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1125926

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Railways: Concessions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the expenditure by local authorities on the provision of free rail passes for pupils (a) up to the age of 16 to travel to their nearest school and (b) from families on maximum working tax credit or entitlement to free school meals; and how many school pupils benefit from such rail passes.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
	tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
	uin	252867
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>​Local authorities have a statutory duty under section 508B of the Education Act 1996 to make travel arrangements to enable all eligible children of compulsory school age to attend their nearest suitable school. For low income families, there are additional rights to free home to school transport where children are entitled to Free School Meals or whose parents are in receipt of the maximum Working Tax Credit. It is for local authorities to decide how to fulfil that duty. They may, if they wish, provide pupils with rail passes. The information requested is not held centrally, regarding pupil numbers or detailed local authority expenditure.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/05/2019 12:11:32 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1125933

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupil Exclusions: Ethnic Groups
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of school exclusions for each ethnic group.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	252824
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The rate of exclusion varies by pupil ethnicity, with pupils of some ethnic groups more likely to be excluded and others less.[1]</p><p> </p><p>Last March, the Government commissioned Edward Timpson to explore how head teachers use exclusion and why some groups of pupils are more likely to be excluded than others.</p><p> </p><p>New analysis undertaken for the Timpson Review shows that some ethnic groups are more likely to be excluded after controlling for other observable characteristics. For example, after accounting for other factors, Black Caribbean children are around 1.7 times more likely to be permanently excluded compared to White British children, while Mixed White and Black Caribbean children are around 1.6 times more likely, and Indian and Bangladeshi pupils are around half as likely.</p><p> </p><p>Equally, children in some ethnic groups do not appear to be permanently excluded at a different rate from White British pupils, such as Black African children.</p><p> </p><p>The Timpson review, the analysis technical note, and the Government’s response can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-exclusions-review-call-for-evidence" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-exclusions-review-call-for-evidence</a>.</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017</a>. National tables, table 8.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 15/05/2019 12:13:50 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1125595

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Health Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure the new Abortion and Abortion Care Fact Sheet for schools is balanced and objective in its use of language.
	tabling member constituency	Congleton
	tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
	uin	252525
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>The Abortion and Abortion Care Factsheet was produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.</p><p>Schools are free to determine which resources they use, including materials to develop professional knowledge. Head teachers and subject specialists are best placed to make those decisions. The Department does not prescribe what must and must not be used.</p><p>Many schools work with specialist subject associations who help schools to access high quality materials, including resources that they have quality assured.</p><p>The Department is clear that in teaching about sensitive issues such as abortion, any teaching must be age-appropriate.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 14/05/2019 15:21:45 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

1125672

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Academies: Land
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the total loss of former public land to academy trusts.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	252621
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>When schools convert to academy status, in the vast majority of cases there is no loss of publicly funded land. Most school sites are owned by a local authority (LA). When such schools convert, the LA retains ownership of the land and leases it to the academy trust. Only where a school already owns their own land prior to conversion, and even then only in some instances, will the freehold transfer to the new academy trust. Further information on these land arrangements are available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-land-transfer-advice" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-land-transfer-advice</a>.</p><p>Where publicly funded land is legally held by an academy trust, it remains ‘publicly funded’ and therefore protected by legislation. No one can dispose or change the use of publicly funded school land without first getting consent from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Should an academy close, or part of the land become surplus, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has powers to return it to the LA, to transfer it to another academy, or to return the proceeds of any sale to the local authority.</p><p>As a further safeguard, all academy funding agreements since at least 2014 should contain an option for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State to acquire the academy trust’s legal interest in its land for nil consideration on the termination of the funding agreement. A version of this option was also in common use prior to 2014, but we do not have any central record of the rare instances in which it may have been absent.</p><p>The Department has not estimated the financial value of land without such an option in place. This is because even where this may be the case, all publicly funded land at academies remains subject to Schedule 1 of the Academies Act 2010. This allows the Secretary of State to direct the transfer of the land back to the local authority, or another academy trust, should the school cease to be an academy or seek to dispose of the land.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 252623 question first answered 14/05/2019 15:24:11 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1125674

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Academies: Land
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the financial value of public land which academy trusts own under contracts which do not contain the right of his Department to acquire the land at no cost upon termination of the funding agreement.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	252623
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>When schools convert to academy status, in the vast majority of cases there is no loss of publicly funded land. Most school sites are owned by a local authority (LA). When such schools convert, the LA retains ownership of the land and leases it to the academy trust. Only where a school already owns their own land prior to conversion, and even then only in some instances, will the freehold transfer to the new academy trust. Further information on these land arrangements are available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-land-transfer-advice" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-land-transfer-advice</a>.</p><p>Where publicly funded land is legally held by an academy trust, it remains ‘publicly funded’ and therefore protected by legislation. No one can dispose or change the use of publicly funded school land without first getting consent from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Should an academy close, or part of the land become surplus, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has powers to return it to the LA, to transfer it to another academy, or to return the proceeds of any sale to the local authority.</p><p>As a further safeguard, all academy funding agreements since at least 2014 should contain an option for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State to acquire the academy trust’s legal interest in its land for nil consideration on the termination of the funding agreement. A version of this option was also in common use prior to 2014, but we do not have any central record of the rare instances in which it may have been absent.</p><p>The Department has not estimated the financial value of land without such an option in place. This is because even where this may be the case, all publicly funded land at academies remains subject to Schedule 1 of the Academies Act 2010. This allows the Secretary of State to direct the transfer of the land back to the local authority, or another academy trust, should the school cease to be an academy or seek to dispose of the land.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 252621 question first answered 14/05/2019 15:24:11 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1125680

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Rural Areas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) Local Education Authorities and (b) Academy Chains undertook a rural proofing review of policies adopted in 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	252478
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>​The information requested is not held centrally.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published guidance on rural proofing for which local authorities, and others, can apply if they wish. The information is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rural-proofing" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rural-proofing</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 14/05/2019 11:54:52 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1125699

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Inspections
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in England that are due to close have been inspected by Ofsted in the last 12 months; how much did each such inspection cost; and what the outcomes were of each of those inspections.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	252627
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 14/05/2019 15:23:41 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1125701

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Inspections
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much notice (a) schools and (b) local authorities are given for Ofsted school inspections.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	252629
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 14/05/2019 15:26:33 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1125325

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupil Exclusions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what date he plans to conclude the consultation on how to make schools accountable for the outcomes of permanently excluded children.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	uin	252039
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to making schools accountable for pupils who are permanently excluded. As stated in the review of school exclusion led by Edward Timpson, this will require careful design. The Department will work with education leaders over the summer to design a consultation on how to deliver this in practice, including seeking views on how to mitigate the potential unintended consequences that are identified in that review. The consultation will be launched in the autumn and will comply with the Government’s published consultation principles.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 13/05/2019 16:32:34 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1125326

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupil Exclusions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he Is taking to minimise waiting times for permanently excluded pupils to be found a new school place.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	uin	252040
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s response to Edward Timpson’s review of school exclusion sets out our commitment to ensure that pupils who have been excluded from school continue to benefit from high-quality education.</p><p> </p><p>There are already duties in place to ensure children who are excluded from school are in education from the sixth day of their exclusion. The education provided must be full-time, or as close to full-time, if full-time would not be in a child’s best interests because of his or her health needs.</p><p> </p><p>Statutory guidance is also clear that schools should help to minimise the disruption that exclusion can cause to an excluded pupil’s education including considering starting alternative provision as soon as possible after the exclusion. In the case of a looked after child, the school and the local authority should work together to arrange alternative provision from the first day following the exclusion. Where it is not possible, or not appropriate, to arrange alternative provision during the first five school days of an exclusion, the school should take reasonable steps to set and mark work for the pupil.</p><p> </p><p>Fair access protocols exist to ensure that, outside the normal admissions round, unplaced children, especially the hardest to place and most vulnerable, are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible. However, the Department is aware there can be delays in the in-year admission of such children. As such, the Department is currently considering improvements to the in-year admission process, including Fair Access Protocols, to ensure that all children, especially the most vulnerable, can access a new school place as quickly as possible.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 13/05/2019 16:37:27 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner