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1355448

	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	Schools: Ventilation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to improve ventilation in schools to inhibit the spread of covid-19.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	49114
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2021 answer text <p>On 21 August, the department announced that carbon dioxide monitors will be provided to all state-funded nurseries, schools, and colleges from September. Backed by a £25 million government investment, the new monitors will enable staff to act quickly where ventilation is poor and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working.</p><p>The programme will provide nurseries, schools, and colleges with sufficient monitors to take representative readings from across the indoor spaces in their estate, assessing all spaces in a relatively short space of time. On 6 September, the department also provided new information to settings on how to use CO2 monitors to better manage ventilation.</p><p>The department has committed to supplying around 300,000 carbon dioxide monitors across England in the Autumn term. From 6 September, the department started to despatch carbon dioxide monitors to special schools and alternative provision, who have been prioritised to receive their full allocation given their higher-than-average numbers of vulnerable pupils.</p><p>The government has also launched a trial of air purifiers in 30 schools in Bradford, which is designed to assess the technology in schools and whether they could reduce the risk of transmission.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 20/09/2021 16:15:45 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1364819

	registered interest
	date	01/11/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Dance and Music: Education
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the cost-effectiveness of the Music and Dance Scheme; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	67138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2021 answer text <p>The department has a long-term commitment to ensuring that high-quality dance and music education is not the preserve of the elite, but the entitlement of every single child.</p><p>The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) allows exceptionally talented children to attend specialist music and dance education providers. The scheme provides bursaries and grants totalling around £30 million per annum to children and young people with exceptional potential, regardless of their personal circumstances, to benefit from world-class specialist music or dance training.</p><p>The department regularly assesses the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of all programmes, including the MDS. The department is working with MDS providers to improve the information collected from them each year, so future assessments can be improved.</p><p>Following the Spending Review, the department will continue to invest around £115 million per annum in cultural education over the next three years, though our music, arts and heritage programmes, and this includes the Music and Dance Scheme.</p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 08/11/2021 17:18:38 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1379059

	registered interest
	date	16/11/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Breakfast Clubs: Contracts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Government contracts for the provision of school breakfasts.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	75878
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs in England and is further 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 in England, including opportunity areas. This means 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 breakfast clubs programme is operated by our provider Family Action.</p><p>Throughout the current contract we will be working with this provider to monitor different aspects of the current programme and its effectiveness on school breakfast provisions. We will consider the best opportunities to share information as it progresses.</p><p>The department made a £38 million investment in the National School Breakfast Programme between March 2018 and July 2021. This has helped to set up or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas and to sustain them in the longer term.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 23/11/2021 17:06:11 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1174350

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Family Hubs: Capital Investment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on capital funding for family hubs.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	9657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2020 answer text <p>We are working with councils to champion family hubs. We have commissioned research from the Early Intervention Foundation to learn from effective local practice, which will be reported in spring 2020. We are exploring what other steps could support the family hub model.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced additional funding of up to £165 million to extend the Troubled Families Programme for an extra year. This will mean more people in need get access to the programme's early, practical and coordinated support to transform their lives for the better.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 9658 question first answered 07/02/2020 13:16:47 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1174351

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Family Hubs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make it its policy to include family hubs as part of its (a) early years strategy, (b) Troubled Families programme and (c) children's services reform; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	9658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2020 answer text <p>We are working with councils to champion family hubs. We have commissioned research from the Early Intervention Foundation to learn from effective local practice, which will be reported in spring 2020. We are exploring what other steps could support the family hub model.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced additional funding of up to £165 million to extend the Troubled Families Programme for an extra year. This will mean more people in need get access to the programme's early, practical and coordinated support to transform their lives for the better.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 9657 question first answered 07/02/2020 13:16:47 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1231631

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2020
	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	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 under his Department's restructuring regime to enable (a) Buckinghamshire New University and (b) other financially strong higher education institutions to assist nearby institutions in financial difficulty; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	85039
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>The government recognises the value of the higher education sector and that a high level of uncertainty remains around the scale of problems that higher education providers, as a whole and individually, may face in the coming academic year. We have been working closely with the higher education sector, in the Higher Education Taskforce, as well as with the Office for Students (OfS) and across the government to understand the financial risks that providers are facing and to help providers to access the support on offer. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity. They can now also directly contact the department’s Restructuring Unit at:<br><a href="mailto:HE.RestructuringRegime@education.gov.uk" target="_blank">HE.RestructuringRegime@education.gov.uk</a>.</p><p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced further information about the Higher Education Restructuring Regime on 16 July and more details are available here:<br><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-restructuring-regime" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-restructuring-regime</a>.</p><p>This may be deployed as a last resort, if a decision has been made to support a provider in England, when other steps to preserve a provider’s viability and to mitigate the risks of financial failure have not proved sufficient. The overarching objectives that will guide the department’s assessment of cases will be to protect the welfare of current students, to preserve the sector’s internationally outstanding science base and to support the role that higher education providers play in regional and local economies through the provision of high-quality courses aligned with economic and societal needs.</p><p>We will consider providers’ circumstances on a case-by-case basis, supported by expert advice, to ensure there is a robust value-for-money case for intervention. In cases where an Independent Business Review is carried out, the resulting restructuring plan may include options for a merger as well as for consolidation and services sharing between providers. The department’s Restructuring Unit will work with the provider and other stakeholders to ensure that the best option forward is chosen to ensure that the overarching objectives, as mentioned previously, are met.</p><p>Regarding the circumstances of Buckinghamshire New University, the government does not comment on individual higher education providers.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 14/09/2020 15:50:12 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1276136

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Government has made on mass lateral flow testing of university students; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	137198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2021 answer text <p>The Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care have worked in partnership with higher education (HE) institutions to deliver an asymptomatic mass testing programme to ensure that students could travel home from university in December and that students reading a subject listed within the guidance as essential in order to support the pipeline of future workers (as well as those with exemptions as outlined in guidance) can travel back to university safely and with confidence while protecting themselves, their friends, family and wider community.</p><p>Officials worked with the sector to ensure that almost all HE institutions were ready to provide 2 COVID-19 tests to students that returned in January 2021. I also wrote to Vice Chancellors on 21 January 2021, announcing that providers should commence regular ongoing lateral flow testing from 25 January 2021.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 28/01/2021 16:49:56 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1355400

	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	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will conduct a review of the Apprenticeship Levy focused on what further potential flexibility for businesses can be introduced into the scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	49109
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2021 answer text <p>In response to employer feedback, we are continuing to improve apprenticeships, making them more flexible for employers and making it easier for employers to make greater use of their levy funds.</p><p>The department is making it easier for large employers to transfer levy funds to support new starts in small businesses, or in a certain sector or region. On 13 September 2021, we launched a new online service to allow levy paying employers to advertise funding pledges, enabling a much wider range of businesses to browse and apply for available funds.</p><p>In addition, the department is making apprenticeships more flexible so that they better meet the needs of employers in all sectors. We are encouraging greater use of innovative apprenticeship training models, such as the front-loading of off-the-job training so apprentices can be productive from day one in the workplace. We are also developing accelerated apprenticeships so that apprentices with substantial prior learning from other skills programmes, such as traineeships and T Levels, can complete an apprenticeship more quickly.</p><p>In August, the department launched a new £7 million flexi-job apprenticeship fund to support greater use of apprenticeships in sectors, such as creative and construction, where flexible working practices are commonplace. Flexi-job apprenticeships will enable apprentices to move between different host employers in a sector or region as they complete the training requirements for their apprenticeship.</p><p>The department currently has no plans to review the apprenticeship levy and what funds can be spent on.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 22/09/2021 15:37:35 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1256551

	registered interest
	date	30/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus
	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 deliver of covid- secure teaching without the use of (a) facemasks and (b) social distancing at special educational needs and disability schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	122675
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2020 answer text <p>The guidance entitled ‘full opening: special schools and other specialist settings’ includes details on how settings should put in place proportionate ‘System of Control’ measures to minimise the risk of transmission, including advice on the use of face masks and managing social distancing. This guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings</a>. Relevant for all specialist settings, this guidance is informed by advice from Public Health England and is updated, as necessary, to reflect current advice. Based on current evidence and the measures that settings have already put in place, such as the system of controls and consistent bubbles, face coverings will not be necessary in the classroom even where full social distancing is not possible. Face coverings could have a negative impact on teaching and their use in the classroom should currently be avoided.</p><p>Mainstream and special schools that teach children in years 7 and above, and which are under tier 1 local restrictions, may decide to recommend the wearing of face coverings for pupils and adults in indoor communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain. When an area moves to tier 2 or 3 local restrictions, face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils in year 7 and above in communal areas, and when moving around the premises outside of classrooms. This does not apply to those of any age who are exempt, such as those who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical impairment or disability, illness or mental health difficulties.</p><p>Primary school head teachers have the discretion to require adults to wear face coverings in indoor situations where social distancing is difficult to maintain. Primary-aged school children do not need to wear a face covering.</p><p>We recognise that maintaining distance or forming bubbles could be particularly difficult in special schools, particularly given the need for staff to administer care and provide therapies to children and young people. However, the average number of pupils or students attending a special school is much lower than the average number in a mainstream school, and this, in itself, will help to limit the number of contacts for any individual.</p><p>Our guidance, entitled ’Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)’ provides further support on preventing and controlling infection, including the use of PPE in education, childcare and children’s social care settings during the COVID-19 outbreak. This guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe#what-care-should-be-taken-in-residential-settings-including-residential-schools-residential-special-schools-and-childrens-care-homes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care/safe-working-in-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings-including-the-use-of-personal-protective-equipment-ppe#what-care-should-be-taken-in-residential-settings-including-residential-schools-residential-special-schools-and-childrens-care-homes</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 03/12/2020 11:46:15 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1167003

	registered interest
	date	29/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2019 to Question 1676, for how long he will maintain supplementary funding for local authorities to preserve the funding rates of maintained nursery schools.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	7127
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises that maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and that they provide valuable services to disadvantaged children.</p><p>The Government invests approximately £60 million of supplementary funding each financial year for local authorities to preserve the funding rates of maintained nursery schools.</p><p>The Government plans to spend £3.6 billion to support early education in the financial year 2020-21. I confirmed details of this spending review in a written statement to the House on 31 October 2019, available here: <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-10-31/HCWS56/" target="_blank">https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-10-31/HCWS56/</a>.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 04/11/2019 11:02:31 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker