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143445

	registered interest
	date	07/11/2014
	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	House of Lords: Select Committee Reports
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask the Leader of the House how many times in the last 10 years no Government response to a Lords Select Committee report was forthcoming eight months or longer after the report’s publication; and what were the subjects of the report or reports in question.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL2730
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2014 answer text <p>This information is not held centrally; it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stowell of Beeston question first answered 21/11/2014 14:44:34 answering member 4205 label Biography information for Baroness Stowell of Beeston
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

222766

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2015
	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	Local Government
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support and champion England’s traditional counties.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL5107
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/03/2015 answer text <p>England’s traditional counties date back over a thousand years of English history, but many of the counties have been sidelined by Whitehall in recent decades, whether by the bland municipal restructuring of Edward Heath’s Government in 1972, or by the imposition of artificial regional structures by the last Labour Government based on the EU’s Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (the appropriately-named “NUTS” Regulations).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Yet the tapestry of England’s counties binds our nation together, and is interwoven with our cultural fabric – from our cricket to our ales. So this Government has taken a series of steps to champion our traditional counties:</p><p> </p><p>• We have amended planning regulations to allow local and county flags to be flown without planning permission, and published a plain English guide to flying flags. Previously, flying a county flag on an existing flag pole required a princely sum of £335 to be paid to the council.</p><p>• We have supported the Flag Institute in publishing a new guide for would-be vexillologists to encourage a new wave of county and other local flags to be designed and flown. http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/creating-local-and-community-flags/</p><p>• My Department has flown a range of county flags in Whitehall to mark different county days, including Cumberland, Huntingdonshire, Westmorland and Middlesex. We have also flown flags to celebrate other historic localities such as those of the Ridings of Yorkshire and of Wessex – the kingdom which gave birth to the united English nation.</p><p>• We are changing highways regulations to allow traditional county names to appear on boundary road signs. The previous rules prevented unitary councils like Blackpool from having a road sign saying ‘Lancashire’, or Poole saying ‘Dorset’ – since they were not considered to be part of the ‘administrative county’.</p><p>• We have a new online interactive map of England’s different county boundaries. http://communities.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Compare/storytelling_compare/index.html?appid=7b0e661ef66b4a7aacb5a9acf55108ac</p><p>• Ordnance Survey, the Government’s National Mapping Agency, now provides a dataset of current, ceremonial counties (counties retained for the purposes of representing Her Majesty by Lord Lieutenants and High Sheriffs). http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/help-and-support/products/boundary-line.html</p><p>• I can also announce to the House today that from May a dataset of the traditional, historic counties based on 19th Century boundaries will be available on the OS OpenData portal. These datasets are compatible with the OS Boundary-Line product which is available to all free of charge. Ordnance Survey is also going to provide a viewing map window on their website showing both the historic and ceremonial County boundaries on top of a base map.</p><p>• Later in the year, Ordnance Survey is hoping to publish a paper map of the Historic Counties of England, Scotland and Wales (as defined in the Local Government Act 1888 for England and Wales and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 for Scotland), which will be available to the general public to purchase and proudly display.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are stronger as a nation when we cherish and champion our local and traditional ties. This Government is proud to wave the flag of St George and Union flag alongside our county flags. Whatever one’s class, colour or creed, we should have pride in our English identity within the United Kingdom’s Union that binds us all together.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 10/03/2015 15:07:14 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

101714

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Bullying
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to tackle homophobic bullying in schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL2523
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2014 answer text <p>The Government has made preventing and tackling bullying one of its top priorities by striking the right balance between schools’ legal requirements, freedom and accountability.</p><p>On 16 October, the Department for Education announced the £25 million National Prospectus grants programme. Voluntary and community sector organisations, social enterprises and other organisations will be able to bid for part of this funding to tackle bullying. On 29 October, in tandem with the Government Equalities Office, the Department also announced that £2 million will be made available in 2015-16 to help schools tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying more effectively.</p><p>All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to address all forms of bullying, including homophobic bullying. We have strengthened teachers’ powers to tackle bullying and are providing £4 million to anti-bullying organisations that are working with schools and children to combat bullying. We have also issued specific advice to schools on preventing and tackling bullying in which we link to national organisations such as Stonewall who can provide specialist advice to schools to tackle homophobia. This information is published online at:</p><p><a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying</a></p><p>Schools are also held to account by Ofsted for their effectiveness in managing pupil behaviour and safety, which includes homophobic bullying. Inspectors must consider pupils’ freedom from all forms of harassment, bullying and discrimination. As part of the inspection, schools are asked to make available evidence of records and analysis of bullying, in particular homophobic bullying.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 06/11/2014 16:59:46 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

174841

	registered interest
	date	20/01/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Cadets
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to encourage more maintained schools to work with independent schools in establishing new cadet units.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL4268
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2015 answer text <p>Many of our most respected independent schools and some state schools have for over 100 years looked to military themed activities to give their pupils a sense of discipline, adventure and achievement.</p><p> </p><p>Partnership with an existing cadet unit provides many benefits to state funded schools wanting to set up new units under our Cadet Expansion Programme. Partnership helps to share good practice and transfer skills, especially into schools with no prior military experience. There are many established independent school cadet units willing to partner with state schools.</p><p> </p><p>To date 23 of the 65 schools approved to establish a cadet unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme are benefiting from such a partnership. While we strongly encourage partnership to help schools establish a new unit, we also encourage them to develop their aspirations to establish a stand-alone unit that is able to deliver the cadet experience to many more of their pupils.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 23/01/2015 13:59:16 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

223412

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Classics: Education
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that changes to examination qualifications now under discussion do not set back the expansion of classics teaching in maintained schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL5165
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p>Our reform programme for GCSE and A levels is intended to ensure they are demanding and more rigorous. We have taken account of a wide range of concerns in ensuring that the final content for ancient language GCSEs provides a suitable preparation for further study. The published content for A and AS levels has been designed to allow the development of new stand-alone AS qualifications, including for ancient languages, that can be co-taught with the A level. We are supporting secondary schools by funding £500,000 of training for non-specialist teachers of Latin in state schools, which will to help them get to grips with the GCSE standard.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 02/03/2015 17:01:31 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

223866

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Private Education: Vetting
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they are making to ensure that independent schools are in a position to comply with their statutory responsibilities to check that staff are not prohibited from involvement in the management of an independent school.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL5245
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>The Department for Education is in discussion with the Disclosure and Barring Service about ways in which schools can do this with the minimum additional burden, and it is hoped that a process will be in place soon. At present no barring directions have been made under the regulations made in 2014 under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 04/03/2015 14:07:39 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

223868

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Vetting
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that both teachers and other members of staff in early and later years provision are not adversely affected by the current childcare disqualification regime which originally covered only child minders and day care providers.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL5246
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2015 answer text <p>On 26 February we published ‘Disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006’ statutory guidance for schools: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disqualification-under-the-childcare-act-2006" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disqualification-under-the-childcare-act-2006</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This new guidance clarifies the circumstances in which the provisions of the Childcare (Disqualification) Regulations 2009 apply to school staff. It also supports schools to take appropriate action to ensure that school staff do not work in circumstances that are in breach of those Regulations. It makes clear that where staff are disqualified schools may redeploy them or make changes to their duties. This discretion allows many of those staff affected by the Regulations to continue to work in schools while an application is made to Ofsted for a waiver of disqualification.</p><p> </p><p>The childcare disqualification arrangements are not new and have never applied exclusively to child-minders and day care providers. They apply to all staff providing childcare, including in schools. These arrangements help to ensure that children in the most vulnerable age groups, those who are potentially at greatest risk, are protected regardless of the setting in which childcare is provided.</p><p>In schools they prevent staff who have been cautioned or convicted for certain serious offences, from providing childcare:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>for children up to the age of five years before, during, or after school hours; and</p></li><li><p>for children aged up to eight years of age before and after school hours.</p><p> </p><p>School staff are also prevented from providing childcare if they reside in a household where another person who has been cautioned or convicted for such an offence lives or is employed.</p><p> </p></li></ul><p> </p><p>The new statutory guidance replaces the Department’s earlier advice on this subject, published in October 2014 as a supplement to ‘Keeping children safe in education’, and is a direct response to requests for additional information to help schools make appropriate and robust decisions should these matters arise.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The guidance has been developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders who have expertise and experience in child safeguarding matters, including children’s safeguarding organisations, employer representative bodies, trade unions and local authorities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 11/03/2015 16:51:39 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

223869

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2015
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Private Education: Vetting
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that independent schools are not found to be in breach of statutory regulations as a result of the introduction of retrospective prohibition checks on teaching staff.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL5247
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2015 answer text <p>From 5 January 2015, the independent school standards require that schools check both existing and new teaching staff to determine whether a prohibition order or interim prohibition made by the Secretary of State exists for any member of their teaching staff.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The checks are only retrospective in the sense that schools must confirm that existing staff, as well as new appointments, are not subject to a prohibition order. The prohibition order regime began in April 2012, and the standard does not distinguish between staff appointed before or after 5 January 2015, so existing staff should be checked too. We believe that this is entirely justified. The teacher standards which form the basis of the prohibition regime apply to independent schools, and it would be invidious if a school was able to continue employing a prohibited member of staff simply because he or she was appointed before 2015. When a school is inspected, it should be able to demonstrate that it has either completed these checks (which can be done through the National College’s Easy Access system) or is well on the way to completion. If a school cannot do so, regulatory action is likely to follow.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 04/03/2015 14:09:15 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

64617

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why independent special schools were removed from the official published league tables, and whether they will consider restoring them.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>Independent schools, including independent special schools, are not required to follow the national curriculum, conduct teacher assessment or enter pupils for key stage 2 national curriculum tests. They have never therefore been published in the primary school performance tables. However, they have always been included in the secondary school performance tables.</p> answering member printed Lord Nash question first answered 08/07/2014 11:15:53 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden

76561

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Independent Schools Inspectorate
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to alter the procedures and regulations under which the Independent Schools Inspectorate operates.
	tabling member printed	Lord Lexden
	uin	HL905
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government recently consulted on regulations and advice on the approval of independent inspectorates. We intend to commence the relevant provisions of the Education and Skills Act 2008 in September 2014, and introduce the new regulations and advice under those sections. The current approval of the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) under the Education Act 2002 will cease to have effect, and as signalled in the consultation we intend to re-approve ISI under the 2008 Act. We will publish a response to the consultation shortly which will also set out the timescales for the implementation of changes.</p><p> </p><p>The 2008 Act also gives a basis in statute to Ofsted's quality assurance role. This role will continue, with Ofsted carrying out monitoring activities and reporting annually to the Secretary of State on the performance of the independent inspectorates.</p><p> </p><p>If, as a result of the revised agreement or for any other reason, ISI makes changes to their structure and operations, we would expect ISI to consult the schools it inspects before changes are introduced.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Nash grouped question UIN HL906 HL907 question first answered 14/07/2014 14:52:40 answering member 4270 label Biography information for Lord Nash
	tabling member	4202 label Biography information for Lord Lexden