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 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whose responsibility it is to collect data on the number of home-educated pupils.
Lord Nash
Some local authorities maintain voluntary registers of children educated at home but as they have no statutory basis, they cannot be regarded as an authoritative source of data.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many schools are known to subsidise travel for students in year 12 and 13 out of their own budgets.
Lord Nash
The statutory responsibility for post 16 transport rests with local authorities who are required to publish a transport policy statement setting out the arrangements they make to support young people to travel to further education and training.
These arrangements do not have to include free or subsidised transport, but local authorities are expected to make reasonable decisions based on local needs, circumstances and resources. Discounts or concessions are also available from local transport companies and schools, colleges or other providers.
Local authorities are encouraged to develop a collaborative approach when developing their statements to provide a full picture of the transport and support available. But it is for local organisations to decide whether to provide support and what level of discounts and concessions to give. The department does not collect specific information on which local authorities, transport companies, or education and training providers give free or subsidised transport for students in years 12 and 13.
The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to help young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used. Schools and colleges are responsible for deciding how to distribute their bursary allocations to students, and for establishing what criteria to use.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-28.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the re-offending rates of prisoners who have completed (1) GCSEs, and (2) A-levels, while in prison.
Lord Faulks
Re-offending rates are not currently available broken down by different levels of education attainment.
We want to improve education so prisoners are less likely to commit crime on release. That is why we are investing in a modern prison estate, where governors are empowered to run prisons in the way they think best, and prisoners are given a chance to work or learn. It is only through more effective rehabilitation that we will reduce reoffending, cut crime and improve public safety.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to include a dedicated place for a student representative on the Board of the Office for Students, and if so what arrangements they plan to make to ensure that that member has a democratic mandate from the students they represent.
Earl of Courtown
Schedule 1 of the Higher Education and Research Bill requires the Office for Students (OfS) to consider the desirability of including members with experience of representing or promoting the interests of individual students, or students generally in higher education.
The appointment of OfS members will be made by the Secretary of State in accordance with the standard guidelines on public appointments, ensuring fair and open competition.