Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1363937

registered interest
date	27/10/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Allergies: Schools
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of, and enhance, allergy management in schools.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	64701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2021 answer text <p>Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, schools have a duty to support pupils at their school with medical conditions. This could include ensuring that a child with an allergy is able to eat a school lunch.</p><p>The Food Information Regulations 2014 requires all food businesses including school caterers to show the allergen ingredient information for the food they serve. This makes it easier for schools to identify the food that pupils with allergies can and cannot eat.</p><p>From October 2021, the Food Information Regulations include new requirements for the labelling of allergens on prepacked for direct sale foods. These are foods which are packaged on the premises before the consumer orders them.</p><p>Updated allergen guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/11/2021 17:07:17 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1363688

registered interest
date	26/10/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Breakfast Clubs : Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allocate additional funding to support breakfast clubs in schools in England.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	63833
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.</p><p>The department recognises that healthy breakfast clubs can play an important role in ensuring children from all backgrounds have a healthy start to their day so that they enhance their learning potential. An independent evaluation by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, published by the Education Endowment Foundation, found that supporting schools to run a free of charge, universal breakfast club before school delivered an average of 2 months’ additional progress for pupils in Key Stage 1 with moderate to low security. This evaluation can be found here: <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/magic-breakfast" target="_blank">https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/magic-breakfast</a>. In addition, a 2017 evaluation commissioned by the department also found that schools perceived important benefits from having a breakfast club, including improving concentration and behaviour in class. More information can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603946/Evaluation_of_Breakfast_Clubs_-_Final_Report.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603946/Evaluation_of_Breakfast_Clubs_-_Final_Report.pdf</a>.</p><p>Throughout the current contract we will be working with our provider, Family Action, to monitor different aspects of the current programme, including the benefits the programme is having on pupils who are attending. We will consider the best opportunities to share information on the programme as it progresses.<strong><br></strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 63834 question first answered 03/11/2021 18:11:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1363689

registered interest
date	26/10/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Breakfast Clubs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of breakfast clubs on children's performance in schools.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	63834
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.</p><p>The department recognises that healthy breakfast clubs can play an important role in ensuring children from all backgrounds have a healthy start to their day so that they enhance their learning potential. An independent evaluation by the Institute of Fiscal Studies, published by the Education Endowment Foundation, found that supporting schools to run a free of charge, universal breakfast club before school delivered an average of 2 months’ additional progress for pupils in Key Stage 1 with moderate to low security. This evaluation can be found here: <a href="https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/magic-breakfast" target="_blank">https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/magic-breakfast</a>. In addition, a 2017 evaluation commissioned by the department also found that schools perceived important benefits from having a breakfast club, including improving concentration and behaviour in class. More information can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603946/Evaluation_of_Breakfast_Clubs_-_Final_Report.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/603946/Evaluation_of_Breakfast_Clubs_-_Final_Report.pdf</a>.</p><p>Throughout the current contract we will be working with our provider, Family Action, to monitor different aspects of the current programme, including the benefits the programme is having on pupils who are attending. We will consider the best opportunities to share information on the programme as it progresses.<strong><br></strong></p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 63833 question first answered 03/11/2021 18:11:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1359969

registered interest
date	15/10/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Festivals and Special Occasions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on (a) non-Christian festivals such as Eid and Diwali being recognised more in state schools and (b) allowing non-Christian students to get a legal holiday for their religious festivals.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	57217
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2021 answer text <p>Schools play an important role in preparing pupils for life in modern Britain. This involves supporting pupils to understand the society in which they grow up and teaching about respect for other people and for difference. All schools are required to actively promote fundamental British values, including mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs.</p><p>The government does not specify how schools should teach religious education or the topics that religious education must cover. State funded schools either follow a locally agreed syllabus for religious education or design and deliver their own curriculum. This leaves them free to recognise or teach about non-Christian festivals if they choose to.</p><p>The Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006, as amended, sets out that schools should treat a pupil’s absence as authorised if it is on a day exclusively set apart for religious observance by the religious body to which the parent belongs.</p><p>The department does not define which specific days schools should authorise for religious observance, though generally, it may be a day when the pupil’s parents would be expected by the religious body to which they belong to stay away from their workplace in order to mark the occasion. We advise schools to seek advice from the relevant religious body if they are in doubt.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 25/10/2021 10:56:41 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1357303

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the survey of 20,000 parents by Mumsnet with 13 other groups, published in September 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the cost of childcare on (a) household bills and (b) the career choices of parents.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	52566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>The department welcomes the contribution that Mumsnet and their partner organisations have made around this topic. However, it is important to note that this survey is unweighted, and the sample size represents a small proportion of all parents with a child or children in the early years.</p><p>Ipsos MORI conducted wave 9 of our parent poll, ‘Childcare use, perceived impact on child development, information on working from home, and awareness and use of free entitlements for families of 0-4 year-olds during COVID-19’ in July 2021, with a smaller but representative sample of 1,000 parents of children aged 0-4 in England. This is available at: <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use" target="_blank">https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use</a>.</p><p>The data has been weighted to match the population profile of parents of children aged 0-4 in England by region, social grade, and the age of the selected child.</p><p>The Parent Poll asked different questions to the Mumsnet survey but key points from the findings include:</p><ul><li>The affordability of weekly childcare costs is unchanged for just over half of parents compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, and for 3 in 10 parents their weekly childcare costs are now easier to meet.</li><li>The majority of parents (91%) who used formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak, and are currently using it, say that their child is spending about the same number of hours or more in formal childcare as they did before.</li><li>More than half (56%) of parents report that their child is currently using formal childcare, this increases to 94% when looking at just those children who were receiving formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents.</li><li>Nearly two thirds of parents of 0-4 year olds currently using childcare (64%) agree that the hours their child(ren) can access formal or informal childcare/school fits with the working hours of the adults in the household.</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:55:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1355810

registered interest
date	15/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether British nationals living in the EEA and Switzerland will be required to pay international fees at universities in the UK or UK university home fees.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	50120
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2021 answer text <p>UK nationals and their family members living in the EEA or Switzerland on 31 December 2020 will generally be eligible for home fee status, tuition fee and maintenance support from Student Finance England for courses starting on or after 1 August 2021 and before 1 January 2028 if they meet the following conditions:</p><ul><li>they were living in the EEA or Switzerland on 31 December 2020 (or have moved back to the UK immediately after living in the EEA or Switzerland); and</li><li>they have lived in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar for at least the last three years; and</li><li>they have lived continuously in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or Gibraltar between 31 December 2020 and the start of the course.</li></ul><p>This was announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 4 April 2019: <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-04-04/HCWS1483/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-04-04/HCWS1483/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 21/09/2021 15:10:09 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1355420

registered interest
date	14/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	National Tutoring Programme
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 ensure timely approval of tutoring organisations for the National Tutoring Programme in the context of 16 of those organisations having not yet been approved.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	49227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2021 answer text <p>Our delivery partner, Randstad, has approved 38 Tuition Partners to provide high-quality, subsidised tuition to schools in the current academic year: <a href="https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/tuition-partners/approved-tuition-partners/" target="_blank">https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/tuition-partners/approved-tuition-partners/</a>. These organisations were recruited via an open competition to meet the necessary quality standards.</p><p>The programme ensures that additional support has been allocated to regions with the largest numbers of disadvantaged pupils and in regions where access to tutoring has historically been lower. This will cover all the locations across the UK geographically.</p><p>Schools can access high-quality tutoring from an approved list of tutoring providers known as tuition partners. Each tuition partner has been robustly assessed and has passed a set of quality, safeguarding and evaluation standards. Tuition partners offer a range of subjects and provide targeted support for pupils in small group or one-to-one sessions. This offers additional tutoring capacity to schools, especially where this is scarce. It is a flexible service for schools and its selection of providers can tailor their expertise to support pupil needs.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 24/09/2021 14:05:32 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1351075

registered interest
date	18/08/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional financial support he is providing to universities to increase covid-19 testing capacity for the academic year 2021-22.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	41104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2021 answer text <p>Asymptomatic Tests will continue to be provided free of charge by NHS Test and Trace to Higher Education Providers for testing on return and home testing until the end of September when this will be reviewed subject to the latest public health advice. Students should test twice on their arrival at an on-site testing facility or at home. Students should then continue to test twice a week until the end of September.</p><p>Higher Education providers have been supported with the recovery of costs for the set up and running of asymptomatic testing sites. Cost recovery for tests performed at test sites will continue until the end of September, when ongoing testing arrangements will be reviewed.</p><p>Home testing will be delivered through a collect model, meaning that students and staff are advised to collect their home testing kits from a location on campus, which could be an existing asymptomatic testing site or any other site considered suitable. Please note there is no cost recovery for the set up and running of LFD collect sites, which are not otherwise testing sites.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 07/09/2021 14:23:02 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1351087

registered interest
date	18/08/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether international students studying at UK universities in the 2021-22 academic year will be required to be double vaccinated with a covid-19 vaccine that is approved for use in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	41105
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2021 answer text <p>Although there is no requirement to be vaccinated in order to study at university in England, it is important that students engage with the vaccination programme to protect themselves and those around them and to break chains of transmission.</p><p>International students can be vaccinated in the UK free of charge. They should be encouraged to register with a GP and get an NHS number. They can also request to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments as unregistered patients through local GP practices.</p><p>International students must pay regard to and comply with border measures that have been introduced to help prevent the transmission of COVID-19, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england</a>. They should refer to the latest information on country risk levels which is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england</a>.</p><p>NHS England has produced Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for students, which includes information about vaccinations that international students might have received before coming to England. The FAQ is available here: <a href="https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-vaccination-programme-faqs-on-second-doses/" target="_blank">https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-19-vaccination-programme-faqs-on-second-doses/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 07/09/2021 09:33:19 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1348233

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training: Environment Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to introduce a fully funded re-training programme to support people to re-train in new jobs in response to the transition to a green economy.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	35816
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2021 answer text <p>In November 2020, the government established the Green Jobs Taskforce, comprising individuals from industry, academia, unions and the education and skills sector. It was tasked with assembling evidence on the skills needed in the green economy and setting out independent recommendations for how government, industry and a wide range of stakeholders might work together to meet the green skills challenge and grasp the opportunities presented by the transition to net zero.</p><p>The taskforce’s final report was published on 14 July. We will consider its recommendations carefully ahead of setting out, later in the year, our Net Zero Strategy.</p><p>In England, the reforms to the skills system set out in the recently published Skills for Jobs white paper provide the foundation on which we can build. This programme of reform, which places employers at the centre of our technical education system, includes the introduction of new T Levels, flexible apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and occupational traineeships. Earlier in the year, we marked a major milestone in the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, with the rollout of almost 400 qualifications which are now available and fully funded for any adult who has not already achieved a level 3 (A level equivalent) qualification. We will ensure that these programmes include supporting more people to get the skills they need to move into green jobs and consider where we might need to go further or faster to fill identified skills gaps.</p><p>We are already making progress. The Skills Bootcamps will, from July this year, support flexible training in key green sectors such as construction and nuclear. A Green Apprenticeship Advisory Panel is identifying existing apprenticeships that best support green career pathways and our Free Courses for Jobs offer is supporting more adults to study fully funded qualifications in subject areas crucial for green jobs, such as construction, forestry and engineering. The new Emerging Skills Electrification Project will foresight cutting-edge skills in the battery/electrification sector, develop short, modular content to meet the needs of employers and upskill the teaching workforce.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 26/07/2021 12:46:05 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West