Blog

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Andrew Smith on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will take steps to regulate hydraulic fracturing to minimise the leakage of methane from shale gas production into the environment.

Michael Fallon

The Environment Agency has set out its regulatory controls over leakage of methane from shale gas exploration in its draft technical guidance. The Agency expects operators to aim for 100% containment of fugitive emissions of methane on shale gas exploration sites and the operator will need to provide details of how their monitoring, inspection and maintenance regime will achieve this. The Environment Agency is assessing its regulation of full production facilities and the expectation is that the requirement for 100% containment will remain in place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the number of schools in (a) England and (b) Gloucestershire which carry out collective acts of Christian worship each day; what proportion those schools form of the total number of schools which are required to do so; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss

All publicly funded maintained schools in England remain legally required to provide a daily act of worship for all registered pupils up to age 18 and the Government has no plans to change this. It does not, however,collect data on school provision in this area.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what extra funding his Department plans to provide to smaller schools to help them to provide free school meals for under-sevens; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws

On 6 March the Department for Education announced that we will allocate additional funding totalling £22.5 million in the 2014-15 financial year to help small schools (those with a total roll of up to 150 pupils according to the January 2014 Schools Census) with the transitional costs of implementing the universal infant free school meals policy.

Schools eligible for this funding will receive a minimum of £3,000 to be spent as they choose in support of their implementation of the policy, including for the purpose of improving kitchen or dining equipment.

Further information is available in the departmental advice document on universal infant free school meals, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals

“

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allow a transitional period for schools to prepare to provide free school meals for under-sevens in cases where those schools need to set up their own kitchens; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws

The Government announced in September 2013 that state-funded schools will be required to offer free school meals to infant pupils from September 2014, giving schools a full year to put arrangements in place. We know from the universal free school meal pilots, in which schools were required to provide meals to all infant pupils and all key stage 2 pupils, that it is possible for schools to prepare to implement this policy with much less notice.

In order to help schools to implement universal infant free school meals in September 2014 we have put in place a national support service, run by school food experts. The assistance available through that service includes a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and intensive face-to-face support. We are also providing additional funding of £22.5 million to help small schools with the transition to providing meals for all their infant pupils.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Chuka Umunna on 2014-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the quality of educational provision for children and young people on the autism spectrum in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) London, (d) the London Borough of Lambeth and (e) Streatham constituency.

Edward Timpson

The Department for Education recognises that provision for all children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) across England, including those on the autism spectrum, needs to be improved and that is why we are taking forward the reforms in the Children and Families Act, which recently received Royal Assent. Part 3 of the Act will bring about significant reforms to the SEN system from which children and young people with autism will benefit along with their peers, in particular from earlier, and more comprehensive, assessment and intervention and stronger arrangements for the transition from children’s to adult services, which many on the spectrum can find extremely difficult.

In 2008 the Autism Education Trust published a report ‘Educational provision for children and young people living in England’. That report found that “practice in many mainstream and special schools had improved tremendously over recent years” but that there was still much to be done “in reaching staff in schools who are not yet familiar with the particular needs of pupils on the autism spectrum and who struggle to teach them effectively.”

The Government has continued to fund the Trust, putting the emphasis on improving awareness and skills amongst early years, schools and further education staff. From January 2012 to February 2014, 22,451 staff have received level 1 basic awareness training, 3,214 have received level 2 hands-on tools and techniques training and 775 have received level 3 training for those who want to develop their knowledge of autism further and those who will themselves take on a training role, such as school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators.

Education, including SEN, is a devolved matter and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have responsibility for autism educational provision in their administrations.