Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Education Policy Institute report COVID-19 and Disadvantage Gaps in England 2021, published in December 2022, which found that Gypsy and Traveller pupils were the only ethnic groups whose attainment fell further behind in 2021, whether they will extend the Pupil Premium to cover all Gypsy and Traveller pupils.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Pupil premium eligibility will be kept under review, to ensure that funding is targeted at those who most need it.
The department is committed to helping children and young people, including those from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, to catch-up and recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In England, the primary and secondary school attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has grown between 2019 and 2022, having narrowed between 2011 and 2019. The disruption to education caused by the pandemic has affected disadvantaged students more than their peers.
We are supporting the most disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups, through pupil premium funding, which is increasing to almost £2.9 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. In addition, the department has made available almost £5 billion of funding to support education recovery, including through the recovery premium, National Tutoring Programme and the 16-19 Tuition Fund. The department does not design education policy that exclusively targets certain groups of pupils based on ethnicity.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Traveller Movement Disrupting the School to Prison Pipeline, published in July; and what steps they intend to take in response to the recommendations made in that report.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the issues faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and young people and how education can make a positive difference. The report contained seven recommendations for the department and the following sets out how we are responding to those recommendations.
The report recommended that the clear disaggregation of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller identities as adopted by the Office for National Statistics for the 2021 Census, should be implemented across the education sector. As the report references Gypsy, Roma and Traveller data was collected in Census 2021 and phase one of the data has now been released: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/bulletins/ethnicgroupenglandandwales/census2021. We are currently reviewing the harmonised standard for ethnicity, with any potential question changes being released in early 2024.
The report recommended that the department must ensure a race equality & diversity policy is made a statutory element of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) for all schools. Already the PSED requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010.
Schools have specific legal duties to publish information to demonstrate how they are complying with the PSED, and to prepare and publish equality objectives. Schools are also required to publish information relating to those who share a relevant protected characteristic and who are affected by their policies and practices. It is for schools to develop their own strategies for meeting their duties, however, the Department has published guidance for schools on how to ensure they comply with their duties under the Equality Act.
In regard to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, the report recommended that all schools must have the ability and resources to provide assessment of them when requested by a parent or guardian, including annual reviews. Also, local authorities should consider providing base-level EHC Plans funding to all schools. The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Green Paper, published in March 2022 sets out our vision to create a more inclusive education system with excellent local mainstream provision which will improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people who need more intensive support. Amongst those consulted was the department’s GRT Stakeholder Group and we are committed to publishing a full response to the consultation through an improvement plan early in 2023.
The report also recommended that the department should require all school and academy trusts to establish an On-Site Inclusion Unit (OSIU). In July 2022 we published updated guidance on Behaviour in Schools and Suspension and Permanent Exclusion statutory guidance. The Behaviour guidance makes clear some schools can choose to have pupil support units (sometimes called ‘in-school units’) which should be used for two main reasons: to provide planned pastoral support for vulnerable pupils and as a last resort measure to support pupils at risk of exclusion.
Additionally, the report recommended that expert headteacher panels should be established to provide final assessments for proposed permanent exclusions and the department should develop standardised reporting guidelines for monitoring the use of In-School exclusionary practices, and also develop guidance for best practice and use of in-school exclusionary practices.
The updated Exclusion guidance is clear that, in all cases, schools should consider initial intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour which may minimise the need for permanent exclusion. Whilst a permanent exclusion may still be an appropriate sanction, schools should take account of any contributing factors.
The statutory process to review school exclusions is clear that governing boards have a role to review the decision of the headteacher to permanently exclude and if the governing board decides to uphold the permanent exclusion, the parents will have the right to an Independent Review Panel.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 8 November (HL2795), whether their plans to develop the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework for ports will include projects to use wave energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Wave energy technologies show promise but remain at a pre-commercial stage and cannot displace better established renewables in our energy mix. The Government monitors the situation and will consider how best to integrate wave with the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of immunocompromised people in England who could potentially benefit from Evusheld if it is found to be appropriate for prescription on the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service estimates approximately 500,000 patients in England are immunosuppressed. A minority of these patients may not respond adequately to vaccines and could potentially benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis. The OCTAVE study found that 11% of immunocompromised patients fail to generate antibodies following vaccination and 40% mounted a low serological response. The use of antibody testing could potentially identify which patients have lower levels of protection and should be prioritised for treatment.
This data is approximate and the Department has commissioned additional advice from independent experts to refine its understanding of vaccine response and the patient cohorts which could be prioritised for prophylaxis and for other interventions. If the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ascertains that Evusheld as a pre-exposure prophylaxis is clinically and cost effective, the National Health Service will make Evusheld available as appropriate. NICE’s appraisal will also consider suitable patient cohorts.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why, given that Evusheld has been approved for private prescription, it has not yet been approved for prescription on the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has decided not to procure Evusheld for prevention through emergency routes at this time. This is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a United Kingdom national expert policy working group, which concluded that there is insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend deployment.
While the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency gave a Conditional Marketing Authorisation to Evusheld in March 2022, it did so noting that there a lack of data on its response to the Omicron variant. AstraZeneca has made Evusheld available privately in the UK, which is a matter for individual patients and their healthcare providers. It is distinct from any Government consideration of its use within the National Health Service.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what factors they are taking into account as they reach a decision on the suitability of prescribing Evusheld on the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has decided not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes. This is a decision based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a United Kingdom national expert policy working group, which considered all available evidence for whether treatments are likely to be effective at preventing symptomatic infection, hospitalisation or mortality from COVID-19. The groups concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend deployment at this time.
Evusheld has now been referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for evaluation. NICE’s appraisal process will consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of Evusheld in order to assess its suitability for prescription in the National Health Service. The outcome of NICE’s evaluation on the use of Evusheld as a pre-exposure prophylactic treatment against COVID-19 is due in April 2023. If NICE recommends its use is clinically and cost effective, the NHS will make Evusheld available as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect a decision to be made as to the suitability of prescribing Evusheld on the NHS.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has decided not to procure Evusheld at this time for prevention through emergency routes. This is a decision based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a United Kingdom national expert policy working group, which considered all available evidence for whether treatments are likely to be effective at preventing symptomatic infection, hospitalisation or mortality from COVID-19. The groups concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend deployment at this time.
Evusheld has now been referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for evaluation. NICE’s appraisal process will consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of Evusheld in order to assess its suitability for prescription in the National Health Service. The outcome of NICE’s evaluation on the use of Evusheld as a pre-exposure prophylactic treatment against COVID-19 is due in April 2023. If NICE recommends its use is clinically and cost effective, the NHS will make Evusheld available as appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had (1) internally, and (2) with industry, in the past 12 months on increasing (a) the production of wave and tidal energy, and (b) innovative funding mechanisms to increase such production; and further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 31 October (HL2667), what plans they have to put a copy of the analysis on the cost-effectiveness of marine energy in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year the Government consulted on the draft energy National Policy Statements which include provisions for tidal energy. A response will be published in due course. The Government is also exploring options for increasing the production of tidal energy including innovative funding mechanisms.
The report on the role and value of Tidal Stream Generation in the Future UK Energy System is attached and is publicly available on the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult website.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Lord Callanan on 31 October (HL2667), whether they will place a copy of the analysis referred to in the Library of the House; and what discussions they have had (1) internally, and (2) with industry, in the past 12 months on (a) increasing production of wave and tidal energy, and (b) innovative funding mechanisms for this.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
A summary of the report’s findings, the role and value of Tidal Stream Generation in the Future UK Energy System is publicly available on the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult website.
The Government consulted last year on the draft energy National Policy Statements, which include a provision for tidal energy, and the Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings or correspondence they have had with firms and trade bodies in the fisheries industry in 2022 about (1) barriers to, and (2) benefits of, deployment of wave and tidal energy.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not recently corresponded with or met fisheries trade associations on the subject of tidal energy. The Government consulted last year on the draft energy National Policy Statements, which included a provision for tidal energy, and will publish a response in due course.