Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the decrease in school spending per pupil in England on pupil educational achievement between 2009 and 2018.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) figures show that school funding was protected in real terms per pupil between 2010-11 and 2015-16, and protected in real terms overall between 2015-16 and 2017-18. The department is committed to protecting funding in real terms per pupil across 2018-19 and 2019-20, with core funding for schools and high needs rising from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £43.5 billion in 2019-20. The IFS figures also show that real terms per pupil funding for 5 to 16 year olds in 2020 will be more than 50% higher than it was in 2000 and more than 70% higher than in 1990.
The department have also introduced the national funding formula to distribute this funding more fairly. Since 2017, the national funding formula has given every local authority more money for every pupil in every school, while allocating the biggest increases to the schools that have been the most underfunded.
Primary school children achieved their highest ever score in the most recent international reading tests in 2016. As at August 2018, 86% of schools have been rated good or outstanding, compared to 68% in 2010.
Despite prioritising spending on schools and making the distribution of that funding fairer across the country, the department recognises that budgets remain tight. That is why the department is supporting schools and head teachers to make the most of their budgets and reduce costs on expenditures like energy, water bills and materials.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the research from University College London about reducing the attainment gap between poorer boys and their more affluent peers through earlier schooling.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The University College London research indicated that disadvantaged boys benefitted most from receiving all 3 terms of reception education.
There are no longer local variations in the rules on when children can start school. The School Admissions Code requires the admission authorities for all schools to provide for the admission of all children in the September following their fourth birthday. Parents may, however, delay their child’s admission until a later point in the reception year if they wish.
We know that early education from age 2 has long lasting benefits for children and helps to promote a child’s emotional, cognitive and social development. That is why the government introduced 15 hours of funded early education for the most disadvantaged 2 year old children from September 2013. Eligibility was expanded in September 2014 to include children from low income working families, children with a disability or special educational need and children who have left care. In April 2018, the government introduced an earnings threshold for families on Universal Credit, equivalent to a net income of £15,400 per year, to ensure that the entitlement is available to those who will benefit most. The intention behind the £15,400 threshold was to extend our reach so that the most disadvantaged parents could access a place for their child.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of additional earlier age education to achieve better attainment and education benefits for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Evidence from the department’s Study of Early Education and Development and the Study of Effective Primary, Pre-school and Secondary Education is clear that good-quality early education at the age of two has a variety of very positive benefits for children. Both studies are attached.
All children have access to 15 hours early years education from the term after their third birthday. In addition the most disadvantaged children already have access to 15 hours a week free early education from the age of 2.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which local authorities are failing to make savings while continuing to provide excellent services to local communities in line with the government's stated expectations; and what remedial action, if any, they propose.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Councils have done fantastically well in reforming the way they work to become more efficient, both in back-office functions and front-line service delivery – and we welcome that. But with councils accounting for a quarter of all public spending, we and the sector know there is more to do. Councils need to continue playing their part in tackling the deficit, and we will be supporting them to do so. Across the country, councils are looking at ways to:
In terms of specific councils, there is no definitive list or “right answer” on this, and it is local areas that are responsible for managing their own resources and performance. My department looks at risk levels in councils so that we can work with the Local Government Association and across Government to support them and prevent financial or service delivery failure.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 11 February (HL13242), whether local authorities are meeting the government's stated expectations of making savings while continuing to provide excellent services to local communities.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Councils have done fantastically well in reforming the way they work to become more efficient, both in back-office functions and front-line service delivery – and we welcome that. But with councils accounting for a quarter of all public spending, we and the sector know there is more to do. Councils need to continue playing their part in tackling the deficit, and we will be supporting them to do so. Across the country, councils are looking at ways to:
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the town and country planning framework to achieve more efficient decision making.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
In July last year we published a revised National Planning Policy Framework to provide a clear basis for locally-produced plans and planning decisions. We are continuing to explore improvements to procedures, building on recent reforms such as streamlining the use of pre-commencement planning conditions. We recently consulted on further permitted development rights and changes to use class orders to support the high street and encourage more development, and published the outcome of Bridget Rosewell’s independent review into speeding up planning appeal inquiries.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration is being given to revising the advice given to independent schools about teaching respect for LGBT people; and what are the implications of such teaching for safeguarding young LGBT people who are subjected to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
A public consultation was held by the Department for Education from 14 March to 2 June 2018 on proposed guidance on the independent school standards, including those relating to the promotion of respect for other people. Responses to the consultation are still being considered.
The finalised version of the guidance will be published soon. The draft guidance issued with the consultation included advice that schools’ anti-bullying policies should refer to prejudice-based bullying.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the salaries paid to heads or chief executives of academy chains; and whether there is any correlation between the salary levels of such heads or executives and improvements in standards of education in those chains.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Our reforms over the last 8 years show that autonomy and freedom in the hands of excellent leaders and outstanding teachers can deliver a world-class education. Academy status leads to a more dynamic and responsive education system by allowing schools to make decisions based on local need and the interests of their pupils. It allows high performing schools to consolidate success and share their good practice across their local area. This includes over 550,000 children studying in sponsored primary and secondary academies that are now rated good or outstanding, which typically replaced underperforming schools and that is, in part, down to our reforms.
There is no single performance measure that adequately captures the scale, breadth and challenge within the roles of academy chain heads. Many of the highest paid trust chief executives work in some of the most challenging areas of the country and cover a number of schools, and have been able to achieve significant improvements for the children in their trust.
We are clear that high pay in academy trusts must be justified with evidence of robust processes for setting salaries and reductions where appropriate. That is why we have already challenged 213 trusts paying either one person more than £150,000 or 2 or more people more than £100,000. Since this work began, 45 trusts have reduced salaries in their latest accounts return and this month I have written to 28 of the 213 trusts challenged in the previous round of high pay activity to further challenge where salaries have not been reduced. We remain fully committed to continuing and developing this challenge process.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to (1) regulating property guardianship, (2) curbing the practice of housing low-income workers in sub-standard, unsafe and unsanitary living conditions, and (3) reclassifying property guardianship under the regulatory framework applicable to houses in multiple occupation.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Department is reviewing guidance for current and prospective guardians, to ensure it is as clear and useful as possible.
Officials are also currently reviewing and refreshing the guidance to local authorities on their enforcement powers, including property guardianships. Under the Housing Act 2004, local authorities have a legal duty to keep the housing conditions in their area under review and identify any action that may need to be taken. Electrical safety, gas safety and fire safety requirements apply to all private rented sector properties, including guardian properties. The Housing Health & Safety Rating System (HHSRS) can be used to assess hazards in residential premises including those let to property guardians and applies to all parts of a building that are occupied as a dwelling. If a local authority identifies a serious ‘category 1’ hazard, they have a duty to take action and have the power to take action to address ‘category 2’ hazards.
Whether or not a property is a house in multiple occupation (HMO) is set out in the Housing Act 2004, and this definition can include guardian properties occupied by tenants who hold licences, provided the property being occupied meets one of the HMO tests set out in Section 254 of the Act. There are no plans to change this classification.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 21 January (HL12603), how many interim or emergency payments have been made to date to affected Windrush generation individuals awaiting the introduction of the planned compensation scheme; what is the total value of any such payments; when the scheme will be launched; and what assessment they have made of whether any of those individuals who are currently being deported to the Commonwealth Caribbean countries are members of the Windrush generation.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Shadow Chief Whip (Lords)
The Home Secretary provides the Home Affairs Select Committee with monthly updates on the work of the department in connection with Windrush. This will include information on the urgent and exceptional support provided before the Compensation Scheme is in place
The monthly updates can be found at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/correspondence-on-the-work-of-the-home-office-windrush
We will announce details of the final scheme and how to apply as soon as possible.
None of those being deported are British citizens or members of the Windrush generation, who are exempt under section 7 of the Immigration Act 1971