Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been instructed to close by her Department due to concerns over reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in (a) Bradford East constituency, (b) the City of Bradford Metropolitan District and (c) Yorkshire and Humber.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out.
The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been identified as containing reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in (a) Bradford East constituency, (b) the City of Bradford Metropolitan District and (c) Yorkshire and Humber.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out.
The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have been surveyed for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in (a) Bradford East constituency, (b) the City of Bradford Metropolitan District and (c) Yorkshire and Humber.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Nothing is more important than the safety of children and staff. It has always been the case that where we are made aware of a building that may pose an immediate risk, the Department takes immediate action.
It is the responsibility of those who run schools – academy trusts, Local Authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies – who work with their schools on a day-to-day basis, to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert us if there is a concern with a building.
The Department has acted decisively and proactively to tackle this issue. This Government has taken more proactive action on RAAC than any other in the UK. The Department issued comprehensive guidance in 2018, and subsequent years, to all responsible bodies highlighting the potential risks associated with RAAC and supporting them to identify this within their buildings, as well as to take appropriate steps in meeting their obligations to keep buildings safe. The most recent guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
There are over 22,000 schools and colleges in England, and the vast majority are unaffected. A significant proportion of the estate was built outside the period where RAAC was used, with around one third of the estate built since 2001, therefore, the Department has focused efforts on buildings built in the post-war decades.
The Department issued a questionnaire in March 2022, asking responsible bodies to inform the Department of any suspected RAAC identified in their estates. Responsible bodies have submitted questionnaires for over 98% of schools with blocks built in the target era, of which there are 14,900. We are pressing all remaining schools to get checks completed, to determine which schools require surveys.
The Department is contacting responsible bodies to help them respond to this request and to advise on what needs to be done, so that they can establish whether they believe they have RAAC. This work will continue until we have a response for all target era schools.
Schools and colleges where RAAC is suspected are being fast tracked for surveying, which is used to confirm whether RAAC is actually present. All schools and colleges that have already told us they suspect they might have RAAC will be surveyed within a matter of weeks, in many cases in a matter of days.
All schools where RAAC is confirmed are provided with a dedicated caseworker to support them and help implement a mitigation plan and minimise the disruption to children’s learning.
Across Government, Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed RAAC in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Department for Education published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September, and committed to providing further updates.
Schools will contact parents where RAAC is identified and inform them of any impacts on their child. The vast majority of schools are unaffected. Any parents that are unsure if their child’s school is affected should contact their school directly.
While some short term disruption is inevitable, all available measures will be taken to minimise disruption to pupil learning and ensure that pupils continue to receive face-to-face teaching. Where there is any disturbance to face-to-face education, schools will prioritise attendance for vulnerable children and young people and children of key workers. The guidance published by the Department in August also includes guidance on provision for pupils with SEND and sets out expectations that schools continue to provide free school meals to eligible pupils.
The Department will fund emergency mitigation work needed to make buildings safe, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, the department will provide that support for all reasonable requests. The Department will also fund longer term refurbishment projects, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, to rectify the RAAC issue in the long term.
All previously confirmed Schol Rebuilding Programme projects announced in 2021 and 2022 will continue to go ahead. A full list of confirmed projects can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.
Further information on RAAC in education settings is available on the Education Hub: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/09/06/new-guidance-on-raac-in-education-settings/.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if their Department will publish an Ethnicity Pay Gap Report for financial year 2023-24 in line with the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance for employers published on 17 April 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is currently considering the best way to approach Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting in the Civil Service and, although Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting is voluntary, the Department is keen to publish a report.
The Department, along with Civil Service HR colleagues and other government departments, is working through the details of the Ethnicity Pay Gap reporting guidance that was published on 17 April 2023. This is to consider the approach to a consistent methodology for producing the data. The outcomes of this development work will inform whether the Department is able to publish a report for 2023/24.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children in households with no recourse to public funds have been provided with free school meals in the period since 1 September 2022.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Free school meals (FSM) eligibility was extended permanently to children from all No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) households subject to income thresholds, from the start of the 2022 summer term. These pupils are recorded in school census returns in the same way as the wider FSM cohort and are not identified separately.
From June to July 2022, the Department ran a claims process allowing schools to attract pupil premium funding for pupils who became newly eligible for FSM as a result of the extension to NRPF households. The most recent data on the number of NRPF pupils who were claimed for through this process can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release, Education Secretary calls for an end to low value degrees, published on 26 May 2019, whether his Department’s assessment of a low-value degree takes into consideration the socio-economic backgrounds of students in the context of courses where 60 per cent of graduates do not go into professional employment or further study.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release, Education Secretary calls for an end to low value degrees, published on 26 May 2019, whether his Department’s assessment of a low-value degree takes into consideration the disabilities of students in the context of courses where 60 per cent of graduates do not go into professional employment or further study.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed minimum entry criteria for the student finance system on equality of access to education.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the proportion of students on free school meals who will not qualify for students loans due to the minimum entry criteria for higher education.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Imran Hussain (Labour - Bradford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the value of university courses.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.