Condition Improvement Fund
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
Today I am announcing the outcome of the Condition Improvement Fund 2015-16, which provides funding for the improvement and expansion of existing academy and sixth-form college buildings. The Condition Improvement Fund replaces the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund and the Building Condition Improvement Fund for sixth-form colleges.
I am announcing funding for £367 million for 1,366 projects across 1,089 academies and sixth-form colleges, which will help to ensure that children across the country can enjoy school and sixth-form college buildings which are safe, good quality and fit for learning. We have also invited 79 projects that demonstrated a high project need and overall were not successful in this year’s bidding round to submit a revised application, which we will consider ahead of the full 2016-17 bidding round. Ensuring that there is a good local school place for every child, and that every child can benefit from a learning environment which is safe and fit for purpose, no matter where they live, are key priorities for this Government.
This follows on from the announcement my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and I made recently of over £6 billion of new investment to improve the condition of the school estate over the coming years. This Government have invested £18 billion in the education estate during this Parliament to provide new places and to help to ensure pupils will see their learning environments transformed. We know that being taught in school buildings in poor condition can have an adverse effect on pupils and staff and it is important that we continue to invest in improving our estate.
Details of today’s announcement are being sent to those receiving funding and a list of successful projects will be published on gov.uk. Copies will be placed in the Library of the House.
[HCWS493]
Attachments can be viewed at www.parliament.uk/writtenstatements
Asbestos in Schools
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
I am very grateful to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Jim Sheridan)for securing this debate and for giving us an opportunity to discuss an extremely important and, with the publication at the end of last week of the Department’s review of policy on asbestos, timely issue. I thank him for his significant contribution as a member of the Department for Education’s asbestos in schools steering group, and for his chairmanship of the all-party group on occupational safety and health.
The asbestos in schools steering group has done invaluable work in developing the review of asbestos management in schools. I thank all its members for their insights and dedication, including my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke), who has been a doughty campaigner on the issue for many years and who has chaired the steering group. I am particularly delighted that we have been able to bring this matter to a conclusion and to publish the review before the end of her time in Parliament, given her retirement in a couple of weeks’ time. I know that she would not have forgiven me if I had failed to get the review out in time. I am pleased for her that she has had the satisfaction of seeing all her work produce a positive outcome.
As my right hon. Friend mentioned, with the general election coming up, it is important that there is cross-party support for this campaign. It is therefore appropriate that as well as hearing speeches from a Labour Member and my right hon. Friend on the Liberal Democrat Benches, we have heard from another long-standing campaigner on the issue of asbestos in my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch). I welcome her comments and pay tribute to the work that she has done to champion this issue nationally and in her constituency. There are a number of issues, even in the review that we have published, that need to be taken forward actively in the next Parliament. It is therefore important that the cross-party consensus remains and that there are Members of the House who will continue to push the matter forward with Ministers in the new Government.
I join other hon. Members in recognising the campaigning of people outside the House, including Michael Lees, who has been mentioned by everyone who has spoken. He has been a great champion outside this place for ensuring that the issue of asbestos is taken seriously.
For my Department, nothing is more important than the health and safety of children and staff while they are in our schools. The Government are absolutely committed to ensuring that those who are responsible for school buildings are equipped with the resources, information, guidance and support that they need to do their jobs effectively. I welcome this opportunity to update the House on the measures that we are taking to ensure the safety of our schools, as part of our extensive efforts to improve the condition of the school estate.
As the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North mentioned, last week we published a review of the Department for Education’s policy on the management of asbestos in schools As well as considering the available evidence, we invited stakeholders to tell us their views about the existing arrangements for managing asbestos in schools and how they thought we could help schools to manage asbestos effectively.
Based on the age of the school estate, we estimate that a majority of schools in England contain some asbestos. That is because asbestos was widely used in the construction of buildings in Britain, particularly between 1945 and 1975. The same is true of many non-school and non-education buildings that were constructed in that period, as I am sure the hon. Gentleman is aware.
If asbestos is damaged or disturbed and fibres are released, they can cause serious diseases including mesothelioma, which is a form of cancer. The hon. Gentleman explained in vivid and striking terms the effect that that dreadful illness can have on people. I am sure that the House will agree that any single case of such a disease, from any cause, is a tragedy, and that we must all do what we can to minimise the risks.
The expert scientific view, which the Department obviously has to follow, is that asbestos can be managed effectively so that it does not pose a risk. Indeed, the national regulator of asbestos management, the Health and Safety Executive, upon whose expert opinion the Government base their policy and practice, advises that provided that asbestos-containing materials remain undamaged, it is often safest to manage them in situ. The experts say that effective management is often safer than removing asbestos-containing materials, because removal can greatly increase the risk that asbestos fibres will be released into the air and there is a risk that small quantities of damaged asbestos will remain after removal.
The Government are determined to do whatever we can to ensure that all those who are responsible for the safe management of schools, whether they are local authorities, academy trusts or free school trusts—I entirely agree with the point that my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole made about such schools—governing bodies or school staff themselves, have the information, understanding, guidance and resources that they need to keep our schools, and all those who learn and work in them, safe from any risk of harm.
That is why we updated the regulations in 2012 to ensure the safe management of asbestos. It is why we have invested £5.6 billion over the Parliament in ensuring that schools and those responsible for their buildings have the funding that they need to improve their condition, ensure the safe management of asbestos and fund its removal where that is necessary. It is one of the reasons why we have introduced multi-year allocations for maintenance: we recently announced £4.2 billion of funding over the next three years, we are reforming our approach to target more effectively areas with the most need, and we are introducing multi-year funding to give those who are responsible the certainty that they need to plan ahead and manage their buildings effectively. It is why we have established the condition improvement fund, to enable academies in small trusts and sixth-form colleges to bid for funding to help with specific maintenance projects, including asbestos management or removal. Before the end of this Parliament we expect to announce another round of allocations to academies and sixth-form colleges, which in many cases will include asbestos as part of the works to be completed.
Our Priority School Building programme is removing asbestos wherever appropriate, as part of rebuilding some of the worst school buildings in the country, and the Government have long provided information and guidance on the safe management of asbestos. We undertook to review whether we could do more to tackle barriers to the safe and effective management of asbestos in all our schools, and I am grateful to all those who contributed to the review.
Ian Lavery
In the past, the issue of mesothelioma has been bogged down with missing companies and insurance companies, and we cannot have the same problem for potential claims for mesothelioma in schools in 10, 20 or 30 years’ time. Will the Minister clarify the position on insurance for free schools, academies, and those education centres outside local authority control?
Mr Laws
As the hon. Gentleman will know, that issue was not directly part of the review we published last week, so if he will allow me I will write to him before the Dissolution of Parliament to set out our thinking on those points. If he wants to make further representation on that issue directly to the Department—notwithstanding that we have only a short period before end of this Parliament—I would be pleased to receive it.
I pay tribute to the all-party occupational safety and health group, the committee on carcinogenicity, and members of our Department’s asbestos in schools steering group. I am grateful to all those who submitted evidence to the review, and to the many Members of the House who have taken a keen interest in this issue. I pay tribute to our excellent officials in the Department for Education. They have liaised directly with hon. Members on this matter, advised Ministers, and done all the really hard work on the review and the detail of the proposals.
The review that we published last week sets out actions in the following four areas that the Government are taking forward to build on our current approach. First, a key task is to ensure that all those who have a role to play are aware of their responsibilities and understand what they need to do to manage asbestos safely. We will soon publish new, more user-friendly guidance on asbestos management in schools, and we will work with our partners to ensure that it is widely disseminated. There can be no excuse for any person with responsibility for a school building not to know how to manage asbestos safely.
Secondly—as my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole said earlier, this is one of the most important conclusions in the review—as well as providing more guidance and support to those with responsibility for asbestos management, we must also ensure that they are held accountable and are doing their job effectively. Evidence from Health and Safety Executive inspection initiatives has demonstrated that although the majority of duty holders for schools manage their asbestos in compliance with the law, there is room for improvement. For example, an inspection initiative in schools outside local authority control during 2013-14 found that 13% of schools were not compliant with regulations and had to be served with improvement notices. Previous inspection initiatives produced similar results for other schools. In 2010-11, 17% of the schools inspected were served with improvement notices, and in 2009-10, 10% of local authorities inspected were served with improvement notices. None of the duty holders in that area should therefore have any level of complacency.
The inspection initiatives highlighted a number of common issues. Some schools were found to have no written asbestos management plan, or had documentation that had been allowed to go out of date. Other common faults were a lack of asbestos training for in-house staff likely to disturb asbestos, and poor communication with contractors and other visitors about where asbestos was located.
To tackle those issues, our review proposes new measures to increase the transparency of asbestos management and the scrutiny of those responsible for it. We are now consulting on the best way to collect information from schools on how they manage their asbestos. We propose to ask those responsible for asbestos management in schools to confirm that their schools have an up-to-date management plan. We also plan to ask them if they are carrying out regular management activities, such as implementing procedures to prevent the disturbance of asbestos and communicating with staff and visitors about the presence of asbestos in a school. Once the Department holds this information, it will be able to take appropriate action to ensure that cases of inadequate management are addressed. This will be a significant step towards improving awareness and compliance, and ensuring that the proper management of asbestos is a priority in all schools that contain it.
I underline that this is ongoing work and we will be consulting. Inevitably, that consultation will run into the period of the next Government. The next Government will therefore also have to take some key decisions, which is why momentum is very important. In response to the specific question from my right hon. Friend the Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, I underline that our expectations will be on all duty holders, whether local authorities, individuals schools or chains, to ensure that they are doing that job properly, and we will want to be satisfied that that is the case.
Thirdly, we want to improve the evidence base on the risks posed by asbestos in schools. The review highlights the lack of contemporary evidence about the levels of asbestos fibres present in schools. This is due partly to the limitations of existing techniques for sampling asbestos fibres in the air, but if we can design a reliable study it would be a significant step forward in our understanding of the risks and therefore how best to minimise them. We are working actively with the Health and Safety Executive to establish the feasibility and optimal design of a major new study into the background level of asbestos fibres in schools, and we expect the study to begin by 2016.
Finally, we will continue to invest in the school estate in a way that ensures asbestos can be dealt with adequately, so that over time and where appropriate we see a reduction in the number of school buildings with asbestos-containing materials. In the course of this Parliament, the Government are spending a total of nearly £18 billion on school buildings and new school places. On top of that, in February 2015 we announced a further £6.2 billion of funding to maintain and improve the condition of the school estate going into the next Parliament. Our extensive capital investment programme is targeted at those schools in the worst condition. Where appropriate, we reflect the risks posed by asbestos when making funding decisions. We give local decision makers the funding they need to prioritise asbestos-related works. By improving the condition of the school buildings in the worst condition, our capital programmes will reduce the presence of asbestos in the estate and the risks posed by the remaining asbestos.
The first phase of our Priority School Building programme is rebuilding or addressing the condition need of 261 schools in the worst state of repair. The vast majority of these schools are being rebuilt and so will have any asbestos removed when the existing buildings are demolished. The second phase of the Priority School Building programme, which we announced recently, will address condition need in a further 277 schools. We primarily used information from the property data survey to assess the scale and severity of condition need. However, we also gave applicants the opportunity to identify significant issues that would not have been identified through the property data survey, for example where the costs of safely managing asbestos are excessive and are of such significance as to affect the integrity of the building. All applications that stated that their school has a significant asbestos-related issue and provided relevant supporting documentation, were assessed by independent technical advisers. We took this assessment into account when prioritising the blocks to be included in the programme. All successful blocks within Priority School Building programme 2 will have asbestos issues dealt with appropriately, whether they were raised as a specific concern in the application process or not, because we might discover some of these issues when we go on-site.
We also directly fund the maintenance and improvement of academies and sixth-form colleges through the academies capital maintenance fund and the building condition improvement fund for sixth-form colleges, which are now being combined into the new condition improvement fund. A number of these schemes involve the removal of asbestos—for example, where an academy is replacing its boilers and pipework—and we also allow academies and sixth-form colleges to bid to this fund where they have significant asbestos that is proving difficult to manage.
Asbestos can be managed effectively—and is being managed effectively in the vast majority of schools. The review we published last week is just the latest step in these ongoing efforts. Working together, we can ensure that asbestos is managed effectively in all schools and over time in a safe and an evidence-based way. As the school estate is modernised and replaced, asbestos will be removed from school buildings.
I welcome today’s debate and the contributions from all hon. Members who have participated. Through our school building programme and the measures announced in the review, I hope that we will ensure that the schools estate is a safe environment for all pupils and teachers.
Question put and agreed to.
Asbestos Management in Schools
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
On Thursday 12 March I published the Department for Education’s review of asbestos management in schools. The review was initiated following a statement by the Department of Health’s Committee on Carcinogenicity on the vulnerability of children to asbestos compared with adults in 2013.
It is important for the safety and health of all staff and children in schools that asbestos is managed properly. The Department for Education has a role to support schools, and those legally responsible for managing school buildings such as local authorities and academy trusts, in ensuring that they are fully aware of their responsibilities and are executing them effectively.
This review sets out the steps we will take to enhance our role in supporting the management of asbestos in schools. First, we are publishing refreshed, more user-friendly, guidance and ensuring it is widely disseminated, so that all of those with a responsibility for keeping their schools safe know and understand how to manage asbestos.
Second, we want to improve accountability in the system, and are proposing to gather data to ensure those responsible for asbestos management are fulfilling their duties. The Department will consult with stakeholders to ensure we do this in the most effective and efficient way possible.
We will continue to invest in the school estate in a way that ensures asbestos can be dealt with adequately and that, over time and where appropriate, we see a reduction in the number of schools buildings with asbestos-containing materials. And we will continue to seek to improve the evidence base on asbestos levels and asbestos management in schools, so that we can ensure our policies fully respond to any barriers to the effective management of asbestos in schools.
This publication builds upon the extensive investment made by this Government in improving the condition of our schools, including most recently last month’s announcements of a further £6 billion of investment. Copies of the review have been placed in the House Library.
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Education Regulations and Faith Schools
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) on securing this debate and giving the House the opportunity to discuss this important issue. I also thank other hon. Members who have spoken and express my gratitude to the Labour shadow Minister for being generous with his time and for issuing a clear reprimand to his boss for his views on the contribution of nuns to the education system. That will have been noted by the House and no doubt by his hon. Friend.
I welcome the opportunity that my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough has given me to provide some clarity on this issue, if that is needed. I hope that I can offer him the assurances for which he has asked. I am grateful to him for notifying me of some of his concerns before the debate so that I could study them in detail. As he mentioned, he also spoke recently to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, who takes these matters extremely seriously. I will conclude my remarks with some of the comments that she has asked me to pass on about the Government’s position on these matters.
I should say, especially given the time that I have to respond to the debate, that a lot of the allegations that have been made today about the inspection of particular schools are, as my hon. Friend will understand, contested. It is impossible for me to rebut each of the allegations today. Both the Department and Ofsted take them seriously, but as the Minister responsible for Ofsted I must make it clear that many of the allegations are not accepted and Ofsted has done its best to investigate them closely. The time I have does not allow me to go through each of the schools that my hon. Friend has raised in great detail so I will ask the chief inspector to write to him before Parliament is dissolved explaining Ofsted’s views about the allegations that have been made. I hope that that will be helpful to my hon. Friend.
A number of hon. Members have said, and I am grateful to the shadow Minister for putting the Government’s position on the record, that schools are not required to actively promote other faiths. They have to actively promote respect for those of other faiths. Those two things are different, and that needs to be clearly understood.
The Government recognise the huge contribution of the Churches and faiths to education in our country. As my hon. Friend said, Church and faith schools continue to be included among the highest-performing schools in the country, regularly topping the league tables. It is therefore unsurprising that they continue to be popular with parents, but this is not just about their academic record, as my hon. Friend said. Parents value their strong ethos, and their commitment to the development of character and discipline and to acting for good in society.
There has been a lot of discussion about whether fundamental British values are compatible with the values of different groups and communities in our society, especially those with different faiths and beliefs. For most of us—this has been reflected in the debate today—it is self-evident that these are shared values in our society, but we should be explicit about what the Government require. Our expectation is that every school will promote and teach about democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. I believe that the vast majority of people in Britain, whether they have a faith or not, would agree that schools should be teaching these values, and challenging views and behaviours that are contrary to them.
One of the reasons why I am so confident that we are talking about shared values is that so many schools already do a great job of promoting them, including many Church and faith schools. The Government—my hon. Friend raised this with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State—are keen to highlight the excellent practice in many schools. For example, Ofsted inspectors recently highlighted excellent practice in Sinai Jewish primary school in Brent. They found that pupils were not only “proud to be Jewish” but also
“enjoy working with pupils from different ethnic and religious backgrounds”.
The report notes that pupils are
“exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain”.
Inspectors noted that St Ethelbert’s Catholic primary school in Slough encourages pupils to see the world from different perspectives and has the notion of tolerance and mutual respect running through its core. Ofsted inspectors singled out the contributions of schools such as Christ the King school in Bristol and Tauheedul boys school in Blackburn, which was commended for having children who are
“very well prepared to take their place in modern British society and embrace British values”.
These examples demonstrate that there is no inherent tension between schools having a strong faith ethos and providing well for their pupils in relation to fundamental British values. They show that Ofsted’s approach successfully reconciles those two aspects in reporting on schools, so the Government do not accept the assertion that schools cannot be expected to know how to promote British values effectively, or that doing so creates an excessive burden. Good schools have always ensured that their pupils learn about the values we share, as well as the beliefs and practices that make us different.
Just as the benefits of promoting British values are clear, so are the risks of failing to prepare pupils for life in Britain. What we saw in Birmingham last year—often in non-faith schools, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough rightly pointed out—and since then in a small minority of cases outside Birmingham were the dire consequences of schools failing, in some cases deliberately, to fulfil their responsibilities. In some schools, girls were treated as second-class citizens in the classroom, made to sit at the back and offered less choice of subjects than boys, limiting their aspirations and career opportunities. Homophobic bullying took place, and there were discriminatory attitudes about other faiths, lifestyles and cultures, with teachers and school leaders failing to intervene, and a lack of any learning about the different faiths and beliefs that make up British society, leaving pupils unprepared for adult life and, in some cases, more susceptible to extremist ideologies and their divisive narratives.
An intolerant extreme ideology is, of course, anathema to the vast majority of people of faith in Britain, but the lesson we must learn from Birmingham and other school failures is that it is right and essential to keep focusing on schools’ work to develop their pupils’ character and understanding of others in society and to hold schools to account fairly where they fail to do so.
My hon. Friend knows that Ofsted is a non-ministerial Department and has independence in its reporting and professional judgments. As such, Her Majesty’s chief inspector is accountable to Parliament, appearing before the Education Committee twice a year. One important aspect of Ofsted’s inspection of maintained schools is the consideration of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. I emphasise that that has not been added to Ofsted’s remit in response to recent events and concerns; it has been enshrined in inspection legislation since Ofsted’s establishment in 1992.
There have been reports about schools being unfairly targeted for inspection and, in some cases, quite selective reporting of the outcomes of some inspections asserting that schools have been marked down for aspects of fundamental British values. Ofsted has made it absolutely clear that this is not the case. In an article for The Independent on 5 February 2015, Sir Michael Wilshaw said:
“As a former headteacher of a Catholic secondary school, the charge that I am presiding over some sort of state-sponsored anti-faith school ‘witch hunt’ would be laughable—were it not so serious. I have long been a staunch supporter and proponent of faith schools in this country, believing, as I do, that they are a valuable and enduring feature of our education landscape”.
He went on, which will please my hon. Friend, to say:
“Let me offer this unequivocal reassurance—the vast majority of faith schools have nothing to fear either from Ofsted or from the recent guidance issued by the Department for Education on promoting British values as part of the curriculum”.
Schools are neither discriminated against nor given special treatment based on any religious belief. All schools are treated equally and inspected under the same framework.
Ian Swales
The Minister is right to mention partial reporting. At The Durham free school, there were many issues, including the failure to attract pupils.
Mr Laws
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In all the cases drawn to our attention, there are much wider issues than those that have been described. Quite often, the reasons for the schools being failed in some way by Ofsted inspectors have been not primarily about some of those concerns but about other issues.
In conducting inspections, inspectors are required to uphold the highest professional standards and ensure that everyone they encounter is treated fairly and with respect. I know that Ofsted inspectors receive thorough and comprehensive training in how to plan, manage and conduct a wide range of interviews and discussions with pupils during inspection, in both formal and informal situations. Ofsted has made it clear that it is not looking for answers from pupils that are contrary to any faith, but it must be clear that pupils can express views that are neither intolerant nor discriminatory.
Although Ofsted inspectors will, of course, act at all times with respect for the faith and values of the school, there are key statutory requirements that state-funded schools must nevertheless comply with, including ensuring that the theory of evolution is taught in science, although faith schools can and do teach that it is a theory that their religion does not believe in; the provision of sex and relationship education; and the teaching of pupils about other faiths—Ofsted describe this as “tolerance through understanding”—although this does not mean having to promote or celebrate other faiths. Failure to adhere to these requirements is unacceptable to the Department and Ofsted, and Ofsted would always treat very seriously complaints about any other matters.
Where concerns have been reported in the media, these have often overlooked, as my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Ian Swales) indicated a moment ago, wider concerns about provision in the schools visited, rather than just weaknesses in promoting British values. That becomes apparent from reading the full inspection reports. Regarding Grindon Hall and The Durham free school, Ofsted inspectors found that the curriculum in both schools was too narrow, resulting in pupils not being adequately prepared for life in modern Britain. Worryingly, the pupils showed a lack of respect and tolerance towards those belonging to different faiths, cultures and communities, and this was unchallenged by staff.
Because of the allegations made by hon. Members and others, I have looked at all these schools. In many cases there are other issues that have led to the schools receiving criticism from Ofsted, often to do with the progress and attainment of pupils. In relation to Grindon Hall, following initial concerns from the principal of Grindon Hall Christian school in December, Ofsted undertook a detailed examination of the inspection evidence. This was conducted as part of its rigorous pre-publication and moderation process. These checks of the inspections found no evidence to indicate that inspectors failed to act with care and sensitivity, or to ask age-appropriate questions when they spoke to pupils. Sir Michael made this clear to the Education Committee in January when he said that Ofsted had “investigated those allegations” and found them to be false. However, subsequent to Sir Michael’s appearance in front of the Committee, Ofsted received formal complaints from the schools in February. These are now being investigated in line with Ofsted’s published complaints policy, and Ofsted will respond in due course.
I am sure we all agree that we need a cohesive, strong and safe society and that all schools, especially faith schools, have a vital role to play in this. The Secretary of State has asked me to underline a number of points. First, where concerns about the inspection of faith schools are raised with us, we pass these to Ofsted to ensure that any misunderstandings are cleared up. Where myths are growing, Ofsted will tackle these by communicating directly with faith groups. Secondly, we will ensure that best practice in relation to faith schools is spread around the system. The Secretary of State has asked me to make it clear that she has raised these issues directly with the chief inspector. I hope that what I have said today will give reassurance to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough, but I am happy to take up any further concerns directly with him.
Ofsted: Contingency Fund Advance
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
A budget and cash transfer of £19,400,000 to Ofsted has been agreed with the Department and HM Treasury and has been included in the 2014-15 supplementary estimate, for parliamentary approval.
Parliamentary approval for additional resource of £16,900,000 and additional capital of £2,500,000 for this service will be sought in a supplementary estimate for Ofsted. Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £19,400,000 will be met by repayable cash advances from the Contingencies Fund.
As Ofsted is a non-ministerial department, I am making this statement on behalf of its accounting officer, to ensure that Parliament is informed of this advance from the Contingencies Fund in the normal way.
[HCWS362]
School Funding Formula
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
We have had a short but on the whole excellent debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) on his leadership of the campaign, on opening the debate, and on putting the case so powerfully and in a way that sought to unite Members across the House. I also pay tribute to the other hon. Members who spoke, who in most cases have been involved in the campaign for quite some time, including the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin), my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart), the Chair of the Education Committee, my right hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), and my hon. Friends the Members for The Cotswolds (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), for North Devon (Sir Nick Harvey), for South Dorset (Richard Drax), for Hexham (Guy Opperman), for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris), for Norwich South (Simon Wright) and, of course, my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (Dr Huppert), who has done such a fantastic job in representing his constituents’ interests on this issue of revenue funding in the same way as he has done on capital funding. As he noted, as a consequence of those representations, parts of the country, such as Cambridgeshire, which were underfunded for many years under the last Government, have at last seen a massive move towards fair funding.
I do not want to make a partisan speech, particularly after the good example set by my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester, but I was a little disappointed by the shadow Minister’s response. He might at least have started with an apology for doing nothing in 13 years to correct the problems in the funding formula. I thought that we might have had a clear plan from the Labour party, given that he had so much to criticise about the coalition’s policy, on how he would introduce a national fair funding formula. What I heard was something of a policy free zone of a speech. Perhaps the lack of support behind him on the Labour Benches indicates the lack of enthusiasm among members of his party to sort out the injustices that have dogged our funding system for so long.
When this Government came to power in 2010, the funding system for schools that we inherited at the start of the Parliament was opaque, irrational and unnecessarily complex at both national and local levels. Similar pupils were funded at vastly different levels simply because they happened to be in different local authorities or in different types of school building. Previous Governments knew that the school funding system was unfair but failed to reform it.
Mr Redwood
Would the Minister suggest that there should be a limit on how big the gap can be between the best and the worst per pupil level of funding, as that would be a starting point for getting some justice?
Mr Laws
That is certainly a sensible principle, and it is exactly what we have tried to do through many of our reforms.
Throughout the Parliament we have introduced major reforms that have improved the fairness and simplicity of the system and laid the essential foundation stones to allow us, the two coalition parties, to introduce a full national funding formula in future. The major reforms we have made are changes to the local funding system, and changes to the way in which we fund disadvantage, with the introduction of the pupil premium and minimum funding levels. Time does not allow me to speak in detail about the first two changes, but I would like briefly to say something about the third—minimum funding levels.
We introduced minimum funding levels last year. I thank not only all the Members who lobbied for that change in the system but the excellent officials in our Department who worked hard, over a sustained period, on the new model. This Government have introduced the first reforms to the distribution of funding between local areas in over a decade. In 2015-16, every local area will attract a minimum level of funding for each of its pupils and schools. The £390 million increase in funding that we introduced as part of minimum funding levels represents a huge step towards removing the historical unfairness of the schools funding system. It ensures an immediate boost to the least fairly funded authorities and puts us in a much better position to implement a national funding formula in the next Parliament. All the logic of the reforms we have made indicates that they should be baselined into funding in the next Parliament. I can certainly make that commitment on behalf of my party; it is for others to make commitments on behalf of their parties.
Mr Laws
I will not, I am afraid, because of the lack of time.
In the next Parliament, multi-year spending plans will allow us to give certainty to local authorities and schools about how we transition to a national funding formula. Meanwhile, no local authority or school will lose out from the introduction of minimum funding levels from 2015-16, but about four in 10 areas will gain. We have already heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester, whose area gains some £100 per pupil—an increase of just over 2%—as a result of the changes for which he lobbied. My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon has been a great campaigner on this issue for many years and has helped to secure an uplift of about 5% in his part of the country. My hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge has helped to secure a huge increase of about 8% for funding in his part of England—an additional £311 per pupil that will make a massive difference to schools. This is only one step in the transition to fairer funding and a national funding formula, but it is the biggest step towards fairer schools funding in a decade.
The three major reforms over this Parliament do not, of course, complete the reform of school funding. We recognise that we still need to introduce a full formula to ensure that pupils with similar characteristics attract the same level of funding regardless of where they live. Nevertheless, I am proud that the changes we have made have delivered the big improvements that we have seen. They put us in a much better position than we were in at the beginning of this Parliament. We now have to do the important preparatory work that will be necessary to put in place a national fair funding formula in the next Parliament. We also need to review funding on deprivation to make sure that it is fair across the whole country, and that we can build on the enormous improvements made in this Parliament and the massive contribution that the pupil premium has made.
We are now in a position to finish the job of introducing, for the first time in decades, a fair funding system for schools in this country. Once we have long-term spending plans, we will be in a position to introduce, in a stable and sensible way, the full national funding system for schools for which Members have argued. Both governing parties in this House—both coalition parties—have put on the record very clearly their commitment to a national fair funding formula. Those of our constituents who care about this issue can best ensure the delivery of this policy through the choices they make—
Todmorden and Calder High Schools
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) on securing this important debate. I understand how important this matter is to him, and I recognise that he is and has been a strong advocate for the schools in his constituency.
It clearly is not right for pupils and teachers to work in buildings in a poor condition where learning is disrupted and staff time is diverted from the necessary focus on teaching. High quality school buildings send out an important signal to young people and to those who teach in schools about the importance that we place on education. It can also help to raise the aspirations of many young people, in particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds, if they are educated in appropriate settings. Investment in the school estate is one of this Government’s highest priorities, and it is our aim that every child will have a good quality school place in buildings that are safe and fit for purpose.
Over this Parliament the Government have spent some £18 billion on school buildings. This year we allocated a total of £1.4 billion to help improve and maintain the condition of school buildings, and have recently announced a further £4.2 billion in school condition funding up to 2017-18. This is in addition to the major investments in the Priority School Building programme, and the announcement of a second phase of that programme. Since 2011, we have also invested £5 billion in the creation of new school places in response to need, and we recently announced a further £1.3 billion in basic need funding for 2017-18 for new school places.
The Priority School Building programme aims to rebuild or refurbish those schools or individual school buildings in the very worst condition. I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that we should prioritise on the basis of need, not on the basis of deprivation, attainment or other factors that were considered by previous Governments. Through the first phase of PSBP, 260 schools are being rebuilt or will have their condition needs met. We are now actively engaged with all 260 schools in the programme—19 are already open in new buildings, 82 construction contracts have been signed, and the other schools are all in various stages of design and development. We are still aiming for all schools to be open in their new buildings by the end of 2017, two years earlier than originally planned.
In May 2014, as my hon. Friend indicated, we launched a second phase of the Priority School Building programme—PSBP2—a £2 billion programme between 2015 and 2021 to undertake rebuilding and refurbishment projects in schools with buildings in the very worst condition. While the first phase of the programme worked on the basis of the condition of the whole school site, through PSBP2 the Department has refined the approach to target individual school buildings as well as whole-school rebuilds where appropriate. That is for the good reason, as I am sure he will understand, that some schools have a large number of buildings, some of which are in a very good state and some of which are in an absolutely terrible state. It is not reasonable to overlook buildings in a very bad state simply because of the state of some of the school’s other buildings. This allows limited funding to be focused much more tightly on addressing specific issues in a school estate.
That approach has been made possible by the introduction of the property data survey programme—the most comprehensive survey of the school estate ever undertaken—which has provided information on the condition of individual school buildings. It has sought to do so—I emphasise this for my hon. Friend—in a way that is consistent across the country so that we do not rely on surveys that have been undertaken in very different ways by different local authorities and responsible bodies, on the basis of which it would not be possible to allocate money from central Government because we would not know whether there was consistency across the country.
Craig Whittaker
I accept what my right hon. Friend says about surveys, but the local authority surveys of Todmorden and Calder high schools are consistent. For decades, Todmorden high school has been prioritised streets ahead of Calder high, yet under the national surveys it is completely the other way around. Surely there is cause to look again at the national surveys of those two schools, because they are completely at odds with what we know locally.
Mr Laws
My understanding is that, following my hon. Friend’s representations to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State, the Department looked very closely at the judgments we made on those school buildings, and we continue to believe that they were right, but I will move on to that point in a moment.
I would like to make it clear at this point that I, as the Minister responsible for the capital programme, have not resisted any proposals that have been put to me in relation to buildings in my hon. Friend’s constituency, or any proposals from anybody in the Government. The Department received expressions of interest in the programme on behalf of 1,299 schools, covering over 3,300 property data survey blocks, which was a much greater number than for PSBP1. That was probably because of the willingness to accept individual block bids and, as my hon. Friend will know from his time on the Education Committee, because PSBP1 had a large private finance element, which put off some bidders, whereas PSBP2 is entirely from public capital.
Of the 1,299 schools that applied, 277 have been successful, which means that well over 400 school blocks will have their condition needs addressed, as my hon. Friend indicated. Individual school buildings were prioritised for inclusion in the programme on the basis of data from the property data survey programme, together with the information supplied in schools’ expressions of interest. Our aim was to identify those blocks where the poor condition is most highly concentrated, where the continued operation of the school is most at risk and where the cost of addressing the issues would present those responsible for schools with the greatest challenges, given the allocations we are able to give them at a responsible-body level.
I understand that my hon. Friend has concerns about the property data survey, particularly with regard to Todmorden and Calder high schools. The property data surveys were all conducted by professionally qualified building surveyors and engineers who are experienced in undertaking condition surveys in schools. Consistency among the surveyors was ensured by using detailed guidance and a standardised surveying pro forma developed by the EFA. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors provided feedback to the EFA on the methodology we used throughout the development of the programme and it has endorsed our approach.
Data from the surveys were subject to a rigorous quality assurance and audit programme. Schools’ responsible bodies were also given the opportunity to review their data and they provided feedback to the EFA on any discrepancies prior to the data being used. I know that Calderdale council raised a number of queries about the property data survey information. They were reviewed by our independent technical advisers in line with our published criteria for changes, and they decided that the original survey information should stand. I am sure that my hon. Friend understands why we took the decision to base the initial property data survey on a visual inspection only. An intrusive survey of every one of the schools that applied would potentially have damaged the existing school buildings and increased the risk of our disturbing any asbestos present in each building. The additional costs, as well as the inconvenience to schools, would have been significant.
We recognise, of course, that every survey has its limitations, which is why we invited those applying to the Priority School Building programme to submit additional local information. We considered the information submitted on asbestos and structural issues alongside the property data survey information. We have published information on the Government website on the methodology used to prioritise the programme.
In the majority of cases, the schools prioritised for the Priority School Building programme were not even in the previous Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme, which shows the stark gap between the previous plans and the priorities in many areas. The cost of PSBP schools is up to a third lower than that of BSF schools, saving millions of pounds per school. We are building or improving more than 800 schools during this Parliament, compared with less than 400 under Labour’s BSF programme. We have already completed more than 200 new school buildings since the last election.
The starting point for deciding on schools for the programme was the information contained in the property data survey, specifically the degree of need shown in the worst two condition grades in the survey, namely condition grade C, where elements are exhibiting major defects and/or not operating as intended, and condition grade D, where they are life expired or at serious risk of imminent failure. The need shown in those grades was then divided by the gross internal floor area of the block to produce a relative condition need value per square metre, to allow sensible comparisons to be made.
We automatically included in the programme blocks with a significant structural or asbestos need issue that could only be sustainably addressed by rebuilding, as well as those with condition D need that required the most substantial funding and would not otherwise make the programme. The remaining blocks were then ranked by the need per square metre calculation, including any structural and asbestos costings.
In the case of Calder high school—I believe my hon. Friend has discussed these matters with some of the senior members of the EFA—three blocks were included in the application. In those blocks, the degree of grade C and D need was simply less than those schools that were successful in their application. Indeed, the need was considerably less, as my hon. Friend knows. As part of the prioritisation process, we reviewed the information that was submitted with the school’s expression of interest in relation to structural and asbestos-related issues. As with all structural and asbestos issues raised, they were analysed on a consistent basis by our technical advisers to identify whether the need was immediate and significant enough to be accepted for automatic inclusion or for additional need to be priced and considered in the ranking process. The issues identified at the school did not, unfortunately, pass that assessment.
In the case of Todmorden high school, the expression of interest covered six blocks that all made up a single block as part of the property data survey. Again, the simple fact was that in the worst two condition grades C and D, the property data survey showed the school to have low need. Actually, it was shown to have no need at all in the worst condition grade D, and certainly much lower need than schools that were ultimately selected as part of the programme.
My hon. Friend will know that another of his schools was successful in the Priority School Building programme 2. Cragg Vale primary school was successful on the basis of the structural concerns raised in the school’s expression of interest. Independent technical advisers reviewed the information submitted by the local authority and confirmed that a retaining wall had been condemned and posed a risk to the school. The cost of the repair to the retaining wall was priced in line with Priority School Building programme 2 and PDS pricing. However, that would have addressed only the wall, and we could not be confident that it would have addressed the underlying issues causing the movement. The school was classified as having no viable repair, and was therefore escalated to the list. As he will understand, sometimes more significant structural issues are not automatically visible to those of us who are not experts in such matters, so a school may look in a better state superficially, but have a higher condition need.
We should be clear that the fact that Todmorden and Calder high schools were unsuccessful is not to say that they do not have condition issues that need addressing. We encourage responsible bodies to bid only for their worst blocks, and selection for the programme was made by comparison with other blocks in poor condition. To put that in context, the property data survey holds data on almost 60,000 blocks across England. It is likely that the successful blocks had a combination of very poor condition elements in their building—in other words, failing boilers as well as issues with their external and internal walls.
PSBP2 is intended to sit alongside, not to replace, the responsibility that local authorities, governing bodies, trustees, dioceses and other bodies have for the maintenance of school buildings in their care. As my hon. Friend will probably know, since 2011 we have made available more than £23 million in capital funding for the provision of new school places and the maintenance of schools in Calderdale. We have announced a further £16 million of funding for 2015 to 2018. Academies in Calderdale have successfully bid for more than £17.5 million in funding through the academies capital maintenance fund, of which about £10 million is for academies in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Over the 2011 to 2018 period, Calderdale schools will receive £22 million for the improvement and maintenance of the school estate.
I understand that Calderdale council is considering using part of the allocations to address some of the issues at Todmorden school. I would encourage it to do so, because that is exactly what the money is for. Indeed, the fact that the local authority has put forward these particular schools as part of the bidding process for PBSP2 implies that it must be concerned about their condition. Therefore, they should be a real priority for the money we have allocated to the local authority. We understand that local authorities have competing priorities for their capital resources, but I am sure that my hon. Friend is making the case to Calderdale council for investment in these schools.
Because of my hon. Friend’s representations to me, the Secretary of State, the Prime Minister and senior members of the Education Funding Agency, I have asked EFA officials who lead on the delivery of our national school building programme to contact Calderdale council to offer their expertise in the development and procurement of capital schemes. I invite the council and my hon. Friend to make any further and final representations that they wish to make following either my comments or his in this debate.
In addition, I hope that EFA officials, who are able to offer expertise in the development and procurement of capital schemes, can review the full range of options for addressing the building condition need at Calder high and Todmorden schools. As I have previously said, we are delivering school building projects at a third of the cost of the previous Government's BSF programme, and, if appropriate, we intend to provide Calderdale council with access to the same procurement routes that allow us to deliver such savings. As a local council, it can, if it thinks it appropriate, use the money we have devolved to it to seek to prioritise these schools, and, following the efficient methods of procurement to which the EFA has access, to do so as effectively as possible.
We want to allow those responsible for the maintenance and improvement of school buildings, such as Calderdale council, to plan well across their estates. It is precisely for that reason that we have, for the first time, provided certainty on school condition allocations over the next three years. That is why my hon. Friend’s local council now has a significant amount of additional money to tackle this need.
I am enormously grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the building issues facing schools in his area. I hope that I have explained the process of prioritising schools in the Priority School Building programme. I am sorry that he has so far been disappointed with the results, but I hope that we can work with his local council to deliver the right result for these schools in his constituency.
Question put and agreed to.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 8 months ago)
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Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con)
4. If her Department will publish a ranking of the property data survey programme of participant schools.
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
Through the priority school building programme 2, we have used the property data survey to allocate £2 billion to rebuild and refurbish buildings in the worst conditions at 277 schools across the country. We have no plans to publish a ranking of surveyed schools.
Craig Whittaker
The previous Secretary of State said that Calder high school was one of the worst he had seen in England. Similarly, when the Prime Minister came to Todmorden, he pledged money for the rebuilding of Todmorden high school. Despite those assurances, so far neither school has received any money. Will the Minister pledge to do as was initially intended and make transparent the priority listings of all schools surveyed under the property data survey programme so that we can see how robust they are?
Mr Laws
I know that my hon. Friend is a champion of the schools in his constituency, including the two that he mentions. In addition to the priority school building programme phase 2 funding, we recently announced £4.2 billion of funding for the improvement and maintenance of school buildings over the next three years, and his local authority is able to draw down on those moneys allocated to its area for the schools that he mentions. On the ranking of schools, we have no plans to publish a ranking list of surveyed schools, which could be misleading without taking into account other information supplied by schools and local authorities with their PSBP 2 bids.
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)
5. What recent discussions she has had with teachers associations and unions on teacher work loads.
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
The Secretary of State and I engaged with teachers associations and unions in the discussions about teacher work loads, most recently through the work load challenge. I welcome their contribution to the debate, including through the programme of talks at the Department for Education.
Kerry McCarthy
The Government’s own figures show that the average primary teacher is working 60 hours a week. Teachers in Bristol tell me that their work load is at an unsustainable level and that the accountability system in particular has reached absurd levels and demonstrates a profound lack of trust in teachers. Teachers are too often unsung heroes, under-appreciated and overworked. When is the Minister going to let them just get on and do their job?
Mr Laws
The work load burden on teachers, which has been present for some time in this country, including under the Labour Government, is precisely the reason that we established the work load challenge. The hon. Lady will have seen the comprehensive and detailed plan that we published, which we believe will help over time to drive down the unnecessary work load of teachers.
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)
As a former teacher, may I say that teacher work load really matters? The 10% increase that was shown up in the work load survey, which the Minister published only after being hounded for some considerable time by the Opposition, is contributing to low morale and to a looming teacher training and recruitment crisis. The response from the Government that he mentioned has been roundly rejected by teachers, thousands of whom have taken the trouble to tell Ministers of the negative impact of Government policy on teacher work loads. Do we not need a new beginning for teachers, with a Government who take seriously the impact that work load pressures are having on teacher morale and on children’s learning?
Mr Laws
I would gently make two points. First, let us look back at some of what has been said by the teacher unions about the Government’s response. The National Association of Head Teachers said that it believes that
“the proposals for better planning and greater notice of changes are a step in the right direction. They could do a great deal to improve the quality of education”.
Secondly, I do not think the Labour party is in any position to give any lectures about Government communications with teachers. After all, the hon. Gentleman’s boss, the shadow Secretary of State, was recently contacted by one parent teacher group to ask about Labour policy and he replied with eight words:
“Stop moaning. Read the speeches. Do some work.”
That was the Labour party’s response—hardly constructive engagement.
Karen Lumley (Redditch) (Con)
6. What assessment she has made of recent trends in the number of pupils taking up STEM subjects.
Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)
14. What steps she is taking to ease teachers’ work loads.
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
Reducing unnecessary work load is a priority for this Government. In October 2014, we launched the Workload Challenge, asking teachers for views on how to tackle unnecessary work load. On 6 February, we published our response with a comprehensive programme of action.
Julie Hilling
Teachers across Bolton West are telling me that they love teaching but are thinking of leaving the profession because they cannot tolerate the work load any longer. Will the Minister set a target for the reduction in work load and limit working hours, rather than just monitoring them?
Mr Laws
The risk of that is picking out an arbitrary number, but we are clear that we want to see consequences for the actions we are putting in place, and reduce figures for unnecessary work load. We are commissioning biannual surveys to measure the effectiveness of the policy. I hope that the Labour party will sign up to some of the measures included in the conclusions of the Workload Challenge, including the protocol that would set out minimum lead-in times for significant changes in curriculum qualifications and accountability, which has been very much welcomed by teachers.
Ian Swales (Redcar) (LD)
15. How many state secondary schools and colleges in England engage alumni to support students.
Oral Answers to Questions
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Rosie Cooper (West Lancashire) (Lab)
5. Whether her Department monitors local education authorities’ adherence to its statutory guidance on school organisation.
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
The Department responds to any concerns that are raised with us, but has no formal role in the decision-making process.
Rosie Cooper
Parents are raising concerns with me about the consultation on the possible closure of Glenburn sports college. They are particularly concerned that no assessment has been made of transport issues, and no statements on special educational needs or the possible impact on the use of community facilities have been issued to accompany the consultation. Perhaps most important of all, there is a major conflict of interest. Given that the acting chair of the Glenburn foundation trust governors is also the head of Lancashire county council’s directorate of education, is he acting as judge, jury and executioner? Parents want to know from the Minister whether this process is being handled fairly, and, indeed, what they can do if it is not.
Mr Laws
I know that the hon. Lady is concerned about the situation. I should be happy for her to raise her concerns with me, and I should be happy to consider them, although, as she will understand, the Department has no formal role. The formal process requires representations to be made to the local authority, and potentially to the local government ombudsman. She will be aware that if the governing body does not like the decision reached by the local authority, it can appeal to the schools adjudicator, which is able to deal not only with issues of process but with issues of substance.
Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)
The organisation of Hexham high school, which the Minister visited only last year, would be considerably improved by its inclusion in the second-priority school building programme. When will a decision be made about the programme?
Mr Laws
I know that my hon. Friend is passionate about this matter, and he has been particularly ingenious in raising it under the current subject heading. I have noted his strong representations on behalf of the school, which we will bear in mind as we make our decisions on the programme over the next few weeks.
Mr Speaker
The ingenuity of the hon. Gentleman is matched only by the generosity of the Chair in affording him that opportunity. I am sure that he is keenly conscious of that.
Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)
15. What progress her Department is making on delivering a fair and transparent funding formula for schools and supporting areas that have been historically underfunded.
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
We have now made significant progress towards fairer funding for schools and in 2015-16 we will distribute an additional £390 million to 69 of the least fairly funded local authorities, including Worcestershire, which will receive almost £7 million a year extra as a consequence. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his robust campaigning over a long period of time on this issue.
Mr Walker
I am grateful to the Minister for that answer and this Government have done more than any other to address long-standing flaws in our school funding system and to commit to fairer funding. We have started the process, as my right hon. Friend says, but it still has further to go. Even with the £6.5 million for Worcestershire, local schools tell me that they are struggling to manage cost pressures. Is my right hon. Friend committed not just to the creation of, but the delivery of, a fair and transparent formula in the lifetime of the next Parliament?
Mr Laws
I think I can reassure my hon. Friend on behalf of both coalition parties that we are committed to the delivery of a fair and transparent national funding formula in the next Parliament. We have already made the first big step and I agree with him that it is vital that we deliver a full solution to this long-standing injustice, which Labour failed to tackle in its long years in office.
Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
21. My hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) is right that we need a fairer funding formula for our schools and as part of that we need capital funding to be allocated over three years rather than one. Does the Minister agree that the long campaign for the consolidation of St Nicholas primary school in Beverley will be more likely to be realised if such a change can be effected?
Mr Laws
I agree with my hon. Friend that long-term capital funding is highly desirable and he will know that we have already moved to multi-year allocations of basic need funding. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I are now looking very carefully at the argument for moving to longer term allocations of other parts of the capital budget.
Sir Nick Harvey (North Devon) (LD)
T5. Is the Minister aware that Chulmleigh academy in my constituency has been three quarters rebuilt for just £3.7 million, compared with the £18 million it was due to have cost under Building Schools for the Future? Given the school’s superb record of delivery and astonishing value for money, will Ministers smile upon the bid now in for funding for the last stage of this superb project?
The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
I agree with my hon. Friend that the Government have delivered far better value for money in the capital programme than their predecessor, and that is why we are able to do so much on the capital front. He will not expect me to make a final statement now on the bid from his constituency, but his strong support is carefully noted by Ministers.
Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)
When do the Government expect to produce the report on asbestos in schools, which was completed in June 2014 but has not yet been published?
Eric Ollerenshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Con)
T6. Will any of the capital programme be available for small village schools, such as Scorton and Winmarleigh primary schools in my constituency, so that real dining spaces can be created? At the moment, they face the daily burden of turning classrooms into dining rooms and dining rooms into classrooms as they carry out the new free school meals policy.
Mr Laws
I can reassure my hon. Friend that the Government have now allocated a total of £175 million to support the universal infant free school meal policy with extra capital. In addition, local authorities have the £1.2 billion maintenance budget from the Department each year, and they are at liberty to use it in any way they want.
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
On Friday, I attended #NEDigitalGirls, at which girls from across the north-east saw the fantastic range of careers supported by science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM, subjects—including politics, Mr Speaker. However, EngineeringUK’s recent report has highlighted the dire state of careers advice, particularly that for engineering, in this country. It has challenged the Government to offer every 11 to 14-year-old an engineering experience with a company. How will the Minister ensure that there is professional careers advice? Will she meet EngineeringUK’s challenge?
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
T7. I thank the Government for their support for rural schools on the sparsity factor and dealing with Labour’s historic legacy of underfunding for Britain’s most rural schools. Will my right hon. Friend pay tribute to schools such as Upper Wharfedale school in my constituency, which have federated with other primary schools around them, are taking responsibility for their own efficiency and are being more competitive?
Mr Laws
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that that is the right way for many schools to go. I agree that it should be on a voluntary basis—locally supported by the Government, but not imposed. I also agree that we have hugely helped schools in rural areas by addressing the historic underfunding in many parts of the country. My hon. Friend’s own area of North Yorkshire has gained £10 million per year from the changes that we have made.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Secretary of State agree with me and the overwhelming majority of my constituents who think that the healthiest pattern for this country, its communities and society is for kids to go to school together? Is she not worried by the proliferation of faith schools in our country, in which children learn only in the shadow of their faith?
School Breakfast Clubs (European Aid)
David Laws Excerpts(9 years, 11 months ago)
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The Minister for Schools (Mr David Laws)
The Government plan to use the UK share of the fund for European aid to the most deprived to provide additional support for school breakfast clubs in England. Under the plans, which will be led by the Department for Education, this money would be allocated to schools with particularly high rates of disadvantage, as measured by free school meal eligibility.
We believe that breakfast clubs effectively target help to many of the most deprived children—providing nutritious meals in some of the poorest areas, supporting academic attainment, promoting healthy eating habits at a young age and saving families money. This funding would be in addition to existing support provided by the Government—we have already committed just over £1 million over two years to support an expansion of breakfast clubs in poor areas.
The UK’s allocation is worth €3.96 million (or £3.1 million) over seven years from 2014 to 2020, and can be used to deliver one or more of the following: food aid for the most deprived people; consumer goods for homeless people; consumer goods for children; and non-labour market social inclusion activities for the most deprived. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland decided not to participate, due to the small sums involved and the administrative effort required. The allocation has been deducted from the UK’s structural fund allocation—European social fund and European regional development fund.
This use of the fund for European aid to the most deprived is subject to final agreement with the European Commission, and will be managed in accordance with the fund’s stringent eligibility, accounting and evidence requirements.
A copy of the draft operational programme can be found online at: http://www.parliament.uk/ writtenstatements.