Tag: Lord Storey

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-06-28.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training teachers preparing to work in prisons receive beyond their teaching qualification.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In the majority of adult prisons in England education is delivered by Skills Funding Agency (SFA) Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) providers. Individuals wishing to be employed by OLASS providers to teach in prisons should meet the same standards as those preparing to teach SFA funded provision in the learning and skills sector in England.

In addition, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills grant funds the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to deliver a specific programme of work to support teaching and learning in prisons, this includes activity to support the professional development of OLASS teachers. In 2016-17 we made available £0.6m to the ETF.

Training such as in health and safety is the responsibility of the Prison Governor and is arranged locally for OLASS staff by individual prisons.

There are also a number of privately managed prisons where the operator is responsible for providing education under their contract with the National Offender Management Service. The Directors of those prisons ensure that, beyond their teaching qualifications, teachers will attend a training course varying between three days and one week, depending on which prison they work at. This training is aimed at preparing them to work in the prison environment. A number of these prisons operate a further period where the new starter will observe and shadow existing staff, usually lasting two weeks.

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 transgender prisoners are gaoled in a prison for people of their previous gender designation.

Lord Faulks

This information is not held centrally. The Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation announced on 20 November that HM Government will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the 20 Miles More group’s campaign to extend HS2 to Liverpool.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The government recognises that Liverpool is a major city and a significant market. Evidence from Liverpool City Region has been assessed but no decision has yet been made on the Phase Two route other than the route to Crewe.

Liverpool will benefit from day one of HS2. Phase One will cut 28 minutes from the journey time between Liverpool and London. Accelerating the line to Crewe will reduce journeys by a further 14 minutes.

HS2 will ensure that it maximises the synergies with the Northern Powerhouse, to make the most of the two networks. In this way opportunities may be created for Liverpool to benefit still further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-01-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pupils have gone missing from school registers in the last 10 years in total, and in each year.

Lord Nash

The Government does not collect data on children who are not registered pupils at a school. Local authorities have a duty under s.436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to establish the identities of children who are not receiving a suitable education. This would include collecting as much information as necessary to establish the whereabouts of children who are potentially missing education and whether they are receiving suitable education.

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.