Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on improving the provision of technical education in coastal towns; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and officials within his department meet with counterparts in other government departments regularly to discuss education and skills matters.
In 2021 the department worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other government departments, by contributing to its work on the Future of Seaside Towns and setting out the department’s proposals to boost skills and technical education around the country, including in coastal towns.
We are investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament as a whole, to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up. This includes more investment for apprenticeships and employers in coastal communities can access funding for apprenticeships to meet their skills needs.
We have also launched T Levels, which are world-class programmes developed with over 250 leading employers to the same quality standards as apprenticeships and will ensure more young people gain the skills and knowledge demanded by employers. T Levels are already being delivered across the country, including in coastal areas such as Scarborough and Blackpool.
The government is rolling out Local Skills Improvement Plans, which will set out the key changes needed to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market skills needs. They will be developed by local employer representative bodies working closely with further education colleges, other providers and key local stakeholders, and will be tailored to the challenges and opportunities most relevant to local areas. We have started by trailblazing these Plans in eight local areas across England in 2021-22, including in Cumbria, Kent, Sussex and Tees Valley, which have coastal towns.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on improving the provision of technical education in coastal towns; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and officials within his department meet with counterparts in other government departments regularly to discuss education and skills matters.
In 2021 the department worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other government departments, by contributing to its work on the Future of Seaside Towns and setting out the department’s proposals to boost skills and technical education around the country, including in coastal towns.
We are investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament as a whole, to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up. This includes more investment for apprenticeships and employers in coastal communities can access funding for apprenticeships to meet their skills needs.
We have also launched T Levels, which are world-class programmes developed with over 250 leading employers to the same quality standards as apprenticeships and will ensure more young people gain the skills and knowledge demanded by employers. T Levels are already being delivered across the country, including in coastal areas such as Scarborough and Blackpool.
The government is rolling out Local Skills Improvement Plans, which will set out the key changes needed to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market skills needs. They will be developed by local employer representative bodies working closely with further education colleges, other providers and key local stakeholders, and will be tailored to the challenges and opportunities most relevant to local areas. We have started by trailblazing these Plans in eight local areas across England in 2021-22, including in Cumbria, Kent, Sussex and Tees Valley, which have coastal towns.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on improving the provision of technical education in coastal towns; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and officials within his department meet with counterparts in other government departments regularly to discuss education and skills matters.
In 2021 the department worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and other government departments, by contributing to its work on the Future of Seaside Towns and setting out the department’s proposals to boost skills and technical education around the country, including in coastal towns.
We are investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament as a whole, to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up. This includes more investment for apprenticeships and employers in coastal communities can access funding for apprenticeships to meet their skills needs.
We have also launched T Levels, which are world-class programmes developed with over 250 leading employers to the same quality standards as apprenticeships and will ensure more young people gain the skills and knowledge demanded by employers. T Levels are already being delivered across the country, including in coastal areas such as Scarborough and Blackpool.
The government is rolling out Local Skills Improvement Plans, which will set out the key changes needed to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market skills needs. They will be developed by local employer representative bodies working closely with further education colleges, other providers and key local stakeholders, and will be tailored to the challenges and opportunities most relevant to local areas. We have started by trailblazing these Plans in eight local areas across England in 2021-22, including in Cumbria, Kent, Sussex and Tees Valley, which have coastal towns.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding will be allocated from the Community Renewal Fund to projects submitted by East Sussex County Council on 18 June 2021; and on what that funding will be disbursed.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There has been significant interest in the UK Community Renewal Fund across the four investment priorities and bids are being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes will be announced shortly and bidders informed. We will provide further guidance on UK Community Renewal Fund as soon as possible, to enable bidders to plan for delivery once decisions have been announced.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What steps his Department is taking to support the renewable energy sector.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK is a major global market for renewables. Last week we confirmed that this year’s Contracts for Difference round will be our largest renewables auction ever with a draft budget of £265 million. We are also spending £160 million to support ports and manufacturing infrastructure for offshore wind – securing local jobs and benefits.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to monitor and publish data on the average (a) size of food orders by schools supported through the National School Breakfast Programme and (b) proportion of students enrolled on that Programme who take up the offer of breakfast provision during the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.
The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas. Throughout the contract we will be working with our provider, Family Action, to monitor different aspects of the programme including the food ordering from schools, participation rates among children, and the benefits the programme is having on pupils who are attending. We will consider the best opportunities to share information on the programme as it progresses.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any schools in Hastings and Rye constituency will be supported by the new National School Breakfast Programme over the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.
The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas. Schools’ eligibility for the programme is based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) deprivation scale – a nationally recognised indicator of need – to ensure provision is directed where it is most needed. Schools will be eligible for the programme if they have 50% or more pupils within bands A-F of the IDACI scale.
The enrolment process for schools joining the programme is currently ongoing, and we have seen a strong interest so far from eligible schools since we invited the expressions of interest. Schools are currently still able to apply to join the programme. As we are still registering schools for the programme, it is too early to publish a list of participating schools. However, we will of course consider the best opportunities to share information on the programme as it progresses.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to review the current 24 week time limit on abortion on the grounds of risk of injury to the physical or mental health of a pregnant woman or any of her children based on the latest science on viability.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It would be for Parliament to decide whether to make any changes to the law on abortion. As with other matters of conscience, abortion is an issue on which the Government adopts a neutral stance and allows hon. Members to vote according to their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the compliance limits set for waste water and sewage effluent being released into rivers and streams in response to the recent fines levied against Southern Water for illegally discharging sewage into rivers and coastal waters.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The investigation and subsequent prosecution of Southern Water focused on unlawful discharges of sewage through the storm system thus bypassing full treatment at Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) and discharging to the environment in non-storm conditions. The sites all discharged either directly into, or in close proximity to, designated shellfish waters off the North Kent coast, around the Solent, and Langstone and Chichester Harbours.
During the current water company investment round (2020 - 2025), water companies are required to install overflow operation monitors on storm overflows at around 3500 WwTW, including Southern Water WwTWs, along with Flow Passed Forward Flow monitors. Permits will be reviewed and conditions tightened to afford even greater levels of scrutiny and environmental protection. The data from these monitors will be used to assess compliance with permit Flow Passed Forward Flow limits when overflows operate. As well as ensuring that the required flows are passed forward for full treatment through the WwTW when the overflow operates, the monitors will also be used by the Environment Agency to check that the overflows only operate within permit requirements of rainfall and snowmelt.
The Government is pushing forward in working towards improving the state of the water environment by setting robust and ambitious water quality targets within the Environment Bill. Alongside these targets the Government will consider the policy levers required to meet the targets, including taking further action to tackle sources of water pollution.
Asked by: Sally-Ann Hart (Conservative - Hastings and Rye)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What steps he is taking to enhance UK soft power overseas.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Integrated Review highlighted the UK’s status as a soft power superpower.
The FCDO is continuing to fund projects and programmes that support UK soft power, including through a 27% increase this year in funding for the British Council
Since 2016, we have provided over £370m via the BBC World2020 programme, which has seen the creation of 12 new language services, and we continue to support our Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth scholarships.
Our international leadership and determination to work as a force for good in the world is an important part of our soft power, as we are seeing through our hosting of the G7 and COP26, and our support for a globally accessible Covid-19 vaccine.