Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to require Comer Homes to progress the delivery of the new building for St Andrew the Apostle School in Barnet.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is currently paying rent to the Comer Group of £901,250 per annum, excluding VAT, for the use of buildings and outside space as the temporary accommodation for St Andrew the Apostle School.
There is no contract between the Department and the Comer Group for the construction of the school’s permanent building. The Comer Group is required by the local planning authority to provide a site for a school as part of planning approval for a residential development on their wider site.
The Comer Group has submitted a revised planning application for its proposed development which incorporates the Department’s revised school designs. Subject to the approval of planning, the Department will exchange on the site and progress the construction of the school’s new building.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will publish the contractual documents agreed with Comer Homes in respect of the construction of a new building for St Andrew the Apostle School in Barnet.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is currently paying rent to the Comer Group of £901,250 per annum, excluding VAT, for the use of buildings and outside space as the temporary accommodation for St Andrew the Apostle School.
There is no contract between the Department and the Comer Group for the construction of the school’s permanent building. The Comer Group is required by the local planning authority to provide a site for a school as part of planning approval for a residential development on their wider site.
The Comer Group has submitted a revised planning application for its proposed development which incorporates the Department’s revised school designs. Subject to the approval of planning, the Department will exchange on the site and progress the construction of the school’s new building.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much rent his Department is paying for the premises occupied by St Andrew the Apostle School in Barnet.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is currently paying rent to the Comer Group of £901,250 per annum, excluding VAT, for the use of buildings and outside space as the temporary accommodation for St Andrew the Apostle School.
There is no contract between the Department and the Comer Group for the construction of the school’s permanent building. The Comer Group is required by the local planning authority to provide a site for a school as part of planning approval for a residential development on their wider site.
The Comer Group has submitted a revised planning application for its proposed development which incorporates the Department’s revised school designs. Subject to the approval of planning, the Department will exchange on the site and progress the construction of the school’s new building.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with the National Youth Agency on allowing youth summer camps run by (a) the scouts, (b) faith groups and (c) other organisations to resume.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the significant benefits that summer camps and other forms of education outside the classroom can have on children’s academic development as well as their mental health and wellbeing.
Since 17 May 2021, out of school settings, including outdoor education centres, have been able to operate in groups of any size for both indoor and outdoor provision. It remains important to continue minimising mixing between children where possible.
Since 21 June, out of school settings have been able to undertake residential visits and overnight stays with groups of up to 30 children. The Department has provided updated guidance which sets out how this can be operated safely. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-holiday-and-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to the views of the scientific community, in particular the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.
Education and childcare settings continue to be supported with appropriate guidance on safety measures, and the Department is committed to ensuring that out of school settings are able to effectively manage risks, create an inherently safer environment and maximise face to face education wherever possible. As new evidence or data emerges, the Government will act accordingly to ensure that all out of school settings have the right safety measures in place and that measures remain proportionate to the threat posed by COVID-19. The advice on residential visits and the need for protective measures will be reviewed again in advance of Step 4.
The Department is also working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Youth Agency to ensure we have full awareness of the effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the youth sector. In response to youth sector engagement, dedicated youth sector COVID-19 guidance has been developed by the National Youth Agency in collaboration with DCMS, the Department, youth sector organisations and public health experts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on lifting covid-19 restrictions to allow on youth summer camps to take place.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the significant benefits that summer camps and other forms of education outside the classroom can have on children’s academic development as well as their mental health and wellbeing.
Since 17 May 2021, out of school settings, including outdoor education centres, have been able to operate in groups of any size for both indoor and outdoor provision. It remains important to continue minimising mixing between children where possible.
Since 21 June, out of school settings have been able to undertake residential visits and overnight stays with groups of up to 30 children. The Department has provided updated guidance which sets out how this can be operated safely. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-holiday-and-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to the views of the scientific community, in particular the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.
Education and childcare settings continue to be supported with appropriate guidance on safety measures, and the Department is committed to ensuring that out of school settings are able to effectively manage risks, create an inherently safer environment and maximise face to face education wherever possible. As new evidence or data emerges, the Government will act accordingly to ensure that all out of school settings have the right safety measures in place and that measures remain proportionate to the threat posed by COVID-19. The advice on residential visits and the need for protective measures will be reviewed again in advance of Step 4.
The Department is also working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Youth Agency to ensure we have full awareness of the effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the youth sector. In response to youth sector engagement, dedicated youth sector COVID-19 guidance has been developed by the National Youth Agency in collaboration with DCMS, the Department, youth sector organisations and public health experts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he youth summer camps will to be able to resume with groups of more than 30 children.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department recognises the significant benefits that summer camps and other forms of education outside the classroom can have on children’s academic development as well as their mental health and wellbeing.
Since 17 May 2021, out of school settings, including outdoor education centres, have been able to operate in groups of any size for both indoor and outdoor provision. It remains important to continue minimising mixing between children where possible.
Since 21 June, out of school settings have been able to undertake residential visits and overnight stays with groups of up to 30 children. The Department has provided updated guidance which sets out how this can be operated safely. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-holiday-and-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to the views of the scientific community, in particular the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.
Education and childcare settings continue to be supported with appropriate guidance on safety measures, and the Department is committed to ensuring that out of school settings are able to effectively manage risks, create an inherently safer environment and maximise face to face education wherever possible. As new evidence or data emerges, the Government will act accordingly to ensure that all out of school settings have the right safety measures in place and that measures remain proportionate to the threat posed by COVID-19. The advice on residential visits and the need for protective measures will be reviewed again in advance of Step 4.
The Department is also working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Youth Agency to ensure we have full awareness of the effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the youth sector. In response to youth sector engagement, dedicated youth sector COVID-19 guidance has been developed by the National Youth Agency in collaboration with DCMS, the Department, youth sector organisations and public health experts.
Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with local authorities in England on potential changes to bandings applied to children with Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Vicky Ford
We do not prescribe in detail how local authorities should allocate their high needs funding, including how top-up funding should be used for children with education, health and care (EHC) plans. However, local authorities and schools have statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Paragraph 94 of the operational guide on high needs funding arrangements (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2021-to-2022) says that: “Many local authorities have systems which indicate the range of top-up funding that might be provided for children and young people with a particular complexity of need (sometimes referred to as ‘banded’ funding systems). These can be helpful in providing clear and transparent funding arrangements for many types of need that may be met in a range of different institutions. Where a local authority makes a large number of placements at an institution or range of institutions, a system for the local authority and institutions to agree levels of top-up funding in advance can be a very efficient way of allocating this funding. However, the final allocation of funding must be sufficient to secure the agreed provision specified in any EHC plan.”
However, the department does not play a part in local authorities’ decisions on whether to follow such banded funding systems or not.
The government is committed to delivering real improvements to the SEND system, which will be taken forward through the SEND review, which has sought views from family representative groups and partners across education, health and care. We share a common ambition to reform the SEND system so that children and young people can have the support they need at the earliest possible point, whilst streamlining the EHC planning process, so that we can both improve these children’s outcomes and make the system more sustainable. We will consult publicly on the review’s proposals, so that everyone with an interest can have their say on the system of the future.