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1507238

registered interest
date	21/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on the number of children living in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Bath
tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
uin	53478
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The department does not currently have any plans to assess the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on the number of children living in poverty who are not eligible for free school meals (FSM). However, the department continues to monitor the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue and the department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are claiming FSM. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, the greatest ever proportion of school children, 37.5%, are now provided with FSM.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 28/09/2022 16:34:10 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1507407

registered interest
date	21/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	STEM Subjects: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps the Government has taken to encourage young people to take up STEM qualifications.
tabling member constituency	North Swindon
tabling member printed	Justin Tomlinson
uin	53387
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>To ensure a strong pipeline of qualified students into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, the department has committed substantial spending on mathematics, digital and technical education. This includes funding the Stimulating Physics Network which provides tailored support to schools to increase rates of progression to physics A level and funding an Inclusion in Schools project, delivered by the Association for Science Education, which is designed to increase the uptake of A level physics from students in underrepresented groups, including girls. The department has also funded an £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and participation at GCSE and A level, particularly amongst girls.</p><p>Additionally, the department has funded research programmes to investigate ways to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects, including the Improving Gender Balance national research trial for physics and the Gender Balance in Computing Programme. The computing research, led by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has now concluded and its findings will be published in due course.</p><p>The department has introduced T Levels as a high-quality technical alternative to A levels. The current T Levels in Science and Digital, as well as the upcoming T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing, will provide opportunities for all students to study STEM-related subjects. To challenge stereotypes which may hold young people back, including gender stereotypes, we are using T Level ambassadors to showcase a wide range of voices from those already studying T levels, including girls taking STEM-related T Levels.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 53388 question first answered 28/09/2022 15:42:48 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson

1507434

registered interest
date	21/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	STEM Subjects: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more women to take up STEM qualifications.
tabling member constituency	North Swindon
tabling member printed	Justin Tomlinson
uin	53388
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>To ensure a strong pipeline of qualified students into science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, the department has committed substantial spending on mathematics, digital and technical education. This includes funding the Stimulating Physics Network which provides tailored support to schools to increase rates of progression to physics A level and funding an Inclusion in Schools project, delivered by the Association for Science Education, which is designed to increase the uptake of A level physics from students in underrepresented groups, including girls. The department has also funded an £84 million programme to improve computing teaching and participation at GCSE and A level, particularly amongst girls.</p><p>Additionally, the department has funded research programmes to investigate ways to tackle gender balance in STEM subjects, including the Improving Gender Balance national research trial for physics and the Gender Balance in Computing Programme. The computing research, led by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, has now concluded and its findings will be published in due course.</p><p>The department has introduced T Levels as a high-quality technical alternative to A levels. The current T Levels in Science and Digital, as well as the upcoming T Levels in Engineering and Manufacturing, will provide opportunities for all students to study STEM-related subjects. To challenge stereotypes which may hold young people back, including gender stereotypes, we are using T Level ambassadors to showcase a wide range of voices from those already studying T levels, including girls taking STEM-related T Levels.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 53387 question first answered 28/09/2022 15:42:48 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson

1506506

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Care Homes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference the BBC Radio 4 File on Four programme on private children's residential care companies on 3 July 2022, what steps he is taking to strike off private companies that fail to meet the legal standards required to operate residential care.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>Ofsted is the regulator for children’s homes in England. They operate a rigorous inspection regime for the inspection and monitoring of children's homes including ensuring that all providers meet legal standards as set out in legislation.</p><p>Ofsted takes action where a children’s home is providing inadequate care. This can include suspending a provider, cancelling their registration and/or placing restrictions on the number of children that can be cared for by the home.</p><p>The department is looking at ways to improve the system and are working closely with Ofsted to explore additional new powers that would strengthen their regulatory ability. Both the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care and the Competition and Markets Authority’s study of the children’s social care market made recommendations for revising the legislation and guidance for children's care standards and improving market oversight. We will be responding to these reports by the end of this year.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 27/09/2022 09:42:25 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506530

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Transport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of rises in the cost of fuel on the (a) provision and (b) cost of school transport for (i) children and (ii) young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the current academic year.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	51853
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department is offering support to help people with costs such as childcare, bills and transport. The government’s dedicated website provides more information about cost of living support. It is available at: <a href="https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p>Our home to school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free home to school transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance or due to their special educational needs or disability. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. Home to school travel and transport guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 27/09/2022 08:30:08 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1506657

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to analysis by Child Poverty Action Group, published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the finding that 800,000 were children living in poverty who were not eligible for free school meals.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	52067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the rising cost of living and its impact on free school meals (FSM), whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue.</p><p>The department believes it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, and those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these are supporting those who most need them.</p><p>In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while these remain affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>Additionally, the government is providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via the department’s holiday activities and food programme, which provides breakfast clubs in thousands of schools. The department is as also delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme, along with wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 52068 question first answered 27/09/2022 08:21:37 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1506658

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the eligibility criteria for and (b) the potential merits of providing universal free school meals in advance of the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, West Derby
tabling member printed	Ian Byrne
uin	52068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the rising cost of living and its impact on free school meals (FSM), whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue.</p><p>The department believes it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, and those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these are supporting those who most need them.</p><p>In setting a threshold, the government believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while these remain affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.</p><p>Additionally, the government is providing over £200 million per year for the next three years to provide healthy food in the holidays via the department’s holiday activities and food programme, which provides breakfast clubs in thousands of schools. The department is as also delivering the School Fruit and Vegetable scheme, along with wider government schemes such as Healthy Start vouchers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 52067 question first answered 27/09/2022 08:21:37 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4831 label Biography information for Ian Byrne

1506768

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Nurseries: Cost of Living
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on nurseries.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department is exploring ways to mitigate the impact of the rising cost of living on early years providers and the children in their care. We are in regular contact with local authorities to monitor their delivery of childcare and gauge the impact at local levels.</p><p>The new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers including all UK businesses. Providers in all Department of Education sectors, including providers of childcare on non-domestic premises, are eligible for this scheme.</p><p>The department will continue to work closely with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to monitor the impacts of this scheme and of energy costs on the early years and childcare sector.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 51821 question first answered 27/09/2022 08:46:40 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506771

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Nurseries: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to provide all children in nurseries with access to (a) nutritious and (b) hot meals every day.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51818
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework requires that where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. This is set out at Section 3.38, which also refers to example menus and guidance designed specifically for early years settings.</p><p> </p><p>The EYFS statutory framework can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 28/09/2022 13:46:33 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1506773

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has he made of trends in the availability of childcare places (a) nationally and (b) in York.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	51820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>The department continues to monitor the sufficiency of childcare nationally. The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data currently shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in our regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency issues and we have not seen a substantial number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either nationally or in York specifically.</p><p>According to findings from the 2021 childcare and early years providers survey, 70% of group-based providers reported having spare places in their full day provision and 49% reported having spare capacity on average across the week: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021</a>.</p><p>The department does not hold information on the trends in the availability of childcare in York.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 27/09/2022 10:09:53 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell