Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that schools that are affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete are not subject to an Ofsted inspection.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department is continuing to support schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC to put in place mitigations and minimise any disruption to education.
A school that has confirmed RAAC in some of their buildings will still be eligible for Ofsted inspection. However, in the spring term, for schools with confirmed RAAC, this will be sufficient grounds to defer the inspection, should the school wish to. For schools that do not have confirmed RAAC, but that may still be impacted by RAAC, Ofsted will carefully consider any requests for a deferral of an inspection. Ofsted retains the right to inspect any setting, including one affected by RAAC, if it has concerns. This matter will be kept under review.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of school children leave school being able to swim at least 25 metres; and what proportion of those children are (1) Black, and (2) Asian.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools do not have access to a swimming pool.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools are using pop-up swimming pools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
Sport England’s Active Lives Children and Young People Survey 2022/23 reports that 70.5% of pupils in year 7 say they can swim 25 metres unaided. Information is not published for demographic data for individual school years, but data for years 7-11 show that 52% of black children and 57.3% of Asian children report being able to swim 25 metres unaided. This is compared with 82.8% of white British children in years 7-11.
The department does not collect data on schools’ access to and use of swimming pools. The government recognises challenges to pool operators and is providing over £60 million to local authorities in England through the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The fund will keep swimming pools and leisure centres open, as well as investing in renovations to boost energy efficiency, reduce future operating costs and improve sustainability. The department is supporting schools to operate their swimming pools effectively through the Opening School Sport Facilities programme, worth up to £57 million over three years. Over 200 school pools have already benefited from this funding.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what factors Ofsted take into consideration when inspecting alternative education schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the noble Lord directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many alternative education schools are (1) registered, and (2) unregistered.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
During the 2022/23 academic year there were 335 state funded alternative provision schools registered in England. Data on the number of state funded alternative provision schools is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. Independent schools can also cater for children requiring alternative provision. There is no specific designation for such schools.
The department does not collect data on the number of alternative provision settings, typically called unregistered alternative provision, that do not meet the criteria to register as a school.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) pedestrians, and (2) drivers, have been (a) injured, or (b) killed, by electric scooters in each of the past three years.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
DfT reports on the number of personal injury road traffic collisions involving e-scooters, in Great Britain, using the STATS19 reporting system.
STATS19 data does not allow the precise cause of collisions to be determined so it is not possible to provide figures for injuries or deaths caused by a particular road user type.
The table shows the number of reported road casualties for pedestrians and drivers of motorised vehicles (including cars, motorcycles, buses, coaches, and good vehicles) in collisions involving e-scooters by severity in Great Britain, 2020 to 2022 (the latest year for which data is available).
Year | Road user type | Killed | Serious injury (adjusted) | Slight injury (adjusted) | Total casualties |
2020 | Pedestrians | 0 | 13 | 44 | 57 |
2021 | Pedestrians | 0 | 66 | 163 | 229 |
2022 | Pedestrians | 1 | 60 | 172 | 233 |
2020 | Motorised vehicle drivers | 0 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
2021 | Motorised vehicle drivers | 0 | 3 | 27 | 30 |
2022 | Motorised vehicle drivers | 0 | 3 | 35 | 38 |
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Nationally Determined Contribution updated in September 2022 (CP744), why the Climate Change Committee advised that emissions from international aviation and shipping should not be included; and in particular, whether this was because of the difficulty in attributing emissions to specific countries.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Climate Change Committee is an independent advisory authority. In 2020, it advised that the UK’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution should commit to reduce emissions by at least 68% from 1990 to 2030, excluding emissions from international aviation and shipping (IAS), in line with UN convention.
IAS emissions are included in the UK’s domestic sixth carbon budget. The Government has set out ambitious strategies to reduce emissions from aviation and shipping through the Jet Zero Strategy and Clean Maritime Plan.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve railway connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
Network North confirmed the Government’s commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and to improving connectivity between Liverpool and Manchester. Funding has been made available to allow the Liverpool to Manchester section of Northern Powerhouse Rail to be delivered as previously set out in the Integrated Rail Plan. Government committed to working with local leaders and that engagement with local leaders is underway.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for issuing children suffering from cancer an education, health and care plan.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department shares the ambition that children with cancer get the support they need to remain in school if they are well enough, both to maintain their education and for the benefits of being with their friends. The department understands this may not always be possible, either on a short or long-term basis. That is why there are existing statutory duties to ensure children with cancer should be able to get the support they need without an Education Health and Care plan.
Under the Equality Act 2010, cancer is classified as a disability. This means schools must make reasonable adjustments to their practices, procedures and policies to ensure that such a child is not substantially disadvantaged in their education. Under section 100 of the Children and Families Act, schools also have duties to support children with medical conditions, including by providing an Individual Health Plan. The department has issued guidance to support schools in this.
Local authorities also have legal duties under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide all children with a full-time education. If a child is unable to attend school, for example due to risk of infection after cancer treatment, then the local authority, working with medical professionals, the child and their family, must make alternative arrangements for them, such as home tutoring.