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1144098

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Leader of the House of Lords
	answering dept id	92
	answering dept short name
	answering dept sort name	Leader of the House of Lords
	hansard heading	Ministers: Correspondence
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the protocol governing the timeliness and appropriateness of ministerial responses to communications from parliamentarians.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL17586
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence and written questions. The right of parliamentarians to take up issues directly with the Government is an important part of the democratic process and underlines the accountability of Ministers to Parliament. Each government department has their own protocol on the timelines for correspondence responses to be sent out, and parliamentarians should contact departments if they feel that responses they receive are not timely or effective. My private office is in regular contact with the private offices of my front bench team to ensure that the Lords front bench's correspondence to parliamentarians is answered promptly and effectively.</p> answering member printed Baroness Evans of Bowes Park question first answered 26/09/2019 12:37:10 answering member 4329 label Biography information for Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

173161

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Community Relations
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, to Question 218133, to which policies he was referring as the Government's broader social inclusion and integration policies.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
	tabling member printed	Mr David Blunkett
	uin	220410
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2015 answer text <p>I refer the rt. hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement on integration made by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Eric Pickles) on 18 December 2014, <em>Official Report,</em> column 110-118WS and to the Government's Social Mobility Strategy Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers, published in 2011.</p> answering member constituency Bristol West answering member printed Stephen Williams question first answered 15/01/2015 17:12:16 answering member 1492 label Biography information for Stephen Williams
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

229348

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2015
	answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Research
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 20 March 2015, HCWS 438, on unpublished research reports commissioned by the last Administration, what the evidential basis is for the assertion that his Department commissions research better than did previous administrations.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
	tabling member printed	Mr David Blunkett
	uin	228868
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2015 answer text <p>Since 2010 the Department’s processes for commissioning research from external organisations have been strengthened. All research proposals must meet a set of criteria agreed with Ministers before they can go to tender. These are:</p><ol><li>Is the project endorsed by Ministers or senior officials or is the proposal something the Department needs to or is reasonably expected to do?</li><li>Does the project need to be commissioned now or can the work be deferred to a later date?</li><li>What is the justification for this work?</li><li>Is the project value for money and is the Department’s share of the cost reasonable?</li></ol><p> </p><p>Ministers scrutinise prospective research proposals at an early stage which allows them to influence the research proposal and ensure external commissions meet the Department’s priorities and provide value for money.<br><br></p><p> </p><p>Fully-developed research proposals are scrutinised by the Department’s Research Gateway panel – which comprises the Heads of Analytical Profession and senior representatives from Finance and Procurement. This panel reviews the proposed research methodologies, costs and procurement strategy to ensure these are necessary and the commission will deliver robust results at reasonable cost to the tax-payer.<br><br></p><p> </p><p>Project officers are challenged by the panel to justify the need for the work, the proposed cost and the expected outputs. The panel routinely encourages the use of innovative research methods to drive costs down. Opportunities for co-funding are routinely investigated before research contracts are procured.<br><br></p><p> </p><p>Following approval by the Research Gateway, research proposals are then sent to Ministers for final approval to proceed to procurement. This offers Ministers a further opportunity to ensure that external research commissions are meeting their criteria to deliver robust and cost-effective results.<br><br></p><p> </p><p>I would add that the last Administration spent £25.6 million on research projects that were commissioned but not published before May 2010, and many of those projects did not represent value for money for taxpayers - as evident by the fact that many were unpublished for years.</p> answering member constituency Keighley answering member printed Kris Hopkins question first answered 26/03/2015 11:46:50 answering member 4043 label Biography information for Kris Hopkins
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1064585

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Visual Impairment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision is made for students with visual impairments undertaking GCSE and A Level examinations to ensure that they have their chosen reading format available.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL13904
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2019 answer text <p>This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the noble Lord and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL13905 question first answered 01/03/2019 13:07:40 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1064586

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Visual Impairment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers they have provided to the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation to monitor the consistency and accuracy of examination papers transcribed into other reading formats such as Braille.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL13905
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2019 answer text <p>This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write directly to the noble Lord and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton grouped question UIN HL13904 question first answered 01/03/2019 13:07:40 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1064587

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	National Curriculum Tests: Visual Impairment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which institution or body within the current education framework is responsible for the prompt availability of past SAT papers in formats such as Braille and large print and to ensure that such papers are available without charge.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL13906
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) develops modified versions of national curriculum tests (commonly known as SATs) in modified large print (MLP) and braille. They are primarily designed for pupils with visual impairments, although they may be suitable for pupils with other needs.</p><p>Schools can request hard copies of past braille and MLP papers from the STA’s Modified Test Agency and can also access practice papers for MLP versions in the ‘practice test materials’ section of the National Curriculum Assessment Tools website.</p><p>Past versions of modified tests are available free of charge to schools.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 05/03/2019 14:37:28 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1104647

	registered interest
	date	25/03/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Vocational Education: Qualifications
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 19 March (HLWS1393), what part the BTEC National Diploma will play in the future examination framework and the current proposal to rigidly differentiate T levels qualifications from academic options.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL14772
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/04/2019 answer text <p>As announced in the Written Statement on 19 March (HLWS1393), the first part of a two-part consultation reviewing qualifications at level 3 and below (excluding A levels and GCSEs) was launched on 19 March and will conclude on 10 June. The second part of the consultation will open later in the year.</p><p>The government is reviewing qualifications at level 3 and below for post-16 students and proposes to stop funding qualifications which are low quality and do not have a clear purpose. Analysis published by the department has highlighted over 12,000 courses that are currently on offer to young people at level 3 and below, with multiple qualifications available in the same subject areas.</p><p>As identified in the ‘Review of vocational education: the Wolf report’, the ‘Post-16 skills plan’ and the ‘Report of the independent panel on technical education’, many of these qualifications are poor quality and offer little value to students or employers. Although many qualifications were reformed to meet performance table criteria following Professor Wolf’s report, there is still much to do to raise the standard of all qualifications. Once the review has concluded, the government’s aim is that qualifications available alongside A levels, T levels and apprenticeships will be high quality and will set students on a clear path to a job, further education or training. All three reports are attached.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name Review_of-vocational_education_the_Wolf_report.pdf title Review_of-vocational_education_the_Wolf_report 2 file name Post_16_Skills_Plan.pdf title Post_16_Skills_Plan 3 file name Report_of_the_Independent_Panel_on_Technical_Education.pdf title Report_of_the_Independent_Panel_on_Technical_Educa question first answered 02/04/2019 16:08:12 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1135061

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Graduates: Pay
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that longitudinal education outcomes data take account of regional variations in salaries across the UK.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL16688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>We have recently received data on the current region of residence of graduates in the 2016/17 tax year and have incorporated this into the Longitudinal Education Outcomes data. The Department for Education has announced that we will be publishing experimental statistics using this data to look at the employment and earnings outcomes of graduates by their geographical location on 18 July 2019.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 05/07/2019 11:37:21 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1135062

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Graduates: Employment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the regional retention of graduates.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL16689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>It is important that universities focus on ensuring that their graduates have the skills needed, including technical, vocational and transferable skills, to gain a positive outcome from their degree. The higher education regulator, the Office for Students’ (OfS), primary aim is to ensure that higher education delivers positive outcomes for students and it has a regulatory focus to ensure that students are able to progress into employment or further study.</p><p>The government is supporting regional growth and retention of graduates in a number of ways. For example, on 16 May 2019, the OfS announced £5.6 million funding for 15 projects aiming to support the transition to highly skilled employment and improve outcomes for graduates who seek employment in their home region. Details of this can be found here, and are also attached:</p><p><a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/no-place-like-home/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/no-place-like-home/</a></p><p>Similarly, the UK Research and Innovation “Strength in Places Fund” is a competitive fund for collaborative bids between research institutions and businesses to support significant regional growth through research and innovation. Details can be found here, and are also attached:</p><p><a href="https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/" target="_blank">https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/</a></p><p>University Enterprise Zones are specific geographical areas where universities and business work together to increase local growth and innovation. As part of Budget 2018, £10 million was announced to fund up to 10 further zones. Details can be found here, and are also attached:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/university-enterprise-zones/university-enterprise-zones" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/university-enterprise-zones/university-enterprise-zones</a></p><p>Furthermore, the government part funds the National Centre for Universities and Business Collaboration, which helps universities and businesses across the UK work together. This is important to support the creation of a cycle of economic growth, providing jobs and quality of life for highly skilled graduates.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name HL16689_OfS_Report.pdf title HL16689_Report 2 file name HL16689_UK_Research_and_Innovation_Report.pdf title HL16689_Report 3 file name HL16689_University_Enterprise_Zones_Report.pdf title HL16689_Report question first answered 05/07/2019 13:42:50 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1135063

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Post-18 Education and Funding Review
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their assessment of the review of post-18 education and funding will take into account regional variations in salaries when examining the personal economic benefits of university study to graduates.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL16690
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The independent panel’s report to the government is an important step in the review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The government will carefully consider the panel’s recommendations and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions regarding the recommendations put forward.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 04/07/2019 13:22:05 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett