Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the average (a) length of (b) time off the job in apprenticeships in (i) England (ii) Germany.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The average expected duration of an apprenticeship in England is published in the apprenticeships statistics publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e4c10266-a793-4c29-0de2-08dd5ccbf23a.
The ‘Apprenticeship evaluation 2023: learner, non-completer and employer surveys’ contains survey-based information on apprenticeship duration and off-the-job training hours undertaken, noting that proportions are given rather than averages: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2023-learner-non-completer-and-employer-surveys.
The last published estimate of average off-the-job training hours in England covers the 2018/19 academic year. See Table 3 in the ‘Further education and skills: November 2019 statistics’ publication here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ddd3bbd40f0b650d9ba9b15/FE_and_Skills_commentary_November_2019.pdf.
The publication of off-the-job training hours estimates was stopped from the 2019/20 academic year onwards after a review of their quality, particularly regarding the robustness of comparisons over time.
Equivalent information for Germany is not held by the department.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to measure the actual costs for the schools participating in the existing National School Breakfast programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national school breakfast programme (NSBP) is a demand-led programme, established under the previous government. It is a food-only programme which does not include staffing costs. Eligible schools place breakfast food orders with the department’s supplier, Family Action, via their portal, rather than being allocated funding directly. Schools are charged 25% of food and delivery costs by the supplier, with the department covering the remaining 75% of the costs. Schools can therefore order as much food as they need on the system.
The department works closely with Family Action to monitor take-up of the programme by eligible schools, alongside monitoring school-level food and delivery costs. The number of schools on the scheme is relatively stable.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for her Department's funding allocations to schools for the National School Breakfast programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national school breakfast programme (NSBP) is a demand-led programme, established under the previous government. It is a food-only programme which does not include staffing costs. Eligible schools place breakfast food orders with the department’s supplier, Family Action, via their portal, rather than being allocated funding directly. Schools are charged 25% of food and delivery costs by the supplier, with the department covering the remaining 75% of the costs. Schools can therefore order as much food as they need on the system.
The department works closely with Family Action to monitor take-up of the programme by eligible schools, alongside monitoring school-level food and delivery costs. The number of schools on the scheme is relatively stable.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of rates of school absence in academic year 2023-24 in England relative to the other home nations.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not publish statistics on the other home nations besides England. The rates of school absence on the other home nations have been aggregated from the individual nations’ government websites.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Low Emission Zones on the cost of school trips made by coach by schools in (a) Greater London and (b) other parts of the country.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools typically offer a range of enriching opportunities, including trips, for pupils but it is for schools to decide what to offer in line with their curriculum and what works for the children and families they serve.
The department has not made an assessment of the impact of Low Emission Zones on the cost of school trips made by coach.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of school trips made annually, by (a) region (b) mode of transport.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not collect information from schools about the number of school trips made or the mode of transport used. It does, however, provide guidance on health and safety on school trips. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-safety-on-educational-visits/health-and-safety-on-educational-visits.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the evidential basis is for the estimate that the new primary school breakfast programme will save parents £450 a year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The estimate that the government’s breakfast club programme will save parents £450 a year is based on the average fee charged for a breakfast club in England according to the childcare and early years survey of parents. Taking into account the amount parents currently pay for breakfast clubs, the department has calculated how much parents will save per year, on average, from the introduction of free, 30 minute clubs.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to maintain current levels of funding in real terms for secondary school breakfast clubs in the national school breakfast club programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are over 2,600 schools currently participating in the national schools breakfast programme (NSBP), which enables schools to purchase breakfast food at 25% of the cost, with 75% of the cost of food and delivery provided by government.
We have confirmed funding to support schools, including secondary schools, currently on the NSBP, and schools on the scheme will continue to receive the same level of funding and support already available to them until at least March 2026.
Decisions about future funding for breakfast clubs and the NSBP will be taken as part of the next phase of the spending review.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's funding to primary schools for free breakfast clubs is intended to cover at least 75% of the actual cost of provision.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools which are part of the breakfast clubs early adopter programme will receive funding from April 2025 to cover food, delivery and staffing costs. The final amount each school will receive is dependent on take-up of the breakfast club and school characteristics. The department has used existing programmes and costs to determine the funding rates and this has been tested and refined with a number of schools.
The new breakfast club scheme uses a different funding model compared to the existing national school breakfast programme (NSBP), which only covers the cost of 75% of food. Under the existing programme, schools are required to contribute the remaining 25% for food, plus staffing and other overheads. The new scheme will provide substantially more funding than the NSBP.
One function of the early adopters is to test how schools utilise the funding and understand what support schools need to deliver their free and universal clubs.
Based on analysis of this existing provision, we are confident that the total funding will enable schools to meet the minimum expectations.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to clause 25 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, what the means is for appealing to the Secretary of State.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The references in the Children Not in School measures of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to “education otherwise than at school” should be read in the broadest sense of the term and not solely referring to Education Otherwise Than in A School (EOTAS). The wording in the Bill reflects the current duty on parents outlined in Section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to secure an efficient, full-time, suitable education for their children either by regular attendance at school “or otherwise”, such as home education. Both home-educated children and EOTAS arrangements would be eligible for inclusion in local authority Children Not in School registers.
As part of the implementation of the Bill, the department will provide statutory guidance on what qualifies as an exceptional circumstance in relation to local authorities not notifying the other parent of a consent decision, as well as details of how a parent can appeal to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, if a parent disagrees with a local authority’s decision on permission to home educate.