Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on air travel for (a) Ministers and (b) officials in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021 and (iii) 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The amounts spent by the department on air travel in total for the requested financial years are shown below. The department does not have the split for ministers and officials readily available. These are the full amounts for both ministers and officials:
The department always strives to keep costs as low as possible and to get the best out of available funds.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department has spent on advertising in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department for Education uses advertising and publicity to help deliver manifesto commitments and policy objectives. It has spent the following amounts on advertising over the last three financial years.
This includes spending on a range of different types of marketing activity, including advertising.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the (a) number of children in care provided by (i) private companies and (ii) local authorities and (b) average cost differential between those two provisions.
Answered by Will Quince
The department does not hold specific data on the number of children in care placed with private providers or local authorities. Ofsted publishes data on the number of places available in children’s homes or foster care that are provided by local authorities or private companies, but not the proportion of places taken up by children.
As of 31 March 2021, private companies ran 83% of children’s homes (2,032) in England, providing 78% (7,555) of places. Local authorities ran 14% (339) of children’s homes, providing 16% (1,643) of places. Twenty-three of these local authority homes were run by organisations that provide the children’s services function of the council, including trusts. Voluntary providers ran 91 homes (4%), providing 501 places (5%).
There were 13 secure children’s homes in England as of 31 March 2021, offering 234 places in total. 12 of these homes are run by local authorities and one by a voluntary organisation.
Local authorities provided 64% (29,500) of foster placements in England as of 31 March 2021, with the remaining 36% (15,800) provided through independent fostering agencies.
The recent children’s social care market study completed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) considered evidence of cost differentials between private providers and local authority run children’s homes (excluding secure children’s homes) and foster care. Their analysis found that for children’s homes, the cost to local authorities to provide their own placements was no lower than procuring these through private providers. However, the analysis also found indicative evidence that for fostering placements, local authorities could provide some placements more cheaply in-house as opposed to purchasing them through private providers.
The department has welcomed the report and is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department has provided on education beyond 16 to young people with dyspraxia in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Will Quince
The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.
The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.
The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding his Department has provided to schools for support for students with dyspraxia in each year of the last ten years.
Answered by Will Quince
The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.
The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.
The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department offers to schools and teachers in (i) identifying and (ii) supporting pupils with dyspraxia.
Answered by Will Quince
The Children and Families Act 2014 placed duties on early years providers, schools, further education colleges (FE), and some post-16 providers to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to succeed in their education. Our SEND Code of Practice sets out clear guidance that they should apply a 'graduated approach’, which means identifying a child or young persons’ needs, implementing appropriate support, reviewing it regularly and taking their views into account. The Code of Practice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.
The department is committed to supporting the development of teachers' and educational professionals' skills, as well as evidence based and effective practice within nurseries schools and colleges. The department has funded the whole school SEND consortium, through our contract with the National Association for Special Educational Needs, to deliver a programme which supports school staff in identifying and meeting the needs of pupils with SEND, including dyspraxia. In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a further £2 million to this work, bringing the total funding for this contract to over £8 million since 2018.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the government has provided a grant of almost £1.2 million to the Education and Training Foundation. This grant will support the FE workforce in identifying and meeting the needs of learners with SEND, including those with dyspraxia. The department also announced recently that it will offer training bursaries, worth £15,000 each (tax free), for a further academic year (2022/23), to those specialising in SEND teaching in the FE sector.
The department does not differentiate between different types of SEND in the way funding is allocated to schools, colleges and local authorities for the responsibilities they have for supporting children and young people with SEND. Over the last 10 years there have been substantial increases in core schools funding, which includes funding for mainstream schools and high needs funding for children and young people with more complex needs. In financial year 2022/23 alone, core schools funding will increase by £4 billion compared to 2021/22: an increase of 5% in real terms per pupil.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools there were in West Yorkshire in (a) 2010 and (b) 2021.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The most recent figures for pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM) are from the January 2021 school census, and are published in ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
The publication includes an interactive table tool that can be used to create tables for different areas within England. The following shows FSM figures for pupils in local authorities within West Yorkshire: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f9b0f73c-883b-4ac5-a3b0-38980e89fe84.
School census data on the number of schools in England is also published annually in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ release, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.
The January 2021 publication includes an interactive table tool which can be used to create tables for different areas within England. A table showing the number of schools in local authorities within West Yorkshire is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/caab6075-50cd-4724-9934-5891e31ecea6.
The January 2010 publication includes Excel tables showing data at local authority level, and Table 10a shows the number of schools.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils received free school meals in West Yorkshire in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The most recent figures for pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals (FSM) are from the January 2021 school census, and are published in ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
The publication includes an interactive table tool that can be used to create tables for different areas within England. The following shows FSM figures for pupils in local authorities within West Yorkshire: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f9b0f73c-883b-4ac5-a3b0-38980e89fe84.
School census data on the number of schools in England is also published annually in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ release, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.
The January 2021 publication includes an interactive table tool which can be used to create tables for different areas within England. A table showing the number of schools in local authorities within West Yorkshire is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/caab6075-50cd-4724-9934-5891e31ecea6.
The January 2010 publication includes Excel tables showing data at local authority level, and Table 10a shows the number of schools.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on international school students from Hong Kong who are unable to return to their families as a result of covid-19 restrictions and will be stranded in the UK for the summer 2021 holidays and whose schools will have closed.
Answered by Nick Gibb
We remain in close contact with the Hong Kong SAR Government in order to minimise disruption to UK and Hong Kong families and businesses. We will continue to work together to reduce the restrictions on international travel.
We are working on a number of possible outcomes for those pupils who are currently unable to get home. Some boarding schools will make arrangements for them to stay there, or perhaps go to another boarding school if necessary. Some may also be able to stay with guardians, or perhaps family in the UK, where that is an option.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of schools in England containing asbestos.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department follows expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which states that as long as asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, well protected either by their position or physical protection, and are unlikely to be worked on, it is usually safer to manage them in place. Where that is not the case, the duty holder should have it removed, and the Department provides significant condition funding which can be used for this purpose.
Since 2015, the Department has allocated £11.3 billion to those responsible for school buildings for essential maintenance and improvements, including removal or encapsulation of asbestos when such is the safest course of action. This includes £1.8 billion committed for financial year 2021-22.
Through the Priority School Building Programme, the Department has been rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools across the country. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new 10-year rebuilding programme for schools, which will replace poor condition buildings with modern, energy efficient designs. The Department has announced the first 50 schools to benefit from the programme, as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.
In July 2019, the Department published information from the Asbestos Management Assurance Process (AMAP) designed to understand the prevalence of asbestos in schools and how well it is managed. Of the 19,522 (88.4%) state-funded schools in England which participated, a total of 15,796 (80.9%) of participating schools stated some asbestos was present on their estate. The responses also suggested that there were no systemic failures in the management of asbestos in schools.
The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools seriously, and is committed to supporting schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their duty to manage asbestos safely. We have taken significant steps in recent years to strengthen schools’ approach to managing asbestos. In addition to conducting the AMAP, the Department published updated guidance on effectively managing asbestos in schools in October 2020, working closely with HSE experts, union representatives and other sector representatives to do so.