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1486478

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Broadband
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of schools in England that do not have access to gigabit broadband.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	31183
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2022 answer text <p>Building on the £30 million investment for the Connect the Classroom pilot programme, the department is investing up to a further £150 million on Connect the Classroom to upgrade more schools that fall below our Wi-Fi connectivity standards in priority areas. The Connect the Classroom pilot started in 2021 and engagement with schools who qualify for the additional £150 million of investment began June 2022.</p><p>National connectivity data does not cover private business fibre connections procured by schools or the take-up of a high-speed internet service by a school. The previous analysis of publicly available data of access to infrastructure showed that 3,835 schools are in postcodes that do not have access to full fibre or are currently not in areas of proposed commercial build within the next five years. This covered schools which do not have access to gigabit infrastructure, but does not consider new activity planned since this time.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 31184 question first answered 21/07/2022 18:13:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1486479

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: WiFi
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to implement the Connect the Classroom pilot project.
tabling member constituency	Ogmore
tabling member printed	Chris Elmore
uin	31184
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2022 answer text <p>Building on the £30 million investment for the Connect the Classroom pilot programme, the department is investing up to a further £150 million on Connect the Classroom to upgrade more schools that fall below our Wi-Fi connectivity standards in priority areas. The Connect the Classroom pilot started in 2021 and engagement with schools who qualify for the additional £150 million of investment began June 2022.</p><p>National connectivity data does not cover private business fibre connections procured by schools or the take-up of a high-speed internet service by a school. The previous analysis of publicly available data of access to infrastructure showed that 3,835 schools are in postcodes that do not have access to full fibre or are currently not in areas of proposed commercial build within the next five years. This covered schools which do not have access to gigabit infrastructure, but does not consider new activity planned since this time.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 31183 question first answered 21/07/2022 18:13:42 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4572 label Biography information for Chris Elmore

1486482

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academies
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the form entitled Model articles of association for academy trusts, published on 3 January 2013, whether it remains his policy that the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by local authority associated persons should not exceed 19.9 per cent of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting.
tabling member constituency	Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
tabling member printed	Nick Gibb
uin	30971
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/07/2022 answer text <p>The most recent model articles of association for use by mainstream academies, last updated on 30 June 2021 states:</p><p> </p><p>“Notwithstanding the number of Members from time to time, the maximum aggregate number of votes exercisable by Local Authority Associated Persons shall never exceed 19.9% of the total number of votes exercisable by Members in general meeting and the votes of the other Members having a right to vote at the meeting will be increased on a pro-rata basis.”</p><p> </p><p>This remains the department’s policy position, and we have no plans to change this approach for most types of academy trusts.</p><p> </p><p>The department is testing an approach to allow local authorities to establish new multi academy trusts, where there is a need, to which the above limit on local authority Associated Persons shall not apply. We will, however, require at least one member to be independent of any association with the local authority. We will work with a small number of local authorities to test the concept. Local authority-established multi-academy trusts will be subject to the same oversight and, where necessary, intervention as all trusts. More information about this policy can be found in the registration of interest document, here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-established-mats-registration-of-interest" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-established-mats-registration-of-interest</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 13/07/2022 16:55:04 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb

1486497

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Health: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to help ensure that the potential impact of the cost of living crisis on school meals does not affect the health of children.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
tabling member printed	Dame Diana Johnson
uin	31055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2022 answer text <p>The provision of healthy school meals, free to those children who are eligible for them, is of the utmost importance to the government. The department is holding regular meetings with other government departments and food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies.</p><p> </p><p>All contracts for school food are held at school, multi-academy trust, or local authority level. Schools are responsible for the provision of both free and paid-for meals, and how much to spend on school food provision.</p><p> </p><p>Under the benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free healthy meal to around 1.9 million children, ensuring they are well-nourished and can concentrate and learn. The department also spends around £600 million per year ensuring around 1.25 million infants enjoy a free, healthy, and nutritious meal at lunchtime, following the introduction of the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy in 2014.</p><p> </p><p>The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. These are global challenges, and this is why the government is providing over £15 billion in further support, targeted particularly at those with the greatest need. This package is in addition to the over £22 billion announced previously, with government support for the cost of living now totalling over £37 billion this year. This includes an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of household essentials, on top of what the department has provided since October 2021. This brings total funding for this support to £1.5 billion. In England, this will take the form of an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421 million, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. Devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/07/2022 16:55:09 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1533 label Biography information for Dame Diana Johnson

1486555

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total value has been of contracts held by their Department with (a) G4S, (b) Serco and (c) Capita in each year since 2020.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	31005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2022 answer text <p>Following a search of the department’s records, the total value of contracts held by (a) G4S (b) Serco and (c) Capita is as below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Supplier</p></td><td><p>Value of contracts 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2020</p></td><td><p>Value of contracts 01/01/2021 to 31/12/2021</p></td><td><p>Value of contracts 01/01/2022 to 30/06/2022</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>G4S</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td><td><p>£0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Serco</p></td><td><p>£4,000,000</p></td><td><p>£856,375</p></td><td><p>£856,375</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Capita</p></td><td><p>£28,056,759</p></td><td><p>£35,816,679</p></td><td><p>£32,690,536</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>To note, the total value of the contract listed above is pro-rata over the length of the contract, using annualised contract values.</p><p>Details of government contracts from 2016 above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/07/2022 18:21:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1486609

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Primary Education: Standards
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 ensure that all primary school children reach the expected level of achievement in (a) reading, (b) writing and (c) maths.
tabling member constituency	Slough
tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
uin	31204
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2022 answer text <p>The department’s 2030 ambition is 90% of primary school children achieving expected standards in reading, writing and maths, and that the national GCSE average grade in both English language and mathematics increases from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.</p><p>The department will be publishing part two of the reading framework in 2023, which will provide evidence-based, non-statutory guidance on teaching reading for years 2 to 9. Our validation of systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) programmes specifies that all validated programmes must provide opportunities for children to apply their phonics knowledge to writing words and sentences. This will support schools to drive up writing standards.</p><p>In 2018, the department launched the £26.3 million English Hubs Programme. This is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds.</p><p>In 2021, we launched the £10 million accelerator fund for English and mathematics as part of the government’s education recovery package. To date, over 430 schools have been provided with funding to adopt a department-validated phonics scheme and the training to implement this successfully. Thousands of primary schools have also benefitted from additional Maths Hubs support to strengthen the teaching of the core subject.</p><p>Our national network of 40 school-led Maths Hubs is also continuing to support local schools improve the quality of their mathematics teaching based on best practice. This includes through the established £100 million Teaching for Mastery programme, which will have brought training on mastery teaching to a total of 11,000 schools across England by 2023.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 21/07/2022 11:44:47 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1486632

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Speech and Language Therapy: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to ensure that speech and language therapists are included in the local multidisciplinary Family Help teams recommended by the Independent Review of Children's Social Care.
tabling member constituency	Swansea West
tabling member printed	Geraint Davies
uin	30980
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/07/2022 answer text <p>The department will carefully consider the recommendations of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care relating to multidisciplinary Family Help teams. Further information will be provided in the publication of a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 18/07/2022 14:34:23 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	155 label Biography information for Geraint Davies

1486633

registered interest
date	05/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Speech and Language Therapy: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the report, Implications of COVID for Early Childhood Education and Care in England, published in June 2022, that speech and language delays were reported across all age groups as children had fewer opportunities to develop their communication skills at home.
tabling member constituency	Swansea West
tabling member printed	Geraint Davies
uin	30981
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2022 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood education and speech and language development. The department is investing up to £180 million of recovery support in the early years sector to build a stronger, more expert workforce. This will enable settings to deliver high-quality teaching and help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the youngest children, particularly those in the most disadvantaged areas. This includes up to £17 million on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception-age children who need it most. Two-thirds of primary schools have signed up for the programme. The department estimates that the programme will reach around 90,000 children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>This also includes funding to train early years practitioners to support parents with the home learning environment, as part of the family hubs programme. Priority will be given to the families who will benefit most. Improving the home learning environment offers the opportunity to improve children’s cognitive skills and future attainment. The department wants to encourage parents to chat, play and read more with their children, in and around the home.</p><p> </p><p>The department has provided £10.7 million in grant funding to existing early years voluntary and community sector partners to support disadvantaged children’s early literacy and language development, including support for early years special educational needs and disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the department reformed the early years foundation stage statutory framework. These reforms will serve as an important platform to support COVID-19 recovery, particularly supporting children from disadvantaged backgrounds who will have been disproportionately impacted.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 20/07/2022 16:55:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	155 label Biography information for Geraint Davies