Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Local Government Association on the safety of (a) block and beam concrete and (b) high alumina cement since 25 October 2022.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Ministers and officials of the department meet regularly with unions and other stakeholder organisations to discuss a wide range of issues, including the safety of school buildings. There is a regular meeting on school buildings run by departmental officials which includes representatives of the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Education Union, the National Association of Headteachers, NASUWT, Unison, Unite, GMB, the Local Government Association, the Confederation of School Trusts, the Church of England, and the Catholic Education Service. This group has discussed issues around block and beam concrete and high alumina cement.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings are operating past their intended design life by local authority area; and how many schools have one or more of those buildings by local authority area.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsible for collecting and recording information about their buildings and for ensuring that they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations.
The department does not hold data on the design life of school buildings.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Condition Data Collection studies collected information on elements of the school estate made using (a) block and beam concrete and (b) high alumina cement.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The department does not hold this information. The Condition Data Collection does collect data on the type of construction of each block.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether there were any meetings between senior officials in his Department and (a) the Early Years Alliance, (b) the National Day Nurseries Association, (c) Busy Bees, (d) Bright Horizons, (e) Koru Kids and (f) other individual private providers of childcare services subsequent to the release of transparency information for HM Treasury ministerial meetings between 1 January and 31 March 2023.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Treasury officials have regular meetings with external organisations, including in the childcare sector as part of the process for policy formulation.
Details of Ministerial and Permanent Secretary meetings are published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of (a) the Jewish chaplain and (b) Jewish staff and students at the University of Leeds.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Antisemitism, intimidation and threats of violence must never be tolerated on university campuses. University Jewish Chaplains play a vital role in supporting Jewish students and staff across the country. The disgraceful abuse targeted at the Chaplain in Leeds is appalling and extremely disturbing. The government has worked closely with West Yorkshire Police to ensure robust action is taken in relation to these matters. As the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I have visited Leeds University, spoken to the Vice Chancellor to seek reassurances that the University is taking appropriate action in the wake of these appalling incidents and have met with the Chaplain and his wife. The department remains in regular contact with the University Jewish Chaplaincy, the Community Security Trust and West Yorkshire Police and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Last week’s report by the Community Security Trust highlights the devastating increase in antisemitic incidents in higher education. This government takes antisemitism extremely seriously and is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since 7 October 2023. That is why, on 22 November 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The department has issued an invitation for interested organisations to tender for contracts to deliver a comprehensive package of measures across schools, colleges and universities and aim to have suppliers in place for the start of the new financial year. A link to the report by the Community Security Trust can be found here: https://cst.org.uk/data/file/9/f/Antisemitic_Incidents_Report_2023.1707834969.pdf.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools, colleges, and universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The department wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five point plan for tackling antisemitism in higher education, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan involves:
The department will not hesitate to take further action across the education estate to stamp out antisemitism and harassment of Jewish pupils, students and staff.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of Jewish chaplains at universities in England.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Antisemitism, intimidation and threats of violence must never be tolerated on university campuses. University Jewish Chaplains play a vital role in supporting Jewish students and staff across the country. The disgraceful abuse targeted at the Chaplain in Leeds is appalling and extremely disturbing. The government has worked closely with West Yorkshire Police to ensure robust action is taken in relation to these matters. As the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, I have visited Leeds University, spoken to the Vice Chancellor to seek reassurances that the University is taking appropriate action in the wake of these appalling incidents and have met with the Chaplain and his wife. The department remains in regular contact with the University Jewish Chaplaincy, the Community Security Trust and West Yorkshire Police and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
Last week’s report by the Community Security Trust highlights the devastating increase in antisemitic incidents in higher education. This government takes antisemitism extremely seriously and is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since 7 October 2023. That is why, on 22 November 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The department has issued an invitation for interested organisations to tender for contracts to deliver a comprehensive package of measures across schools, colleges and universities and aim to have suppliers in place for the start of the new financial year. A link to the report by the Community Security Trust can be found here: https://cst.org.uk/data/file/9/f/Antisemitic_Incidents_Report_2023.1707834969.pdf.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to all schools, colleges, and universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The department wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five point plan for tackling antisemitism in higher education, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan involves:
The department will not hesitate to take further action across the education estate to stamp out antisemitism and harassment of Jewish pupils, students and staff.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent (a) assessment she has made of and (b) steps she has taken to help ensure the safety of school buildings in North Tyneside.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsibile for ensuring their schools are safe, well-maintained and compliant with relevant regulations.
The department is working closely with North Tyneside Council and their structural engineers who are investigating the cause of isolated issues at a small number of schools in the area. Once investigations have been completed, the relevant bodies will be informed of any findings.
Where construction issues in schools arise, the department works closely with responsible bodies to ensure that the issue is thoroughly investigated and mitigated, and that all steps are taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the expansion in government funded childcare on the cost of paid for hours.
Answered by David Johnston
The department is providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for eligible working parents with children aged 9 months to 3 years in England. This will remove one of the biggest barriers to working parents by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access. Hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are already registered for a 30-hour place, saving parents up to £6,000 a year. The department is expanding this entitlement across the country, which will save parents up to £6,500 per year per child. This will help even more working parents with the cost of childcare and make a real difference to the lives of those families. By 2027/28, the Office for Budget Responsibility expects around 60,000 parents to enter employment, in addition to 1.5 million mothers of young children already in work who will increase their working hours.
In addition to the expanded entitlements, the government has also taken action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. The department has increased support for these parents by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts to £950 for one child and £1629 for two children.
Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish a list of local authorities with sufficient childcare places to deliver (a) 15 hours of funded childcare for two-year-olds from April 2024 and (b) 30 hours of funded childcare for two-year-olds from September 2024.
Answered by David Johnston
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare meets the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the 'Early education and childcare' statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. This guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, the department will discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the (a) construction, (b) demolition and (c) reconstruction of buildings constructed by Caledonian Modular at (i) Haygrove School, (ii) Sir Frederick Gibberd College and (iii) Buckton Fields Primary School.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The department publishes contract values when available on Contracts Finder, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. In addition, the department publishes capital costs for all free schools on GOV.UK once all works are completed and costs are finalised. Once at that point, the department will action this for these three schools and anticipates that may be some time in the future.
The department is currently progressing a range of legal and contractual mechanisms for recovering costs.