Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of schools that have purchased adrenaline auto-injector devices for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis since the coming into force of the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
From 1 October 2017, the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 allowed all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis, but where their own device is not available or not working (for example, because it is broken, or out-of-date). The department does not hold data on the number of schools that have purchased AAI devices.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2023 to Question 200806 on Schools: Buildings, what her Department's unallocated budget is for the 2023-24 financial year; and how much and what proportion of that unallocated budget has been ringfenced to support schools affected by reinfoced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions.
The 2021 Spending Review announced a total of £19 billion of capital funding to support the education sector. As part of this, the department’s capital budget is £7 billion for 2023/24.
The department will spend what it takes to keep pupils safe and will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make school and college buildings with RAAC safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, the department expects all reasonable requests will be approved.
The department will fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to remove RAAC from the school estate. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants or rebuilding projects through the School Rebuilding Programme. The department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.
The department’s immediate support will be managed from unallocated departmental budgets. This will not have an impact on existing programmes. The department will provide further information about funding at relevant points in due course.
The department reviews how the capital budget is allocated on an ongoing basis and updates its annual budget via Parliament twice a year through the Main and Supplementary estimates process, which sets out the expected budget by area of spend.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2023 to Question 200806 on Schools: Buildings, what her Department's unallocated budget is for the 2023-24 financial year; and how much and what proportion of that unallocated budget has been ringfenced to support schools affected by RAAC.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to question 199083, and with reference to the budgets used to fund emergency mitigation works for schools with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, whether that money would have been used for other Department capital projects; and if he will publish details of what those capital projects would have been.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
The Department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe. It will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, the Department expects all reasonable requests will be approved. The Department will then also fund refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects, to rectify the RAAC issue for the long term. The Department will set out further details for affected schools and colleges in due course.
The Department will work with the relevant responsible body, which will depend on the type of school or college with confirmed RAAC. Every case will be different, and the Department is working closely with affected schools and colleges to understand and support their needs, including with capital funding.
The Department’s immediate support will be managed from unallocated departmental budgets. This will not impact existing programmes.
The Department will always put the safety and wellbeing of children and staff in education settings at the heart of its policy decisions. The Government has taken more proactive action to identify and mitigate RAAC in education settings than the devolved administrations in the UK, or indeed, governments overseas.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, from which budget the Government will allocate funds for remedial work to schools affected by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.
The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.
The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.
The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.
Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.
All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.
Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.
While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.
The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.
All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether EU students enrolling on English higher education courses in the academic year 2020-21 will be eligible for home fee status and financial support.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
We recognise how important it is that students and institutions have information on eligibility for student support before applications for courses open.
Applications for courses starting in academic year 2020/21 do not open until September 2019. We will provide sufficient notice for prospective EU students on fee arrangements ahead of the 2020/2021 academic year and subsequent years in the future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish the (a) fee status and (b) loan eligibility of EU undergraduate students commencing courses at English higher education providers in the 2020-21 academic year.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
We recognise how important it is that students and institutions have information on eligibility for student support before applications for courses open.
Applications for courses starting in academic year 2020/21 do not open until September 2019. We will provide sufficient notice for prospective EU students on fee arrangements ahead of the 2020/2021 academic year and subsequent years in the future.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2018 to Question 183860 on High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention, and reports of high concentrations of toxins in the soil around Grenfell Tower, what assessment the Government has made about the safety of school sites where there have been fires.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government takes the safety of children and staff in schools very seriously. In the unfortunate event that a school has suffered damage as a result of a fire and requires rebuilding, soil contamination surveys would be expected to be undertaken as part of the feasibility study for the replacement buildings.
Schools also have responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (2005) to have fire safety management plans in place. These should include risk assessments, which must be updated following any fire incident or any significant change to buildings or operations.
More specifically, in relation to Grenfell, the Communities Secretary has set up a multi-agency expert group which includes the Environment Agency, Public Health England, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and NHS England to make sure soil surveying around Grenfell Tower is comprehensive. The analysis from this survey work will be made available to the public.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2018 to Question 183891 on Schools: Insulation, whether the Government has measured the effect on children’s education of fires which have destroyed school buildings.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. The Department does not collect data on school fires. The Home Office publishes data relating to fires in buildings other than dwellings, which includes categories for educational establishments. The most recent published figures cover the 2010/11 to 2017/18 financial years inclusive and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables.
The 2017/18 data shows that the incidence of fire across the school estate affecting the whole building, is low.
Neither the Department, nor the Home Office, collect information on: how many school fires resulted in the relocation of pupils to separate premises in 2017-18; how many days of operation have been lost as a result of fires in schools in 2017-2018; what the cost has been to (a) central Government and (b) local authorities of fires in schools in 2017-18; or the effect on children’s education of fires which have destroyed school buildings fires in schools.
Schools are, in general, very safe environments in relation to fire safety as they are typically occupied during the daytime and have multiple exit routes. In addition, all schools must comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including having an up-to-date fire risk assessment and conducting regular fire drills.
The Government attaches the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff in schools. Following the Grenfell tragedy, the Department contacted all bodies responsible for safety in school buildings in England. They were instructed to carry out checks to identify any buildings with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding so that they could be further investigated, and any risks were managed and dealt with promptly. This work focused on identifying buildings over 18 metres or with residential accommodation with ACM. The one school in scope has already carried out remediation work to remove and replace the cladding.
The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to implement the ban on the use of combustible cladding on new residential buildings over 18 metres, including residential schools and student accommodation. More widely, we will continue to work across Government to take forward the findings from the Hackitt Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2018 to Question 183891 on Schools: Insulation, what the cost has been to (a) central Government and (b) local authorities of fires in schools in 2017-18.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The information requested is not held centrally. The Department does not collect data on school fires. The Home Office publishes data relating to fires in buildings other than dwellings, which includes categories for educational establishments. The most recent published figures cover the 2010/11 to 2017/18 financial years inclusive and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fire-statistics-data-tables.
The 2017/18 data shows that the incidence of fire across the school estate affecting the whole building, is low.
Neither the Department, nor the Home Office, collect information on: how many school fires resulted in the relocation of pupils to separate premises in 2017-18; how many days of operation have been lost as a result of fires in schools in 2017-2018; what the cost has been to (a) central Government and (b) local authorities of fires in schools in 2017-18; or the effect on children’s education of fires which have destroyed school buildings fires in schools.
Schools are, in general, very safe environments in relation to fire safety as they are typically occupied during the daytime and have multiple exit routes. In addition, all schools must comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including having an up-to-date fire risk assessment and conducting regular fire drills.
The Government attaches the highest priority to the safety of pupils and staff in schools. Following the Grenfell tragedy, the Department contacted all bodies responsible for safety in school buildings in England. They were instructed to carry out checks to identify any buildings with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding so that they could be further investigated, and any risks were managed and dealt with promptly. This work focused on identifying buildings over 18 metres or with residential accommodation with ACM. The one school in scope has already carried out remediation work to remove and replace the cladding.
The Department is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to implement the ban on the use of combustible cladding on new residential buildings over 18 metres, including residential schools and student accommodation. More widely, we will continue to work across Government to take forward the findings from the Hackitt Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.