Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school efficiency advisers have been deployed in each region since 2017.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are currently 94 accredited School Resource Management Advisors (SRMAs). SRMAs are not employed directly by the Department and each is signed up to a provider organisation that is responsible for their management and deployment. More can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/esfa-extends-schools-resource-management-adviser-pilot.
SRMAs have undertaken or are currently undertaking 221 deployments (130 completed and 91 in progress) to academy trusts, University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and local authorities. Deployments to trusts, local authorities and UTCs have been in the following Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) areas:
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school efficiency advisers have been (a) employed and (b) deployed by his Department since 2017.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are currently 94 accredited School Resource Management Advisors (SRMAs). SRMAs are not employed directly by the Department and each is signed up to a provider organisation that is responsible for their management and deployment. More can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/esfa-extends-schools-resource-management-adviser-pilot.
SRMAs have undertaken or are currently undertaking 221 deployments (130 completed and 91 in progress) to academy trusts, University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and local authorities. Deployments to trusts, local authorities and UTCs have been in the following Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) areas:
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the overspend on children’s services in the 2017-18 financial year; and how much additional investment for children’s services was announced in Budget 2018.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Local authorities are required under Section 251 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act (2009) to submit education and children’s social care budget and expenditure statements. This data is published in statistical releases annually. The most recent release shows a difference of approximately £1 billion in 2017 to 2018 when their planned spend is compared to their actual spend.
At Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on adult and children social care services, along with £84 million over five years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families. This builds on the £200 billion the government has already made available to councils up to 2020 to provide services in the best interests of local residents, including those for children and young people.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the first one per cent of the teachers' pay award is funded from existing school budgets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools, as part of their routine financial planning, will have already set budgets for their current funding year, which began in April for maintained schools and September for academies. 1% is the minimum schools should have anticipated for increases in teachers’ pay, in line with the previous public sector pay policy. Funding therefore needs to cover the difference between this minimum and the award itself, which the Department has provided for in full.
The Department will be supporting schools in England to implement the award with an investment of £508 million through a new teachers’ pay grant of £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. The grant will provide additional support to all maintained schools and academies, over and above the funding that they receive through the National Funding Formula.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the ability of schools to fund the first one per cent of the teachers’ pay award from existing budgets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools, as part of their routine financial planning, will have already set budgets for their current funding year, which began in April for maintained schools and September for academies. 1% is the minimum schools should have anticipated for increases in teachers’ pay, in line with the previous public sector pay policy. Funding therefore needs to cover the difference between this minimum and the award itself, which the Department has provided for in full.
The Department will be supporting schools in England to implement the award with an investment of £508 million through a new teachers’ pay grant of £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. The grant will provide additional support to all maintained schools and academies, over and above the funding that they receive through the National Funding Formula.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) schools’ budgets and (b) the quality of education schools are able to provide of the decision that the first one per cent of the teacher's pay award will be funded from existing school budgets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools, as part of their routine financial planning, will have already set budgets for their current funding year, which began in April for maintained schools and September for academies. 1% is the minimum schools should have anticipated for increases in teachers’ pay, in line with the previous public sector pay policy. Funding therefore needs to cover the difference between this minimum and the award itself, which the Department has provided for in full.
The Department will be supporting schools in England to implement the award with an investment of £508 million through a new teachers’ pay grant of £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. The grant will provide additional support to all maintained schools and academies, over and above the funding that they receive through the National Funding Formula.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received from (a) schools and (b) teachers on the effect on the financial sustainability of schools of the first one per cent of the teacher's pay award being funded from existing school budgets.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools, as part of their routine financial planning, will have already set budgets for their current funding year, which began in April for maintained schools and September for academies. 1% is the minimum schools should have anticipated for increases in teachers’ pay, in line with the previous public sector pay policy. Funding therefore needs to cover the difference between this minimum and the award itself, which the Department has provided for in full.
The Department will be supporting schools in England to implement the award with an investment of £508 million through a new teachers’ pay grant of £187 million in 2018-19 and £321 million in 2019-20. The grant will provide additional support to all maintained schools and academies, over and above the funding that they receive through the National Funding Formula.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the Government has removed its target of increasing the number of early years teachers; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of removing that target on the educational achievements of disadvantaged children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The department has never had a target for recruiting early years teachers. The Early Years Initial Teacher Training Programme has always been a demand-led programme.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2018 to Question 135864 on Disabled Students' Allowances, what assessment his Department has made of of trends in the level of reliance of disabled students’ on assistive technology.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Information on the use of assistive technology in higher education can be found in this 2017 report, commissioned by the then Higher Education Funding Council for England: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/rereports/year/2017/modelsofsupport/.
Asked by: Roger Godsiff (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the £200 self-contribution that disabled students in higher education must make to access funding for computer equipment, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of that charge on the ability of disabled students to (a) access essential equipment and (b) continue with their education.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Since 2015 eligible students have been required to pay £200 towards the cost of computer equipment recommended for them, given that computer ownership is now widespread and therefore a mainstream cost for all students. In December 2014 the government published an Equality Analysis of the changes to Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), in advance of the introduction of the £200 student contribution to computer costs from September 2015. The analysis is available to view here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/
attachment_data/file/392610/bis-14-1108-higher-education-disabled-students-allowances-equality-analysis-revised-16-12-2014.pdf.
The department has commissioned a research project to explore the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including the impact of recent reforms. The research findings will be responded to when they are available in spring 2018.