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1329607

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Housing: Insulation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the value of wool as a thermal insulator in the construction of new environmentally-friendly homes.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	10366
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>The Government is committed to meeting its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how we expect the planning system to help mitigate and adapt to climate change. In their development plan policies, local planning authorities can encourage the use of sustainable materials like wool in new development</p><p><br> We have not made any assessment of the value of wool as a thermal insulator. The Building Regulations are generally couched in performance terms and do not prescribe the technologies, materials or fuels to be used, allowing builders the flexibility to innovate and select the most practical and cost-effective solutions in particular circumstances. Developers are able to use wool products in construction projects where it is safe to do so and where it can be shown to meet all applicable Building Regulations requirements.</p> answering member constituency Tamworth answering member printed Christopher Pincher question first answered 14/06/2021 16:50:12 answering member 4075 label Biography information for Christopher Pincher
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1336647

	registered interest
	date	15/06/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether school children can be included in the pilot to test the viability of daily covid-19 tests rather than self-isolation following an alert of a close contact from NHS Test and Trace.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	16091
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2021 answer text <p>Daily contact testing, used as an alternative to self- isolation if a positive case is detected, continues to have the potential to be a valuable tool to identify positive contacts and break chains of transmission, while keeping more students and staff at school and college, which is the best place for their development and wellbeing.</p><p>A trial is being coordinated by the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Education, and the Office of National Statistics. It is being overseen by an independent Data Monitoring Committee and evaluated by researchers at the University of Oxford. The trial was also given ethical approval by the Public Health England Research Ethics and Governance Group.</p><p>The findings of the independent clinical trial are due to report in the summer and, if beneficial, a roll out could commence in secondary schools and colleges during the autumn term.</p><p>With respect to daily contact testing for the adult population, on the 29 April 2021, a randomised controlled study started in England to evaluate the home use of seven daily lateral flow tests plus two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, with the option for study participants to be released from self isolation for up to 24 hours following a negative result. A business as usual comparison group will be offered a single PCR test and asked to self-isolate for the 10 day period as usual.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 23/06/2021 15:22:03 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1351103

	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	Schools: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he plans to put in place to help protect clinically extremely vulnerable parents from covid-19 infection from the beginning of the autumn term when children return to school.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	40888
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2021 answer text <p>Shielding was paused on 1 April 2021, and on 19 July 2021 people previously identified as clinically extremely vulnerable were advised to follow the same guidance as the rest of the population.</p><p>All nurseries, schools and colleges are continuing to put measures in place to minimise the spread of COVID-19. These include handwashing, enhancing cleaning, ventilation and managing confirmed cases. Nurseries, schools and colleges should continue to conduct risk assessments and take appropriate action in line with the guidance.</p><p>If parents or carers are anxious about attendance, they should speak to the nursery, school or college about their concerns and discuss the measures that have been put in place to reduce the risk.</p><p>Testing remains important in reducing the risk of transmission of infection within nurseries, schools, colleges and universities to keep as many staff, pupils and students on site as possible. The Department has been delivering a programme of rapid asymptomatic testing for the primary school, secondary school, further education and higher education workforce and for pupils in Year 7 and above (or equivalent). Testing continued for all those on site over the summer and has resumed after the summer holidays, including two on site tests for all secondary pupils and college students.</p><p>From 9 April, all people in England have been able to access twice weekly rapid tests for COVID-19. Twice weekly rapid testing is a vital tool in helping to identify cases of COVID-19 that would otherwise not be found.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 08/09/2021 15:49:26 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1379578

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Disability History Month
	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 support Disability History Month and promote its message across (a) educational settings and (b) Government departments and agencies.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	76674
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to transforming the everyday lives of disabled people. We published the National Disability Strategy in July 2021. This sets out a wide-ranging set of practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people, including in relation to education.</p><p>Individual education settings may make their own arrangements, internally and externally, to recognise Disability History Month. The Department for Education has a long history of celebrating difference, including Disability Awareness Month internally, and is also taking a range of actions to improve the education of disabled children and young people. In particular, we will be consulting in the first three months of 2022 on ways to strengthen the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system through the SEND Review.</p><p>We have also increased high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND. In the summer, we announced a further £780 million for financial year 2022-23, building on an increase of more than £1.5 billion over the two years since 2019-20, and bringing the total high needs budget next year to £8.9 billion. The autumn 2021 Spending Review delivers an additional £4.7 billion for the core schools’ budget (schools and high needs) by financial year 2024-25, including an additional £1.6 billion in 2022-23, on top of the funding increases we announced last summer.</p><p>We are also investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to deliver new places and improve existing provision for pupils with SEND or who require alternative provision. This funding represents a transformational investment in new high needs provision and will help deliver tens of thousands of new places.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 25/11/2021 16:26:30 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1439447

	registered interest
	date	09/03/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Further Education: Qualifications
	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 choice available for students of streamlining post-16 qualifications.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	137303
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>The department is streamlining and improving the quality of the post-16 qualifications system at level 3 and below. We are strengthening the progression pathways, creating clearly defined academic and technical routes with high-quality qualifications leading to further study and/or skilled employment.</p><p>This clarity of purpose will help students to make good choices and see more easily how their study will help them to progress. At level 3, A levels and T Levels will be at the core of study programmes for most young people. For other students, a combination of A levels with other high-quality qualifications will be the right choice.</p><p>As set out in our plans for reform of level 3 qualifications, published in July 2021, students will continue to be able to study qualifications similar to current Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) as part of mixed programmes alongside A levels, where they meet new quality standards and support progression to higher education. For example, students can progress in areas such as engineering, applied science, and information technology. Students will also be able to study qualifications like AGQs as their full programme of study where there is no A level or T Level, in areas such as performing and creative arts, and sports science.</p><p>Qualifications that do not meet new standards or the criteria for funding will not be funded in future. In the department’s impact assessment published alongside its policy statement on level 3 qualifications last summer, we were clear that students taking qualifications that are not funded in future will benefit most from these changes, as they are more likely to be taking qualifications that do not deliver the skills employers need.</p><p>Students will have access to higher-quality qualifications in the future, including new T Levels. This will put them in a stronger position to progress onto further study or skilled employment. We also noted in our impact assessment that some students may find it more difficult to achieve level 3 in future. We are putting in place support for these students, such as the T Level Transition Programme and the pilot academic progression programme, with the aim of improving progression to level 3.</p><p>Alongside reforms to level 3 qualifications, the department wants to improve qualifications and study at level 2, level 1, and entry level. We are currently consulting on proposed reforms to level 2 and below, and the consultation remains open until 27 April 2022.</p><p>Alongside the consultation, the department published its initial impact assessment. This states that we would expect the impact of the proposals at level 2 and below to be generally positive for all students, through an improved qualification landscape that is high-quality and better equips students for progression into employment or further study at higher levels.</p><p>Our proposed reforms will result in a good choice of high-quality qualifications to meet student and employer needs. This will be easier for students and employers to navigate than the current offer of around 8,000 qualifications.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 18/03/2022 12:18:13 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1472263

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Attendance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Schools Bill on how Special Educational Needs will be taken into account when monitoring school attendance.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	22418
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing, and long-term development. School attendance is mandatory, and parents have a duty, under Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to ensure that their child of compulsory age (5-16) receives an efficient full-time education either by attendance at school or otherwise.</p><p>The department appreciates that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, particularly for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Addressing these requires strong relationships and close working between families, schools, local authorities, and other relevant local services. This is the intention of the attendance clauses in the Schools Bill.</p><p> </p><p>The Bill will put the department’s new attendance guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ onto a statutory footing. This will ensure greater consistency in the attendance support offered to pupils and families, regardless of where in the country they live, and emphasises the importance of providing attendance support in an earlier and more targeted way to respond to pupils’ individual needs.</p><p> </p><p>The new guidance makes it clear that schools should develop and maintain a whole school culture that promotes the benefits of attendance, whilst recognising the interplay between attendance and wider school improvement efforts, such as strategies on mental health, wellbeing, and SEND. Schools will be expected to have sensitive conversations with pupils about their needs and work with families to develop specific support approaches for pupils with SEND. This includes establishing strategies for removing in-school barriers to attendance, ensuring attendance data of this group of pupils is regularly monitored to spot patterns and provide support earlier, including ensuring joined-up pastoral care is in place and referring pupils to support from other services and partners where necessary.</p><p> </p><p>These expectations, alongside the expectations placed on academy trust boards, governing bodies, and local authorities to work in conjunction with school staff to provide joined-up support for all pupils and families, will ensure that pupils with SEND are supported to attend school regularly.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside the new expectations in the Schools Bill, the department is currently consulting on proposed changes we want to make to the SEND and alternative provision (AP) system in England.</p><p> </p><p>The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, which is open for public consultation until 22 July 2022, sets out the department’s proposals for a system that offers children and young people the opportunity to thrive, with access to the right support, in the right place, and at the right time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 29/06/2022 10:58:42 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1504111

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Transport
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will hold discussions with Cabinet colleagues on taking steps to support parents with the rising cost of school transport.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	45668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2022 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Education has regular conversations with cabinet colleagues about important and topical matters including rising costs that may affect the education sector.</p><p>The Department’s home to school transport policy aims to ensure that no child is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Local authorities must provide free home to school transport for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of distance, special educational needs or disability, or an unsafe route. There are additional rights to free transport for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice. Home to school travel and transport guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Stoke-on-Trent North answering member printed Jonathan Gullis question first answered 26/09/2022 15:26:42 answering member 4814 label Biography information for Jonathan Gullis
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1504118

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Apprentices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding his Department has made available to help support agricultural businesses offer apprenticeships in the most recent period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	45802
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2022 answer text <p>In the current 2022/23 financial year funding available for apprenticeships in England is £2.6 billion. The government is increasing apprenticeships funding to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Employers of all sizes and in all sectors can access the funding available for apprenticeships. The government continues to pay 95% of apprentice training costs for non-levy paying employers, often small and medium-sized enterprises, and meets 100% of training costs for the smallest employers (those with fewer than 50 staff) when they take on eligible young apprentices.</p><p> </p><p>Employers in the agricultural sector have developed 41 high-quality apprenticeship standards to allow them to develop their workforces, including crop technician, livestock unit technician, and land-based service engineering technician. So far for the 2021/22 academic year, between August 2021 and April 2022, there have been 6,000 apprenticeship starts in agriculture, horticulture and animal care subject areas, an increase of 31% compared to the same period the previous year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Morley and Outwood answering member printed Andrea Jenkyns question first answered 20/09/2022 14:41:08 answering member 4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1504119

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Agriculture: Further Education and Skilled Workers
	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 promote (a) further education courses and (b) skilled jobs in agriculture; and what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on ensuring that this activity meets the skilled labour needs of the agricultural sector.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	45803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>In the 2021 Spending Review, the government set out its plan to invest £3.8 billion more in skills over the Parliament as a whole, ensuring people can access high-quality training and education that addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. This investment is underpinned by our Skills for Jobs reform programme, which will put employers at the heart of the system by aligning most technical courses with employer-led standards by 2030.</p><p>These reforms will empower employers to shape publicly funded training offers to meet their needs and create more routes into skilled employment in sectors critical to UK economy, including the agriculture sector. Apprenticeships are in the vanguard of this change. There are 41 high quality apprenticeship standards in the agriculture, environmental and animal care occupational route, each of which have been developed by employer trailblazer groups. In addition the first T Levels in Agriculture Land Management and Production and Animal Care and Management will follow suit from September 2023. We are also bringing in changes to ensure everyone has access to education and training that will help them to get a great job. This includes Free Courses for Jobs, enabling learners without a level 3 qualification (or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage) to gain a qualification for free. 18 qualifications in agriculture are currently on offer under this scheme, which can be explored here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-a-free-level-3-qualification/list-of-free-level-3-qualifications-available-to-eligible-adults#agriculture" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-a-free-level-3-qualification/list-of-free-level-3-qualifications-available-to-eligible-adults#agriculture</a>.</p><p>We are promoting and increasing awareness of our skills provision to learners and employers through the Skills for Life campaign, which targets employers, young people, and adults. Our campaign toolkits provide more information and can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/skills-campaign-toolkits" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/skills-campaign-toolkits</a>.</p><p>The department regularly engages in cross-government forums to assess and address labour market challenges across the economy including with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on skills needs for the food manufacturing and agricultural sectors.</p> answering member constituency Morley and Outwood answering member printed Andrea Jenkyns question first answered 21/09/2022 17:35:52 answering member 4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1552610

	registered interest
	date	16/12/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Private Rented Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure there is adequate support for students in private rented accommodation.
	tabling member constituency	York Outer
	tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
	uin	112086
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/01/2023 answer text <p>The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance. There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department has worked with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.</p><p>Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The department plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation, whether the accommodation is managed by universities or private sector organisations.</p><p>All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Act passed on 25 October includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this act are set out in the legislation.</p><p>Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.</p><p>A HM Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.</p><p>Decisions on student support for HE courses are taken on an annual basis and changes for the current, 2022/23 academic year, were made through Regulations laid in December 2021.</p><p>The government is currently considering options for changes to loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2023/24 academic year starting in August 2023 and an announcement will follow in due course.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 04/01/2023 14:58:17 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy