Tag: Lord Storey

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 12 May (HL8031), what percentage of diplomatic missions in the UK issued with the annual letters on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office requesting staff lists with details of all locally engaged staff and private servants replied with full information in 2015.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Embassy team issued 279 letters to the various Embassies and their different sections requesting staff lists for the 2014-15 tax year in September 2015. The requests also ask for details of private addresses and Remuneration. As a result of that letter we received 24 responses. That is an 8% return.

Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR) outlines a mission’s responsibility to keep the host State informed of the arrival and departure of staff. Embassies therefore only have a legal obligation to notify HM Government of their leavers and new starters so we rely greatly on the goodwill of Embassies to supply us with this additional information.

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, in the light of the study by the Universities of Bristol and Central Lancashire which found that 22 per cent of boys aged 14 to 17 have perpetrated acts of sexual coercion or abuse, what sex education initiatives they have in place that are specifically aimed at boys within that age group.

Lord Nash

Sex and relationships education (SRE) is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and academies are expected to provide SRE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.

Any school teaching SRE must have regard to Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). The guidance makes clear that all sex and relationship education should be age-appropriate. Schools have the freedom to decide which topics are most relevant to their pupils to ensure they develop positive values and a moral framework that will guide their decisions, judgments and behaviour.

To support teaching about healthy relationships, the PSHE Association has developed non-statutory guidance for schools about the topic of consent, which was published in March 2015. We strongly welcome this guidance, which will help teachers clearly establish the legal framework around consent and supports the government’s ‘This is Abuse’ campaign, which helped educate young people about damaging behaviours within relationships. ‘This is abuse’ was followed up this year by the £3.85 million “Disrespect NoBody” campaign, supported by Government Equalities Office and Home Office. The campaign aims to prevent the onset of domestic violence in adults by challenging attitudes and behaviours amongst teenage boys and girls that abuse in relationships is acceptable.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the progression figures for students in receipt of publicly-funded bursaries studying at the Greenwich School of Management for degrees validated by Plymouth University for 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 is the age profile of the total number of apprentices in 2013–14 and 2014–15.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

In the 2013/14 academic year there were 851,500 government funded apprentices. Of these, 185,800 were aged under 19, 308,900 were aged 19-24 and 356,900 were aged over 25.

Over the 2014/15 academic year there were 871,800 government funded apprentices. Of these, 194,100 were aged under 19, 315,000 were aged 19-24 and 362,600 were aged over 25.

Information on Apprenticeship participation by age in 2013/14 and 2014/15 is published as part of a Statistical First Release:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether governors of maintained schools are allowed to agree a budget deficit.

Lord Nash

Governors are responsible for agreeing the budget of a school under the arrangements set out in their Local Authority’s Scheme for Financing Schools, which may preclude any planning for deficits; or it may allow schools to plan for deficits only in certain approved circumstances.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the requirements for a city which decides to return from a mayoral form of governance to a Leader of the Council model, when the decision to have a mayor was made by the council itself and not through a referendum.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Where a council has established mayoral governance following a council resolution but without a referendum, it may change that governance model once 5 years has elapsed from the initial resolution.

A referendum on whether to move away from the mayoral governance model may be held at any time after this point, if the council resolves to hold such a referendum or if it is petitioned by 5% or more of the local electorate. The council must meet the cost of the referendum.

If the referendum takes place within the five years following the council resolution, but a second mayoral term of office has begun during those five years, the governance change will take place on the third day after the next ordinary election of a mayor.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support is available for post-16 students in rural areas who have to travel long distances to attend the nearest further education or sixth form college.

Lord Nash

The statutory responsibility for financial and other support regarding transport to education and training for 16 to 19 year olds rests with local authorities, enabling them to make decisions which best match local needs and circumstances. Local authorities are expected to make reasonable decisions based on the needs of their population, the local transport infrastructure, and the resources they have available.

Most young people, including those in rural areas, have access to discounts or concessions from their local authority or transport providers. Some young people are also supported by the 16-19 Bursary Fund, and some schools or colleges provide free or subsidised transport directly.

The government also supports local bus travel, including in rural areas, through the Bus Service Operators Grant.

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), whether the Quality Assurance Agency requests data from higher education institutions regarding the number of cases of plagiarism and how those cases were handled each year.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

There is no centrally held set of data on the number of recorded plagiarism cases in higher education. This is an institutional matter and cases are handled by individual institutions.

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to increase the budget of the Heritage Schools programme.

Lord Nash

The funding for Historic England’s Heritage Schools programme in 2016-17 has not yet been confirmed. A decision will be made once the Department’s business planning process has concluded.