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1717463

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the procurement of (a) food and (b) drinks produced in Britain for use in its canteens and restaurants.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	25738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>All catering contracts for department buildings are procured by the Government Property Agency (GPA).</p><p> </p><p>Contractually, all suppliers appointed by GPA are required to comply with the Government Buying Standards, owned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).</p><p> </p><p>The relevant part of the standards is local and environmentally sustainable sourcing. Wherever possible, food sourcing should prioritise locally produced food and food produced to higher environmental production standards. Contracting authorities and/or tier 1 suppliers should aim for at least 50% of food spend to be on locally produced food or food certified to higher environmental production standards. Progress towards this target must be reported annually.</p><p> </p><p>This contractual provision will be monitored as part of the governance and report requirements of GPA's new contracts.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 21/05/2024 12:11:18 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1717521

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Equality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Minister without Portfolio's article of 12 May 2024 in The Sunday Telegraph, whether the Construction Industry Training Board has been instructed by her Department to cancel its procurement process for a provider of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training, procurement reference BIP830543659.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	25814
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>There should be no external equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) spend in the Civil Service unless cleared and authorised by Ministers. <br> <br> The provider contract for equality diversity and inclusion is due to expire on 31 March 2026. We do not intend to terminate it early.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 21/05/2024 16:01:54 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1717625

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Health Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many providers have contracts with her Department to provide education on alcohol in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) colleges and (d) universities; what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of those providers that receive funding (i) directly and (ii) indirectly from the alcohol industry; and whether this information is required to be disclosed on tender applications.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	25881
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>​​The department does not have any contracts with providers to provide education on alcohol in schools, colleges or universities, nor does the department hold information on providers of alcohol education in schools and higher education (HE) institutions.</p><p> </p><p>The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments.</p><p> </p><p>It is for further education colleges to determine what material they use to support the health and wellbeing of students.</p><p> </p><p>HE providers in England are autonomous and independent and they make decisions on the courses that they will run. In making these decisions, providers will adapt their offers to the interest of students and demand from employers. The department cannot therefore comment on their choices.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 25882 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:52:31 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1717626

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Health Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number and proportion of providers of alcohol education in (a) schools and (b) higher education institutions in the last five years that received funding (i) directly and (ii) indirectly from the alcohol industry; and what the value was of contracts issued to providers that received such funding from the alcohol industry.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	25882
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>​​The department does not have any contracts with providers to provide education on alcohol in schools, colleges or universities, nor does the department hold information on providers of alcohol education in schools and higher education (HE) institutions.</p><p> </p><p>The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments.</p><p> </p><p>It is for further education colleges to determine what material they use to support the health and wellbeing of students.</p><p> </p><p>HE providers in England are autonomous and independent and they make decisions on the courses that they will run. In making these decisions, providers will adapt their offers to the interest of students and demand from employers. The department cannot therefore comment on their choices.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 25881 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:52:31 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1717627

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Electronic Cigarettes: Health Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to educate young people on the potential health impacts of (a) vaping and (b) nicotine pouches.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	25883
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The department has included a specific reference to the dangers of e-cigarettes in the amended relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance, which was published for consultation on 16 May 2024. On 1 June 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced an intervention which will take steps to prevent children obtaining e-cigarettes illegally.</p><p>The current RSHE statutory guidance, which sets out the topics the subjects should cover, already states that in primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks. This includes smoking, alcohol use and drug taking, as well as supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for Key Stages 2 and 3 science.</p><p>To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department published a suite of teacher training modules, including on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes.</p><p><br></p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 21/05/2024 12:04:07 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1717640

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Havering
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children with special educational needs in the London Borough of Havering.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	25795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in all areas, including Havering, receive the support they need to realise their potential.</p><p>The ‘SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan’ outlines the government’s mission to create a single, national SEND and alternative provision system. The proposal to develop National Standards is a fundamental part of this. The Standards will outline the types of special educational provision that should be available, who is responsible for delivering that support, and will clarify the expectations on mainstream settings and local services.</p><p>These standards will help families, practitioners and providers understand what support every child or young person should be receiving from early years through to further education. By the end of 2025, the department will publish a significant proportion of the National Standards. As these Standards will apply nationally, the London Borough of Havering is automatically included.</p><p>In addition, high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing by £440 million, or 4.3%, in 2024/25. This will bring total high needs funding to over £10.5 billion, which is an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with SEND. Additional funding for teachers’ pay and teachers’ pensions is on top of this. Havering will receive an allocation of £43 million through the 2024/25 Dedicated Schools Grant, to support children and young people with complex educational needs and disabilities. This is a cumulative increase of 33% per head over the three years from 2021/22.</p><p>Havering is also taking part in the Delivering Better Value in SEND Programme (DBV in SEND). The DBV in SEND Programme aims to help local authorities provide more effective SEND services by meeting the needs of children and young people at an early stage and with the right level of support.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 21/05/2024 11:58:25 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1717683

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in care are moved more than 10 miles away due to a lack of appropriate local care options.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	25989
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ 2023 data shows that 70% of children who were looked after on 31 March 2023 were placed within 20 miles of home and 21% were placed over 20 miles from home. This data is published on GOV.UK. Information for the remaining 9% was not known or not recorded. In most cases this will be because the child was an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child but it could also be because the home address was not known or for reasons of confidentiality. Information on reasons why children were placed more than 20 miles from their home is not held centrally by the department.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes out of area placements are essential to keep a child safe, but the department recognises there are challenges in the children’s social care sector. At the Spring Budget, the government announced a £165 million boost to expand places in secure and open residential children’s homes, on top of the £259 million secured at Spending Review 2021. This takes the total planned investment to over £400 million. This Spring Budget funding is expected to create a further 200 open children’s homes (OCHs) places and rebuild Atkinson and Swanwick secure children’s homes (SCHs). This is in addition to the 95 new OCHs, providing 360 additional placements, and two brand new regional SCHs in London and West Midlands created by the Spending Review funding. This total investment illustrates the department’s commitment to support councils in continuing to deliver high-quality services to vulnerable children and families.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 21/05/2024 11:38:14 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper

1717709

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of access to 15 hours of government-funded childcare support by (a) single and (b) disabled parent families.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
tabling member printed	Janet Daby
uin	25978
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>Working parent entitlements are aimed at supporting parents to get back into work, or to work more hours if they wish to. This is available to both two parent families and single parent families who meet the eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p><p>The department is expanding the free childcare offer from September 2025 to enable eligible working parents in England to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school.</p><p> </p><p>Since April 2024, eligible working parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year from the term after the child’s second birthday. Over 210,000 two year olds are now confirmed to have places for 15 hours a week of free childcare, as part of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England. Applications are now open for the September phase of the expansion, which will see the offer extended to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months.</p><p> </p><p>The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year will be eligible. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits such as carers allowance, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. Single parents in receipt of specified benefits will also need to be working and meet the income requirements in order to be eligible for the working parent entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>Parents who claim Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment for themselves or their child may be eligible for this entitlement, if they are working and meet the income requirement. More information is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working</a>.</p><p> </p><p>However, parents who are already receiving some additional forms of government support can receive 15 hours of funded early education, including childcare, for two year olds. This is separate from the new entitlement for working parents and is available to parents whose child is entitled to Disability Living Allowance. All parents regardless of employment status or income levels are eligible for the universal 15 hours for three and four year olds.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 25979 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:49:32 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1717710

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase access to 15 hours of childcare support for (a) single and (b) disabled parent families.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
tabling member printed	Janet Daby
uin	25979
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>Working parent entitlements are aimed at supporting parents to get back into work, or to work more hours if they wish to. This is available to both two parent families and single parent families who meet the eligibility criteria.</p><p> </p><p>The department is expanding the free childcare offer from September 2025 to enable eligible working parents in England to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from the term after their child turns 9 months old to when they start school.</p><p> </p><p>Since April 2024, eligible working parents of two year olds have been able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year from the term after the child’s second birthday. Over 210,000 two year olds are now confirmed to have places for 15 hours a week of free childcare, as part of the largest ever expansion of childcare in England. Applications are now open for the September phase of the expansion, which will see the offer extended to eligible working parents of children aged from 9 months.</p><p> </p><p>The income eligibility criteria are applied on a per parent basis, so working parents who individually earn more than £9,518 but less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year will be eligible. For families with two parents, both must be working to meet the criteria, unless one is receiving certain benefits such as carers allowance, incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance. Single parents in receipt of specified benefits will also need to be working and meet the income requirements in order to be eligible for the working parent entitlement.</p><p> </p><p>Parents who claim Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment for themselves or their child may be eligible for this entitlement, if they are working and meet the income requirement. More information is available at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/check-eligible-free-childcare-if-youre-working</a>.</p><p> </p><p>However, parents who are already receiving some additional forms of government support can receive 15 hours of funded early education, including childcare, for two year olds. This is separate from the new entitlement for working parents and is available to parents whose child is entitled to Disability Living Allowance. All parents regardless of employment status or income levels are eligible for the universal 15 hours for three and four year olds.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 25978 question first answered 21/05/2024 11:49:32 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1717740

registered interest
date	13/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Neurodiversity
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help tackle discriminatory language towards neurodiverse students in mainstream education.
tabling member constituency	Selby and Ainsty
tabling member printed	Keir Mather
uin	26023
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/05/2024 answer text <p>The government has sent a clear message to schools that all forms of bullying, for whatever reason, are unacceptable. Bullying can have a devastating effect on individuals, harm their education and have serious and lasting consequences for their mental health.</p><p> </p><p>All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. Schools have the freedom to develop anti-bullying strategies that are appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted. More information on the department’s ‘Behaviour in schools’ guidance is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The department has provided over £3 million of funding, between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2024, to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. One of the grant holders, the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA), delivered a range of targeted programmes based on tackling the bullying of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The ABA provides a free continuing professional development training course to help schools reduce disablist bullying, which can be found here: <a href="https://learning.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/course/9155/course-12-%E2%80%93-reducing-disablist-bullying-disabilities-equality-act-and-schools-duties" target="_blank">https://learning.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/course/9155/course-12-%E2%80%93-reducing-disablist-bullying-disabilities-equality-act-and-schools-duties</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The department is currently considering what future support schools might need to tackle bullying.</p><p> </p><p>More widely, a school’s culture should consistently promote high standards of behaviour and provide the necessary support to ensure all pupils can achieve and thrive, both in and out of the classroom. Schools should consider how a whole-school approach meets the needs of all pupils in the school, including those with SEND or neurodiverse needs, so that everyone can feel they belong in the school community and high expectations are maintained for all pupils.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 21/05/2024 11:45:08 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4993 label Biography information for Keir Mather