Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the shortage of ADHD medication on students during the upcoming exam season; and whether her Department has had discussions with (a) examination boards and (b) schools on mitigation measures.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is aware of the current difficulties some students are facing in obtaining medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The department has not held discussions with examination boards specific to this.
There are established arrangements in place that schools and colleges will be familiar with, which should be used to arrange any reasonable adjustments or access arrangements for students with disabilities.
The Equality Act 2010 requires examination boards to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. Reasonable adjustments are changes made to exams or assessments, or to the way they are conducted, to mitigate the risk that a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking an assessment. They are needed because some disabilities can make it harder for students to show what they know, understand and can do in an assessment, than it would be had the student not been disabled. The exam or assessment must still test the same knowledge, skills and understanding for that qualification.
If a student’s need has changed or they need a reasonable adjustment that has not been applied for, the school or college should contact the relevant awarding organisation as soon as possible.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's data release Pupil absence in schools in England, published on 21 March 2024, how many children were subject to a (a) special guardianship and (b) child arrangements order by (i), age (ii) ethnicity and (iii) local authority in 2022/23.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Data on pupils who have ceased to be looked after and are subject to a Special Guardianship Order (SGO) or Child Arrangements Order (CAO) by age, ethnicity and local authority in England in the 2022/23 academic year is attached. The information is taken from the school census, where children are reported as having previously left care due to adoption, a SGO or a CAO only if their parents or carers have declared this information to the school. Therefore, the data is reliant on self-declaration from parents and is partial rather than a full count.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure standards of (a) quality and (b) sustainability in new housing developments.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Government legislated through the Building Safety Act 2022 to provide for a statutory New Homes Ombudsman and accompanying Code of Practice that set out expectations of scheme members around standards of conduct and standards of quality of work.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to facilitate greater involvement of architects in the development stage of new housing schemes.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
National planning policy makes clear that local authorities should prepare their own local design codes in line with the principles set out in the National Design Guide and National Model Design Code, which can define what well-designed new development means in their local area.
The NPPF and supporting National Design Guide and National Model Design Code emphasise that effective engagement between local authorities, communities, applicants and other interests, such as architects, throughout the design process, including the preparation of design codes, is helpful to achieving well designed and sustainable new development.