Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 24 of the report by the Edge Foundation entitled Advancing British standards? Exploring public attitudes towards a baccalaureate-style 16-18 education system, published in April 2024, what assessment she has made of the potential breadth of the Level 3 technical qualifications offer that can be taken alongside A levels.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Advanced British Standard (ABS) is designed to provide students with greater breadth and access to a single menu of high quality and distinct subjects, each with a clear purpose. Students will have the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, which gives them more flexibility over their future career options.
All students taking the ABS will study English and maths to age 18, either as theoretical or applied, depending on their interests and future goals.
The ongoing qualification reforms will pave the way for the future ABS, removing duplicate, low quality courses, that do not deliver the skills employers need. T Levels will form the core of the occupational routes within the ABS. The department is currently reforming applied general qualifications to ensure that other technical qualifications are based on employer designed, occupational standards not covered by T Levels, such as Travel Consultant, Highways electrician, and Personal trainer. This will pave the way for the inclusion of subjects within the ABS.
As highlighted in the Edge Foundation’s report, the ABS requires an increase to teaching hours. The department will increase the number of taught hours by an extra 15% for most 16 to 19-year-olds, against the current average funded time of 1280 hours over two years. This will mean students receive at least 1,475 hours over two years, including industry placements. This enables the department to retain the depth and rigour to support progression to further study, apprenticeships and work, while giving students the breadth they need to succeed in an ever changing economy
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to support people who have lasting power of attorney for an individual who has been assessed as lacking mental capacity with accessing funds held outside the UK; and if he will take steps to ratify the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
There are existing ways in which a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) made in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 can be accepted abroad for the purpose of accessing funds. A certified copy of the LPA, signed off by a notary public with an apostille (a special sealed certificate) attached by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides one method. Alternatively, a translation of the LPA can be formally recognised by the appropriate court of the country in which funds are held.
Although the UK has ratified the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults in respect of Scotland, we have not yet done so in relation to England and Wales or Northern Ireland. However, in respect of England and Wales, the majority of its provisions are contained in Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Schedule 3 provides a framework for recognition and enforcement of ‘protective measures’ such as LPAs in the place of an individual’s habitual residence.
We recognise the importance of ratifying the 2000 Hague Convention, as this will bring about international co‐operation to deal with the affairs of individuals across member states. We will progress this work when legislative time allows.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to improve EPC rating metrics to more accurately assess low-carbon heating systems.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As highlighted in the Powering up Britain document, the government is currently working on proposals for improving Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) metrics and intends to consult on these in the coming months. The proposals will consider the recommendations from the Independent Review of Net Zero and the 2023 Climate Change Committee report, including that new EPC metrics account for wider benefits from low-carbon heating. The government also has a continuing programme of user research to improve the way in which information is presented on EPCs.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arriving in the UK aboard any floating structure who have been stopped under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act powers since the enactment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022 have had a lawyer present during a stop.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office publishes data covering the use of powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.
This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arriving in the UK aboard any floating structure have been stopped under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act powers since the enactment of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Home Office publishes data covering the use of the powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.
This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide support to schools and colleges to help prepare minority ethnic young people to transition into work.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality careers information, advice and guidance is key to helping all young people make informed decisions about their future, including being able to find out about and consider the different options available to them.
The department funds the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers programmes, to increase young people’s exposure to the world of work and to smooth the transition into their next step.
The support provided by CEC is universal and provides young people in every part of the country, no matter what their background, with high-quality, tailored advice and guidance. Secondary schools are expected to develop and improve their careers provision for young people in line with the world-class Gatsby Benchmarks, including benchmark 3 which focuses on addressing the individual needs of each pupil.
To support schools to address the individual needs of each pupil, in September 2021 CEC launched the Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ), which is a student self-completion questionnaire that measures career readiness at points of transition across secondary education. Careers Leaders in secondary schools use FSQ insights to identify those students that require additional support in making their next career learning choice.
Careers Hubs in the 2023/24 academic year are providing additional funding to deliver three distinct strands of activity focused on supporting more disadvantaged pupils:
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the results of trials of reduced teaching hours for teachers in schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is taking action to encourage and support schools to adopt a strategic approach to implementing flexible working.
The department knows that flexible working is increasingly viewed as an expectation for employees across other sectors. That is why the department is always interested to hear from stakeholders who are trialling new approaches to embedding flexible working practices in schools. For example, the department knows that some schools have re-organised their timetable within their existing funding, giving teachers one full day of planning, preparation and assessment time a week which they can undertake from home. Innovative approaches like this could be an effective way to improve staff wellbeing and help with staff retention.
If a school decides to make significant changes to its staffing arrangements, it will be important to consider the impact on those affected, including pupils and teachers. Schools should also consider the government expectation that all state-funded mainstream schools will deliver at least a 32.5 hour school week by September 2024.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including ethnic breakdowns in all national statistics.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Government departments are responsible for the production of different national statistics. I have asked my officials to liaise with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ascertain the feasibility of including ethnic breakdowns in all national statistics.
A large amount of ethnicity data is already published on the Equality Hub’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures website. It was the first of its kind in terms of scale, scope and transparency and has been welcomed as best practice internationally. It contains statistics covering topics such as health, education, employment and the criminal justice system.
Publishing more ethnicity data for some topic areas may not always be possible. Ethnicity data may not be collected in some surveys or data collections. Where it is collected, data for some ethnic groups with smaller populations may not be published for reasons of disclosure or statistical reliability.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arriving in the UK aboard any floating structure have (a) had their phone confiscated by border force and (b) had their data digitally downloaded since 2022.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The Home Office are unable to provide the requested data. This is on the basis that it is operationally sensitive and not stored in an easily accessible format.
Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and police colleagues use every tool at their disposal to investigate and disrupt the people smuggling networks who facilitate dangerous crossings on such floating vessels and structures, including seizing and examining mobile phones which could assist with criminal investigations.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8806 on Bibby Stockholm: Inspections, on what dates and where the inspections of the Bibby Stockholm were conducted by Plymouth Marine Office.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The inspection from the Plymouth Marine Office was conducted on 31 August 2023 in Portland, with the barge in its current location.