Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government plans to provide for the removal of asbestos in maintained schools that are to be converted into academies.

Edward Timpson

The Government takes the issue of asbestos in schools very seriously and is supporting those in schools and responsible bodies who have the legal responsibility for safely managing asbestos in their schools.

The Department provides funding to schools to help them keep their school buildings in a good state of repair. Between 2015 and 2018 this investment will total £4.2 billion and schools and responsible bodies are able to use this funding to remove asbestos where that is appropriate.

For maintained schools, the local authority as responsible body receives an annual allocation of capital funding to repair and upgrade existing buildings. Local authorities are expected to treat fairly those schools considering conversion to an academy and to honour any commitments of capital funding that they have made, in respect of building projects at those schools.

Following conversion, a school can be part of a larger multi-academy trust, a smaller multi-academy trust or a standalone academy. Larger multi-academy trusts (MATs) have access to annual formulaic school condition allocations (SCA), which they can pass on to their constituent schools to address any serious asbestos concerns. For stand-alone academies and academies in smaller multi academy trusts, funding is available through the condition improvement fund (CIF) where they bid for capital funding. As set out in the guidance for prospective bidders, the highest priority is given to health and safety issues due to the poor condition of buildings, including emergency asbestos removal.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38720, if his Department will make an assessment of the likely effect on the free services currently being offered by community pharmacies of planned changes to funding.

Alistair Burt

The proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond are being considered in respect of the public sector equality duty, the family test and relevant duties of the Secretary of State under the National Health Service Act 2006. This includes the potential impact on quality or on the services offered by community pharmacies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether there are plans for NICE to review the process of patient involvement in technology appraisals.

Nicola Blackwood

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that it is currently reviewing its overall approach to patient and public involvement, including involvement in its technology appraisal process.

Initial proposals, based on the findings of a literature review, a stakeholder survey and meeting, and internal interviews, were presented to NICE’s public board meeting on 20 July 2016. Once approved by the Board, these proposals will go out for public consultation later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Officials in my Department have liaised with DWP as the lead Department for the Family Test to embed it into the policy process. Thiscould includetraining officials on applying the Test, disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to embed the Family Test into its policy making.

James Brokenshire

I refer the honourable member to my answer given to Parliamentary Question 15845 in response to a question tabled on 10 November by my honourable friend for Eastbourne.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many higher education institutions have had their funding allocated by the National College of Teaching and Leadership reduced as a consequence of training more teachers than places allocated in each academic year since 2010-11.

Nick Gibb

We have not reduced the funding for any higher education institutions (HEIs) as a consequence of training more teachers than places allocated since 2010-11.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which academies and academy chains employ trustees and directors who are paid salaries in excess of £142,500.

Edward Timpson

The information is available about each academy trust in the notes to their financial statements which are published online by the Department for Education and at Companies House.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has allocated to the Future Teaching Scholars programme for the 2016-17 cohort.

Nick Gibb

Funding for the Future Teaching Scholars programme is allocated by financial year rather than by cohort. £1.3m has been allocated for financial year 2016-17. This covers the £15,000 financial incentive to Scholars, continued marketing expenditure, and all programme delivery costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29811, on further education, if she will publish the minutes of each of those meetings.

Nick Boles

Minutes of the steering group meetings are not published as they are a series of internal discussions during which local stakeholders review post-16 provision in their area and work towards a set of recommendations. As such, each local steering group has space and autonomy to develop their proposals and discuss local issues effectively.

The Department is committed to making the outcomes transparent, and once each review reaches its conclusions, there will be a summary report published at the end of each Area Review process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.28 of the White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016, by what criteria her Department will assess which higher education institutions are assessed as the best universities for education and teacher training.

Nick Gibb

Our recent White Paper made a commitment to raising the quality of initial teacher training so that teaching continues to be a profession that attracts the brightest and the best. We want to ensure that training places are allocated to providers – both schools and universities – with a proven track record of effectively recruiting high-quality trainees, delivering high-quality programmes of training, and securing the best possible outcomes for trainees.

We will be setting out further detail of our plans to implement these reforms shortly. This will include confirming details of the quality criteria that we intend to use to inform the allocation of places to universities and schools for the training year 2017/18. We are currently holding discussions with stakeholders, including ITT providers and their representative bodies, to inform the development of appropriate criteria.