% of all those given security clearance for work in the department in 2015.
The Pass Office database shows that the Palace of Westminster holds security clearance and passes for a total of 779 pass holders whose jobs relate to catering and cleaning purposes. 330 of these are not UK nationals. This equates to 42.36%.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Replacing maintenance grants with loans will reduce grant expenditure by around £2.5bn per year by 2020-21 and therefore make a substantial contribution to reducing the deficit. From that new baseline position, entirely replacing the new, larger maintenance loans with grants would increase grant expenditure – and the deficit – by around £8bn per year.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has requested local authorities in England to annually measure, and report on their websites, greenhouse gas emissions data for their own estate and operations. A collation of the data extracted from local authority websites for the years 2008/09 to 2012/13 can be found on gov.uk:
From 2013/14 DECC ceased to collate and publish the data on gov.uk.
The Government has a long standing relationship with partners in the Liverpool City Region which has seen the successful negotiation of three landmark deals.
In 2012, The Liverpool City and Liverpool City Region Deals created a £75 million Mayoral Investment Fund to support economic development to build a further 12 new schools and £5m support to organise the 2014 International Festival for Business.
Building on the two deals, Liverpool City Region saw the agreement of a £232m Growth Deal in July 2014. According to estimates by the Local Enterprise Partnership, by 2021 the Growth Deal will bring to Liverpool City Region, up to 10,000 jobs, 10,000 new homes and up to an additional £30m into the Liverpool City Region economy from public and private investment.
We are engaged in an on-going dialogue with the partners about the delivery of these three deals.
The Law Officer's Departments do not directly employ any staff to clean its estate. All cleaning services are provided via a national facilities management contract or via managed service agreements.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. There are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The Government monitors cross-cutting issues in a number of ways.
The Prime Minister has created seven Implementation Task Forces to monitor and drive delivery of the Government’s cross-cutting priorities. These task forces bring together Ministers and officials to track progress, spot and resolve issues, maintain momentum and ensure accountability and ensure that departments deliver to time.
In addition, internal Single Departmental Plans also require departments to set out their contributions to cross-cutting issues and ensure consistent milestones and metrics for joint areas of work.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
The commercial archaeology market supports c.3,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) posts annually in England. It is difficult to estimate the additional workforce requirement over the next five years, given the number of unknowns. Historic England is working with employers to support the delivery of the skills required, for example through apprenticeships.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
As well as clear information about broadband speeds, consumers also need to understand costs to exercise effective choice. We expect the Advertising Standards Authority, following research it published in January, to produce new standards to make advertised broadband prices clearer by the end of May.
Funding decisions for the arts are made independently of Ministers by Arts Council England (ACE). Earlier this week, ACE announced an increase in the proportion of spend on regional arts and major partner museums.
There are 85 non-Christian state-funded faith schools, which represents 1.2% of all state-funded faith schools. This data is derived from Table 2c in Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, 2016, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2016
Statistics on truancy are published by the Ministry of Justice in the “Criminal justice statistics outcomes by offence data tool”, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.
The number of defendants proceeded at court for the offences of truancy (parent failure to secure attendance of child) was 20,808 in England and Wales in 2015. The number of offenders found guilty was 15,649. Similarly, the number of offenders sentenced was 15,649; out of these, 12,095 offenders were sentenced to a court fine, and 8 offenders were given an immediate custody sentence.
The average level of fine for truancy was £184 in 2015. The lowest fine was up to £25, and the highest fine was over £750 and up to £1,000.
The average custodial sentence length for truancy was 1.3 months in 2015, and all custodial sentences given were for 3 months or less.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments to consider new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related free school meals as the rollout of Universal Credit progresses. We will communicate our proposals in due course. There are no plans to change the criteria for determining eligibility for pupil premium.
Qualifications should not generally be needed within an apprenticeship as the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve this.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without it.
The Institute for Apprenticeships will take over responsibility for ensuring the quality of Apprenticeships standards from April 2017 and will advise the Government on policy implications or trends emerging through the standards approvals process.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
All approved apprenticeship standards, including those that do not contain mandated qualifications, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeship-standards.
Qualifications can only be specified in the standard if they are either a legal requirement, needed for professional registration or where an apprentice would be at a significant disadvantage as they try to progress in their career without them. The rationale for restricting the inclusion of qualifications is that the end-point assessment will provide definitive evidence of whether the apprentice has acquired full occupational competence thus negating the need for on-programme qualifications. Not mandating qualifications in standards unless absolutely necessary also ensures that individual employers have the freedom to choose the most appropriate training to enable their apprentices to achieve full competence.
This means that Trailblazers that would like qualifications in their standards but can’t meet one of the criteria are advised not to include them, and Trailblazers that submit standards including qualifications without providing the evidence that their inclusion meets one of the criteria are either rejected or approved subject to the removal of the qualifications.
However, with over 215 Trailblazers having developed or developing nearly 500 standards, we do not hold information about the number of times this kind of advice has been provided.
The Department has not yet published exclusion information broken down by ethnic group at local authority level for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. It will be published in due course.
The information is available at national level in the ‘Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England: 2014 to 2015’ National statistics release[1].
The Government is committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to progress and succeed at school. There are a number of factors that influence the educational outcomes of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils and the Department is exploring the drivers for improving attainment. The Department will share its plans in due course.
It is disappointing that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
It is disappointing that AQA has taken the decision to withdraw from offering these subjects at A level. Neither subject, however, is a pre-requisite for degree level study, and both are taken by a relatively small number of students.
The option for AQA or another exam board to develop A level specifications for these subjects in future will also remain open. We are in discussion with the exam boards on this issue.
The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) comprises the core academic curriculum: English, mathematics, the sciences (including computer science), history or geography and a language. The subjects are closely based on the facilitating subjects at A level, which the Russell Group of universities say keep a wide range of degree courses open to students.
The Government believes that, alongside the EBacc, all pupils should have access to an excellent, well-rounded education and the arts are central to this. All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. We expect all schools to offer a wide range of options alongside the EBacc which has been designed to be limited in size so that there is flexibility for pupils to take additional GCSEs that reflect their own individual interests and strengths.
We are considering the responses to the consultation on the implementation of the EBacc, including those from the Bacc for the Future campaign, and we will publish the government response in due course.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.
More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. However, there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.
Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing key stage 5 study (A level and other level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, and progressing to study at a UK Higher Education Institution for at least two terms the following year; in each of the last four years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in year 11.
The tables attached show figures for the six local authorities in the Liverpool City Region: a) Halton, b) Knowsley, c) Sefton, d) St Helen’s, e) Wirral, and f) Liverpool. Comparable figures for g) the North West and h) England are given for context. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten, as published. Percentages are calculated on unrounded figures.
Information on pupil destinations at local authority, regional and national level is published annually on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
The information requested is not held centrally.
We do not recognise the term ‘National Schools Database’ but interpret it to mean one of two things:
The welfare of children unassigned to maintained schools or home educated is a Local Authority responsibility.
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 were replaced by the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 5 January 2015.
58 fee paying independent schools have been registered since 1 January 2015. Not all of these have been inspected since registration. The normal procedure is for an independent school to be inspected in their first year of operation.
14 schools have had a standard inspection since registration, and two schools have had material change inspections. Three of the standard inspections do not yet have a report available due to them having taken place very recently.
Of the 11 inspection reports available, only one shows a failure to meet standard 5.
All schools will have been inspected prior to registration and judged likely to meet all of the standards. Schools are not permitted to register unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the school is likely to meet all of the standards on registration.
The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2010 were replaced by the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 5 January 2015 and set out more demanding standards that independent schools must meet. Standard 5 places requirements on schools on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
The Department commissions Ofsted or one of the approved independent inspectorates to inspect independent schools and report on whether or not they are meeting the standards. Where a school fails to meet the standards, the Department issues a statutory notice requiring an action plan to rectify the failings. In nearly all cases the school improves to meet the standards and regulatory action can stop. However, in rare cases where a school fails to make the required improvements the Secretary of State can take enforcement action: to impose a relevant restriction or to remove the school from the register of independent schools. More information on how the Department regulates the independent sector is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools
Since 2015, the Secretary of State has taken enforcement action against two fee-paying independent schools for a failure to meet standard 5. Both schools were also failing to meet a number of the other standards.
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
Information on the number of permanent exclusions in state-funded primary schools is published at national and regional level in the Permanent and fixed-period exclusions in England[1] series. Information on the number of permanent exclusions in primary academies from 2010/11 to 2013/14 inclusive can be found in Table 18a of the 2013/14 release and Table 16a of the equivalent release for earlier years.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions
It is a criminal offence to operate an unregistered independent school. The Department for Education has recently published policy setting out our approach to prosecution which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulating-independent-schools.
We have also agreed additional resources for Ofsted to pursue cases.
The responsibility for ensuring that a child of compulsory school age receives a suitable full-time education rests with the child’s parents, either by the child’s attendance at a registered school or otherwise. ‘Otherwise’ can include education at home or attendance at settings which are not schools. If the local authority is not satisfied that a child is receiving suitable education, it has a duty to make a school attendance order.
Local authorities’ safeguarding duties apply wherever children are educated, whether in registered schools or elsewhere.
The Department also recently completed a call for evidence on proposals for the registration and inspection of out-of-school settings providing intensive education which were announced in the Counter-Extremism Strategy. Over 3,000 people completed the response form, either online or manually. The Department received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified.
In line with Cabinet Office guidance, we will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course.
A list of approved academy sponsors is published by the Department for Education on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-sponsor-contact-list. A hard copy provided at attachment 1.
The Department does not specifically collect information about the involvement of members of the House of Lords in academy sponsorship.
In 2013-14, 42,050 full-time equivalent teachers left service from state funded schools in England. Of these teachers, 10,500 retired with an award of pension benefits. In the same year 44,900 teacher entered the profession. In 2012-13, there were 44,400 entrants and 39,050 leavers, of which 11,230 retired.
There is no fixed retirement age for teachers but the normal pension age for Teachers’ Pensions is either 60 or 65 depending on when the teacher last entered the profession.
Information on the number of teachers entering and leaving service from state funded schools in each year is published in table C1b of the additional tables in the School Workforce in England Statistical First Release, November 2014. The table shows entrants and leavers for each year from 2010-11 to 2013-14. This publication is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014
The final politics A level content will give all students the opportunity to study the core ideas of feminism, and will set out the female theorists whose work students should study. The consultation on the draft politics A level content closed on 15 December 2015; awarding bodies are currently making changes to the content to respond to the views expressed. The Government will publish its response to the consultation shortly.
The Government is committed to achieving educational excellence everywhere so that children in every part of the country, regardless of their background and circumstances, have access to an outstanding education.
Free schools benefit from the ability to act quickly to improve standards. The Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for the South West is responsible for taking action to improve underperforming free schools in the region. Where a free school is identified by Ofsted as under-performing the RSC takes swift action, working with the school to develop robust plans for improvement including, for example, appointing strong new sponsors to run the school.
Local authorities were responsible for the local delivery of the Building Schools for the Future programme (BSF). They planned, procured and continue to manage the BSF school buildings, including ICT contracts. Advice and guidance on ICT Contracts was provided to local authorities by Partnerships for Schools: http://www.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/library/BSF-archive/BSF-ICT.html