Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the prevalence of difficulties in the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of teachers in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The most recent School workforce census shows that, as at November 2022, there are over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
Teacher numbers at a school level are published in the additional supporting files. This can be found in the School workforce census 2022 publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england#dataBlock-d32da738-358d-4c1f-955b-6c6f83552d65-tables. The department also produces national targets for postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) for each subject based on estimates from the Teacher Workforce Model to ensure focus on the right subjects each year. These are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets.
The department knows that some schools face challenges with recruitment and retention, particularly in some secondary subjects, and action is being taken to increase teacher recruitment and retention.
The department is offering a financial incentives package worth up to £196 million for those starting ITT in the 2024/25 academic year, including bursaries worth up to £28,000 and scholarships worth up to £30,000 to encourage trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing. The department is also offering a £25,000 tax-free bursary for biology, design and technology, geography and languages (including ancient languages), and a £10,000 tax-free bursary for English, art and design, music and RE.
The department is providing a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools nationally, including within education investment areas (EIAs). For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department will be investing approximately £100 million each year to double the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax. This builds on knowledge gained from similar pilots and will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
There are 97 schools in the Birmingham local authority area eligible for the Levelling Up Premium, including nine schools in the Birmingham, Hall Green constituency. The eligibility criteria and list of eligible schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/levelling-up-premium-payments-for-teachers.
Earlier this year the department accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendations for the 2023/24 pay award for teachers and leaders. This means that teachers and leaders in maintained schools will receive a pay award of 6.5%. This is the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years and delivers the manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for school teachers across England.
To support teacher retention across all school phases, the department has published a range of resources to help address staff workload and wellbeing. This includes the workload reduction toolkit and the education staff wellbeing charter. More than 3,000 schools have signed up to the wellbeing charter so far. The wellbeing charter can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter. The workload reduction toolkit is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit. As part of the pay announcement for 2023/24, the department also convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how to further support trusts and school leaders to minimise workload.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the incorporation of Non-Fungible Tokens into digital artworks to confirm their authenticity.
Answered by John Whittingdale
Although DCMS has not made a specific assessment of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), HMT looked at NFTs as part of its consultation on cryptoassets. Developments like NFTs may provide new opportunities, as well as challenges, and we are aware of private sector services offering NFT-based authentication for digital art.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they last discussed the return of artefacts of disputed ownership held in the British Museum with (1) a visiting head of state, or (2) another government.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government has regular discussions with visiting heads of state and other governments about a range of issues. If items owned by the British Museum are raised in such discussions, HM Government makes clear that decisions about such items are a matter for the Trustees of the British Museum, that the Museum is prohibited by law from deaccessioning items from its collection, and that we have no plans to change the law. The Government also highlights the extensive work the British Museum does with scholars and cultural institutions around the world to deepen understanding about all the items in its collection, and to ensure that the widest possible audience can learn from and admire them.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with representatives of the art sector on the potential impact of AI on that sector.
Answered by John Whittingdale
HM Government recognises the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence to a range of sectors, including the arts. As set out in the Government’s recent AI White Paper, our goal is to ensure that the UK becomes an AI superpower. It is important, however, that while we harness the benefits of AI, we also manage the risks. This includes risks to the creative and cultural sectors and to copyright-holders.
The Secretary of State and Ministers have held a number of meetings with people and organisations from across the creative and cultural sectors on this issue and on AI more broadly. This includes a meeting in which the Minister for Arts & Heritage, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay participated, hosted by What Next? in November, during which representatives from small and large arts organisations, freelance creative professionals, academics and other participants from across the country discussed the potential impact of AI on the arts and creative sectors.
DCMS has engaged with the arts and creative sectors to identify areas where AI is being applied through innovation and to understand the sectors’ views – for instance, through a recent meeting held jointly with the Intellectual Property Office and a group of leading sector chief executives.
Last month, the UK also hosted the world's first major summit on AI safety. This summit focused on the risks created or significantly exacerbated by the most powerful frontier AI systems, and looked to ensure that this technology is developed and adopted safely and responsibly. The summit brought together the governments of leading AI nations, technology companies, researchers, and civil society groups. DCMS Ministers and officials also attended the industry-led AI Fringe, which ran alongside the AI Safety Summit, and engaged with representatives from across the creative industries on issues such as research and development for AI in the arts and intellectual property.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the awayday held for staff in her Department's policy group on 29 November 2023, how many members of staff attended; what activities did it involve; and whether any costs were incurred in addition to the hire costs for the venue.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s Policy Group away day was attended by approximately 360 people in person, with approximately 35 joining online.
The away day was an opportunity for staff working on different policy areas to develop skills, network with other policy professionals and learn about the sectors the Department supports.
The away day was structured in two parts, with informative visits to various organisations within the Department's sectors within central London taking place in the morning, and a conference taking place at Lord’s Cricket Ground in the afternoon.
The afternoon featured three main activities. These included an interactive session delivered by the Department’s Policy Profession on skills and skills gaps within the Group, a session on communication and the art of explanation by an external speaker, and a session on including the “Youth Voice” in policy, led by one of the Department’s arms-length bodies.
Costs incurred were in relation to venue hire, which included catering and an audio visual package. The venue was chosen after an extensive search and procurement process, as well as for its links to one of the sectors the Department oversees. No costs were incurred for any of the morning visits, nor for any of the afternoon sessions.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to increase (a) the number of training positions for teachers and (b) incentives for specialist teachers to train in the UK.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not currently cap or restrict the number of teacher training positions offered by accredited Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers. This enables them to recruit the highest number of candidates that they can whilst ensuring they are able to deliver high-quality training.
For the 2024/25 academic year recruitment cycle, the department has announced an ITT financial incentives package worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle.
For trainees starting ITT in 2024/25, the department is offering a £28,000 tax-free bursary and £30,000 tax-free bursaries in mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
The department is also offering a £25,000 tax-free bursary for biology, design & technology, geography and languages (including ancient languages), and a £10,000 tax-free bursary for English, art and design, music and religious education.
The department reviews the bursaries on offer each year to take account of factors including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need in each subject. This provides flexibility to respond to the need to attract new teachers, and means the department is spending money where it is needed most.
The department welcomes talented individuals from overseas to train to teach in England. For the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, the department has extended bursary and scholarship eligibility to all non-UK national trainees in physics and languages. This means international physics and languages trainees are eligible for scholarships worth up to £30,000 and bursaries worth up to £28,000. The department is also piloting a new international relocation payment worth £10,000 to help teachers and trainees in languages and physics with the cost of visas and other expenses involved in moving to England.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is steps taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for cultural activities in Nottingham.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to high-quality arts and cultural opportunities and activities, no matter where they live. We have supported culture in Nottingham in a variety of ways.
Between 2020/21 and 2023/24, Arts Council England will have invested over £30 million in arts and cultural organisations in Nottingham. As part of its 2023–26 National Portfolio, public funding is being provided to 14 organisations in Nottingham encompassing theatre, dance, museums, visual arts, literature and libraries. This funding includes over £1.2 million per year to New Art Exchange, the highly successful visual arts centre.
As part of the above funding, Nottingham City Council’s museum service was reconfirmed as a National Portfolio Organisation in the latest round of funding, meaning it will receive £1.4 million over the next three years. A number of the local projects which it directly funds are aimed at encouraging more people from disadvantaged neighbourhoods and diverse backgrounds to engage with the city’s heritage. The independent National Justice Museum is also part of the Arts Council’s National Portfolio and will receive £733,000 of support over the period 2023–26.
Another of the City Council Museums, Wollaton Hall, has this year received £470,000 from the Government’s Museum Estate and Development Fund for assistance with maintenance, whilst Nottingham libraries have received funding through both rounds 1 and 2 of the Government’s Libraries Improvement Fund.
Nottingham Castle Museum’s recent transformation was funded in part by a £13.9 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants programme also remains open for funding bids from anyone operating arts and cultural organisations in England.
The recent announcement of the third round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund included support for Bulwell, which will be receiving almost £20 million of public investment for Bulwell town centre – including a new marketplace, and aiming to improve the look and feel of hidden heritage by reinstating original features.
Organisations in Nottingham also benefited from the Culture Recovery Fund to protect them during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 39 organisations sharing over £10.5 million of funding.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure all academy trusts offer opportunities for pupils to (a) learn and (b) participate in (i) music, (ii) sport and (iii) art activities.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes in a high-quality education for all pupils. Integral to this is learning and participation in music, the arts and sport. This is reflected in the National Curriculum, which includes the following subjects: music, art and design, English which incorporates literature and drama, and physical education which incorporates dance.
Whilst academies are not required to follow the National Curriculum, they must provide a broad and balanced curriculum in accordance with Section 1 of the 2010 Academies Act, which can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/32/section/1. This means that academies are required to teach a curriculum which promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school.
Academies are also subject to the Ofsted education inspection framework which came into effect in September 2019. The framework has a strong emphasis on ensuring that schools provide a broad and balanced curriculum for all pupils; and building pupils’ cultural capital informs Ofsted’s judgement about the quality of education. This applies equally to academies and maintained schools, and to special schools.
Finally, in the School Sport and Activity Action Plan update published in July 2023 and the National Plan for Music Education published in June 2022, the government sets the same expectation on academies as it does maintained schools. The same will be the case for the forthcoming Cultural Education Plan.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to support social clubs for people with dementia in (a) Romford and (b) England.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst the Department does not promote specific clubs or societies for people living with dementia and their carers, we recognise that clubs and societies can be important in supporting people to engage with their community and reduce social isolation.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Quality Standard on Dementia, published in June 2019, includes guidelines for offering activities such as exercise, aromatherapy, art, gardening, baking, reminiscence therapy, music therapy, mindfulness, and animal assisted therapy to help promote wellbeing. Local authorities are also required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population, including unpaid carers, under the Care Act 2014.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to offer (a) physical activity and (b) the arts to engage with children and young people not regularly in school.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Regular attendance at school is vital for children's education, wellbeing and long-term development. The foundation of securing good attendance is that school is a calm, orderly, safe, and supportive environment where all pupils want to be and are keen and ready to learn. This includes the positive impact that the curriculum as a whole can have to support children's attendance and engagement.
The government published the School Sport and Activity Action Plan update in July. The action plan is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-sport-and-activity-action-plan. It sets out next steps and further detail for school leaders and teachers on how the government will support them to improve the quality of PE and school sport and to deliver 2 hours of PE a week. This will help all pupils to engage in physical activity and meet the Chief Medical Officers’ recommendations of 60 active minutes a day.
The government published the National Plan for Music Education last year, setting a clear expectation on schools to deliver 1 hour a week of timetabled music for key stages 1 to 3, alongside opportunities to learn to sing, play an instrument, and take part in choirs and ensembles. This is backed by £79 million of funding per year for Music Hubs to 2025 and £25 million for music instruments. The plan is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-power-of-music-to-change-lives-a-national-plan-for-music-education.
The government expects all schools to teach a broad and ambitious curriculum that encompasses the arts, such as art and design, drama and dance. The department will be publishing a Cultural Education Plan in the coming months, working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. The Plan will focus on how the government can support participation and progression in a wide range of arts subjects and activities, particularly for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups. It will also support young people who wish to pursue careers in the creative, cultural, and heritage industries.