Tag: Lord Storey

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is available for children whose parents choose for their child to be tutored at home.

Lord Nash

When parents elect to educate children at home, they assume financial responsibility for their children’s education. Local authorities are not funded specifically to provide financial support to those parents who educate at home.

If a child has special needs, financial assistance may well be appropriate. If the child has a statement of special educational needs or an Education and Health Care (EHC) Plan which specifies home education, or one which specifies a school but the parents have chosen to educate their child at home, then financial support to the parents may help discharge the authority’s duty to ensure that the child’s needs are met.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to produce a strategy for careers education in schools.

Lord Nash

Helping all young people, regardless of background, to get the inspiration and guidance they need for success in working life is a key part of this Government’s commitment to delivering real social justice.

Later this year, the Department for Education will publish a comprehensive careers strategy, outlining this Government’s plans for improving careers provision by 2020.

The work of The Careers & Enterprise Company, an initiative by the Department, is vital in transforming careers and enterprise provision in schools and colleges. The Company has launched its £5 million Careers and Enterprise Fund to scale good ideas and fill gaps in provision as well as rolling out its Enterprise Adviser Network; a programme connecting employees from firms of all sizes to schools through a network of enterprise advisers drawn from business volunteers

Over the course of this Parliament, we are committing a total of £70m to our strategy to continue to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people.

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.

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Department for Education figures, published on 13 October, showing that the percentage of pupils entering at least one arts subject at GCSE has fallen by 1.7 percentage points to 47.9 per cent of pupils in state-funded schools in 2016, what plans they have to increase take-up of arts subjects.

Lord Nash

All schools, including academies and free schools, must provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society.

Between 2012-2016 the Government invested over £460 million in a diverse portfolio of music and arts education programmes that are designed to improve access to the arts for all children, regardless of their background, and to develop talent across the country.

GCSE entries in arts subjects declined in 2016, but one year of data does not make a trend. Between 2012 and 2015, entries into arts subjects rose. The proportion of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 taking a GCSE in at least one arts subject is down from the last two years but is still higher than it was in every year between 2010 and 2013. The number of exam entries does not reflect the extent of students’ engagement with the arts. Many students decide not to study arts subjects as academic subjects but nevertheless continue to enjoy taking part in the arts, in school and out, by singing in choirs, playing in orchestras and bands, and acting in school plays.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many youth offending teams have dyslexic accreditation.

Lord Faulks

Information on the number of Youth Offending Teams with dyslexic accreditation is not held centrally.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they do not require British Board of Film Classification categories for films shown on television, unlike films in cinemas or on video and DVD.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code sets the standards for television that broadcasters must follow and takes into account the British Board of Film Classification’s guidelines and classification decisions in its guidance to broadcasters. The Code also includes rules for protecting children, such as a watershed on television to prevent unsuitable material being shown before 9pm when children could be watching.