Tag: Nic Dakin

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on ensuring that all science-related government contracts and outsourced activities are awarded to organisations that demonstrate a commitment to high professional standards and invest in the professional development of their scientific workforce; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

All procurement processes must identify key objectives, performance indicators and critical success factors and ensure these are reflected in the tender documents against which organisations are invited to bid. Where appropriate, specific ongoing training and development needs can be included as specific terms in the final signed contract.

The Department awards research contracts through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Contractual conditions require that the research is carried out by appropriately experienced, qualified and trained personnel with all due skill, care and diligence.

The NIHR Faculty includes all of the people funded through NIHR contracts who work in the national health service, universities and registered charities in England. The NIHR Faculty offers career pathways in research and provides training and development opportunities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to accelerate family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.

We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of any correlation between the size of a school sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted for its sixth form provision.

Robert Halfon

The Department for Education has not made any assessment of the correlation between the size of a school’s sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted to that school with respect to its sixth-form provision. We continue to monitor school and sixth form performance on an ongoing basis using a range of metrics, including Ofsted inspection outcomes, minimum standards and performance table data.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the accessibility of the Sevenoaks Annex of Weald of Kent Grammar School to school-age people living in the community served by the original school.

Edward Timpson

Departmental advice for academies wishing to make a change to their existing arrangements is available on GOV.UK.

The new annexe will serve the same age range as the existing site of Weald of Kent Grammar School, which is 11-19. The admission arrangements apply across the whole school. It is the responsibility of the academy trust as the admission authority to ensure that admission arrangements are compliant with The School Admissions Code.

The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of school-age people in the community that it serves, with over 41% of students at the existing site already travelling from the Sevenoaks area.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to tackle low pay in Northern Ireland.

Mr Ben Wallace

Tackling low pay is part of the Government’s plan to move to a higher wage, lower tax and lower welfare society.

100,000 low-paid people in Northern Ireland, 13 per cent of the workforce, will directly benefit from the National Living Wage from April next year.

A full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage will be £1,200 better off as a result.

The Government’s plan is working. Official figures published last week show that weekly earnings for full-time employees in Northern Ireland were up 5.4 per cent over the year. The highest growth rate of all regions in the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academies were in deficit in each year since 2009-10; and what the total deficit was in academies in each such year.

Edward Timpson

The Department does not hold this information in the form requested. Academies are operated by the legal entity of academy trusts, many of which operate multiple academies across multiple local authorities. As such, it is not possible to give local authority figures.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects A-Levels in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) Religious Studies and (e) Geography to be approved by awarding bodies for teaching from September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what functions are delegated to each specialist contractor hired by her Department to advise regional school commissioners.

Edward Timpson

Invitation to tender including the contract was published on contracts finder on GOV.UK on 12 August 2015 at:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/fcbd797d-c613-47f5-8853-79f2ad7d74a9

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 24002, on further education, how many steering group meetings of area reviews of post-16 education and training in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire took place without representatives of the (i) regional schools commissioner and (ii) local enterprise partnership being present in each of the last six months.

Nick Boles

There are a range of ways in which Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and members of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) can contribute to area reviews, for instance through the National Area Review Advisory Group.

It is expected that there will be at least five steering group meetings in each review. To date all Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings and RSCs and LEPs are members. They or their representatives have attended the majority of these meetings.

In Birmingham and Solihull, one meeting in December 2015 took place without an RSC representative present.

In Greater Manchester, one meeting in November 2015 took place without an RSC representative present and one meeting in December 2015 took place without either an RSC or LEP representative present.

In Sheffield City Region, one meeting in December 2015 took place without an RSC representative present.

In Tees Valley, all meetings have taken place with a RSC or LEP representative present.

In Sussex, one meeting in February 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

In the Solent, one meeting in November 2015 and one meeting in January 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

In West Yorkshire, one meeting in November 2015, one meeting in December 2015 and one meeting in January 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

Both a RSC and LEP representative have been present at all other steering group meetings of the Wave 1 area reviews.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that local authorities are required to take action on education and early years settings that intentionally exclude disabled children and do not meet their legal duties to such children under the Equality Act 2010.

Edward Timpson

Promoting equality in education settings is a priority for this Government. In combination with our guidance to schools on managing medical conditions, the Equality Act 2010 provides a broad basis for ensuring that disabled pupils are included and supported to achieve their full potential.

The Equality Act requires all schools (whether maintained or academy) to produce an accessibility plan. These plans ensure that all aspects of school life are accessible to disabled pupils. The Act also requires Local Authorities to produce accessibility strategies with the same aims as the school-level plan, but with different coverage. There is no evidence of schools or early years settings systematically refusing to accept disabled children. However, we do take action where individual cases are brought to our attention.

Our Early Implementer Package for the new extended childcare offer will include testing how we can improve access for children with SEN and disabilities. This will provide critical information before the national rollout.

Any exclusions from school must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Schools have a legal duty not to discriminate against a pupil because of a protected characteristic. The statutory guidance on exclusion emphasises the importance of early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour, including an assessment of whether suitable provision is in place to support any SEN or disability a pupil may have. It also states that headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with a statement of SEN.

In certain circumstances, governing bodies must review head teachers’ decisions to exclude and have the power to reinstate a pupil. Where a governing body upholds a permanent exclusion, parents can request that the decision is reviewed by an independent review panel. However, the governing body has the final say on whether the pupil can return to the school. Parents can request that a SEN expert provides impartial advice to the panel.

Parents can also make a claim to the First-tier Tribunal (SEN and Disabilities) when it is alleged that an exclusion relates to disability discrimination. The Tribunal has the power to order the pupil’s reinstatement.

When Ofsted inspect a school and look at the behaviour management policies they can also consider whether the school is disproportionately excluding pupils with disabilities and can use this to inform their assessment.