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Written Question
Free School Meals: Eligibility
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of permitting the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register children eligible for free school meals.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Maximising the take up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.

To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.

The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Sign Language
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of education health and care plans included funding for courses in British Sign Language in each of the last five years.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold the data requested.

The department collects data from local authorities on the number of children and young people with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, but this does not include information on any specific education courses that are included in EHC plans.


Written Question
Sign Language: Training
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve pre-school communication for deaf children (a) in early years settings and (b) between family members.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department wants every child to receive a high standard of early education and we are committed to supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including in early years.

The early years foundation stage statutory framework states that all providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND, including deaf children. Maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard to the SEND code of practice.

The government is also investing approximately £300 million to enable 75 local authorities to create family hubs, and to improve vital services to give every baby the best start in life, including those with SEND. Staff in family hubs should be knowledgeable about SEND services and be able to connect families to appropriate support and services. SEND information advice and support may be physically located within the hub buildings, and should be in an accessible format, addressing wider accessibility needs. Staff can make referrals to appropriate services within the hub network and make families aware of education, health and care request procedure.

Family hubs provide services for children of all ages (0-19 or 0-25 for families with children who have SEND), with a great start for life offer at their core. Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and prioritise strengthening the relationships. On 10 January 2024, the government announced that every one of the 75 local authorities in the family hubs and start for life programme have now opened family hubs, creating a welcoming place where families with children aged 0-19, or 25 with SEND, can be connected to a wide range of services for families.

It is important that the government leads by example. The duties in the British sign language (BSL) Act encourage government departments to improve how they communicate with and meet the needs of the deaf community. The department is keen to ensure that every department is aware of, and understands, the legal requirements of the BSL Act. The department is also keen that, from one reporting period to the next, every department can show a steady and significant improvement in their use of BSL.


Written Question
Department for Education: East of England
Friday 30th September 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on his policies of trends in the level of population growth in the East of England; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Jonathan Gullis

According to the most recent Census estimates, population in the East of England stood at 6.3 million in 2021. This represents growth of 8.3% since 2011 - the highest in England and Wales. The Department recognises both the challenges and opportunities this poses to education in the region.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities. The Department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities provide school places, based on their own forecast data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools, and work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools.

The funding is not ringfenced, subject to certain conditions, and nor is it time bound, meaning local authorities are free to use this funding to best meet their local priorities.

In March 2022, the Department announced the East of England will receive just over £68 million to support the provision of new school places needed for 2024 and just over £45 million for 2025.

The East of England also received a total of just below £141 million through the High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) announced in March 2022. This funding is for financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24 and will help the local authority to create new places and improve facilities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. Prior to that, the East of England received just over £26 million through its 2021-22 HNPCA funding announced in April 2021.

This funding is on top of the department’s investment in the centrally-delivered free schools programme.

The Government is also providing schools with the largest cash boost in a decade. Following the 2021 Spending Review, core schools funding (including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs) will increase by £7 billion in 2024-25, compared to 2021-22. This includes a £4 billion increase in 2022-23 compared to the previous year - a 7% cash terms per pupil boost - and a further £1.5 billion in 2023-24.

The East of England is attracting an extra £88.9 million for mainstream schools, taking total school funding for 2023-24 compared to 2022-23 to over £4.6 billion, based on current pupil numbers. This represents an increase of 8.1% per pupil across two years to 2023-24 compared to 2021-22 (excluding growth funding). Final allocations for 2023-24 will be announced, as usual, in December.


Written Question
Further Education: Staff
Wednesday 27th July 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer to Question 900784 in Prime Minister's Questions on 29 June 2022, Official Report, col 291, if he will publish a breakdown of the planned allocation of the £52m being invested to support the staffing situation in further education.

Answered by Andrea Jenkyns

The department’s £52 million investment in the 2022/23 financial year will allow us to continue to support the further education (FE) sector with the recruitment, retention and development of teachers. The programmes allocated funding from this investment include Taking Teaching Further, T Level Professional Development, bursaries, mentoring support, and the Teach in FE recruitment campaign and digital service.


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Finance
Monday 21st March 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities applied to his Department for permission to transfer funding from the school's block to the high needs block within the Dedicated Schools Grant for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23; and what the outcomes of those applications were.

Answered by Robin Walker

The dedicated schools grant (DSG) conditions of grant permit local authorities to transfer 0.5% or below of their schools block funding, with the consent of their schools forum. Where the schools forum does not agree, or the transfer is above 0.5%, the local authority can apply to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to disapply the conditions of grant. This is known as a disapplication request.

In the 2021/22 financial year, the department received 16 block movement disapplication requests. One of these was withdrawn before a decision was made.

The table below details the further 15 requests, the name of the local authority, the amount of transfer requested in both percentage and cash, and the final decision. To note, the table below represents what was approved. Actual amounts transferred may differ.

Local Authority Name

Amount as a % of the schools block

Amount £

Decision

Swindon

0.12%

£191,100

Rejected

West Sussex

0.50%

£2,500,000

Rejected

Oxfordshire

0.50%

£2,000,000

Rejected

Surrey

0.50%

£3,400,000

Rejected

Cheshire East

0.50%

£1,100,000

Rejected

Cambridgeshire

1.00%

£3,800,000

Rejected

Dudley

1.00%

£2,180,000

Rejected

Barnsley

1.00%

£1,633,650

Approved

Kent

1.00%

£12,266,780

Approved

BCP*

1.10%

£2,406,161

Rejected (Forum agreed 0.50%)

Southwark

1.20%

£3,100,000

Approved

South Gloucestershire

1.30%

£2,200,000

Approved

Norfolk

1.50%

£8,000,000

Rejected (Forum agreed 0.50%)

Rotherham

1.50%

£3,000,000

Approved

Hillingdon

2.30%

£5,500,000

Rejected

In the 2022/23 financial year, the department received 19 block movement disapplication requests. Six of these were withdrawn before a decision was made. The table below details the further 13 requests, the name of the local authority, the amount of transfer requested in both percentage and cash, and the final decision. To note, the table below represents what was approved. Actual amounts transferred may differ.

Local Authority Name

Amount as a % of the schools block

Amount £

Decision

Leicestershire

0.50%

£2,300,000

Rejected

Staffordshire

0.50%

£2,800,000

Rejected

Wokingham

0.50%

£630,000

Rejected

Cheshire East

0.50%

£1,200,000

Rejected

Oxfordshire

0.50%

£1,600,000

Rejected

West Northamptonshire

0.69%

£2,100,000

Approved

Merton

0.70%

£1,000,000

Approved

Halton

1.00%

£1,017,926

Approved

Kent

1.00%

£10,000,000

Approved

Barnsley

1.00%

£1,697,773

Approved

South Gloucestershire

1.18%

£2,200,000

Approved

Norfolk

1.50%

£8,473,445

Approved

Rotherham

1.50%

£3,235,707

Approved

*BCP = Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole


Written Question
Sign Language: GCSE
Monday 28th February 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish proposals for the GCSE in British Sign Language; and what his timetable is for including that subject in the National Curriculum.

Answered by Robin Walker

The department is aiming to introduce a GCSE in British Sign Language (BSL) as soon as possible, if it meets the rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. Officials are currently working closely with subject experts and Ofqual to develop the draft subject content. The department plans to consult publicly on the draft content later this year.

There are no current plans to make BSL a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Schools are free to teach BSL as part of their school curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils.


Written Question
Further Education: Finance
Wednesday 2nd February 2022

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he will provide in-year funding for Further Education college courses that help tackle skills gaps in the economy.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The lagged funding mechanism for 16-19 education provides institutions with clear allocations, allowing them to make plans with confidence. However, from the 2020/21 academic year we have introduced T Levels which are currently funded in-year and have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry. Further education colleges can also benefit from a High Value Course Premium (HVCP) of £400 per student. The HVCP was introduced in the 2020/21 academic year to encourage and support delivery of courses that are both associated with higher earnings and strategically important. We have announced this premium will increase by 50% to £600 per student in the 2022/23 academic year, to further strengthen the impact of the premium in encouraging and supporting colleges to deliver these key subjects.

In the 2021/22 financial year we made £95 million available for further education providers to deliver the free courses for jobs offer, which gives all adults access to their first level 3 qualifications in sector subject areas with strong wage outcomes and the ability to address key skills needs. It was confirmed at Budget that funding will be available for the next three years, and from April 2022 eligibility for the level 3 free courses for jobs offer will be expanded to also include any adult in England who is unemployed or earns under the national living wage annually, even if they have a level 3 qualification or higher.

We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) (£1.34 billion in 2021/22). The principal purpose of the AEB is to engage adults and provide the skills and learning they need to equip them for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will continue to be responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.

ESFA providers’ AEB allocations for financial year 2021/22 have stayed the same as in 2020/21, with adjustments for the impact of devolution and to remove allocations that were for one year only. This was the fairest approach, enabling providers to support local economic recovery in 2021/22.

In-year performance management processes and rules are in place and these are detailed in the Adult education budget (AEB) funding rules 2021 to 2022, found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/adult-education-budget-aeb-funding-rules-2021-to-2022.

For the financial year 2021/22, we are also giving providers the opportunity to earn an additional 3% on top of their ESFA AEB allocation for over-delivery to support growth in adult skills participation.


Written Question
Further and Sixth Form Education: Expenditure
Friday 10th September 2021

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the IFS's briefing note, Further education and sixth form spending in England, published on 18 August 2021, what assessment he has made of potential effect the IFS-predicted 17% rise in the number of these students aged between 16-18 between 2019 and 2024 on education provision; and if he will provide a longer-term revenue and capital budget for education for students aged between 16-18.

Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education

The department forecasts 16-19 year old student numbers, taking into account population forecasts, when considering the need for future education funding for 16-19 year olds. The future budgets for this education provision will be considered in the Spending Review this autumn.

The department invested an additional £291 million in 16-19 education in the 2021-22 financial year. This was in addition to the £400 million awarded in the 2019 Spending Review. This allowed us to maintain the base rate of funding at £4,188 for all types of providers and to continue with the increased funding for high value and high cost subjects, including the High Value Courses Premium.

This year, the department has also made £83 million in capital funding available through the Post-16 Capacity Fund to support eligible post-16 providers to accommodate the upcoming increase in 16-19 year olds. Bids are currently being assessed and the outcome will be announced in due course.


Written Question
Education: Employment
Wednesday 30th June 2021

Asked by: Peter Aldous (Conservative - Waveney)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how he plans to work with the (a) Department of Work and Pensions and (b) Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to embed the role of education into the employment and jobs strategy.

Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, have already been working on Universal Credit matters, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a temporary extension to the length of time people can undertake training to develop work-related skills and qualifications, whilst still receiving Universal Credit to support their living costs. The length of time that Universal Credit claimants can spend on work-related, full-time training has been extended from up to 8 weeks to up to 12 weeks throughout the UK, and up to 16 weeks in England for the purpose of attending Skills Bootcamps. The change was implemented on 26 April and will run for a 6-month period, after which time the impact of this change will be reviewed.

There is already close and cross working across the government in respect of skills and employment. In England, the pre-employment training element of the DWP-led sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) is funded by the Department for Education through the adult education budget, which in several regions is managed by the relevant mayoral combined authority. The department is working with DWP to help deliver the extra 80,000 SWAP places for financial year 2021/22 announced by DWP in February this year. Professional, impartial careers information, advice and guidance underpins the range of measures being offered via the Plan For Jobs. Careers advisers help individuals and organisations to consider the different programmes, including apprenticeships, traineeships, Kickstart, SWAP, learning and upskilling opportunities, and help them to determine which route would be best for them. The department continues to work closely with DWP to make sure that our respective offers for job seekers and universal credit claimants complement each other and that customers enjoy a joined-up user experience, which helps them to progress.

The department is also working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the green jobs task force, which focuses on the immediate and longer-term challenges of delivering skilled workers for the UK’s transition to a net zero agenda.