Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their research paper Adapting historic homes for energy efficiency: a review of the barriers published on 3 January, what targets they have for training, recruiting, and retaining specialist local authority conservation officers; and what plans they have for achieving any such targets.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has no specific targets relating to specialist local authority conservation officers. I refer the noble lady to the answer given to PQ 16501 on 5 December 2024 set out details of the Government’s investment to support capacity and capability in local authorities more generally. This will be further underpinned by increases in planning fees that will help improve the resourcing of planning application services, so that local planning authorities can fund the skills they need, including conservation officers.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are their plans for the new natural history GCSE.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
All young people should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum with a range of qualification routes and choices. The government is considering the next steps for a natural history GCSE.
High and rising school standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, an expert in education policy, including curriculum and social inequality. The review, which covers ages 5 to 18, will ensure that the curriculum appropriately balances ambition, excellence, relevance, flexibility and inclusivity for all children and young people. The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025 setting out their initial findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final report with recommendations will be published in autumn 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Freeman of Steventon (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that when policy evaluations are commissioned the methods and outcomes are pre-registered, and that the results will be published in a timely manner.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All Government evaluations should be pre-registered on the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry, including methods and expected publication timelines. Registering evaluations has been mandatory for Government Departments since April 2024.
Further information on the Evaluation Registry is available online on the 'Guidance on using the Evaluation Registry' webpage. The Evaluation Registry is due to be launched to the public in the coming months.