Show Search Form

Search Results

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

Search

1729683

registered interest
date	13/09/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the existing draft PSHE statutory guidance; what steps they are taking to ensure that the final version is evidence-based; and what is the timeline for action on the PSHE statutory guidance.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL1100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2024 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of RSHE guidance for schools. Over the autumn, the government will look carefully at the consultation responses, discuss with stakeholders, and consider the relevant evidence, including the published Cass Review. Next steps will then be set out.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 27/09/2024 12:54:36 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1727767

registered interest
date	05/09/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adoption
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have met, or have plans to meet with, the Movement for an Adoption Apology; and whether they have any plans to move for apologising for historic forced adoptions that during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, which affected more than 215,000 women and their children.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2024 answer text <p>The government has not met with the Movement for an Adoption Apology and there is no meeting scheduled.</p><p> </p><p>My hon. Friend, the Minister for Children and Families, shares the deepest sympathy with everyone affected by historic forced adoption. The practice was abhorrent and should never have taken place.</p><p> </p><p>The department will look to learn from the approach of the devolved nations and explore what more can be done to support those impacted.</p><p> </p><p>The department is also currently funding the Adoption England project, Improving Adoption Services for Adults (IASA), which is designed to maintain relationships and provide better access to support for adopted adults.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 25/09/2024 08:47:17 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1722370

registered interest
date	22/07/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care: Minority Groups
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 relative number of children being taken into care from families from different minoritised communities; and what plans they have to provide support to families and social services to enable children to remain with their families, particularly among communities where levels are high.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL199
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/08/2024 answer text <p>The department’s intention is to deliver better life chances for all, including by improving services for the most vulnerable children and families. The 2023 data on children looked after showed that children from black and mixed ethnic groups are more likely to become looked after compared to the general 0-17 population (making up 7% and 10% of the looked after population respectively, compared to 6% and 7% of the general child population).</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Children Look After (2023)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>0-17 year old population (2021 census)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Other Ethnic Group</strong></p></td><td><p>5%</p></td><td><p>3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Black or Black British</strong></p></td><td><p>7%</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Asian or Asian British</strong></p></td><td><p>5%</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Mixed</strong></p></td><td><p>10%</p></td><td><p>7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>White</strong></p></td><td><p>71%</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Unknown</strong></p></td><td><p>1%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The department knows that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention to support families before they reach crisis point. The department is currently testing the impact of multi-disciplinary targeted support provided at the earliest opportunity to help families overcome challenges sooner, so that they can stay together and thrive.</p><p> </p><p>The department is also committed to supporting more children from all backgrounds to remain with family through kinship care and are considering how best to support both kinship carers and the children in their care.</p><p> </p><p>The Family Network Pilot is currently testing the impact of providing flexible funding for extended family networks through Family Network Support Packages (FNSP). The pilot will look at how FNSPs can unlock barriers and enable family networks to play a more active role in providing loving, stable homes for children through financial and other practical means. The pilot aims to help keep families together and children out of care, where this is in the best interests of the child. The pilot launched in four local authority areas, Brighton and Hove, Gateshead, Sunderland and Telford and Wrekin, and recently launched in a further three areas, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hartlepool and Staffordshire. The pilot will end in March 2025.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 08/08/2024 13:05:00 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1722372

registered interest
date	22/07/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Humanities: Higher Education
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 reduction in the number of university places for humanities subjects, and what steps they will take to halt this decline.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL201
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/08/2024 answer text <p>The government recognises the value that the humanities play both economically and culturally. However, universities are autonomous institutions and are therefore responsible for deciding which courses to offer.</p><p> </p><p>There has been a slight decrease (1,170 or -0.3%) in the number of students studying arts and humanities courses between 2019/20 and 2021/22. For the 2024/25 financial year, the Office for Students (OfS) has maintained funding for world-leading small and specialist providers at £58 million. This funding was increased by £5 million in the 2022/23 financial year, and earlier, by £10 million in the 2021/22 financial year. Details of providers’ allocations for the 2024/25 academic year will be announced by the OfS in the summer.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 05/08/2024 11:41:58 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1716635

registered interest
date	08/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: China
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 that Chinese students in UK universities, particularly those who are linked to China's military, are properly vetted and do not pose a threat to activists and people from Hong Kong based in UK universities who are campaigning against the actions of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4440
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/05/2024 answer text <p>Higher education (HE) in the UK is recognised as world class and attracting the brightest students from around the world is good for UK universities. However, the government takes seriously any concerns about overseas interference in the UK’s HE sector. The department continually assesses potential threats, and takes the protection of individuals’ rights, freedoms and safety in the UK very seriously.</p><p> </p><p>Any attempt by a foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. The National Security Act (2023) brings together vital new measures to protect the UK’s national security. The Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) has been created to tackle covert influence in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The Defending Democracy Taskforce is reviewing the UK’s approach to transnational repression to ensure that there is a robust and joined up response across government and law enforcement.</p><p> </p><p>The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that universities in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 22/05/2024 15:39:30 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1688786

registered interest
date	12/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Research
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risk to the UK's status as a location for research presented by the planned closure of the anthropology department of the University of Kent, particularly with regard to ethnobotany; and what broader assessment they have made of any risk posed by the closure of significant numbers of departments and faculties at universities.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL2379
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>Higher education providers are independent, autonomous institutions and are best placed to make decisions about the future focus of their research and their institutional strategy. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students, and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 26/02/2024 12:30:13 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1668655

registered interest
date	08/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Concrete
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will be providing funding to schools which identified safety issues relating to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete and which began or finished the relevant repair work before July to fully cover the cost of such work.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL91
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2023 answer text <p>It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, local authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.</p><p>The department will spend what it takes to keep children safe. The department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary.</p><p>The department will fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to remove RAAC from the school estate. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the School Rebuilding Programme. The department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.</p><p>The department will carefully consider claims submitted by responsible bodies for essential RAAC related works, taking into account the particular circumstances of each case.</p><p>The department recognises that some responsible bodies will already have carried out emergency mitigation works, where RAAC was deemed ‘critical,’ based on the advice of the department’s surveys or from other qualified professionals, and in most cases we will reimburse these costs.</p><p>Prior to 31 August 2023, the point at which the department’s advice on the risks of RAAC changed, some responsible bodies or schools may also have chosen to take action on RAAC in their buildings where it wasn’t deemed critical, and others may have chosen to go further and removed RAAC entirely. In these cases, as with any other capital works, the responsible bodies will have taken decisions as part of their own estate strategy, based on their assessment of any professional advice they'd received and the affordability of the project.</p><p>This work would typically have been funded through annual capital funding provided by the department to the sector, or from other sources of funding, such as a responsible body’s reserves. In these cases, the department is not providing additional funding to the funding the responsible bodies will have used to pay for the work.</p><p>In addition to the department’s support on RAAC, the department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. Alongside this, the department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and sixth form colleges over the coming decade through the School Rebuilding Programme.</p><p>The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in schools and colleges at the heart of its policy decisions. The government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 22/11/2023 17:57:46 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1662214

registered interest
date	20/09/2023
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 what is the minimum expected lifespan of new schools currently being constructed.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL10342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2023 answer text <p>All new educational buildings delivered by the department are designed to a robust specification that includes minimum expected lifespan of all components of the building, both externally and internally, based on current construction industry standards.</p><p>The current specification requires the minimum building life expectancy to be 50 years for the key structural components. Most buildings however last much longer with regular maintenance and proper oversight. The school estate has many excellent functioning buildings performing well as education settings from the last 150 years.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 16/10/2023 09:46:08 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1651485

registered interest
date	10/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Ethnic Groups
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 schools with codes on hairstyles that adversely affect school participation among students from ethnic-minority backgrounds; and what plans they have to ensure that all such codes are abolished.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL9198
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2023 answer text <p>Every school in England has existing legal obligations not to discriminate unlawfully on the grounds of a protected characteristic. It is for the governing board of a school to decide whether there should be a school uniform policy and if so, what it should be.</p><p>The department has not made an assessment of the number of schools with codes on hairstyles.</p><p>The department has published non statutory guidance to help schools to consider their equalities responsibilities in relation to uniform policies. The guidance is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms</a>.</p><p>In addition, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, with support from the Race Disparity Unit in the Cabinet Office, have produced guidance, which can be found here: <a href="https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/preventing-hair-discrimination-schools" target="_blank">https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/preventing-hair-discrimination-schools</a>.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 24/07/2023 12:09:38 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1644868

registered interest
date	14/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children and Young People: Asylum
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what restrictions there are on the provision of free school, and other public, transport to children and young people who are from asylum-seeking families.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL8471
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2023 answer text <p>The department’s school travel policy aims to ensure that no child of compulsory school age is unable to access education because of a lack of transport. Children of families seeking asylum in the UK are eligible for free home to school travel on the same basis as UK citizens. Their immigration status is not taken into account.</p><p>Local authorities must arrange free travel to school for children aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to the distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free travel for low-income families aimed at helping them exercise school choice.</p><p>Fares, concessions and operating criteria for public transport are set by transport operators themselves. The criteria, including the age at which any discount or concessions are made available for children and young people, are decided locally.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 28/06/2023 11:25:02 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle