Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce a Mental Health Bill, as proposed by the then Prime Minister in May 2017.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bellamy on 28 March (HL Deb col 121), what options are being considered to properly support jurors adversely affected by sitting on a jury.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bellamy on 28 March (HL Deb col 121), how long the consideration of options to properly support jurors adversely affected by sitting on a jury will take.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bellamy on 28 March (HL Deb col 121), which stakeholders and other participants in criminal trials they are consulting on the options to offer better support to those taking part in such criminal trials.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Bellamy on 28 March (HL Deb col 121), what research they have commissioned on the psychological effects on jurors of their jury service.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the schools in England that had days of closure due to weather conditions in the last 12 months provided vouchers to replace Free School Meals to their pupils.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children entitled to free school meals were not provided with a meal or its equivalent when their school was closed due to adverse weather conditions in the last 12 months.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools in England have a voucher system in operation that can be used to replace free school meals in the event of unexpected school closure.
Baroness Berridge: To ask His Majesty's Government how many school days in England were lost in the last 12 months due to school closures caused by adverse weather conditions.
Baroness Berridge: The report from the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Market Review was published on 5 July, around two weeks before the end of the school term, and the department launched a public consultation at the same time. The department recognises some of the consultation period fell during the school summer holidays, but this reflects the ambitious timetable that has been set for the review. We want to...
Baroness Berridge: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 July 2021 to Question HL1599. We remain committed to English language, as demonstrated by the manifesto commitment to boost English language teaching. However, our response to the COVID-19 outbreak is our priority at present. We will provide an update on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in due course. The Ministry of Housing,...
Baroness Berridge: Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there are sufficient places to meet the needs of looked after children in their area, including commissioning places from private or voluntary sector providers as required. They are responsible for agreeing prices with providers accordingly. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a market study that will examine the lack of...
Baroness Berridge: Technology in education has been essential for continuing to teach remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent school and college closures. Technology also has the potential to support teacher workload reductions, flexible working, cost savings, effective teaching and improved pupil outcomes. We are building on the department’s significant investment in devices, platforms, training...
Baroness Berridge: Education is a devolved matter, and the response will outline the education reforms for England. The government remains committed to raising educational standards for all pupils, to ensure they have the knowledge, qualifications and skills they need to succeed in life. The proportion of schools now rated by Ofsted as Good or Outstanding has risen from 68% in 2010 to 86% in 2020. For all...
Baroness Berridge: In the current 2021/22 financial year, the National Funding Formula (NFF) allocates 17%, equivalent to £6.4 billion, of its funding through additional needs factors, which include deprivation. A further £2.5 billion of pupil premium funding, which has a specific focus on raising the attainment of deprived pupils, is provided on top of that. The department has recently published notional NFF...
Baroness Berridge: The noble Lord is aware that this government recognises the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and Technical Education. Our many existing reforms aimed at boosting technical education include the introduction of employer-led standards in apprenticeships; launching T levels; growing the higher-level technical qualifications market; establishing Institutes of...
Baroness Berridge: This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the noble Lord and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses when it is available.
Baroness Berridge: In line with the government’s legal duties and its commitment to equalities, care has been taken to ensure that our proposed legislation is informed by assessments of their impacts for those from protected characteristics. The Impact Assessment of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill was published on 18 May 2021 and includes an assessment of the impacts of its measures on those who share...
Baroness Berridge: Draft statutory guidance makes clear that in carrying their reviews, the governing bodies of colleges will need to ensure that they comply with their existing statutory obligations, including those related to equality law, under the Equality Act 2010.
Baroness Berridge: The department does not specify what a religious education (RE) curriculum should consist of, or how lessons on particular religions or non-religious beliefs should be taught. This is a matter for the school and the local authority’s Agreed Syllabus Conference, depending on whether a school is maintained or an academy, and whether the school has a religious designation or not. The details...