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1579899

registered interest
date	23/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Buildings
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Education on 13 January (114721), when they will publish the "detailed, school level" findings of the Condition Data Collection Programme.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4962
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/01/2023 answer text <p>The Condition Data Collection (CDC) programme was one of the largest and most comprehensive data collection programmes in the UK public sector, which has helped the department to understand the condition of the school estate in England and how it is changing over time. The key, high-level findings of the CDC programme were published in May 2021 in the ‘Condition of School Buildings Survey: Key Findings’ report. This is available in the attached document.</p><p>The department is still planning to publish more detailed school level CDC data. The data is still being prepared, but due to the size of the dataset, there has been a delay in publication. We plan to publish the CDC data as soon as possible.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 27/01/2023 13:22:57 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_findings_report.pdf title Condition_of_School_Buildings_Survey_CDC1_-_key_fi
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1579900

registered interest
date	23/01/2023
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Emergencies: Risk Assessment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they will update the National Risk Register 2020; and whether it will include the risk of school buildings collapsing.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4963
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>The National Risk Register (NRR) will be updated in the coming months.</p><p>The Cabinet Office works with all departments on the assessment of their risks, such as the safety of public buildings.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 06/02/2023 17:32:50 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1579901

registered interest
date	23/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of English universities facing financial difficulties; and what assessment they have made of the impact closure could have on local communities.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4964
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England. The OfS monitors the financial viability and sustainability of providers registered with them to ensure they have an up to date understanding of the sustainability of the sector.</p><p>The OfS latest published report can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/445d176e-e61c-4e95-a76a-7acb7e5bb654/financial-sustainability-2022_corrected-sept-2022.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/445d176e-e61c-4e95-a76a-7acb7e5bb654/financial-sustainability-2022_corrected-sept-2022.pdf</a>. It stated that despite the many operational and financial challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall aggregate financial position of universities, colleges and other registered HE providers remains sound. However, there continues to be variation in the financial performance and strength of individual HE providers. The department recognises that the situation remains challenging, and that providers will need to adapt to uncertainties and financial risks to protect their longer-term sustainability.</p><p>Officials meet regularly with the OfS to oversee the overall climate for HE provider financial sustainability and to identify emerging key risks and issues for the English HE sector as a whole.</p><p>The financial sustainability of the HE sector is essential to the future success of the economy and society, including local communities. Universities are autonomous and independent, meaning they are responsible for the decisions that they make in regard to their operating model, day-to-day management and sustainability.</p><p>The department supplies annual funding via the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) to support teaching and students in HE, including expensive to deliver subjects, such as science and engineering, students at risk of discontinuing their studies, and world-leading specialist providers.</p><p>The recurrent SPGS budget is £1,397 million for financial year 2022/23, which is 5% higher than last year. This includes an additional £56 million in recurrent SPG, an additional £10 million to support the expansion of medical student places agreed by government in 2016/17, and an additional £1 million in HE Innovation funding. We are investing an additional £750 million over the next three years to support high quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships.</p><p>As part of the £750 million, we have provided the OfS with £450 milloon of capital funding for financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25. Almost £400 million of this funding has been made available through a bidding exercise to target funds at key strategic priorities, including high-cost subjects and level 4, 5 and degree apprenticeships.</p><p>One hundred providers were successful in securing funding for capital projects that will directly help us achieve our skills reform ambitions to strengthen HE and better align skills training to the needs of employers to enable communities to thrive.</p><p>If a provider was at risk of an unplanned closure, the department’s priority would be to work with the OfS, the institution and other government departments to ensure students' best interests are protected.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/02/2023 17:23:50 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563755

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Energy
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rise in energy bills on ventilation in classrooms over the winter.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4435
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2023 answer text <p>The department has not made an assessment of the impact of the rise in energy bills on ventilation in classrooms over the winter. Maintaining adequate ventilation remains the responsibility of individual schools.</p><p>In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government provided over 386,000 CO<sub>2</sub> monitors to schools, colleges, and early years settings to help manage ventilation. As well as helping settings to identify areas that are poorly ventilated, CO<sub>2</sub> monitors can be useful in helping balance good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.</p><p>In December 2022, the department published guidance on energy efficiency for schools and colleges, including guidance on managing ventilation, which can be found attached and at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate</a>.</p><p>In addition, eligible schools and sixth-form colleges will receive an allocation of £447 million of capital funding to improve energy efficiency in 2022/2023. This is part of an additional £500 million of capital funding for schools and further education institutions in England.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/01/2023 16:50:28 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran attachment 1 file name HL4435_guidance_on_energy_efficiency.pdf title HL4435_guidance
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563756

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Teachers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the (1) recruitment, and (2) retention, of teachers.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2023 answer text <p>The number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 working in state-funded schools across the country at Full Time Equivalent (FTE). This is 24,000 more than in 2010.</p><p>The department recognises there is more to do to ensure teaching remains an attractive, high status profession, and to recruit and retain teachers in key subjects and areas. Reforms are aimed at increasing teacher recruitment through an attractive pay offer and financial incentives such as bursaries, as well as at ensuring teachers stay and succeed in the profession.</p><p>The department remains committed to delivering starting salaries of £30,000 to attract and retain the best teachers.</p><p>The department is investing £181 million in financial incentives. For those starting initial teacher training (ITT) in the 2023/24 academic year, bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 are offered to encourage talented trainees to apply to train in key secondary subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. This offer has also been expanded to international trainees in physics and languages.</p><p>The department offers a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 annually for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers working in disadvantaged schools in the first five years of their careers.</p><p>In autumn 2021, the new digital service, ‘Apply for teacher training’ was launched. This provides a more streamlined, user-friendly application route, to make it easier for people to train to become teachers.</p><p>The department is also taking action to enable teachers to succeed by transforming their training and support. 500,000 teacher training and development opportunities will be delivered by the end of 2024, giving all teachers and head teachers access to world class, evidence based training and professional development at every stage of their career.</p><p>To support retention in the first few years of teaching, the department has rolled out the Early Career Framework (ECF) nationally, providing the foundations for a successful career in teaching, with over £130 million a year in funding.</p><p>Additionally, the department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, which schools are being encouraged to sign up to as a shared commitment to promote staff wellbeing. The charter can be accessed at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter</a>. Additionally, the workload reduction toolkit has been developed alongside head teachers and has been published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit</a>. Several other resources have also been published to support schools to implement effective flexible working practices, and these can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/flexible-working-resources-for-teachers-and-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/flexible-working-resources-for-teachers-and-schools</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/01/2023 16:56:37 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563757

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Physics: Teachers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Initial teacher training: trainee number census 2022 to 2023; and in particular, the finding that the recruitment target for physics has been missed by more than 80 per cent.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4437
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2023 answer text <p>23,224 postgraduate trainees have been recruited for 2022/23, which is a 20% decrease from 30,093 in 2021/22. This is 71% of the Postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (PGITT) target, down from 97% in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>Teacher recruitment has been challenging for several years, driven by increasing demand for teachers in particular phases and subjects, and a competitive graduate labour market.</p><p> </p><p>As expected, the unprecedented increase in new entrants to ITT because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/21 has declined over the past 2 years. The graduate and general labour markets became more competitive and pay has risen in competing sectors, especially in priority Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.</p><p> </p><p>Some STEM subjects face more recruitment challenges than others and this is reflected in their performance against the PGITT targets. For example, physics achieved 17% of the PGITT target in 2022/23. Mathematics and biology achieved 85% and 111% respectively in 2022/23.</p><p> </p><p>The department launched a pilot initial teacher training course in spring 2022 called ‘Engineers Teach Physics’. Following the first year pilot for ‘Engineers Teach Physics’, it has been expanded to a second year with a national rollout. The department is continuing to work closely with sector experts, representative bodies and academic institutions to ensure that the course reflects best practice and includes the most up-to-date industry knowledge. This expansion will ensure that this programme will be available to more trainees across the country, further ameliorating the shortfall in physics teachers.</p><p> </p><p>The department has also announced funding for physics for those training in 2023/24. A £27,000 tax-free bursary or £29,000 tax-free scholarship in chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics reflects the priority the department places on training teachers to teach STEM subjects.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. This will support the recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most. The department is also extending eligibility of the physics bursary to all non-UK trainees.</p><p> </p><p>The manifesto commitment to raise the starting salary for teachers to £30,000 remains as important as ever.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 05/01/2023 16:33:33 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563758

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure childcare is (1) accessible, and (2) affordable.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4438
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2023 answer text <p>The department is committed to improving the availability and affordability of childcare which is why we have spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements to support families with the cost of childcare. This means that thousands of parents are benefitting from government childcare support.</p><p>In the 2021 Spending Review, we announced additional funding of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers, reflecting cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the Spending Review.</p><p>For 2023/24, we will invest an additional £20 million into early years funding, on top of the additional £180 million for 2023/24. Taken together, this will help support providers at a national level with the additional National Living Wage costs associated with delivering the free childcare entitlements next year.</p><p>In July, we announced measures to reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers and ensure families can access government support to save them money on their childcare bills. This included the launch of a new £1.2 million communications campaign via the childcare choices website to ensure every parent knows about the government funded support they are eligible for: <a href="https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p>The department continues to work across government, looking at ways to make childcare more affordable and accessible to ensure that families benefit from the government-funded support they are entitled to.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/01/2023 14:55:27 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563759

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Tax Allowances
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase (1) awareness, and (2) the take-up, of their childcare schemes.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4439
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2023 answer text <p>Improving parents’ awareness and take-up of childcare schemes is a government priority.</p><p>Delivered in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs, the Childcare Choices campaign aims to increase awareness of government childcare support to ease the pressures for working parents, and signposts to the Childcare Choices website to make it easy for people to claim: <a href="https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/</a>.</p><p>The campaign has been delivered in two bursts through radio, search, digital outdoor (e.g. bus stop advertising) and social media advertising, with the first burst running over the summer period from 30 June to 31 August. We also delivered a press partnership with the Metro (online and print), the Sun Online and the Independent Online in August. The second campaign burst went live on 31 October, with a short pause over Christmas, before it resumes again in the new year.</p><p>The campaign has driven extensive reach, with ads being viewed through digital and search over 59 million times. There has also been strong engagement in the campaign, with over 559,000 Childcare Choices website sessions. The first burst of the campaign has also demonstrated a solid conversion rate, with 77,995 referrals to GOV.UK pages from Childcare Choices for each element of childcare support:</p><ul><li>Universal Credit – 6,598 referrals, a 156% increase</li><li>Tax-Free Childcare – 25,840 referrals, a 116% increase</li><li>30 hours – 16,731 referrals, a 27% increase</li></ul><p>We will be able to report on final GOV.UK referral numbers when the second burst of the campaign is complete. We continue to work across government to increase awareness and encourage families to use the government-funded support they are entitled to.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/01/2023 14:56:51 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1563760

registered interest
date	20/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Nurseries: Closures
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of nursery closures this year on childcare (1) fees, (2) quality, and (3) availability.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4440
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/01/2023 answer text <p>The childcare and early years provider survey contains information on average fees charged by childcare providers. This showed that between 2021/2022, average fees for children under 2 years of age increased by 2.7%; average fees for children aged 2 increased by 3.4%; and average fees for pre-school children aged 3 and 4 increased by 3.8%. All of these increases were below the rate of inflation, which in May 2022 was 9.1%. Fees charged by providers will reflect a variety of factors.</p><p>The quality of childcare remains high which is testament to the great work of childcare providers. As of 31 August 2022, 96% of childcare providers have been judged good or outstanding at their most recent inspection. More detail is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2022/main-findings-childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2022/main-findings-childcare-providers-and-inspections-as-at-31-august-2022</a>.</p><p>The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. Ofsted data shows that the number of places offered by providers on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable at 1.3 million places since August 2015.</p><p>Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. The Department has regular contact with each local authority in England, and if a local authority raises concerns about sufficiency issues we will support it with any specific requirements.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/01/2023 14:54:25 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington

1562885

registered interest
date	19/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Cost of Living
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support students with the cost of living.
tabling member printed	Baroness Chapman of Darlington
uin	HL4407
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/01/2023 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 is working with with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.</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 25th 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>A HM Treasury-led review is being undertaken 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><p>The UCAS end of cycle report shows that in 2022 there were record numbers of 18-year-olds getting into university, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds. An English 18-year-old from a disadvantaged background today is 86% more likely to go to university than in 2010.</p><p>The department’s widening participation publication from 2022 shows that progression to higher education has increased across all students, including those from ethnic minority backgrounds. Black pupils have seen the greatest increase in the proportion entering HE by age 19, increasing from 44.1% in 2009/10 to 62.1% in 2020/21.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran grouped question UIN HL4408 question first answered 09/01/2023 15:19:25 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington