Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that universities uphold the right to freedom of expression for students campaigning on matters relating to the (a) war in Gaza and (b) rights of Palestinians.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and academic freedom in higher education (HE) is one this government takes very seriously, and one that it has legislated to further protect.
Universities should be places where academics, students and visiting speakers can express a diverse range of views without fear of repercussion. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act received Royal Assent on 11 May 2023 and is now an Act of Parliament. The main provisions in the Act will come into force on 1 August 2024.
The Act will strengthen HE providers’ duties to secure freedom of speech and will create a new duty to promote the importance of freedom of speech. The Act will also extend the duties to secure freedom of speech to students’ unions and will establish new routes of redress if the duties are breached.
It is important to note that the Act only covers speech that is within the law. The right to freedom of speech is not an absolute right and it does not include the right to harass others or incite them to violence or terrorism. Encouraging terrorism and inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation are criminal offences, and HE providers should not provide a platform for these offences to be committed. In addition, providers should be very clear that any antisemitic abuse or harassment will not be tolerated.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure every (a) primary and (b) secondary pupil in England can visit the theatre at least once in their school career.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to ensure that pupils from low income families are able to participate in school visits to theatres.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
All state-funded schools should teach a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes pupils' cultural development. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils have access to both.
Cultural education is therefore integral to a high-quality education. Alongside drama as part of the English curriculum and dance as part of the physical education curriculum, music and art and design, remain important pillars of the knowledge-rich National Curriculum.
Drama is not an individual subject within the English National Curriculum, but it is an important part of a pupil’s school experience. The main introduction of drama to the primary programmes of study details the type of drama opportunities pupils should be given and acknowledges the artistic practice of drama. Teachers will use their professional judgement as to how and when such opportunities are created.
On 10 February 2017, the department announced an update to the content for the GCSE in drama and the A level in drama and theatre studies to specify that all pupils will now have the entitlement to experience live theatre, reaffirming the government’s commitment to providing pupils with an enriching arts education.
A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip. Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary. The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.
Finally, pupil premium funding will rise to over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year. The increase will ensure that this targeted funding continues to help schools to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use pupil premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips to theatres.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of homes for social rent in Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Data on social housing supply is not held at constituency level.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent assessment he has made of the level of risk to the safety of aid workers in (a) Israel and (b) the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and what steps he is taking to help protect (i) international aid agencies and (ii) their employees from (A) threats and (B) other hindrance.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The Foreign Secretary has called on Israel to reform its deconfliction mechanism to ensure the safety of aid workers and to make progress on the UN's minimal operating requirements, including more visas and driver approvals granted, as well as more trucks permitted to cross into Gaza.
The Prime Minister set out the need for more aid to enter Gaza in his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 2 April, and that far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to reduce private sector rents in Nottingham East constituency.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the cost of living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The level of private sector rents is not directly a matter for Government, however, we are taking steps to increase housebuilding to help create a more sustainable and affordable housing market over the long term. The Government is on track to meet its manifesto commitment to deliver a million homes over this Parliament.
The Government also welcomes new institutional investment in the private rented sector. The Build to Rent sector has built over 100,000 new homes over the past 13 years and they continue to play a part in increasing the supply of homes in the private rented sector.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16114 on Offshore Industry: Employment, what steps she has taken to verify the methodology behind the Offshore Energies UK’s Workforce Insight reports.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The workforce estimates developed by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) come from statistics provided by the data analysis company Experian, who in turn use Government jobs data and track expenditure as it flows through the economy. These figures are produced independently of Government but OEUK has previously shared some underlying data with the Department. Experian has said that its calculation is standard and widely used.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Ugandan counterpart on the (a) arrests and (b) treatment of people campaigning against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Through our High Commission in Kampala, we have previously raised concerns around detentions of climate protesters in Uganda; both I and the High Commission regularly engage with the Ugandan Government on human rights, both bilaterally and with likeminded countries.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of variations in access to appropriate social care provision to enable independent living on the (a) availability and (b) capacity of supported accommodation.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our white paper People at the Heart of Care sets out our ambition to ensure people have the choice and control to remain independent in the community. We recognise that supported housing can be the best model of care for some people, leading to better health, greater independence, and closer connection with the community.
The forthcoming provisions of the Supported Housing (Regulatory Oversight) Act 2023 will strengthen the data on the availability and capacity of supported accommodation. The act places a new duty on local housing authorities to review the supported housing in each district, and to forecast future need. The Government will consult on the implementation of the new duties and other supported housing reforms in due course.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he plans to take steps to encourage companies that extract fossil fuels to contribute to the loss and damage fund at COP 29.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is committed to establishing an efficient and effective Fund for Loss and Damage which delivers demonstrable outcomes for those particularly vulnerable to climate change. The UK's pledge of up to £40 million for the new Fund will help achieve this. Given the scale of finance required to respond to climate impacts, it is essential that the Fund encourages and deploys a wide variety of sources of funding, including from public, private and innovative sources. As a Board member, the UK will work with others to broaden the scale, scope and sources of financing for loss and damage.