Tag: Amanda Solloway

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.

Mr Marcus Jones

One person without a home is one too many, and nobody should ever have to sleep rough. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to reduce homelessness. We are investing £500 million to prevent, relieve and reduce homelessness in this Parliament, including protecting £315 million homelessness prevention funding for local authorities to help them continue to provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.

We have also increased central government investment to tackle homelessness to £139 million. This includes £10 million to help those new to the streets, or at imminent risk of sleeping rough, building on the success of projects such as No Second Night Out. Alongside this, we have £10 million of Social Impact Bond funding to support entrenched rough sleepers with the most complex needs, building on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, run by the Greater London Authority.

In addition, we committed £100 million at Budget to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to provide at least 2,000 places for people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis.

I am also considering Bob Blackman MP’s Homelessness Reduction Bill and the role that further legislation might play in preventing homelessness.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve under-performing schools in the East Midlands.

Edward Timpson

Eighty two percent of all schools in the East Midlands region are rated as Good or Outstanding by Ofsted, but there remain pockets of underperformance, and we are taking a range of actions to tackle them. The Education and Adoption Act gives us powers to intervene more quickly in failing schools and to tackle for the first time schools that have been coasting. Where a maintained school is judged inadequate by Ofsted it will immediately receive an academy order, leading to a sponsor taking responsibility for improving standards. The Act also provides consistent powers to take action in inadequate academies and the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East Midlands and Humber will not hesitate to intervene when academies under-perform.

We are also creating Achieving Excellence Areas in areas such as the East Midlands to create rapid and sustainable improvement. Further details are set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/educational-excellence-everywhere

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to remove the presence of asbestos on school sites in (a) England and Wales and (b) Derby North constituency.

Nick Gibb

The issue of asbestos in schools is a serious one. Policy on the effective management and removal of asbestos at Welsh school sites is devolved to the Welsh Government, but in England it is one of the department’s priorities in order to ensure that our schools are safe for children and teachers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which is the lead regulator on managing asbestos, advise that as long as asbestos is in good condition and unlikely to be damaged or disturbed, it is not a significant risk to health.

The Department directly funds the removal of asbestos through schemes such as the Priority Schools Building Programme and provides capital funding for asbestos management and removal where appropriate for those schools that have identified that asbestos is in poor condition or poses a high risk of deterioration.

We also provide support to those who are legally responsible for managing asbestos in schools by providing targeted guidance to schools on the effective management of asbestos in their schools.

The duty holder has the legal responsibility of effectively managing asbestos in schools. In schools where asbestos poses a high risk of disturbance or is deteriorating, the duty holder should remove asbestos using capital funding that has been provided by the Department.

The Department is not committing to the removal of asbestos in all schools, as blanket and accelerated removal of asbestos in schools is potentially more dangerous and may involve greater risk to school children and staff.

It is, however, the aim of the government that, over time, as more school buildings are replaced and refurbished, all asbestos will be removed from schools.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate funding is directed to local mental health bodies to reduce waiting times for child mental health care.

Alistair Burt

In total the Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to support significant transformation in children and young people’s mental health so that there is easy access to the right support from the right service when it is needed.

The key mechanism in delivering this transformation programme, as set out in the Future in Mind report, are the Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) that all clinical commissioning groups covering all local areas have produced. These plans should meet the needs of all the local population and cover the full spectrum of services needed to ensure that children and young people can access services when they need to.

NHS England’s Local Transformation Planning guidance issued in August 2015 and the robust assurance process around it, backed by a programme of regional and national support, are in place to ensure that the additional money will be spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators will be met. NHS England will continue to support local areas to refresh their LTPs to take and merge into the wider Sustainability and Transparency Planning process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that apprenticeships in Derby North constituency are undertaken by people from less-affluent households.

Robert Halfon

Apprenticeships are paid jobs that give people from all regions and backgrounds the opportunity to reach their potential – acquiring transferable skills much valued in the labour market without having to contribute to the costs of their learning. The locations and sectors where apprenticeships are available are determined by employers choosing to offer opportunities and employ apprentices.

We will be publishing details of our funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 shortly, which will demonstrate how we will provide opportunities for people regardless of their background.

We will also continue to demonstrate, with Traineeships and our national campaigns, that an apprenticeship can be a very worthwhile and achievable goal for those from less well-off households.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to provide additional support to people with special educational needs so that they may better access apprenticeships.

Nick Boles

Supported internships offer young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities a clear pathway into employment, including apprenticeships, by equipping them with the skills they need for work. Since September 2013, all qualified post-16 education providers in England can deliver supported internships.

To encourage employers to hire apprentices, the Government funds apprenticeship training for all 16-18 year olds. This level of funding is extended for apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) aged 19-24. Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability, can benefit from additional funding through Learning Support.

A Taskforce, led by my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard), has been looking at issues around apprenticeships for people with learning difficulties or disabilities. Ministers are currently considering its recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school leavers in Derby North constituency who went to university in the last five years for which figures are available were (a) entitled and (b) not entitled to free school meals.

Joseph Johnson

Information is given on the number and percentage of students completing Key Stage 5 study (A level and other Level 3 qualifications) in mainstream state-funded schools and colleges, before progressing to study at a UK higher education institution for at least two terms the following year, in each of the last five years for which information is available. Free school meal eligibility is as recorded when students were in Year 11.

The table below show figures for the Derby North constituency for the years 2010/11 to 2014/15. Numbers of pupils are shown rounded to the nearest ten in line with how published information was shown in these years. Percentages are calculated using unrounded figures.

In each of the last five years ten students in the Derby North constituency (rounded to the nearest ten), who had been eligible for free school meals in Year 11 and completed Key Stage 5 study, progressed to higher education. This compares to between 190 and 220 students who had not been eligible for free school meals completing Key Stage 5 study in the latest year. Due to the small numbers involved, the proportion of students represented by these numbers has varied year on year.

Information on pupil destinations at local authority, regional and national level is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations

	Number of students completing KS5		Number at UK Higher Education Institution		% at UK Higher Education Institution (calculated on unrounded figures)
	(rounded to nearest 10)		(rounded to nearest 10)
	FSM	Non-FSM	FSM	Non-FSM	FSM	Non-FSM
2014/15 (2013/14 KS5 cohort)	20	320	10	210	64%	65%
2013/14 (2012/13 KS5 cohort)	20	310	10	190	43%	61%
2012/13 (2011/12 KS5 cohort)	30	310	10	200	32%	63%
2011/12 (2010/11 KS5 cohort)	20	300	10	190	50%	64%
2010/11 (2009/10 KS5 cohort)	20	330	10	220	55%	66%

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that deaf parents receive adequate support so that they can participate in their children’s schooling and all related school activities undertaken by parents.

Edward Timpson

The Public Sector Equality Duty (at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) requires public bodies, and those carrying out public functions, such as schools, to have due regard to the following aims when designing policies and delivering services:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010
• advance equality of opportunity, and;
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not.

This includes discrimination against people with a disability, such as deafness. Public bodies must be able to show how equality issues have been considered when they develop, implement, evaluate and review policies, services and processes.

We are committed to ensuring all parents have a more significant voice in all schools. Through the new Parent Portal, we will ensure parents have access to clear and simple information about the school system and how to support their child. This will work alongside the new performance tables website which is making it easier for parents to find out how well their child’s school is performing and to compare schools across a range of key measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing life skills into secondary education.

Edward Timpson

We are clear that as part of schools’ duty to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, all young people should be provided with a curriculum that prepares them for success in adult life. High quality personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) teaching has a vital role to play in this, helping young people understand the world around them, building resilience and helping them to make good choices and stay safe. We have made it clear in the introduction to the national curriculum that all schools should make provision for high quality, age appropriate PSHE, drawing on examples of good practice.

During the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, the Secretary of State agreed that we need to look again at how schools deliver high quality PSHE. We are considering all the options and will come to a view in due course..

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to facilitate and promote (a) work opportunities and (b) apprenticeships for people with both a physical and mental disability.

Justin Tomlinson

The Government is committed to halving the disability employment gap between disabled and non disabled people. Employers have a crucial role to play in this.

Disability Confident is encouraging employers to attract, recruit and retain disabled people who are eager to work and have the skills, talents and abilities that employers are looking for. Employers can register their interest in being Disability Confident and will then be sent advice, support materials and links to other resources. More than 600 employers have registered and the number continues to grow.

There are also DWP programmes that can provide practical assistance to disabled people in work, such as Access to Work. During 2014/15 Access to Work supported over 36,000 disabled people to take up or remain in employment.

We have expanded Access to Work’s Mental Health Support Service to conduct a two-year trial of targeted support for apprentices with mental health conditions. In addition a Taskforce, led by Paul Maynard MP, has been looking at issues around apprenticeships for people with learning difficulties or disabilities. Ministers are currently considering its recommendations.