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1523909

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Oak National Academy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, shat assessment has his department made on the impact of Oak National Academy becoming a public body on (a) teacher autonomy and (b) educational resource innovation.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	65761
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2022 answer text <p>Converting Oak National Academy to an arm’s length body will have significant benefits for teachers, providing optional support which evidence suggests can reduce their workload and increase their curriculum expertise. As part of an evaluation carried out by ImpactEd, published at: <a href="https://thenational.academy" target="_blank">https://thenational.academy</a>, it was found that Oak National Academy made a significant contribution to decreasing teacher workload. Oak National Academy improved the workload for 42% of users, on average by 3 hours per week. The evaluation also found that 50% of teachers surveyed increased their confidence in curriculum design.</p><p>As an integral part of the process to set up Oak National Academy as an arm’s length body, the department also produced a business case which included an assessment of the benefits for teachers, as well as potential market impact. This business case will be published shortly. Monitoring market impact will be a priority throughout Oak National Academy’s lifetime and will be factored into the body’s ongoing evaluation and two-year review.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 21/10/2022 12:04:46 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1523910

	registered interest
	date	18/10/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Engineering: Primary Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to (a) improve and (b) increase primary school education for children on careers in electronics and engineering.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	65762
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2022 answer text <p>Careers provision is embedded in the key stage 2 citizenship curriculum, which requires that pupils be taught about a range of possible careers, including careers in electronics and engineering.</p><p>The department announced in the Schools White Paper: Opportunity for All, a new programme for careers provision in primary schools. The programme will run from winter 2022 until March 2025 and will target primary schools in areas of disadvantage. We have allocated £2.6 million to fund this programme.</p><p>The programme will seek to inspire pupils about the world of work, drawing on positive role models from a range of industries and sectors to help raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes, and help children link their learning to future jobs and careers. Activities funded will align with the most relevant aspects of the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance for the primary age group. The eight Gatsby Benchmarks serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision for secondary schools and colleges.</p><p>The programme will include activities aligned with, for example, Gatsby Benchmark 4 regarding linking curriculum learning to careers to ensure that children have the chance to explore how literacy, numeracy, digital skills, and science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects can help them develop the skills they will need for their future careers.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 25/10/2022 11:28:06 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1521462

	registered interest
	date	12/10/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children in Care: North East
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact that the cost of living crisis on the number of children entering care in the North East.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	61907
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2022 answer text <p>The department monitors the situation of the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. We maintain regular contact and work closely with local authorities in the North East to recognise and understand the children in care numbers.</p><p>The department’s sector-led improvement programme continues to support long-term improvement in children’s social care, with 68 local authorities having already received support, including five in the North East.</p><p>As local authorities grapple with competing priorities, including any impact of the cost of living on families and services, the department will continue to focus on helping keep children safe.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 19/10/2022 14:37:26 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1505578

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	GCSE: Assessments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of comparative trends in the level of GCSE marks between the North East and other areas of the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	48332
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>The department remains committed to addressing regional disparities and levelling up education standards. The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, set out a vision for a school system that helps every child fulfil their potential regardless of where they live.</p><p>The north-east and Yorkshire and Humber regions had the joint lowest proportion of entries at grade 7 and above (both 22.4%) in England. By comparison, London (32.6%) and the south-east (29.2%) have had the highest proportion of entries achieving grade 7 and above in England in 2022, which is a historic trend that has continued this year. However, between the north-east and all other regions excluding London and the south-east, there was only a small difference.</p><p>There are many issues that contribute to worse outcomes at key stage 4 in the north-east, such as disadvantage and school quality. The department has worked extensively to drive improvement in the north-east and will continue to do so. Opportunity North East (ONE) was a three-year programme from 2019 to 2022 that invested £12 million to improve secondary outcomes in the region. As a result of this investment, there are now more Good Ofsted rated secondary schools in the region. Across the north-east, the proportion of Good and Outstanding secondary schools has increased from 58% in 2018 to 71% this year.</p><p>The department is building on this success through further support in its Education Investment Areas (EIAs). 6 of the 12 local authorities in the north-east are EIAs: Darlington, Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, with Middlesbrough and Hartlepool also being Priority EIAs eligible for additional investment.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 48338 question first answered 21/09/2022 15:19:39 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1505585

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	GCSE: North East
	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 help increase the proportion of students in the North East achieving grades 7 and above at GCSE in line with national averages.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	48338
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>The department remains committed to addressing regional disparities and levelling up education standards. The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, set out a vision for a school system that helps every child fulfil their potential regardless of where they live.</p><p>The north-east and Yorkshire and Humber regions had the joint lowest proportion of entries at grade 7 and above (both 22.4%) in England. By comparison, London (32.6%) and the south-east (29.2%) have had the highest proportion of entries achieving grade 7 and above in England in 2022, which is a historic trend that has continued this year. However, between the north-east and all other regions excluding London and the south-east, there was only a small difference.</p><p>There are many issues that contribute to worse outcomes at key stage 4 in the north-east, such as disadvantage and school quality. The department has worked extensively to drive improvement in the north-east and will continue to do so. Opportunity North East (ONE) was a three-year programme from 2019 to 2022 that invested £12 million to improve secondary outcomes in the region. As a result of this investment, there are now more Good Ofsted rated secondary schools in the region. Across the north-east, the proportion of Good and Outstanding secondary schools has increased from 58% in 2018 to 71% this year.</p><p>The department is building on this success through further support in its Education Investment Areas (EIAs). 6 of the 12 local authorities in the north-east are EIAs: Darlington, Durham, South Tyneside and Sunderland, with Middlesbrough and Hartlepool also being Priority EIAs eligible for additional investment.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 48332 question first answered 21/09/2022 15:19:39 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1258438

	registered interest
	date	04/12/2020
	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	Business Rates: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2020 to Quesetion 122692 on Non-domestic Rates: Coronavirus, whether small businesses that do not pay business rents due in December 2020 can be evicted by their landlord in January 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	125239
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for everyone, and Covid-19 is having a significant impact on our businesses. That is why we have introduced temporary measures to further safeguard the high street and millions of jobs.</p><p>Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 provides for a moratorium on forfeitures of commercial leases due to the non-payment of rent accrued during the pandemic. Government has announced that it has now extended the measure for a final time by three months until 31 March 2021.</p><p>This means that until this date, landlords of commercial properties will not be able to evict tenants for not paying rent due after 23 March 2020.</p><p>The Government has published a voluntary Code of Practice to encourage constructive dialogue between tenants and landlords; and is clear that those tenants who can pay in full should do so, those who cannot should pay what they can, and those landlords who can grant concessions should do so. We will publish further guidance to support negotiations between landlords and tenants in the new year.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 09/12/2020 13:44:40 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1256657

	registered interest
	date	30/11/2020
	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	Business Rates: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether small businesses that fail to pay business rents due in December 2020 can be evicted by their landlord during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	122692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2020 answer text <p>Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for everyone, and Covid-19 is having a significant impact on our businesses. That is why we have introduced temporary new measures to further safeguard the high street and millions of jobs.</p><p>Section 82 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 provides for a moratorium on forfeitures of commercial leases due to the non-payment of rent accrued during the pandemic. This means that landlords of commercial properties will not have the option to evict tenants for not paying the rent that was due after 23 March 2020. Government has announced that it will extend the moratorium on forfeiture until the end of the year. The extension provides landlords and tenants with a further opportunity to come together to have these discussions and reach agreements on outstanding rent.</p><p>Government has also restricted landlords’ ability to seize goods in lieu of rent and protected tenants from insolvency measures including statutory demands and winding up petitions.  All these measures are currently in place until 31 December 2020. Government has published a voluntary Code of Practice to encourage constructive dialogue between tenants and landlords; and is clear that those tenants who can pay in full should do so, those who cannot should pay what they can, and those landlords who can grant concessions should do so.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 03/12/2020 17:57:06 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst previous answer version 66506 answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1221101

	registered interest
	date	06/07/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	British Airways: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with British Airways about job retention.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	69546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p>The Department for Transport is in close contact with the aviation sector, ensuring that the Government is kept fully aware of the latest developments with all firms and to understand where additional policy measures could address specific industry issues.</p><p> </p><p>British Airways is able to draw upon the unprecedented package of measures announced by the Chancellor to protect jobs and incomes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme covering 80% of furloughed employees’ usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, alongside the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions.</p><p> </p><p>I and the Secretary of the State have met with both British Airways and IAG, and I continue to encourage BA and the unions to engage constructively with each other.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 14/07/2020 13:19:25 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1194904

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Transport: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department had to provide personal protective equipment to transport workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	46055
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>Keeping transport workers and passengers safe is of paramount importance. The new guidance for transport operators and passengers that we published on 12 May is designed precisely to help achieve this.</p><p> </p><p>The guidance is clear that when managing the risk of COVID-19, additional PPE beyond what workers usually wear is not beneficial. This is because COVID-19 is a different type of risk to the risks they normally face in a workplace, and needs to be managed through social distancing, good hand hygiene and fixed teams or partnering, not through the use of PPE. We are working closely with transport operators across the sector on the implementation of the guidance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/05/2020 16:16:10 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1194905

	registered interest
	date	12/05/2020
	answering body	Department for Transport
	answering dept id	27
	answering dept short name	Transport
	answering dept sort name	Transport
	hansard heading	Transport: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether families of transport workers who die from covid-19 are eligible for death in service benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	46056
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced on 27th April a scheme where families of eligible NHS and care workers, who die from coronavirus in the course of their frontline work, will receive a £60,000 payment.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is also looking at other professions that work on the frontline against coronavirus, who may not have access to death in service schemes, to see where this may be required. These discussions are ongoing as the situation evolves and will be considered carefully across government.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/05/2020 16:12:45 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah