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1226340

registered interest
date	20/09/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public First
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Ministerial sign off was required for the award of the focus group contract to Public First.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	76729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>Further to my <a href="https://bit.ly/30s4dmg" target="_blank">answer on 01 October 2020</a>, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.</p><p>As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.</p><p>No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.</p><p>A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 76730 76731 76732 76733 77726 77727 question first answered 06/10/2020 09:19:17 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1226341

registered interest
date	20/09/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public First
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the contract for focus group work was awarded to Public First.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	76730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>Further to my <a href="https://bit.ly/30s4dmg" target="_blank">answer on 01 October 2020</a>, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.</p><p>As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.</p><p>No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.</p><p>A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 76729 76731 76732 76733 77726 77727 question first answered 06/10/2020 09:19:18 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1226342

registered interest
date	20/09/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public First
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he met with representatives from Public First in the six months prior to the award of the focus group contract to that company.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	76731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>Further to my <a href="https://bit.ly/30s4dmg" target="_blank">answer on 01 October 2020</a>, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.</p><p>As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.</p><p>No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.</p><p>A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 76729 76730 76732 76733 77726 77727 question first answered 06/10/2020 09:19:18 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1226343

registered interest
date	20/09/2020
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Public First
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) Minister or (b) official initiated discussions with Public First on the focus group contract.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	76732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/10/2020 answer text <p>Further to my <a href="https://bit.ly/30s4dmg" target="_blank">answer on 01 October 2020</a>, competitive tenders are used across government, including by the Cabinet Office. It is also the case that there are certain circumstances where regulations permit that contracts can be awarded without a competition, including where there is extreme urgency.</p><p>As has been the case under successive administrations, this Government works with a number of suppliers to provide polling and focus group work. Public First was engaged by the Cabinet Office to test public opinion and reaction to government messaging, including focus groups for COVID-19 research. Details of this contract have been published on GOV.UK in the usual way.</p><p>No ministerial sign off was sought for the award of a contract to Public First. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on GOV.UK.</p><p>A claim for Judicial Review was issued by the High Court on 10 July 2020 in relation to the award of this contract. It would not, therefore, be appropriate to make further comment whilst this is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.</p> answering member constituency Hornchurch and Upminster answering member printed Julia Lopez grouped question UIN 76729 76730 76731 76733 77726 77727 question first answered 06/10/2020 09:19:18 answering member 4647 label Biography information for Julia Lopez
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1231708

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people as they return to school as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
tabling member constituency	Bromley and Chislehurst
tabling member printed	Sir Robert Neill
uin	905514
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>Getting children and young people back into education, with settings devoting time to supporting wellbeing, will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The return to school will allow social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. The department has now published detailed plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance for schools is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools</a>.</p><p> </p><p>We have been working hard to ensure that all pupils and learners will return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion Covid catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. More information is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As pupils return to school, staff need to be equipped to understand that some children and young people may be experiencing feelings in such as anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and that these are normal responses to an abnormal situation. Our Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Advice includes information about what to look for in terms of underlying mental health issues, linked to the graduated response and the support that might be suitable. More information is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2</a>.</p><p> </p><p>From September, the Government is investing £8 million to launch the new Wellbeing for Education Return training programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This is additional to longer term work to improve support, including the new mental health support teams that we are rolling out across the country, linked to schools and colleges. More information is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The department in collaboration with Public Health England and NHS England, delivered two webinars in July to provide further mental health support. The first webinar was for schools and colleges to support teachers in promoting and supporting the mental wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak. The second event was for stakeholders across the local system to support strengthening of local partnerships to further support children and young people’s mental health as they return to school. We had around 10,000 sign up to the first webinar and around 1,300 to the second, and they are now available online for wider use.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to working in partnership across education, health, the voluntary sector and local authorities to ensure that children and young people, parents and carers, and the professionals supporting them:</p><ul><li>can access good-quality resources</li><li>are confident in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing (as well as their own) and</li></ul><ul><li>ensure access to specialist services when they’re needed.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS mental services remain open. All NHS mental health trusts are providing 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. The Government has also provided over £9 million to mental health charities to ensure they can continue to support people experiencing mental health challenges throughout the outbreak.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 905505 question first answered 07/09/2020 15:10:07 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	1601 label Biography information for Sir Robert Neill

1231709

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Mental Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people as they return to school as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
tabling member constituency	Cheadle
tabling member printed	Mary Robinson
uin	905505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>Getting children and young people back into education, with settings devoting time to supporting wellbeing, will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The return to school will allow social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. The department has now published detailed plans for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance for schools is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools</a>.</p><p> </p><p>We have been working hard to ensure that all pupils and learners will return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion Covid catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. More information is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time</a>.</p><p> </p><p>As pupils return to school, staff need to be equipped to understand that some children and young people may be experiencing feelings in such as anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and that these are normal responses to an abnormal situation. Our Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Advice includes information about what to look for in terms of underlying mental health issues, linked to the graduated response and the support that might be suitable. More information is available here: <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2</a>.</p><p> </p><p>From September, the Government is investing £8 million to launch the new Wellbeing for Education Return training programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This is additional to longer term work to improve support, including the new mental health support teams that we are rolling out across the country, linked to schools and colleges. More information is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The department in collaboration with Public Health England and NHS England, delivered two webinars in July to provide further mental health support. The first webinar was for schools and colleges to support teachers in promoting and supporting the mental wellbeing of children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak. The second event was for stakeholders across the local system to support strengthening of local partnerships to further support children and young people’s mental health as they return to school. We had around 10,000 sign up to the first webinar and around 1,300 to the second, and they are now available online for wider use.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to working in partnership across education, health, the voluntary sector and local authorities to ensure that children and young people, parents and carers, and the professionals supporting them:</p><ul><li>can access good-quality resources</li><li>are confident in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing (as well as their own) and</li></ul><ul><li>ensure access to specialist services when they’re needed.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS mental services remain open. All NHS mental health trusts are providing 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. The Government has also provided over £9 million to mental health charities to ensure they can continue to support people experiencing mental health challenges throughout the outbreak.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 905514 question first answered 07/09/2020 15:10:07 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4406 label Biography information for Mary Robinson

1231710

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Attendance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to support good (a) attendance and (b) behaviour as pupils return to school as covid-19 restrictions are eased.
tabling member constituency	Bolton West
tabling member printed	Chris Green
uin	905507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>It is vital for all pupils to return to school to minimise the impact of the pandemic on their education. It is important for schools to also be calm and disciplined environments, where everyone follows the rules.</p><p> </p><p>We have published guidance for school leaders to support them to:</p><ul><li>communicate clear and consistent expectations around school attendance to families throughout the summer ahead of the new school year</li><li>identify pupils who are reluctant or anxious about returning or who are at risk of disengagement and develop plans for re-engaging them using the additional catch-up funding schools will receive</li><li>work closely with other professionals as appropriate to support the return to school, including social workers and other specialist services</li><li>update behaviour policies and communicate any new rules clearly and consistently to staff, pupils and parents</li><li>ensure appropriate provision is in place for pupils with additional needs. Some children will return to school having been exposed to a range of adversity which may lead to social, emotional and mental health concerns.</li></ul><p> </p><p>To support this work on the ground, regional teams continue to engage regularly with local authorities to understand any barriers to attendance. We are also working with stakeholders to enable schools and LAs to share best practice to improve attendance and ensure a smooth transition back to school.</p><p> </p><p>More widely, we are running a ‘Back to school’ campaign which seeks to reassure parents and explain the measures that education providers are taking to reduce the risk of transmission.</p><p> </p><p>We have also worked with local authorities and transport providers to make sure children/young people can get to school/college safely, providing more than £40 million of additional funding to create extra capacity.</p><p>The Department will shortly be inviting schools with exemplary behaviour to deliver the Behaviour Hubs programme and support those schools that need additional support in turning around their behaviour cultures. Over the Autumn term, National Leaders of Education will continue to work with schools most affected by COVID-19, including in improving behaviour.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 07/09/2020 16:23:25 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	4398 label Biography information for Chris Green

1231711

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Education: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children do not miss time in education as a result of local covid-19 lockdowns.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
tabling member printed	Gary Sambrook
uin	905509
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The department is supplementing the £100 million it has already invested to support remote education. In the event of local lockdowns due to a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak where face-to-face education is not possible, there will be an ongoing role for remote education. DfE can provide additional devices to schools for them to support disadvantaged children<strong>.</strong> The department is initially making an additional 150,000 laptops and tablets available to schools, from September, available to schools to support disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to remote education; specifically disadvantaged children:</p><ul><li>in years 3 to 11 if their school is closed</li><li>across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official advice</li><li>across all year groups who attend hospital schools that are closed</li><li>who are completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college that is closed</li></ul><p>We have already provided over 50,000 4G wireless routers to support disadvantaged children to learn at home and access vital social care services. These routers come with free data for the autumn term and will allow LAs and academy trusts to support children who may have their education and care disrupted because of official coronavirus restrictions or disruption to face-to-face contact.</p><p>In partnership with BT, the department has also launched a service to provide children and young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. Through the pilot, up to 10,000 families should be able to access a BT Wi-Fi connection. We are currently working with BT to expand this offer for the autumn term to allow more children to access the internet through their network of BT Wi-Fi hotspots.</p><p>We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. We are piloting an approach where for families who rely on a mobile internet connection, mobile network operators will provide temporary access to free additional data offering them more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.</p> answering member constituency South Staffordshire answering member printed Gavin Williamson grouped question UIN 905516 question first answered 07/09/2020 15:31:56 answering member 4108 label Biography information for Sir Gavin Williamson
tabling member	4760 label Biography information for Gary Sambrook

1231712

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
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	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps he is taking to help schools improve their buildings and facilities to provide high-quality education.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	905511
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The government has committed to invest more than £23 billon in the school estate between 2016-17 and 2020-21. This includes a combination of formula and bid-based allocations to schools, local authorities and academy trusts as well as centrally delivered programmes.</p><p>As part of this, the Priority School Building Programme is rebuilding or refurbishing buildings in the worst condition at over 500 schools.</p><p>The government has provided £560 million in additional condition funding this year for repairs and upgrades in schools - on top of £1.4 billion already committed in 2020-21.</p><p>The Prime Minister announced plans in June for a transformative ten-year school rebuilding programme. This will replace poor condition school buildings with modern, energy efficient designs, transforming education for thousands of pupils.</p><p>We will start with 50 schools in the most need of repair, supported by over £1 billion in capital funding, with full details of these projects and further funding for the programme to be set out later in the autumn at the Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb grouped question UIN 905518 question first answered 07/09/2020 16:25:22 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

1231713

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Education: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What steps his Department is taking to ensure that children do not miss time in education as a result of local covid-19 lockdowns.
tabling member constituency	Bolton North East
tabling member printed	Mark Logan
uin	905516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2020 answer text <p>The department is supplementing the £100 million it has already invested to support remote education. In the event of local lockdowns due to a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak where face-to-face education is not possible, there will be an ongoing role for remote education. DfE can provide additional devices to schools for them to support disadvantaged children<strong>.</strong> The department is initially making an additional 150,000 laptops and tablets available to schools, from September, available to schools to support disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to remote education; specifically disadvantaged children:</p><ul><li>in years 3 to 11 if their school is closed</li><li>across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official advice</li><li>across all year groups who attend hospital schools that are closed</li><li>who are completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college that is closed</li></ul><p>We have already provided over 50,000 4G wireless routers to support disadvantaged children to learn at home and access vital social care services. These routers come with free data for the autumn term and will allow LAs and academy trusts to support children who may have their education and care disrupted because of official coronavirus restrictions or disruption to face-to-face contact.</p><p>In partnership with BT, the department has also launched a service to provide children and young people free access to BT Wi-Fi hotspots. Through the pilot, up to 10,000 families should be able to access a BT Wi-Fi connection. We are currently working with BT to expand this offer for the autumn term to allow more children to access the internet through their network of BT Wi-Fi hotspots.</p><p>We are also working with the major telecommunications companies to improve internet connectivity for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. We are piloting an approach where for families who rely on a mobile internet connection, mobile network operators will provide temporary access to free additional data offering them more flexibility to access the resources that they need the most.</p> answering member constituency South Staffordshire answering member printed Gavin Williamson grouped question UIN 905509 question first answered 07/09/2020 15:31:56 answering member 4108 label Biography information for Sir Gavin Williamson
tabling member	4815 label Biography information for Mark Logan