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  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department last reviewed the arrangements at RAF Northolt on the safety of residents living under the flight path and nearby vicinity; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Military safety regulations mandate that a continual assessment of air safety risks are carried out. This provides not only internal assurance of operating procedures and air safety standards, but considers wider safety aspects such as the risks to individuals’ off-station.

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) actively manages air safety via this system, across all of its aerodromes, publishing any mitigated or permitted deviations via the individual stations’ Defence Aerodrome Manual.

    For MOD aerodromes that accept commercial/civilian flying activity, these processes have additional Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) oversight and assurance. Commercial operators are required to have similar safety management systems by the CAA, including those operating into RAF Northolt. The MOD and the CAA requires commercial operators to satisfy themselves that RAF Northolt is suitable for the safe operation of their particular aircraft.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, what assessment she has made of the effect of the £71 million European Social Fund monies on the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training or who were at risk of being so in the UK.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), European Social Fund monies provided support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so.

    The Skills Funding Agency which administered the funds on behalf of the Education Funding Agency is currently undertaking an evaluation of the above European Social Fund programme. The evaluation will be published later this year and will provide greater detail on the impact of the provision for young people.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, on what the £71 million European Social Fund monies have been spent.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), European Social Fund monies were used to support young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so to remain in or, re-engage in education, employment and training.

    Providers who were contracted to deliver support to young people were required to do so through delivery of activities designed to help young people gain a greater understanding of their own abilities, learning needs and the range of opportunities available with the establishment of clear progression routes for the young people concerned. Providers were also required to deliver innovative programmes to give young people experience of success in learning and, increase their commitment and motivation to achieve.

    The Skills Funding Agency which administered the funds on behalf of the Education Funding Agency is currently undertaking an evaluation of the above European Social Fund programme. The evaluation will be published later this year and will provide greater detail on the activities undertaken by young people.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, which organisations have received grants from the £71 million European Social Fund monies.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The European Social Fund provides support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training, or who were at risk of being so, for the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015). This funding was awarded under contract following an open and competitive tendering process. The procurement process was administered by the Skills Funding Agency on behalf of the Education Funding Agency.

    The list of organisations contracted to deliver this provision can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/294667/SFA_ESF_Programme_Summary_-_14-19_NEET.pdf

    “

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the cost to school budgets of (a) pupil mobility, (b) staff turnover, (c) pupils not speaking English at home and (d) pupils with special educational needs.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We recently published our consultations on national funding formulae for schools and high needs funding. A national funding formula will put an end to currently unfair arrangements where children with the same needs attract different amounts of money simply because of where they live. We believe that the national funding formula should target funding to pupils who are likely to face additional barriers in realising their potential and are proposing to include additional needs factors including for English as an additional language. For pupils with special educational needs (SEN), we propose that mainstream schools should continue to be responsible for the first £6,000 of costs in respect of each of their pupils with SEN, and receive top-up funding from the local authority for costs in excess of £6,000. Local authorities reported that they will allocate £750m to primary and secondary schools in 2015-16 in the form of top-up funding for pupils with SEN.

    Under current local funding formulae, the total amount allocated to school budgets in relation to pupil mobility is £24m for 2015-16 and for English as an additional language, it is £267m. It is for school leaders to determine how best to use their full budget so that all pupils, including mobile pupils, pupils with English as an additional language and those with special educational needs, can reach their full potential.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the relative performance at GCSE of (a) pupils who are home schooled and (b) other pupils.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department does not hold information for pupils taking GCSEs who are home schooled. The latest information for other pupils is available from the “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015” statistical first release available on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015.

    “

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) promote the study of creative subjects in secondary schools and (b) address the skills shortage in the UK creative industry sector.

    Nick Gibb

    All schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The Government recognises that creative arts are an integral part of a child’s education. They develop skills that are important to our economy and help prepare children for adult life.

    The national curriculum sets out our expectations of what pupils should be taught and we have reformed GCSE and A level qualifications in a range of subjects, including art and design, music, drama, dance and design & technology. We have made significant changes in particular to design and technology, making this a better preparation for young people to progress into careers in a wide range of engineering and design fields.

    Our reforms to technical and vocational education incentivise schools and colleges to teach only those qualifications that meet rigorous quality criteria, develop the skills and knowledge that employers need and enable young people to progress into employment. For 16-18 year olds this includes qualifications in creative subjects that will equip them to apply for a range of jobs in the creative industries.

    In November, the Government announced further reforms to technical and professional education that will simplify the skills system and ensure it is understood and valued by employers. The Government will simplify and streamline the number of qualifications so that individuals have a clear set of routes which allow for progression into skilled employment. An independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, is developing proposals for these reforms and they will report to Government this spring‎.

    In December 2014, the Secretary of State announced funding for a new careers and enterprise company. This employer-led, independent company is strengthening links between employers, schools and colleges and careers and enterprise organisations to inspire young people, assisting them with taking control of their own futures and helping to address skills shortages. The provision of high-quality careers guidance for all young people is a key part of this Government’s commitment to delivering real social justice.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to give young carers under the age of 16 (a) financial support and (b) other assistance to continue with mainstream education.

    Edward Timpson

    Schools play an important part in identifying pupils who are young carers and in offering them appropriate support. That is why the Department for Education has worked with Carers Trust and The Children’s Society for many years to share tools, good practice and increase awareness in schools of young carers’ issues. Ofsted inspectors will also pay particular attention to the outcomes achieved by young carers in schools.

    We have changed the law so that, since April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support, regardless of who they care for, what type of care they provide or how much time they spend caring.

    It is worth noting that a significant proportion, around 60%, of young carers are thought to be eligible for free school meals, and those who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the last six years will be attracting pupil premium funding to the schools that they attend.

    We are also grant-funding Suffolk Family Carers over £111,000 in 2015-16 to run a local project to raise awareness of young carers amongst teachers, non-teaching staff and school nurses, including a focus on young carers’ mental health, supporting Suffolk County Council’s strategy on young carers.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the decision not to make personal, social, health and economic education statutory on the ability of schools to teach that subject.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government wants to provide all young people with a curriculum for life, which prepares them to succeed in modern Britain. High quality teaching of PSHE is central to this.

    The Secretary of State wrote to the ESC in February 2016 stating that the Department will continue to keep the status of PSHE in the curriculum under review.

    We have asked leading head teachers and practitioners to produce an action plan for improving PSHE. We will work with these experts to identify further action we can take to ensure that all pupils receive high quality, age appropriate PSHE and SRE.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has made available for training teachers to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools are provided with general funding to teach the programmes of study, as set out in the national curriculum, to their pupils and to administer the statutory tests. Teaching the curriculum provides the best possible preparation for pupils to undertake the new key stage 1 and key stage 2 tests.