Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of companies who have transferred the apprenticeship levy in London.
Answered by Anne Milton
As at 31 January 2019, there were 200 commitments in England entered into the apprenticeship service, where the transfer of funds between apprenticeship service accounts has been approved (a commitment is where a potential apprentice, who is expected to go on to start an apprenticeship, has been recorded with the Apprenticeship Service). Of these transferred commitments as at 31 January 2019, there were 130 transferred commitments that had materialised into apprenticeship starts. More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeship-and-levy-statistics-february-2019.
Information on companies transferring apprenticeship levy funds in each region of England is not held centrally. Many levy-paying employers are headquartered in one region but operate across the country meaning that we cannot attribute levy-funds transferred in individual locations. Individual employers have control of the expenditure (and transfer) of apprenticeship levy funds based on their current and future skills needs.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2019 to Question 204600 on Teachers: Pay, what advice his Department received on the decision to award the teachers’ pay grant to maintained schools and academies and not sixth form colleges.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Ministers received detailed advice from officials before announcing the Teachers’ Pay Grant. Unions and other representative organisations also contacted the Department.
The Teachers’ Pay Grant was introduced in response to changes to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD), following recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body. This document applies to maintained schools, and as many academies choose to follow it, the grant was available to both maintained schools and academies.
There are 16-19 maintained schools which must follow the STPCD. These were included in the pay grant, alongside equivalent academies.
Further education (FE) and sixth form colleges have a different legal status and relationship to Government. They are private institutions, independent of Government, and it is for employers to agree pay structures, based on local needs. The Department is considering carefully the needs of FE colleges, including in relation to funding, in preparation for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2019 to Question 204600 on Teachers: Pay, what representations his Department received on the decision to award the teachers’ pay grant to maintained schools and academies but not sixth form colleges.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Since the Teachers’ Pay Grant methodology was published in September 2018, the Department has been contacted by representative organisations, unions, individual colleges, Members of Parliament, and members of the public. These have mainly been through correspondence, but also some meetings with officials and ministers.
Further education (FE) and sixth form colleges have a different legal status and relationship to government when compared with schools. They are private institutions, independent of government, and it is for individual employers to agree pay structures, based on local needs. The Department is carefully considering the needs of FE providers, including in relation to funding, in preparation for the next Spending Review.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
What steps she is taking to support the opening of more faith schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
I am a strong supporter of Church and faith schools, they are high performing, popular with parents and make an excellent contribution to our education system. Through the free schools programme we have supported the creation of 71 new state-funded Church and faith schools.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve health literacy among children; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Schools have a key role to play in teaching children about healthy lifestyles.
The new national curriculum set the expectation that pupils are taught about the importance of leading healthy and active lives, across a variety of subjects. The new design and technology curriculum strengthens requirements for maintained schools to teach children about food, nutrition and healthy eating, and how to cook a repertoire of meals. Pupils in maintained primary schools should learn about healthy eating and a good, balanced diet. In maintained secondary schools, food education is now compulsory in years 7–9 for the first time. The new science curriculum makes young people aware of different types of diseases and the impact of lifestyle factors on the incidence of some diseases.
Physical Education is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum in maintained schools. The programme of study makes clear that a high-quality PE curriculum should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically active in a way which supports their health and fitness.
In addition, the Department is actively engaged in work across government to develop a national childhood obesity strategy.
Asked by: Bob Blackman (Conservative - Harrow East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her plans are for future funding of education and training for 16 to 19 year olds.
Answered by Nick Boles
Decisions about how 16-19 institutions will be funded in the academic year 2016/17 and beyond will be subject to the outcome of the next spending review, which will set the budget for education and other public spending for the coming years.