Tag: Lord Storey

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the specific criteria for selecting and deselecting target countries for the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government has pursued or supported Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative activity in a wide range of countries over the last four years, including Burma, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Mali, Nepal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and Syria. The criteria used for selecting and deselecting these target countries take into account a number of factors. These include the extent and impact of sexual violence in the country under consideration, the national and international response to date and the particular role the UK can play in reinforcing or complementing existing efforts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what level of check by the Disclosure and Barring Service is required for someone to work in a school as a non-teaching staff member.

Lord Nash

The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009, The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 and The Non-maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2011 require schools to carry out specific checks before they may appoint an individual to work in a school.

For non-teaching staff members, the school must obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service certificate and where relevant a check of the children’s barred list. A check of the barred list is required for staff engaging in regulated activity if as a result of their work they:

• Will be responsible, on a regular basis in a school or college, for teaching, training instructing, caring for or supervising children; or

• Will carry out paid, or unsupervised unpaid, work regularly in a school or college where that work provides an opportunity for contact with children; or

• Engage in intimate or personal care or overnight activity, even if this happens only once.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-07-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional qualifications are required to teach Careers Education in schools.

Lord Nash

We want schools to build the skills and expertise required to plan strategically for the provision of careers education and guidance, embedding careers and employability skills in the curriculum and engaging external partners in the delivery of high quality, inspirational support. The careers strategy, to be published later this year, will set out further details of how we will support schools to achieve this. The strategy has been developed in consultation with key partners across the education and careers sectors.

Pupils can gain confidence and motivation from the opportunity to explore career ideas through individual, face-to-face discussions with a range of people. The careers statutory guidance sets out the main qualifications for careers professionals: the Qualification in Career Guidance (QCG) (which replaced the earlier Diploma in Careers Guidance) and the Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development. The statutory guidance also provides information about the register of careers professionals, developed by the Career Development Institute, which schools can use to search for a career development professional who can deliver a particular service or activity.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of students in receipt of publicly-funded bursaries studying at the Greenwich School of Management for degrees validated by Plymouth University did not attend their examinations in the academic years 2014–15 and 2015–16.

Viscount Younger of Leckie

Information on the proportion of students attending examinations at Higher Education Providers is not held centrally.

Progression rates are not produced separately for those students receiving student support.

Published statistics in respect of Alternatives Providers, including the Greenwich School of Management, are available in the Experimental Statistical First Release ‘Higher education student enrolments and qualifications obtained on undergraduate designated courses at alternative providers in England 2014/15’. This can be found at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/15-06-2016/sfr235-alternative-providers

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-11-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how the religious character of a faith school will be maintained if the school is converted into an academy.

Lord Nash

When a faith school becomes an academy it retains its religious character by virtue of Section 6 of the Academies Act 2010. The academy’s religious character is protected through provisions within the academy’s funding agreement with the Secretary of State and the academy trust’s articles of association. Once a faith school becomes an academy any change to its religious character would only take place with the consent of the relevant religious body and the Secretary of State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps an academy school is legally required to take if it has a budget deficit.

Lord Nash

An academy trust is required by its funding agreement with the Secretary of State to balance its budget from each academy financial year to the next. Where the board of trustees of an academy is formally proposing to set a deficit budget for the current financial year, which it is unable to address after unspent funds from previous years are taken into account, it must notify the Education Funding Agency (EFA) within 14 days.

The EFA may issue a trust with a Financial Notice to Improve (FNtI) in cases of a deficit or projected deficit, setting out the actions it requires the trust to take. The trust must comply with all the terms of the FNtI which would include a requirement to implement a recovery plan to secure financial stability.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-14.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether North Wales is to be included in the Northern Powerhouse.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Northern Powerhouse presents a once in a generation opportunity to redress the North-South economic imbalance. North Wales is an integral part of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse vision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Chairman of Committees how many people are employed by the House of Lords on zero-hours contracts.

Lord Laming

The House of Lords does not employ any staff on zero-hours contracts on an exclusive basis. It employs 21 staff on zero-hours contracts in the Catering and Retail Services department, primarily for banqueting events. These are roles where staffing demands vary significantly week to week and are often unpredictable. The House also employs 23 freelance Hansard reporters.

Zero-hours staff employed by the House of Lords are free to turn down shifts offered by the House. They have equivalent employment rights to full-time staff including pension and holiday pay entitlements, which are better than those of most agency staff. All staff in the House of Lords, including those on these contracts, are paid at least the London Living Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), what systems are in place to ensure that a standardised approach is taken by higher education institutions in relation to dealing with cheating, and to encourage best practice relating to plagiarism.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

Higher education institutions are independent and autonomous bodies and are required to comply with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, which requires that ‘assessment is equitable, valid and reliable’. As such, institutions are expected to have clear policies on cheating and plagiarism.

As part of its cyclical review of UK universities and colleges, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) reports publicly on its findings, including if there are concerns relating to plagiarism.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children were educated at home in the UK in the academic year 2014–15.

Lord Nash

The department does not collect data relating to the number of home educated children in England. Home education elsewhere in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

It is unacceptable for any child of compulsory school age not to be receiving a suitable education. We recognise parents may choose to home school their children and many do a good job, but that education must be of a suitable quality.

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.