Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools (a) are affected by and (b) have been forced to close due to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in Rossendale and Darwen constituency.
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: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support SEND provision in Rossendale and Darwen constituency.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High needs funding for supporting children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England is increasing by a further £440 million, or 4.3%, in the 2024/25 financial year, which will bring the total high needs budget to £10.5 billion, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 high needs allocations. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of provision for these children and young people.
The department has recently announced provisional 2024/25 high needs allocations for local authorities. Funding is provided to local authorities rather than constituencies. Lancashire County Council’s allocation is £203 million, which is £10.5 million more than it will receive this year, an increase of 33% per head over the three years from 2021/22. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s allocation is £33 million, which is £1.3 million more than it will receive this year, an increase of 34% per head over the three years from 2021/22.
In March 2022, the department also announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND. This funding forms part of the £2.6 billion we are investing between 2022 and 2025 and represents a significant, transformational investment in new high needs provision.
Of the £1.4 billion announced, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council received £3.1 million and Lancashire County Council received £26.1 million.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support apprenticeships in Rossendale and Darwen constituency.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Apprenticeships are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. They boost skills across the economy and improve people's earnings and career opportunities nationwide. Since 2010, there have been 13,680 apprenticeship starts in the Rossendale and Darwen constituency, and we want to ensure that this number continues to grow.
The Accrington and Rossendale College offers high-quality apprenticeship training with a particular focus on the construction and automotive sectors. Blackburn College is supporting people to develop the skills and knowledge they need for a rewarding career in a variety of industries.
To continue this growth in starts, the government is increasing its investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices. The department has introduced flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible, and has improved the transfer system so that levy-payers can make better use of their funds. We are also supporting employers to access apprenticeships by reducing administrative burdens and cutting by a third the number of steps needed to register to take on an apprentice.
The department recognises the vital role that small to medium-sized employers (SMEs) play in creating apprenticeship opportunities. That is why we removed the limit on the number of apprentices that smaller employers can take on, making it easier for SMEs to grow their businesses with the skilled apprentices they need.
We are also allocating an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of the £8 million investment in 2022/23.
We continue to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS will be expanding its service to allowing students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating at (a) Chequers, (b) Dorneywood, (c) Chevening House, (d) 10 Downing Street, (e) 11 Downing Street and (f) 1 Carlton Gardens; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Cabinet Office does not manage or occupy 1 Carlton Gardens or the Chequers, Dorneywood and Chevening Estates.
The buildings at 10 to 12 Downing Street were originally built in the 1680s, with extensive works undertaken in the Georgian era. They are Grade 1 listed. Maintaining and updating these historic buildings, whilst protecting the integrity of that heritage, presents distinct challenges.
Its primary source of heating is from the Whitehall Campus District Heating System which distributes heating to premises in the Whitehall estate.
The Downing Street estate has already taken a number of eco-friendly measures such as a full rainwater harvesting system for the gardens, and low-energy and motion detecting lighting throughout, whilst preserving the heritage of the listed buildings. It has three electric vehicle charging points.
In 2013, No.10 won an award for sustainability improvements to the building. BRE Environmental Assessment Method named it as the best for year-over-year improvements out of 800 other candidates.
The property also has a Display Energy Certificate, which is for the whole building (not just the residences). The current rating is “E”, up from “F” the previous year.
In line with the Prime Minister’s ambition for the UK to be a global leader in clean, green technology and sustainable living, the Cabinet Office is looking to build on these measures in the future. This includes exploring the scope for heat pumps when the boilers reach the end of their working life and making greater use of renewable energy sources.
As noted in the recent Heating and Building Strategy, the Government has made strong progress on reducing emissions in the Government estate by 50 per cent over 10 years through energy efficiency and green measures. The Strategy sets out a gradual fourteen-year transition to low carbon heating systems and we are investing a further £1.4 billion over the next 3 years in reducing emissions from public sector buildings.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 58823 tabled by the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen on 19 October 2021.
Answered by Michael Ellis
A comprehensive reply on the details of government heating systems will be given to the Rt. Hon. Member in due course.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by her Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Amanda Milling - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We currently use a range of methods to heat buildings across our estate. This includes the Whitehall District Heating System for our buildings in Whitehall, a biomass boiler powered by wood pellets for Abercrombie House, and a biomass boiler burning woodchip sourced from the Wilton Estate for Wilton Park. Work is currently underway to implement full decarbonisation plans for our portfolio, as part of our strategic asset management planning.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The BEIS headquarters building in 1 Victoria Street use a diverse mix of energy including gas and solar. Like other offices across the country, as decisions are made about future energy usage in light of the Government’s Net Zero commitments, further steps to decarbonise including installing heat pumps and connecting to heat networks will be taken.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
Identifying opportunities to decarbonise the department’s heating systems is already underway and the following breakdown of fuel sources has already been identified.
On the 93 sites that the Department provides heating:
A number of Defra’s buildings will become part of the Government Property Agency’s (GPA) Government property model and GPA is leading net zero plans to decarbonise these buildings. Defra will support these plans where required.
The buildings that remain under Defra group Property’s remit will be decarbonised as much as possible by the department’s Spending Review plans and by bidding for funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. These plans include the deployment of air or ground source heat pumps to support or replace existing heating systems, a move towards electrical heating and a better use of building management systems to achieve zonal heating to avoid heating unoccupied parts of a building.
There is also some exploratory work underway to look at the viability of hydrogen fuel heating and power generation which could help significantly with the decarbonisation of the laboratory sites.
The department will not rely on carbon offsets as a means to decarbonise buildings, instead making the reduction of direct emissions the primary aim.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by his Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
The Department's estate is managed by the Government Property Agency and we do not hold this data. The Government Property Agency will be looking at decarbonising the Estate, as part of their wider work of their strategic asset management planning.
Asked by: Jake Berry (Conservative - Rossendale and Darwen)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what type of heating system is the primary source of heating in each building occupied by her Department and its agencies; and what fuel is used by those heating systems.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.