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1235954

registered interest
date	21/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Institutions: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether COVID-19 marshals will be used to ensure that schools and colleges are (1) facilitating social distancing, and (2) providing COVID-19 secure environments.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL8348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2020 answer text <p>On 2 July the department published guidance to help schools and colleges prepare for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to education settings full-time from the beginning of the autumn term: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision/what-fe-colleges-and-providers-will-need-to-do-from-the-start-of-the-2020-autumn-term" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision/what-fe-colleges-and-providers-will-need-to-do-from-the-start-of-the-2020-autumn-term</a>.</p><p>We have worked closely with Public Health England (PHE) to develop the specific guidance for school settings. The PHE endorsed system of controls outlined in this guidance sets out the measures that school leaders and all school staff should follow. Colleges are responsible for completing risk assessments and complying with Health &amp; Safety Executive (HSE) duties. HSE may review risk assessments and the measures that have been put in place by colleges to make the premises COVID-19 secure. Our guidance is clear that if schools and colleges implement the actions set out, they will effectively reduce risks in their school and create an inherently safer environment. This includes minimising contact between individuals and maintaining social distancing wherever possible.</p><p>At this time, there is no plan to introduce COVID-19 marshals in schools and colleges. There cannot be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where the system of controls describes every scenario. Head teachers will be best placed to understand the needs of their communities and to make informed judgments about how to balance delivering a broad and balanced curriculum with the measures needed to manage risk.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 02/10/2020 12:54:13 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1338359

registered interest
date	21/06/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academic Freedom
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure freedom of speech in British universities.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL1279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2021 answer text <p>Ministers are working to ensure that lawful freedom of speech in higher education is supported to the fullest extent. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill was introduced on 12 May 2021 in the House of Commons and will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties in England. It will directly address gaps within the existing law and extend the duties to cover students’ unions as well as higher education providers. The changes will introduce clear consequences for breaches of the new duties. This will ensure that freedom of speech and academic freedom are protected and promoted within higher education.</p><p>A copy of the Bill as introduced can be found here: <a href="https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/41479/documents/212" target="_blank">https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/41479/documents/212</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 29/06/2021 15:22:53 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1644508

registered interest
date	13/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Logistics: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of barriers faced by logistics businesses attempting to access the Apprenticeship Levy for their training requirements.
tabling member printed	Viscount Waverley
uin	HL8457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2023 answer text <p>The department is committed to supporting employers within the logistics sector to make full use of apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need, now and in the future. Employers have developed 37 high-quality apprenticeship standards within the transport and logistics sector, including transport and warehouse operations supervisor, supply chain leadership professional and network operations.</p><p>We have fast-tracked applications to the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) for providers nominated by employers hosting the Large Goods Vehicle standard to tackle the urgent need for drivers. This allowed new providers to apply to the Register and be fast tracked to deliver for employers needing training.</p><p>In May 2022, the department also introduced a temporary exception to the RoATP, allowing lead providers to subcontract to unregistered providers delivering training and testing for the acquisition of driving licences. This has increased training capacity and access to more of the available testing provision, and this exception is in place until 31 July 2023.</p><p>In 2021, a new version of the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship was launched and the department increased funding from £5,000 to £7,000 to support providers delivering the standard. Additionally, the department is reviewing the funding band for the Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician apprenticeship standard, as requested by employers, and a decision will be made as soon as possible.</p><p>The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and employers within the transport and logistics sector can access this funding for the high-quality apprenticeships they choose to meet their business needs and to help fill skills gaps within their industry.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 27/06/2023 14:07:17 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1744 label Biography information for Viscount Waverley

1022901

registered interest
date	10/12/2018
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	School Meals: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to update school food standards following new recommendations on sugar and carbohydrate consumption; and how they will encourage schools to comply with these standards.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL12159
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2018 answer text <p>We are currently working with Public Health England to update the school food standards. The update will be accompanied by detailed guidance to caterers and schools to help them adapt to the changes. Further details will be available shortly.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 19/12/2018 12:47:04 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1081661

registered interest
date	04/03/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase foreign language teaching as part of the school curriculum and also to promote the lifelong learning of foreign languages in order to improve the UK’s skill base.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL14194
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2019 answer text <p>The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure, which includes languages, has seen the proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language (MFL) increase from 40% in 2010 to 46% in 2018. The reformed national curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in key stage 2.</p><p>The £4.8 million MFL Pedagogy Pilot commenced in December 2018. It is managed by the newly appointed MFL Centre for Excellence and is run through 9 school led hubs, to improve uptake and attainment in languages at key stages 3 and 4. The department has also launched a pilot project in MFL undergraduate mentoring for secondary school pupils to drive up participation in the subject, specifically targeting areas of high disadvantage to extend access to languages for all pupils.</p><p>Recruiting MFL teachers is a priority for the government. The government offers generous financial incentives for languages teaching, including scholarships in MFL worth £28,000, and tax-free bursaries, typically worth up to £26,000. The government is also working in partnership with Spain’s Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to deliver Spain’s Visiting Teachers Programme to provide schools with access to a pool of qualified teachers from Spain who are able to teach MFL. In addition to this, the department has a Teacher Subject Specialism Training programme which aims to improve the subject knowledge of non-specialist teachers and returning teachers in MFL.</p><p>The department is also continuing to promote the value of language qualifications to students who are choosing their GCSEs. The department recently published and promoted a guidance leaflet for parents, attached, which explains why studying a language, as part of the EBacc, broadens opportunities in both education and employment. In February, the department drew attention to the benefits of studying a language among 13 to 14 year olds through a social media campaign.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 19/03/2019 17:43:21 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL14194_DfE_EBacc_Leaflet.pdf title HL14194_DfE_EBacc_Leaflet
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1128001

registered interest
date	21/05/2019
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 what steps they are taking to ensure that local authorities comply fully with the Children and Families Act 2014 in the cases of children with education, health and care plans; and what action they are taking to ensure that there are no disincentives, both in terms of funding and concerns over their position on league tables, for schools to be inclusive and to accept children with special educational needs.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL15886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/05/2019 answer text <p>To ensure local authorities comply fully with their obligations under the Children and Families Act (2014), including on education, health and care plans, we introduced new local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in 2016. All local areas will be inspected by 2021. These inspections do not give a pass/fail judgement. They instead identify areas of strength and where improvement is required, including asking an area to produce a Written Statement of Action if there are significant concerns. Where we have concerns with a local area’s performance, we work with partners, including NHS England, to support and challenge the area to improve.</p><p> </p><p>The inspection reports have proved a catalyst for local change, both where Written Statements of Action have been required and where they have not. Local authorities and their health partners have embraced the process and used inspection findings to prioritise areas for improvement.</p><p> </p><p>In terms of ensuring schools are inclusive, the Children and Families Act (2014) reinforced the presumption of mainstream education for children with SEND. The attached SEND Code of Practice provides detailed guidance to schools about how to support children with SEND. The new Ofsted common inspection framework, introduced from September 2019, emphasises the need for leaders to offer high-quality, inclusive education and training to all.</p><p> </p><p>We launched a call for evidence on how the special educational needs funding system operates in May 2019 to help us understand how the current available funding is distributed, and what improvements to the financial arrangements could be made in future.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 31/05/2019 10:27:09 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton attachment 1 file name HL15886_SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf title HL15886_PDF
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1129541

registered interest
date	04/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by the British Council The Shape of Global Higher Education, published on 1 May, what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK retains its pre-eminence in global higher education, particularly in the light of the increasing access to education systems in other countries for overseas students.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL16026
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>In March 2019, the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade published the International Education Strategy, which can be found here and is also attached: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-global-potential-global-growth/international-education-strategy-global-potential-global-growth" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-global-potential-global-growth/international-education-strategy-global-potential-global-growth</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Developed in co-operation with providers across the education sector, this strategy sets out an ambition to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, and to increase the number of international higher education students in the UK to 600,000 per year, both by 2030.</p><p> </p><p>The strategy also sets out actions to support the higher education sector to deliver on this ambition. These include the appointment of an international education champion to help build links with priority countries and unlock barriers to international exchange and partnership. In addition, the strategy sets out actions to ensure that international students have the best possible experience studying in the UK, and that doing this maximises their employment opportunities.</p><p>The government will be working closely with institutions, Universities UK International and the British Council to develop partnerships, deliver trade missions, to provide forums to develop sustainable mutually beneficial transnational education programmes and to develop annual updates to the strategy.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 18/06/2019 15:50:08 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name HL16026_International Education Strategy.pdf title HL16026_pdf
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1231384

registered interest
date	03/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant school closures who (1) had no digital devices in their household, (2) whose only available device was a smartphone, (3) had access to a single device in their household which was shared with more than one other family member, and (4) the total number of children who were unable to access remote education consistently as a result.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL7798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>The department has already invested over £100 million to support remote education and has delivered over 220,000 laptops and tablets to local authorities and academy trusts for children who would not otherwise have access.</p><p>The department allocated devices to local authorities and academy trusts based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that did not have access to a device through other means, such as a private device or through school. Local authorities and academy trusts were responsible for distributing the devices, being best placed to know which children and young people need access to a device delivered through the programme.</p><p>Where local authorities and academy trusts identified a need greater than their initial allocation, they could provide evidence and request more devices. No valid request for additional devices for eligible children was denied.</p><p>We are now supplementing this support by making an initial 150,000 available additional devices in the event face-to-face schooling is disrupted as a result of local COVID-19 restrictions or local lockdowns, and children become reliant on remote education.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 16/09/2020 16:33:06 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1251645

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision by the Welsh Government has now cancelled A-level exams in summer 2021 and base grades on school assessment, what steps they intend to take to ensure that there is a level playing field for university admission in the UK in 2021.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL10300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2020 answer text <p>As autonomous institutions, higher education providers determine their own entry criteria. In making admissions decisions, we would expect providers to take into account variations across the UK in examination systems and types of qualification, as they have for many years.</p><p>We have been working closely with Ofqual, the devolved administrations, and partners across the education sector on all decisions relating to examinations and qualifications in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Higher Education Taskforce, chaired by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, provides a forum for discussion with sector representatives on a range of issues, including admissions, and we are working with the sector on the challenges which universities, colleges, and students are facing due to the pandemic.</p><p>We shall continue to engage with partners across the education sector on the measures needed to ensure that exams can be held in England, and on the issue of grading, with fairness for students as our priority.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 26/11/2020 13:08:52 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1276953

registered interest
date	14/01/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking (1) to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 in (a) primary, and (b) secondary, schools, (2) to ensure such schools are COVID-19 secure, and (3) to expedite the safe re-opening of such schools.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL12161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2021 answer text <p>The department has worked closely with other government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, to develop comprehensive guidance based on a PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.</p><p>The system of control measures as outlined in our guidance has been developed with PHE, with whom we continue to work closely to ensure that these measures are based on the latest medical and scientific advice: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf</a>.</p><p>When implemented in line with a thorough risk assessment, these measures create an inherently safer system for staff and pupils where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. For example, this includes important measures such as, but not limited to, minimising contact with individuals who are not well, maintaining social distancing wherever possible, regularly cleaning hands and introducing enhanced cleaning measures, as well as the use of personal protective equipment where recommended. All elements of the system of controls are essential in effectively minimising risks. Schools must cover them all, but the way different schools implement some of the requirements will differ based on their individual circumstances. PHE advises that the implementation of the system of controls based on a thorough risk assessment is a sufficient and appropriate way to reduce risk in schools.</p><p>Limiting attendance does not suggest that schools and colleges have become significantly less safe for young people. Instead, limiting attendance is about supporting the reduction of the overall number of social contacts in our communities. We have resisted restrictions on attendance at schools since the first lockdown but, in the face of the rapidly rising numbers of cases across the country and intense pressure on the NHS, we now need to use every lever at our disposal to reduce all our social contacts wherever possible<em>.</em></p><p>We know that receiving face to face education is best for children’s mental health and for their educational achievement. We will continue to review the restrictions on schools, colleges and universities and will ensure that children and young people return to face to face education as soon as possible.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 28/01/2021 12:24:48 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian