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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

1125713

	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	Children in Care
	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 (a) number of and (b) reasons for children being taken into care.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	252568
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>Information on the number of children who started to be looked after during the year by reason is published in Table C1 in the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England including Adoption’ at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018</a>. Information for children taken into care is shown in the attached tabled.</p><p>The government wants every child to be in a stable, loving home that is right for them. One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system, is that children are best looked after within their families. However, that is not always possible and, as a last resort, local authorities can apply to the courts for a care or supervision order where the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. In making their decisions, the courts must be satisfied that the threshold for significant harm has been met and that taking the child from his or her family’s care will be in the child’s best interests.</p><p> </p><p>Where a child cannot live at home, we must make sure they are safe and receive the highest quality care, which is why we are working hard to improve the social care support for children across England through our reform programme, Putting Children First. We have also established the Children’s Social Care What Works Centre, whose initial research priority focuses on ‘what works in safely reducing the need for children to enter care’.</p><p> </p><p>In the Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an additional £410 million for adult and children’s social care in 2019-20. A further £84 million is also being invested over the next 5 years through the Strengthening Families, Protecting Children programme. This programme will support up to 20 local authorities with high or rising demand for children’s social care services to improve the support offered to vulnerable children and their families. Through this, we aim to enable more children to stay at home thriving in stable family environments, and safely reduce the number of children entering care.</p><p> </p><p>Across the government, we are also tackling the problems that cause children to be in need in the first place. This includes better supporting those with alcohol-dependent parents, the introduction of landmark legislation for those affected by domestic abuse, preventing young people being drawn into serious violence, and unprecedented investment in early years education and support for children and young people’s mental health.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi grouped question UIN 252574 question first answered 14/05/2019 15:46:32 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi attachment 1 file name 252568_252574_Children_In_Care_Table.doc title 252568_252574_Table
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1125743

	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	Children in Care
	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 reduce the number of children being taken into care; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures implemented by his Department to support that aim.
	tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
	tabling member printed	Tim Farron
	uin	252574
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>Information on the number of children who started to be looked after during the year by reason is published in Table C1 in the statistical release ‘Children Looked After in England including Adoption’ at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2017-to-2018</a>. Information for children taken into care is shown in the attached tabled.</p><p>The government wants every child to be in a stable, loving home that is right for them. One of the key principles of the legislation which underpins the UK’s child protection system, is that children are best looked after within their families. However, that is not always possible and, as a last resort, local authorities can apply to the courts for a care or supervision order where the child is suffering, or is at risk of suffering, significant harm. In making their decisions, the courts must be satisfied that the threshold for significant harm has been met and that taking the child from his or her family’s care will be in the child’s best interests.</p><p> </p><p>Where a child cannot live at home, we must make sure they are safe and receive the highest quality care, which is why we are working hard to improve the social care support for children across England through our reform programme, Putting Children First. We have also established the Children’s Social Care What Works Centre, whose initial research priority focuses on ‘what works in safely reducing the need for children to enter care’.</p><p> </p><p>In the Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an additional £410 million for adult and children’s social care in 2019-20. A further £84 million is also being invested over the next 5 years through the Strengthening Families, Protecting Children programme. This programme will support up to 20 local authorities with high or rising demand for children’s social care services to improve the support offered to vulnerable children and their families. Through this, we aim to enable more children to stay at home thriving in stable family environments, and safely reduce the number of children entering care.</p><p> </p><p>Across the government, we are also tackling the problems that cause children to be in need in the first place. This includes better supporting those with alcohol-dependent parents, the introduction of landmark legislation for those affected by domestic abuse, preventing young people being drawn into serious violence, and unprecedented investment in early years education and support for children and young people’s mental health.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi grouped question UIN 252568 question first answered 14/05/2019 15:46:32 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi attachment 1 file name 252568_252574_Children_In_Care_Table.doc title 252568_252574_Table
	tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

1125422

	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	English Language and Mathematics: GCSE
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to introduce Essential skills Maths and English for students with lower levels of attainment in respect of the GCSE curriculum.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	251989
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>The government recognises the importance of English and maths both in work and everyday life. In England, we want to ensure that pupils benefit from reformed GCSEs, which are the gold standard qualification at 16. The new GCSEs are better at equipping young people with the literacy and numeracy required for further study and employment.</p><p> </p><p>Students in England who leave school without a GCSE grade 4/C or above in English and maths have to continue studying these subjects.</p><p> </p><p>Post-16 students with prior attainment of a GCSE grade 2 or below have a choice of which qualification to study including GCSEs and functional skills qualifications. We are reforming functional skills qualifications to improve their rigour and relevance, as well as improving their recognition amongst employers.</p> answering member constituency Guildford answering member printed Anne Milton question first answered 14/05/2019 09:37:05 answering member 1523 label Biography information for Anne Milton
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

1125436

	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	Children in Care
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department holds on the number of children of offenders currently in the care system.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
	tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
	uin	252096
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>​The department does not collect information specifically on the number of children of offenders taken into care and the costs associated with this.</p><p>Information is collected on the main category of need for which a child is looked-after, including low income, family in acute stress or family dysfunction, but within those categories offending by a parent is not identified separately as a reason for a child to be looked-after. The main category of need is dependent on an individual child’s circumstances; not solely a shared characteristic of parental offending. Children who are in need simply because a parent has been imprisoned but the reason for imprisonment bears no relation to the child being in need can be included as in need under the category of absent parenting.</p><p>The cost of support and care placements varies across individual children. Local authorities are required to submit their spending on children in care to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, which is published annually. We also publish information on the average weekly unit costs of looked after children, by local authority, in the Local Authority Interactive Tool.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi grouped question UIN 252107 question first answered 14/05/2019 10:00:16 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
	tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft