Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding for further education colleges to meet staffing costs in the light of (a) increased employer National Insurance contributions and (b) sector pay agreements.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As a part of the public sector, further education (FE) colleges will be compensated for the increased employer National Insurance contributions. Details about this compensation will be announced in the future.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £300 million in 2025/26 for FE at the Autumn Budget 2024, to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed. The department will set out in due course how this is distributed.
The government does not set pay or conditions within FE. This remains the responsibility of individual providers.
To boost the recruitment and retention of teachers, the department has extended targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early-career FE teachers in key subject areas.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the requirement for under 18s to retake (a) English and (b) Maths GCSE on children with complex SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows that English and mathematics brings significant gains to all students, including children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by improving their employment prospects and access to qualifications at Level 3 and beyond. The mathematics and English condition of funding supports students who do not attain Level 2 English and mathematics qualifications at 16 by requiring them to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme or T Level. Where a student is not able to study GCSE or Functional Skills, they should be supported to achieve a stepping-stone qualification at an appropriate lower level. As the mathematics and English condition of funding is a study requirement, the focus is on supporting students to continue studying and learning these skills.
If a student wishes to re-take their Level 2 English and/or mathematics exam, they should do so when they and their institution think they are ready. The department will continue to assess the impacts of the condition of funding policy to understand where improvements can be made, including talking to lead sector bodies to understand the impacts on students with SEND. In parallel, the Curriculum and Assessment Review will look at ensuring all young people aged 16-19 have an excellent foundation in English and mathematics and how best to support 16 to 19 year olds who currently do not achieve a Level 2 qualification in these subjects by 16.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to question 4269 on Qualifications, what progress her Department has made on it's review of 16-19 qualification reforms at Level three and below.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is making good progress with the review of qualifications reform. The review is focused on Level 3 qualifications that are due to have funding removed on 31 July 2025. The review will aim to ensure that there are a range of high quality qualifications at Level 3 alongside T Levels and A levels to meet the needs of learners and employers.
The department has an extensive programme of engagement underway, to ensure that the views of colleges, schools, teachers and wider stakeholders are fed into the review. The department has already held a round table, which was chaired by my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, with key leaders in the college sector. The department is also undertaking a series of focus groups and interviews with colleges, schools and other organisations to ensure that the views of stakeholders are fully considered. Alongside this, departmental officials are using the latest student data and information available to inform the review. The department remains committed to undertaking this review quickly and concluding it by the end of the year.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to further education (FE) providers to support a pay increase for FE teachers commensurate with the pay increase provided to school teachers following the implementation of the recommendations of the School Teacher Review Body.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the vital role that further education (FE) teachers and providers play in developing the skills needed to drive the government’s missions to improve opportunity and economic growth.
The government does not set or recommend pay in FE. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.
We are investing around an additional £600 million in FE across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department is also continuing to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through the Taking Teaching Further programme.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a Budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the (a) inspection process for Skills Bootcamp providers and (b) education inspection framework for skills providers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted inspections independently assess the quality of adult learning providers and Skills Bootcamps have been part of this remit since April 2023. Ofsted inspection reports help support providers to improve the quality of their provision. The department can, at its discretion, take appropriate contractual action where performance is below the standard expected of providers.
The government is committed to reforming Ofsted and improving the inspection system and has set out a series of commitments to reforming accountability, such as moving away from the single headline grade to a richer system through a report card. The government will want to engage with Ofsted, including looking closely at the results of its ‘Big Listen’ and will work in partnership with those from the range of sectors that Ofsted works in, including skills, to look at opportunities to improve the current arrangements.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring that the needs of children receiving specific provision for SEND within the private school system are taken into account as part of any consultation to introduce VAT on fees.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department regularly engages with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a range of issues. The government recognises the importance of continuing a positive relationship with representatives of the sector to better support outcomes across the whole education system.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on consulting stakeholders that may be affected by the introduction of VAT on private school fees.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department regularly engages with the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a range of issues. The government recognises the importance of continuing a positive relationship with representatives of the sector to better support outcomes across the whole education system.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review her Department's decision to end funding for employer contributions to the teachers' pension scheme for music teachers employed by non-local authority music hubs.
Answered by Damian Hinds
As part of the competition of the Music Hubs programme, Arts Council England informed potential bidders on 15 June 2023 that department funding would be made up of the revenue and capital grants only, and that there would not be additional funding to contribute to the cost of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) for Music Hub lead organisations that are not local authorities from September 2024. The Arts Council also published indicative allocations for the 43 new Music Hub areas.
In light of the increase in employer contributions to TPS from April 2024, the department will take steps to determine the level of employer liability across all the newly appointed Hub Lead Organisations from September 2024. This has not been possible until recently, as applicants were informed of the outcome of the Music Hubs Investment Programme on 8 April 2024. The department will then work with Arts Council England to set final Music Hub grant allocations for the 2024/25 academic year and, as part of this work, due consideration will be given to additional pension pressures due to the increase in employer contribution to the TPS.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential health risks to (a) pupils and (b) staff of the use of lead pipes in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department takes the health and wellbeing of both pupils and staff very seriously. All schools need to be safe, well maintained, and compliant with all relevant regulations. This is the responsibility of those running the schools, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and voluntary aided school bodies. Where responsible bodies discover lead piping, they must take action, working, as appropriate, with water companies directly.
The Department does not collect data on whether schools have lead pipes.
All schools must ensure their water supply meets the requirements of either the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 or the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 for maintained schools and academies respectively.
These Regulations set strict requirements that schools must provide 'suitable drinking water facilities' and that they are clearly labelled and readily accessible at all times when schools are in use. The Water Supply Regulations 2016 require water to be wholesome at the point of consumption and the School Premises Regulations reinforces this requirement.
Asked by: Sarah Green (Liberal Democrat - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to remove lead pipes from schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department takes the health and wellbeing of both pupils and staff very seriously. All schools need to be safe, well maintained, and compliant with all relevant regulations. This is the responsibility of those running the schools, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and voluntary aided school bodies. Where responsible bodies discover lead piping, they must take action, working, as appropriate, with water companies directly.
The Department does not collect data on whether schools have lead pipes.
All schools must ensure their water supply meets the requirements of either the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 or the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 for maintained schools and academies respectively.
These Regulations set strict requirements that schools must provide 'suitable drinking water facilities' and that they are clearly labelled and readily accessible at all times when schools are in use. The Water Supply Regulations 2016 require water to be wholesome at the point of consumption and the School Premises Regulations reinforces this requirement.