Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent guidance he has issued to (a) local authorities and (b) academy trusts on using non-disclosure agreements for school staff.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department has issued no new advice to local authorities or schools in relation to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Our position remains as set out in paragraph 5.29 of the Staffing and Employment Advice for Schools, that any settlement agreement between a school and a member of staff that includes a confidentiality clause must adhere to the provisions set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Advice in relation to NDAs has recently been focused on higher education providers. On 18 January 2022, my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Higher and Further Education launched a new pledge alongside Maria Miller MP and Can’t Buy My Silence, which commits universities to not using NDAs to silence victims of sexual misconduct, bullying, or other forms of harassment. The list of those universities who have signed the pledge will be held by the campaign group, Can't Buy My Silence, and hosted on their website.
Harassment of any sort is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated at schools, colleges or universities. Education providers have a responsibility to ensure that they provide a safe and inclusive environment for all students and staff.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department’s publication Build Back Better: Our Plan for Growth, if he will publish the (a) number of people aged between 16 and 64 that qualified to NVQ4+ in each NUTS2 region in England and (b) gross value added per hour worked in each of those regions in the most recent year for which both sets of data are available.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Nomis data portal provides official labour market statistics. The attached table provides the number of people aged between 16 and 64 that are qualified to NVQ4+ in each Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) region in England in 2020 as estimated from the annual population survey.
Latest data on gross value added per hour worked is published by the ONS and available here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/labourproductivity/datasets/subregionalproductivitylabourproductivitygvaperhourworkedandgvaperfilledjobindicesbyuknuts2andnuts3subregions. This data release uses International Territorial Levels as the new UK geographies classification system. This has superseded the NUTS classification system. This transition has not changed the names of regions or the areas covered by them.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the hourly rate for early years providers delivering government funded childcare hours will be in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24, and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Will Quince
I refer the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer I gave on 3 November 2021 to Question 68396.
Further to that response, the department will confirm the 2022/23 financial year hourly funding rates for individual local authorities shortly, followed by the initial allocations in December. Hourly rates for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years will be announced in following years, according to the usual timetable.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, what additional funding he will make available for early years entitlements in (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25.
Answered by Will Quince
I refer the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer I gave on 3 November 2021 to Question 68396.
Further to that response, the department will confirm the 2022/23 financial year hourly funding rates for individual local authorities shortly, followed by the initial allocations in December. Hourly rates for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years will be announced in following years, according to the usual timetable.