Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Elmet and Rothwell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential (a) costs and (b) merits of requiring freeholders to allow the installation of electric vehicle charging points where requested by leaseholders.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is continuing provide support to install chargepoints. This includes the Electric Vehicle Charge Point grant which provides people living in flats or rental accommodating up to £350 towards an EV chargepoint, and Infrastructure Grants which allow those who own apartment blocks to apply for funding for installation in car parks.
The Government also delivered world-leading legislation which came into force in June 2022, requiring new buildings with associated parking to have charging infrastructure installed. These measures are estimated to lead to the installation of up to 145,000 chargepoints across England every year, including for new apartments.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's contract with Pacific Computers Ltd of 9 January 2024, reference TRGA3330, for which of his Department's buildings will the services under that contract be supplied.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of the Pacific Computers Ltd (TRGA3330) contract, services can be supplied to all current and potential new Department for Transport sites.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
All buildings and workplaces have a risk assessment in place. These are reviewed at suitable intervals or when any changes are made to the infrastructure or working practices.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have finalised their assessment of the number of schools impacted by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; and if so, how many schools it has impacted.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC as at 16 October 2023 was published on 19 October 2023 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This link contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date.
Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of 80 caseworkers. Each school’s dedicated caseworker will support them to put in place a bespoke mitigation plan, and this will ensure that each school and college receives the support that suits their circumstances. The department has placed contracts with multiple suppliers of temporary accommodation to get to site quickly for emergency provision and is confident that it has sufficient supply of them to meet need. The department will support schools if there are any site-specific issues that need resolving in order to install temporary accommodation.
The department supports schools and colleges in a number of ways. This includes significant capital funding and providing guidance and support to help schools and responsible bodies manage their buildings effectively. On RAAC, the department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe.
The government is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall, are being approved. The government is funding longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the school rebuilding programme. The department is working closely with responsible bodies to assess what the right solution is for each case.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional mobile classrooms will be required to be provided to schools to cope with the problems caused by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC as at 16 October 2023 was published on 19 October 2023 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This link contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date.
Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of 80 caseworkers. Each school’s dedicated caseworker will support them to put in place a bespoke mitigation plan, and this will ensure that each school and college receives the support that suits their circumstances. The department has placed contracts with multiple suppliers of temporary accommodation to get to site quickly for emergency provision and is confident that it has sufficient supply of them to meet need. The department will support schools if there are any site-specific issues that need resolving in order to install temporary accommodation.
The department supports schools and colleges in a number of ways. This includes significant capital funding and providing guidance and support to help schools and responsible bodies manage their buildings effectively. On RAAC, the department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe.
The government is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall, are being approved. The government is funding longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the school rebuilding programme. The department is working closely with responsible bodies to assess what the right solution is for each case.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the total of additional resources allocated to deal with the problems created in schools by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC as at 16 October 2023 was published on 19 October 2023 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This link contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date.
Every school or college with confirmed RAAC is assigned dedicated support from the department’s team of 80 caseworkers. Each school’s dedicated caseworker will support them to put in place a bespoke mitigation plan, and this will ensure that each school and college receives the support that suits their circumstances. The department has placed contracts with multiple suppliers of temporary accommodation to get to site quickly for emergency provision and is confident that it has sufficient supply of them to meet need. The department will support schools if there are any site-specific issues that need resolving in order to install temporary accommodation.
The department supports schools and colleges in a number of ways. This includes significant capital funding and providing guidance and support to help schools and responsible bodies manage their buildings effectively. On RAAC, the department will spend whatever it takes to keep children safe.
The government is funding the emergency work needed to mitigate the presence of RAAC, including installing alternative classroom space where necessary. All reasonable requests for additional help with revenue costs, like transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall, are being approved. The government is funding longer-term refurbishment or rebuilding projects to address the presence of RAAC in schools. Schools and colleges will either be offered capital grants to fund refurbishment work to permanently remove RAAC, or rebuilding projects where these are needed, including through the school rebuilding programme. The department is working closely with responsible bodies to assess what the right solution is for each case.
Asked by: Allan Dorans (Scottish National Party - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria were used to determine where Temporary Job Centres were commissioned during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department anticipated, and then saw, an increase in demand for its services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. It responded by rapidly expanding the space available, on a temporary basis, predominantly in major conurbations. The focus was on areas with good transport links and in buildings that were accessible for both colleagues and customers.
This enabled the Department to provide a workplace that was safe for claimants and colleagues and ensured we could adhere to the Government guidance in place at the time. To ensure flexibility, premises were acquired on short-term, flexible lease arrangements to ensure we could reduce the size of the estate at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children with (a) special needs and (b) disabilities who will have to use remote learning due to building works in their schools to address reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC was published on 19 October, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. At the time of publication, none of the schools with remote education arrangements in place were special schools.
The Department is focused on ensuring schools are supported to put in place immediate measures to enable face to face teaching. The longer-term requirements of each school or college with RAAC will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. The Department will work closely with responsible bodies to understand and assess requirements in detail and offer appropriate support.
The varying contexts of specialist provision mean special schools may require different solutions if RAAC is confirmed. A caseworker from the Department will be able to discuss the support they might need and mitigations they are putting in place. The Department recognises that some pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including those in alternative provision, may find it more difficult to adapt to change and require additional support to transition to emergency accommodation or longer-term temporary accommodation. If pupils or students in a special school need to be taught in emergency or temporary accommodation, head teachers and staff are best placed to know how their needs can most effectively continue to be met.
The Department’s priority is that pupils remain in face to face education or can return to it as soon as possible. The Department will provide funding for all mitigation works that are capital funded. This includes propping and temporary units on the estate. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, such as transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, all reasonable requests will be approved.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which of her Department's (a) capital and (b) revenue budgets is being used to defray (i) capital and (ii) revenue costs associated with the need for mitigating reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) risks in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary-aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
The Department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. On top of this, the Department will transform 500 schools through the School Rebuilding Programme, prioritising buildings in the poorest condition. Currently, 400 schools have been announced to date.
The Government will spend what it takes to keep children safe. 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, all reasonable requests will be approved. 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. This will not affect existing programmes. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the date when all reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete will have been removed from special schools in England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It is the responsibility of those who run schools - academy trusts, Local Authorities and voluntary aided school bodies - to manage the safety and maintenance of their schools and to alert the Department if there is a serious concern with a building. It has always been the case that where the Department is made aware a building may pose an immediate risk, immediate action is taken.
An updated list of schools and colleges with confirmed cases of RAAC was published on 19 October, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information. This contains a summary of the number of schools and colleges with confirmed RAAC and the status of education in place at these schools and colleges at the specified date. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. At the time of publication, none of the schools with remote education arrangements in place were special schools.
The Department is focused on ensuring schools are supported to put in place immediate measures to enable face to face teaching. The longer-term requirements of each school or college with RAAC will vary depending on the extent of the issue and nature and design of the buildings. The Department will work closely with responsible bodies to understand and assess requirements in detail and offer appropriate support.
The varying contexts of specialist provision mean special schools may require different solutions if RAAC is confirmed. A caseworker from the Department will be able to discuss the support they might need and mitigations they are putting in place. The Department recognises that some pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including those in alternative provision, may find it more difficult to adapt to change and require additional support to transition to emergency accommodation or longer-term temporary accommodation. If pupils or students in a special school need to be taught in emergency or temporary accommodation, head teachers and staff are best placed to know how their needs can most effectively continue to be met.
The Department’s priority is that pupils remain in face to face education or can return to it as soon as possible. The Department will provide funding for all mitigation works that are capital funded. This includes propping and temporary units on the estate. Where schools and colleges need additional help with revenue costs, such as transport to locations or temporarily renting a local hall or office, all reasonable requests will be approved.