Author: admin

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in his Department’s supply chain, other than direct suppliers, in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2013-14.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Small businesses are an important source of innovation and flexibility, as both direct and indirect suppliers, to meet our defence and security requirements. The estimated number of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) directly supplying the Ministry of Defence (MOD) during financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 is provided below. The figures for 2015-16 are not yet available.

    MOD Direct Expenditure with SMEs

    Estimated Number of SME Suppliers

    2013-14

    7,000

    2014-15

    5,400

    The MOD spent 19.4% (direct and indirect) of its procurement budget with SMEs in both 2013-14 and 2014-15. The MOD has a new 25% target for SME procurement spend by 2020.

    The information has been taken from the Department’s published Official Statistics on Trade, Industry and Contracts which summarises MOD contracting with industry. Further information about MOD expenditure with SMEs is available on the Gov.UK website at the respective links:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2015 and https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mod-industry-trade-and-contracts-2014

    The MOD does not hold information on the number of SMEs providing indirect supplies through the supply chain.

    “

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the practical implications of schools having their own admissions criteria under a fully-academised system; and how local authorities will manage that situation.

    Nick Gibb

    The schools white paper, ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, sets out the Government’s aim that every school should become an academy. In this context, it also sets out our intention to seek views on a number of changes to the admissions system to support parents in understanding how to get a place at their local schools.

    As part of this, we will seek views on requiring the Local Authority to take on greater responsibility for certain admissions functions – in particular, co-ordinating in-year admissions and handling the administration of the independent appeal panels for all schools (including academies) in their area. These changes will make the system clearer and simpler for parents to navigate.

    Any parent who has concerns regarding an individual school’s admission arrangements will continue to be able to refer an objection to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. We intend to streamline the functions of the Office of the Schools Adjudicator so that objections to admission arrangements are resolved more quickly.

    The white paper is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere.

    “

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities will retain responsibility for school deficits under the proposals in her Department’s White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016.

    Edward Timpson

    Deficits for schools which convert to become sponsored academies remain with the local authority. These deficits remain with their local authority as these schools were the responsibility of the authority when they were found to be failing or underperforming and it is the authority’s responsibility for ensuring the school managed its expenditure satisfactorily. Guidance on how deficits for converter and sponsored academies are dealt with is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416430/School_balances_on_conversion_submission.pdf

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring the financial viability of maintained schools and ensuring any deficits are cleared within 3 years.

    “

  • Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kelly Tolhurst – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelly Tolhurst on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role local authorities will have in school place planning under the proposals in her Department’s White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016.

    Edward Timpson

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what modelling her Department has undertaken on the demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

    We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of immigration from (a) EEA member states and (b) states from outside the EEA on the level of demand for children’s services in each year from 2016 to 2030.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department uses population projections published by the Office for National Statistics, which include migration, to plan for future demand on children’s services.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of immigration from (a) EEA member countries and (b) countries from outside the EEA on the level of demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

    We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants who speak a language other than English to a native level of proficiency have a specific responsibility to provide support to pupils whose first language is not English.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not hold data on languages spoken by Teaching Assistants.

    The deployment of Teaching Assistants, including any responsibilities for supporting pupils whose first language is not English, is a matter for schools to decide.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department’s risk register assesses risks to (a) the provision of education places and (b) changes in the level of the cost of providing education which result from immigration from (i) other EEA member states and (ii) countries from outside the EEA; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

    We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost is to the public purse of school expenditure on supporting pupils who do not have English as their first language.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Under current funding arrangements, local authorities devise funding formulae through which to distribute funding to schools in their localities. One of the factors local authorities can include is an English as an additional language (EAL) factor. EAL funding is determined on the basis of census data which records whether or not a pupil’s first language is English. In 2015-16, a total of £267 million was allocated through this factor to school budgets. This figure does not represent the cost of supporting pupils with EAL; instead, it forms part of the school’s core budget. It is then for school leaders to determine how best to use their whole budget so that all pupils can reach their full potential.

    We will introduce a national funding formula from 2017-18 so that funding is fair and matched to need. Our first consultation, which closed on 17 April, proposed that the formula should include an EAL factor. We are reviewing all the responses and will set out the precise detail of the formula in our second consultation, to be published later this year.