Tag: Lord Storey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation took place (1) before the introduction of the English Baccalaureate in 2010, and (2) before the decision in 2015 to make the measure mandatory; and whether the results of those consultations will be published.

Lord Nash

The 2010 schools white paper, The Importance of Teaching, set out that the proportion of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) would be published in the school performance tables.

The Government’s consultation on implementing the EBacc ran between 3 November 2015 and 29 January 2016. The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

Both papers can be found on GOV.UK and have been attached to this answer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory provision the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education makes to ensure that private higher education providers maintain minimum admission standards for undergraduate degrees and provide value for money.

Viscount Younger of Leckie

The UK Quality Code, which the Quality Assurance Agency’s Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) uses to assess private providers, sets out the following expectations about recruitment, selection and admission to higher education:

“Recruitment, selection, and admission policies and procedures adhere to the principles of fair admission. They are transparent, reliable, valid, inclusive and underpinned by appropriate organisational structures and processes. They support higher education providers in the selection of students who are able to complete their programme.”

It is a condition of designation for student support that private providers maintain successful outcomes from these QAA reviews and annual monitoring. QAA’s Concerns Scheme investigates specific concerns about the management of academic quality and standards, including recruitment, selection and admissions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many local authority schools have opened in the last five years.

Lord Nash

On 1 February 2011 the Education Act 2011 amended the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to change the arrangements for establishing new schools. Most new schools are now established via the academy/free school presumption.

182 local authority maintained schools have opened since 01 January 2011.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Leader of the House when revising the process for prayers was last considered, and what consideration has been given to including an opportunity for additional prayers following a national or international tragedy or disaster.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

The process for prayers was last considered by the Procedure Committee in December 2012 (3rd Report, Session 2012-13, HL Paper 81). Any change to the present arrangements would be a matter for the Procedure Committee, in consultation with the Lords Spiritual.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an Education, Health and Care plan.

Lord Nash

Information on statements of special educational needs and statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans maintained by local authorities is collected in the annual SEN2 data return from local authorities in January each year. The latest available data shows there were 4,205 statutory EHC plans maintained by local authorities, as of January 2015.

The Department does not collect information on which local authority has taken the longest amount of time to assess and decide on an EHC plan. Data is collected in the annual SEN2 return on the number of EHC plans which were issued within the 20 weeks set out in regulations.

Of the new EHC plans issued in 2014, 64.3% were within the 20 weeks when excluding exception cases. Including exception cases; 61.5% were issued within the 20 weeks. However, these figures cover EHC plans issued in the first four months of the transitional period where local authorities are beginning to implement the new reforms within 20 weeks.

This information was published in the statistical first release ‘Statements of SEN and EHC plans: England 2015’, in May 2015. Data for January 2016 is expected to be published in May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to prevent children either never going to school or going missing from school.

Lord Nash

The law provides a number of safeguards to ensure that all children receive a suitable full-time education. These are set out in Chapters I and II of Part VI of the Education Act 1996, and include:

• a duty on local authorities to make arrangements to establish, as far as it is possible to do so, the identities of children of compulsory school age in their area who are not receiving suitable education (Section 436A);

• a duty on local authorities to arrange suitable education for all children of compulsory school age who may not for any period receive it, unless such arrangements are made for them (Section 19);

• a duty on parents to ensure that their child of compulsory school age is receiving suitable full-time education, either at school or otherwise (Section 7);

• provision for a local authority to issue a School Attendance Order to a parent where it is not satisfied that a child of compulsory age is receiving a suitable education (Section 437); and

• provision for the prosecution of a parent who has failed to secure their child’s regular attendance at school (Section 444).

Statutory guidance requires local authorities to have robust procedures and policies in place to enable them to carry out their duty to identify children of compulsory school age in their area who are not receiving suitable education (Children Missing Education, 2015).

Under the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, schools have a duty to inform their local authority, at agreed intervals, of the details of pupils who are regularly absent from school or have missed 10 school days or more without permission. Schools must also notify the authority if a pupil is to be deleted from the admission register in certain circumstances.

We are taking steps to ensure the system is as robust as it can be when it comes to protecting young people, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of parents to determine how and where to educate their children. The Department for Education is currently consulting on proposals to strengthen further the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 in order to require schools to inform local authorities under all grounds when a child’s name is deleted from a school register.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what happens to gifts that ministers receive in their official capacity; where they are kept; and how they are eventually disposed of.

Lord Bridges of Headley

Gifts may be accepted in line with the provisions of the Ministerial Code

Retention and disposal arrangements are a matter for individual Departments. Departments may dispose of gifts after a suitable period of time has elapsed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-03-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of building the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, and whether it was built under a private finance initiative scheme.

Lord Prior of Brampton

This information is not available centrally. This information may be obtained from the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. We have written to Robert Clarke, Chair of the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust informing him of the noble Lord’s enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total cost, including legal fees, of converting a school to an academy.

Lord Nash

The costs of becoming an academy vary from school to school. Schools that become academies each receive a standard pre-opening grant relative to their particular circumstances.

Currently, these tariffed grants contribute towards the costs of conversion incurred by schools in establishing the academy. These may include legal fees, as well as costs associated with transfer of land, transfer of software licences, Human Resources and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations advice, setting up an Academy Trust and paying for school improvement capacity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards and governance arrangements have been put in place to prevent a recurrence of the situation where (1) the Principal of North East Surrey College of Technology allegedly paid her husband over £170,000 during the course of a contract with a Saudi Arabian college, and (2) the Board of Governors were unaware for over 18 months that such payments were made.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

As an independent corporation North East Surrey College of Technology is responsible for ensuring appropriate safeguards and governance arrangements are in place in relation to the corporation including subsidiary companies. The Skills Funding Agency has received a report from NESCOT and is considering whether there is any risk to public funds and if so what action should be taken.