Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure that adequate ring-fenced funding is provided to local authorities so they can successfully deliver the Government’s childcare provision targets.

Mr Sam Gyimah

We have already announced over £1bn more for the early years entitlements within the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Grant by 2019-20, which includes £300m to uplift the funding rate to providers. The increase to the funding rate is based on robust evidence from the Review of the Cost of Childcare. We have made clear our commitment to maximise the amount of this funding which reaches front line childcare providers, and will consult on proposals for achieving this as part of our consultation on early years funding reform later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department holds on the relationship between the A-level grades achieved by prospective teachers and their later performance in the classroom.

Nick Gibb

Evidence, including a seminal McKinsey study from 2007 (How the world’s best-performing schools come out on top), shows that teacher quality and impact cannot be predicted by a single factor such as A-Level grades, but result from a complex combination of factors including academic achievement combined with characteristics and attributes such as communication skills, willingness to learn and motivation to teach.

The Teachers’ Standards, developed by a group of leading teachers and heads, clearly define the core elements of effective teaching – including strong subject knowledge and the promotion of scholarship, as well as skills such as classroom management. All new teachers must demonstrate that they are meeting the standards at the end of their initial training.

It is important that providers of initial teacher training are able to select and recruit candidates on the basis of their potential and their academic achievement to date; this is why we are giving schools much greater say in recruiting and training candidates who can be successful in the classroom. This year, over half of all postgraduate trainees are coming through school-led routes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that proposed Ofsted local area inspections include a requirement that Local Offers should contain clear information about local play opportunities and entitlements.

Edward Timpson

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to develop and publish a Local Offer setting out the support they expect to be available for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities in their local area. The Local Offer must include information about leisure activities which may include information about play opportunities.

The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections will consider how effectively the local area identifies, meets the needs of and improves the outcomes of the wide range of different groups^[1] of children and young people who have special educational needs or disabilities as defined in the Act and described in the Code of Practice.

Ofsted and CQC will draw on a range of sources, including the local offer, to identify key lines of enquiry and to support assessment of the effectiveness of the local area.

Ofsted and CQC will publish an inspection report that will outline the evidence that inspectors reviewed and provide a summary of key findings including the local area’s strengths and areas requiring further development.

The inspection framework and handbook are available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-framework

[1] These groups of children and young people are detailed in Part 2 of the ‘Handbook for the inspection of local areas’ effectiveness in identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities’.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she still plans to introduce compulsory resit tests in (a) English reading and (b) mathematics for year 7 pupils who do not reach the required standard at the end of key stage 2.

Nick Gibb

The Secretary of State has already announced the Government’s plans to introduce resits in Year 7. This announcement can found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nicky-morgan-no-tolerance-of-areas-where-majority-of-pupils-fail.

We have been clear that the resits will not be implemented in the next academic year and that we will engage with the education sector to make sure the tests are introduced in a way that works for schools. Further information will be provided in due course.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report of the Decision Support Unit commissioned by NICE, Assessing technologies that are not cost-effective at zero price, published in July 2014, what progress has been made on the appraisal of combination medicines; and how policy for dealing with such medicines has changed as a result of that report.

Nicola Blackwood

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has advised that it is actively exploring with colleagues in the pharmaceutical industry what policy responses could be developed to deal with the issues that have been raised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department was notified of the decision to use French steel to build the Trident successor submarines.

Mr Nick Hurd

The management of the steel procurement process for the Successor Programme is the responsibility of the Prime Contractor, BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence conducted a technical assessment during the tendering process to ensure bids met specifications. Overall, 85% of BAE System’s supply chain for the new submarines is based in the UK. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is working closely with the Ministry of Defence and the Crown Commercial Service in the implementation of steel-specific guidance on future procurements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to disability benefits on spending by the NHS.

Justin Tomlinson

Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance are universal benefits that help with the extra costs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. Spending on these benefits increased by over £2 billion over the course of the last parliament and we expect to be spending over £21 billion this year. We would expect individuals to be accessing the relevant support services, regardless of benefit receipt and do not expect the reforms to disability benefits to impact health services. We have also set up the Work and Health Joint Unit with the Department of Health to improve health and employment outcomes for claimants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department has taken to embed the family test into its policy making.

Mr Ben Wallace

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many PGCE places were allocated to universities and higher education providers for entry in 2015-16; and what the planned allocation of such places is for entry in 2016-17.

Nick Gibb

The National College for Teaching and Leadership is responsible for the management of initial teacher training places and national teacher recruitment.

Data on allocations to universities and higher education providers for 2015/16 can be found online in table A2b: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

We have introduced a new system for postgraduate ITT recruitment for the 2016/17 academic year. Full information has been published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-itt-recruitment-controls

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the regional schools commissioners have oversight of performance of sixth forms in academies; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Regional Schools Commissioners are responsible for monitoring the performance of academies within their region, including performance at sixth form level. Decisions regarding intervention action are informed by the academy’s performance against minimum standards, including the 16-19 minimum standards, and Ofsted judgements, as well as local intelligence.