Decisions on school uniform, including how this is sourced, are made by the governing body (or academy trust) of the school, but our existing guidance is clear that, when setting their uniform policies, schools should keep costs to a minimum and ensure the uniform is affordable for everyone.

The guidance also reminds schools of their obligation under Human Rights and Equalities legislation, as well as highlighting the legal requirement for schools to have a complaints process in place. Parents who have concerns about a school’s uniform policy can use this process to raise these with the school. If parents continue to have concerns, they can raise these with the Department.

We intend to put this guidance on a statutory footing when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

Officials from DfE and DCMS work together closely across a number of programmes to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to lead healthy, active lives.

As announced by the Secretary of State on 17 July, £100m of Healthy Pupils Capital Funding will be used to pay for facilities to support PE, after school activities and healthy eating. In addition, the Primary PE and School Sport Premium will be doubled to £320m a year from September 2017. The premium funds additional and sustainable improvements to the provision of PE and sport in primary schools to encourage the development of healthy, active lifestyles.

The Department allocates around £1.2bn per year of capital funding directly to schools and their responsible bodies for them to invest in maintaining and improving their school buildings and facilities. They can decide how funding is spent, and if they wish they can of course target sports facilities where they are the local priority.

Good mental health is a priority for the Department. It can have a profound impact on the whole of a child’s life, not just their attainment. Schools have an important role to play, but teachers are not mental health professionals. They need support from specialist services, which is why we are investing an additional £1.4 billion in children and young people’s mental health services to 2020.

The Prime Minister announced earlier in the year that a member of staff in every secondary school in the country would be offered mental health first aid training. This training has now begun. It will equip those undertaking the training with the knowledge needed to identify and make an initial response to mental health concerns, which they can share with colleagues. The Prime Minister also announced a number of pilots to develop practice and evidence about what works in promoting good mental wellbeing, putting peer support schemes in place and developing joint working with specialist mental health services. We are procuring organisations to run these projects and will announce the results as soon as possible.

We have published a blueprint for school counselling services, which provides schools with advice on delivering high quality counselling to all pupils.

We have funded the development of MindEd, a free online resource which allows all those working with children and young people to access training and information on a range of mental health issues.

The Department has also issued advice on behaviour and mental health providing teachers with information and tools to identify pupils who need help, and to provide effective and early support.

We will be considering with the Department of Health how best to build on this work. We will include proposals in a joint children and young people’s mental health green paper, to be published by the end of the year.

We want to ensure every school has the resources it needs to deliver a high quality education for every child and that all schools are fairly funded. We received over 25,000 responses to the consultation. We are grateful to all those who expressed their views on school funding and the proposed formula as part of this process. We will publish the response to the consultation in due course.

Schools and local authorities have had the power to issue penalty notices since 2004.

Every local authority must draw up a Code of Conduct for issuing penalty notices, in consultation with governing bodies and head teachers in their area. The Code will set out the occasions when it will be appropriate to issue a penalty notice. This can for example include circumstances where a pupil is persistently late to school without a valid reason. A penalty notice must be issued in accordance with that Code.

There is no formal appeals process where a parent is issued with a penalty notice and they deem this to be incorrect; however, parents can discuss their situation with the local authority and ask for the penalty notice to be withdrawn. If the penalty notice has not been paid in full by end of the 28 day period allowed for payment and if the local authority has not commenced prosecution of the parent and is not contemplating doing so, it must withdraw the penalty notice.

The most recent projection for the number of pupils in state funded primary schools was published on 14 July 2016. The figures for the actual population in 2016, and the projections for the next three years, are provided below.

Notes: 1 – projection for the state funded primary and secondary school population aged up to and including 15, age taken as at the start of the academic year.

2 – Actual and projected figures and numerical increases rounded to the nearest thousand. The percentages were calculated on the exact figures.

3 – Full-time equivalent numbers count each part-time pupil as 0.5.

4 – All through schools are included in the secondary school total for all ages.

This information is published on the department’s website. New 2017 pupil projections will be released on 13 July 2017 at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-projections

We believe that the current funding arrangements are unfair and we remain committed to changing them. We will work with Parliament to bring forward proposals that command a consensus. We are considering the more than 25,000 responses we received to the second stage to National Funding Formula consultation, and will publish our response in due course.

As set out in the first stage to the consultation, a national funding formula – one which would directly set the budget for each school – would remove the requirement for local authorities to set a local schools funding formula. Removing the requirement for local authorities to set local formulae would require a change to the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

My Lords, our thoughts and prayers are with the relatives, friends and families, and all those people affected by the Grenfell tragedy. The department certainly has no plans to introduce any changes to its guidance that would make fire safety laws for schools less strict. Alongside the rest of government, we will review and act appropriately on any findings from the tragic events at Grenfell Tower. We are undertaking an analysis of all school buildings to identify any at a fire risk from cladding.

My Lords, what discussions has the Minister or any of his colleagues had with his counterparts in Scotland to exchange experiences north and south of the border and advice? Here is another sensible suggestion: if he has not had any meetings so far, will he do so now?

My Lords, closer to home, given the long delay to the refurbishment of this building, is the Minister satisfied about fire precautions in the Palace of Westminster?

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Grenfell Tower fire, what plans they have to review their guidance Fire safety in new and existing school buildings.

I thank the Minister for his reply and share his concerns about the victims of Grenfell. Is he aware that last year the London Fire

Brigade did 184 school fire safety consultations and that, despite it feeling that all new and refurbished schools should have sprinklers fitted, only 2% of such schools were fitted with them? This indicates that the current guidance is not being followed. Given that sprinklers can save lives and reduce the rising cost of property damage, will the Government commit to making sprinklers mandatory in new and refurbished schools and producing up to date and robust information about the cost of school fires in lives, cash and educational disruption?

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the school immediately adjacent to Grenfell Tower is the Kensington Aldridge Academy. It has sprinklers installed, thanks to the regulations that I pushed through when I was a Minister, with the presumption that all new schools should have fire sprinklers fitted. Has the Minister seen the figures from the London Fire Brigade that show that, in the nine years since those regulations came in, there have been 717 fires in schools in London and in only 15 of those schools were sprinklers installed? I support what the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, said. Now is the time to go further than the regulations I agreed, to listen to the London Fire Brigade and to make sprinklers mandatory in all refurbishments as well as all new schools.

My Lords, with many other Peers of the realm, I sit on the All-Party Group for Fire Safety and Rescue and sprinklers and the Fire Brigades Union and so and so forth. I have to tell the House that the most frustrating of meetings take place because these people who are really keen on having sprinklers all over the country, not in Scotland or Wales but excluding England, are very frustrated that the Government of the day are not acting accordingly.

My Lords, I am also a member of the APPG for Fire Safety and Rescue, which I joined when I came into your Lordships’ House because the primary school where I was chair of governors burned down in 2004. Because one and a half classrooms survived, it was deemed to be a refurbishment, and under the guidance there was no requirement to increase the level of safety to that required in new schools. The key thing for both new and refurbished schools is that the Government’s advice is advice—it is not statutory. Will the Minister ensure that it becomes mandatory to have the highest standard of safety protection, including sprinklers, in all schools, new and refurbished?

I, too, am a member of the all-party fire group. Is it not right that Members of this House and others who comment from outside should now take a deep breath and hold back a little and allow those who are competent in this world to tell us what action is needed? These actions should flow from proper, deep investigation—and hopefully we as a House will be told as soon as possible what changes are to be made.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage school gardening, to ensure that every child understands the environment and has an early connection to nature.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer. Numerous reports have shown that children as young as four suffer from depression and anxiety. Research proves that gardening is not only therapeutic for them but gives them a sense of continuity, responsibility and an understanding of food production. It can help them with subjects across the curriculum, and even with a career in horticulture. Will the Government work with the RHS school gardening campaign to deliver gardening opportunities to schools across the country and urge Ofsted to take such provision into account when inspecting schools?

My Lords, while warmly endorsing the RHS campaign, I would make another point to my noble friend. Could he encourage teachers, particularly career teachers, to look favourably upon the many interesting educational developments that come from studying horticulture at a much greater level? There are many of these amazing careers open, but very often we find that teachers downgrade them. That annoys me enormously.

My Lords, research by the Royal Horticultural Society shows that its Campaign for School Gardening can contribute to a sustainable environment, which is important because schoolchildren walk along roads where legal limits on air pollution have already been breached in 16 areas just this year. When will the air quality action plan to cut illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide be published? The election is no excuse, because Cabinet Office guidelines are absolutely clear that purdah rules can be lifted where public health is at risk.

My Lords, there is an amazing pool of ignorance among children and young people as to where their food comes from. I am not talking about vegetables in this case but milk, eggs, cheese and meat. In most cities there are now city farms, and farms are very willing to accommodate children and young people to show them where their food comes from, so would the Minister encourage this practice?

My Lords, I was in York a few days ago, where there was a row of 20 new houses in dark brick, with dark windows, fences and dark pavements. One of them had hanging baskets, pots and window boxes. This completely lifted the appearance of the whole thing. On the therapeutic aspects, this needs real encouragement from not only the RHS but also the National Trust. Would the Minister please also turn the attention of the appropriate part of government to the issue of allotments, which give many city people the opportunity to go out and do some gardening?

Given the educational value of these gardens, now that the Minister has had a windfall of time landing in his diary over the next few weeks, will he find time to dig through the weeds of the school funding formula to see whether head teachers will have enough resources for school gardens? Then perhaps the seeds of doubt will sprout about whether the line he is about to give us about the school funding formula is wearing a little thin.

My Lords, there is a great deal of public awareness about the developmental pressure on playing fields, but I do not think there is any about growing space. Gardening takes room—less room than sport—but it is very important. How is the Minister informed of those pressures and how is he protecting those resources?

My Lords, the Ashden charity, of which my daughter-in-law is the chairman, gives awards for sustainable energy across the world, including in England. It gave an award to a primary school which dug up a small amount of the playground and planted vegetables. Does the Minister think that this ought to be encouraged?

My Lords, the science national curriculum requires that children are taught about plants and can identify common wild and garden plants. Guidance encourages schools to use the local environment so that children can investigate plants growing in their habitat. The government-backed 1 million trees for schools campaign gives millions of children the chance to plant saplings in their school grounds and communities, helping them to connect with nature and make their school grounds and neighbourhoods greener.

1. ‘Public school’ is not a term set out in legislation, but is used commonly to refer to an ‘independent school,’ as defined with Section 463 of the Education Act 1996.

2. ‘Grammar schools’ are the 163 schools which were designated as such within the Education (Grammar School Designation) Order 1998 (as amended). Originally all grammar schools were maintained grammar schools, however, 140 have now become wholly selective academies.

3. Academy schools are State funded independent schools, as defined in Section 1A of the Academies Act 2010 (as amended).

4. ‘Higher school’ is not a term set out in legislation, but is used commonly to refer to a ‘secondary school’ that caters mainly for key stage 4 pupils and perhaps key stage 5 pupils.

The attached table provides the full definition of each type of school as set out in legislation.

As announced at the Spending Review, we will be removing the Education Services Grant general funding rate from 2017-18. We recognise that local authorities will need support with this change, which is why we have introduced a new transitional grant worth £125m in 2017-18. We have also amended regulations to allow local authorities to use other sources of funding to pay for education services for maintained schools once the ESG is removed from September 2017. Local authorities are allowed to retain some of their maintained schools’ Dedicated Schools Grant so that they can continue to deliver the statutory duties they carry out on behalf of maintained schools previously funded through the Education Services Grant general funding rate.

If local authorities cannot agree with their maintained schools on the level of funding to retain, local authorities have recourse to the Secretary of State.

Funding delivered through the ESG retained duties rate, which funds duties that local authorities hold in respect of all schools, is not being removed. In 2017-18, this funding has been moved into the Dedicated Schools Grant and paid to local authorities on a per-pupil basis. From 2018-19, this funding will be allocated to local authorities through the central school services block.

The Department takes the issue of asbestos in schools very seriously. The evidence from the freedom of information requests of incidents of asbestos disturbance in schools, reported by local authorities, demonstrates exactly why the Department is committed to supporting and challenging schools, local authorities and academy trusts to fulfil their responsibility to manage asbestos safely in their schools.

We have recently updated and improved our published guidance for schools, which clearly states that if accidental exposure to asbestos has occurred, the duty holder must inform the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This is a legal requirement and the HSE may investigate if major issues are raised where a duty holder’s compliance with their legal duties is called into question. The guidance also provides information for duty holders on the consequences of not complying with regulations and is available to all local authorities and schools.

We also recently carried out a data collection in schools on how they manage asbestos to understand how they were complying with their duties, and have published the findings. In future we plan to seek further assurances from duty holders to ensure that asbestos management is compliant with legislation and guidance across their education estates.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the Education Policy Institute report on the new funding formula for schools which indicates that primary schools may lose funding equivalent to two teachers and secondary schools may lose funding equivalent to six teachers.

I thank the Minister for that interesting reply. Could he say whether he recognises the concerns of teachers at schools with more disadvantaged pupils, who are more likely to suffer than others under this funding formula? Could he predict what the future for those schools might be?

My Lords, in the next four years, the budget of an average primary school will be £74,000 worse off. That is the equivalent of two teachers. The budget of an average secondary school will be £291,000 worse off, which is the equivalent of six teachers. Does the Minister think that it is wise to be spending £240 million on expanding grammar schools and £320 million on creating new free schools when these budgetary pressures exist?

My Lords, does the Minister accept that these proposals have a disproportionate effect on small primary schools in rural areas? I declare an interest because the school in my village, of Vernham Dean in Hampshire, will have suffered a cut of £64,000 in relation to the money that was available to it only a year-and-a-half ago. I wonder whether the Minister can accept that these proposals will adversely affect young children in small, rural schools in relation to their counterparts in larger towns.

My Lords, while I welcome the additional efficiency and flexibility that come from the multi-academy trust system, and from trusts and free schools overall, does the Minister agree that a reduction in funding per pupil at a time when greater skills are needed to compete internationally, and when mental health problems among young people are increasing so rapidly and causing problems for many schools, is a bad allocation of money?

My Lords, will the Minister apologise for the fact that the Government are taking money out for their own pet schemes for grammar schools and depriving children in other schools in other parts of the country? Will he agree to go away and look at whether the Government’s pet schemes should have additional money that is not stolen from children in other schools?

Will the Minister join me in recognising that the current funding system for schools is fundamentally flawed? It is a postcode lottery, where resources provided to identical schools depend not on their needs but on location. This is unfair and needs to be addressed urgently.

My Lords, through our careful management of the economy, we have protected the core schools budget in real terms. In 2017-18, schools will have more funding than ever—over £40 billion—set to rise to £42 billion by 2020. The IFS analysis shows that per pupil funding in 2020 will be over 50% higher in real terms than in 2000. While we know schools are facing pressures, we know that there is scope for schools to become more efficient and we are supporting them to achieve this.

Under the exceptional leadership of Simon Elliott and the excellent teaching of his staff, Forest Gate Community School has been transformed from a poorly performing school to an outstanding one. The academies programme is predicated upon using our best leaders to support other schools to improve.

I am delighted that the school has established a multi-academy trust and is approved to sponsor other schools in the region. Discussions are underway with the Regional Schools Commissioner for the East of England and North East London to identify the schools that would benefit most from Simon Elliot’s leadership and the methods adopted at Forest Gate School.

We do not hold information on those schools that have direct access to defibrillators.

We know however, how important swift access to a defibrillator can be in cases of cardiac arrest, which is why the Government is encouraging schools and other eligible settings to purchase a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment.

To make it as easy as possible for schools to do so, the Department has negotiated a deal with NHS Supply Chain to offer defibrillators to schools at a reduced cost. Since the scheme was launched in November 2014, 1967 defibrillators have been purchased through this route.

The department takes the issue of asbestos in schools very seriously. The findings from the asbestos in schools data collection show that the vast majority of schools that responded appear to be managing asbestos well and are fully compliant with legislation and guidance. For those that did not have fully documented plans, processes and procedures in place, the department provided immediate advice on the actions needed to address these issues and sought assurances of compliance from responsible bodies and schools.

We have also recently published updated guidance which provides information on how those legally responsible for asbestos management in schools - local authorities, schools and trusts - should manage asbestos. This includes new supplementary guidance to help duty holders understand where asbestos is commonly found, so that they can work with qualified professionals to assess and manage the risks. We also intend to further enhance scrutiny on duty holders for managing asbestos in their schools, by developing an assurance process for all duty holders to report on the management of asbestos across their respective education estates.

Alongside this, we continue to provide significant funding to schools to help those legally responsible for maintenance to keep their school buildings in a good state of repair. We are investing £10billion to maintain and improve the condition of the schools estate by 2021, and schools and responsible bodies are able to use the funding that is available to them to remove asbestos where that is appropriate.

Whilst the requirement for parents to provide information on their children’s nationality and country of birth is optional, we recognise that there was disparity in how the request for this information was communicated by schools during the autumn school census collection. In view of this, the Department has committed to delete this information from its systems, where parents have since refused to provide it. This offer will continue to remain open to parents and will be reviewed in December 2017.

Following completion of the autumn census at the end of November 2016, the Department worked with sector representatives to review, and update, our data collection guidance to provide additional clarity on the collection of personal data from parents / guardians or pupils. Schools were informed via a data collection bulletin on 14 December that the updated guidance would address, amongst other points, parents’ rights to refuse or retract data and the updated guidance would be available in January. Following publication of the updated guidance on GOV.UK, the Department wrote to all head teachers on 10 January to highlight the updated guidance and, in particular, that parents can decide to retract nationality and country of birth information previously provided.

The autumn school census highlighted the need for clarification of how the new data items on nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English should be collected. The Department, therefore, updated the data collection guidance for schools in advance of the current school census that opened in January. The Department wrote to all head teachers on 10 January to highlight the updated guidance and request their support locally in improving the collection of sensitive data about pupils in the school census.

This communication did not specifically refer to data sharing with the Home Office because this sharing does not include the data relating to the nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English of pupils to which the communication referred. These new data items are collected solely for DfE analysts to use internally for educational research and have not, and will not, be shared by the Department with other government departments.

With regards to data sharing with the Home Office, a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Home Office and the Department for Education, which covers the sharing of limited information between those parties, is available in the house library. This MOU sets out publicly how this process works and the data which is shared. As stated above this does not, and will not, include the new data on nationality, country of birth and proficiency in English.

The Department has published advice for head teachers to help ensure their charging policies comply with the law. The advice accurately reflects the terms of the Education Act 1996.

The ‘Charging for School Activities’ advice states schools can ask for voluntary contributions for the benefit of the school or any school activities. When schools request voluntary contributions they should not pressurise parents into paying and must make clear to parents there is no obligation to make any contribution.

The advice also states that no child should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay.

The core schools budget has been protected in real terms since 2010, with school funding at its highest level on record at more than £40bn in 2016-17.

The Government continues to provide support for schools to help them use their funding in the most cost effective ways, including improving the way they buy goods and services, so‎ they get the best possible value.

We want schools to have the resources they need so that every child has access to an education that fulfils their potential. We have protected the core schools budget in real terms overall. This year, it is the largest ever on record, totalling over £40 billion.

Evidence shows that high quality teaching is the most important school based determinant of pupil outcomes. We have published Workforce Planning Guidance to support schools to plan over the longer term, as part of regular school improvement, curriculum and financial planning. This is to help ensure that schools are always investing in the right mix of staff, and in high quality professional development, to deliver excellent pupil outcomes. This guidance is available, along with other tools to support schools to improve their financial health and efficiency at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

We have also published a Schools’ Buying strategy to help schools maximise savings from their £10 billion of non-staff spend. This means schools can invest more of their resources in the classroom, making even more of a difference to the children that need it most.

We want schools to have the resources they need so that every child has access to an education that fulfils their potential. We have protected the core schools budget in real terms overall. This year, it is the largest ever on record, totalling over £40 billion.

We recognise that schools, as with other public services, are facing broader cost pressures. In response to this we have produced tools, information and guidance for schools financial health and efficiency, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

We also know there is significant scope for savings in non-pay and procurement costs. We have launched a school buying strategy to support schools to seek to save over £1bn a year by 2019-20 on their non-staff spend.

The collection also includes Workforce Planning Guidance for schools. This guidance contains links to advice and case studies, as well as lists of options and questions for school leaders to consider when reviewing their staff structures.

The UK has one of the world’s strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 protects transgender people from discrimination. The Government has published guidance for schools on how to comply with the Act. The guidance contains advice on supporting transgender children and protecting them from discrimination.

The Government has sent a clear message to schools that bullying, for whatever reason, is unacceptable and should not be tolerated. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent bullying amongst pupils. Schools are free to develop their own anti-bullying strategies and they are held clearly to account for their effectiveness through Ofsted.

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying is unacceptable and the government is committed to tackling it. In September, the Government announced a £3million programme from 2016-2019 to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in a sustainable way. The programme focuses on primary and secondary schools in England.

All schools in England have a legal duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children at their school. As part of this duty all schools must have regard to the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education. The guidance sets out that all school staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn and that all schools should have an effective child protection policy.

The Government does not hold information on the number of cases of homophobic bullying recorded in schools. The recording of instances of bullying is managed locally by schools.

We are examining the overall prevalence of a range of bullying types, including homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and the Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys, which will report later this year.

We are committed to promoting LGBT equality, including amongst young people. We are currently investing £3million in a three-year programme to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The purpose of Ofsted school inspection is to assess the quality of education provided by the school for its pupils. This includes reporting on how well the school’s provision supports pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In addition, Ofsted’s school inspection handbook does require inspectors to consider how well leaders and governors engage with parents, carers and others in supporting pupils.

The Government announced a £2.8m investment in tackling homophobic, biphobic and transphobic (HBT) bullying in September 2016. This followed the successful completion of a £2m pilot programme last year. Since we announced this programme, a further £0.2m has been allocated in order to enable more robust evaluation and quality assurance of the programme. This brings the total to £3.0m.

Six grantee organisations were selected through open competition to deliver innovative schemes to tackle HBT bullying in schools which have no or ineffective measures in place. These were: Barnardo’s, LGBT Consortium, Metro Charity, National Children’s Bureau, Proud Trust and Stonewall. The Government has also contracted with the PSHE Association to quality assure the resources produced as part of the programme and Sheffield Hallam University to assess the impact of the programme. The funding for the programme is split between these organisations.

Since September, the six grantees have been further developing their implementation plans and they have been registering schools to be part of the programme. The aim is that the grantees will start working with schools during 2017. An action plan for the current programme has not been published and we do not intend to do so. We published the evidence from the pilot programme on GOV.UK in July 2016. A report demonstrating the evidence from, and the impact of, the current programme will be published after this programme concludes in 2019.

The Government has used a wide variety of evidence to inform its decision to tackle HBT bullying, including external research and the evidence from the 2015-2016 pilot programme. The organisations funded through the programme have been and will continue to be in regular contact with local authorities, academy chains and individual schools as they are recruiting schools.

All schools are bound by requirements of the Equalities Act 2010. The Act makes it unlawful for the responsible body of a school to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil:

• in relation to admissions,
• in the way it provides education for pupils,
• in the way it provides pupils access to any benefit, facility or service, or
• by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment.

Further information on schools’ responsibilities under the Equalities Act is attached.

The school an individual child attends will hold information about that child which will be used by the school to help ensure the child receives the best possible education. Every term the school is required, by law, to send some of this data to the Department for Education (DfE) via the school census. This process has been in place for more than 10 years and the information is used to provide a clear picture of how the school system is working, at local and national level. It helps us to make sure we are allocating funds where they are needed and that no groups of children are missing out on the education they deserve.

This year we also asked schools for additional information on pupil nationality and country of birth as well as data on proficiency in English. The return of nationality and country of birth data is completely optional and parents are under no obligation to provide it if they don’t want to. These new data items on nationality, country of birth, and English proficiency will not be passed to the Home Office, or anyone else. They are solely for the Department for Education to use for research.

Separately, where the police or Home Office have clear evidence that a child may be at risk or there is evidence of criminal activity, including illegal immigration, limited data including a pupil’s address and school details may be requested from the Department for Education. It is right that we share this data if it helps to keep a child safe from harm or to prevent a crime. This does not include nationality and country of birth information recently introduced into school census. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the DfE and the Home Office, which is available in the house library, sets out how this process works and the data which is shared.

Of the 268 mainstream free schools opened up to and including September 2016, 76% have opened in areas where there was a need for additional school places.

Free schools are approved for a variety of reasons, including the need for new school places, the need for better quality places in the local area, to increase parental choice or to meet demand from local employers. More than a quarter of inspected free schools (reports published by 31^st December 2016) are rated outstanding by Ofsted. .

In all cases due consideration is given to the impact that opening a new school will have on local schools.

The Government does not hold information on the number of cases of homophobic bullying recorded in schools, as the recording of instances of bullying is managed locally by schools. Nonetheless, we are examining the overall prevalence of a range of types of bullying, including homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and the Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys, which will report later this year.

We are committed to promoting LGB&T equality, including amongst young people. We are currently investing £2.8 million in a three-year programme to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in schools.

The Government does not hold information on the number of homophobic cases of bullying recorded in schools. The recording of incidents of bullying is managed locally by schools.

We are, however, investigating overall prevalence rates for a range of types of bullying, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, through surveys such as the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) Teacher Voice and Pupil and Parent/Carer omnibus surveys which will report later this year.

Does my noble friend accept that the use of defibrillators has saved a great many lives—provided, of course, that they are used in appropriate circumstances?

My Lords, given the recent cuts in school funding, how does the Minister expect schools to be able to afford defibrillators, unless of course they have a special grant to purchase one from the department, which they most certainly should?

Is the Minister aware that these machines are now so sophisticated that if any operator is about to use one inappropriately, it has been programmed to tell the operator to “push off”?

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Storey, rightly paid tribute to the outstanding work of the Oliver King Foundation, and I acknowledge the work the Minister has done in meeting the foundation and taking the issue forward. Every year, 270 children die after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at school, and 12 young people a week die from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome. There are laws that mandate smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, seatbelts and lifejackets to save lives, but there is no law mandating a simple piece of equipment that could restart the lives of 12 young people each week. Do the Government intend to give a fair wind to Maria Caulfield MP’s Defibrillators (Availability) Bill, which will have its Second Reading in another place next month, so as to bring to an end the shameful postcode lottery that is access to defibrillators?

Following the question asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, how can children in schools be shown the dangers of diabetes or epilepsy and made aware of the symptoms? Is it possible to encourage schools and education authorities to make sure that those who are able to instruct are allowed into classrooms?

My Lords, this is yet another argument for strengthening personal, social, health and economic education. If children understand their own bodies and are taught well about them, they

can respond more appropriately to the issues raised in this question, and more generally, when such health problems arise for them or others.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that all schools and public buildings are equipped with defibrillators.

I thank the Minister for his reply and for his work during the coalition Government and this Government. The Minister will be aware that today, 82 people will experience a sudden cardiac arrest and only eight of them will survive. He will also be aware of the work of the Oliver King Foundation, which was set up after the tragic death of a 12-year-old boy in a swimming pool in Liverpool, and which has campaigned ceaselessly for this provision. Is the Minister prepared to meet the foundation to discuss further ways in which it can be taken forward?

My Lords, should not all children be given training in the use of defibrillators, and should they not have wider knowledge of how to use this machinery and other first aid when they come out of school?

Do the Government recognise that it is essential to have emergency action first-aid training in primary and secondary schools, so that children can recognise cardiac arrest in another child, respond appropriately, call for help and know where a defibrillator is? Simply purchasing a defibrillator is inadequate.

My Lords, the Government know how important swift access to defibrillators can be in cases of cardiac arrest. That is why we are encouraging schools to purchase a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment, and we have negotiated a deal to offer defibrillators to schools at a reduced cost. Since the scheme was launched, more than 1,800 defibrillators have been purchased through this

route. The Government also continue to provide funding to make defibrillators more widely available in communities across the country.

The government knows how important swift access to defibrillators can be in cases of cardiac arrest. That is why we are encouraging schools to purchase a defibrillator as part of their first-aid equipment. To help enable schools to do so, the Department for Education have negotiated a deal with NHS Supply Chain to offer defibrillators to schools at a reduced cost, and have published advice on installing and maintaining defibrillators on school premises.

Since this scheme was launched in 2014, over 1800 schools have purchased defibrillators through this route. We continue to work with the sector to raise awareness of the scheme and to refine our guidance to schools on installing and maintaining these devices.

In addition, the Chancellor announced in the budget in March that the government is making available another £1 million to make public access defibrillators and coronary pulmonary resuscitation training more widely available in communities across England. This builds on last year’s funding of £1 million, which provided almost 700 more publicly accessible defibrillators in communities across England and increased the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The Government wants all children to be healthy and active. The playing fields that are disposed of each year continue to represent only a very small proportion of the total playing field land across the country. In many cases these are in respect of schools that have closed. In all cases consent has only been granted where schools have demonstrated there is no impact on their sports curriculum, and where the proceeds of sale are reinvested in sports or education facilities. No operating school has disposed of its entire playing field.

Since 2013 we have invested £600 million to improve PE and school sport in primary schools through the primary PE and sport premium. But we know we can still improve, which is why revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year from September 2017. This will allow schools to further improve the breadth and quality of the PE and sport they offer.

The Education Act 2011 provided that schools can be exempt from routine inspection on the basis of having been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted at their last full inspection under section 5. Outstanding schools are exempt from routine inspection as long as they maintain their high standards. There are 106 outstanding schools which have not been inspected in the last 10 years.

In addition, there are a number of new schools, yet to be inspected by Ofsted as set out in the table below:

The information requested is publicly available.

The Department collects information on all school staff employed by state funded schools each year in the November School Workforce Census. The results of each census are published annually. The latest information is for November 2015 and was published in June 2016 in the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015

Time series statistics (2005 to 2015) showing the number of full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff working in primary, secondary and special schools are published in Table 1 of the above statistical release.

Table 3a of the release shows the number of full-time equivalent teachers working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools in the primary, secondary and special school phases. Similar information for the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants, and other school staff working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools is available in Table 3b.

The detailed breakdown of the full-time equivalent staffing numbers in 2014 (shown separately for local authority maintained schools and academy and free schools) is available in Tables 1-3 of the previous year’s statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

The information requested is publicly available.

The Department collects information on all school staff employed by state funded schools each year in the November School Workforce Census. The results of each census are published annually. The latest information is for November 2015 and was published in June 2016 in the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015

Time series statistics (2005 to 2015) showing the number of full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff working in primary, secondary and special schools are published in Table 1 of the above statistical release.

Table 3a of the release shows the number of full-time equivalent teachers working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools in the primary, secondary and special school phases. Similar information for the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants, and other school staff working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools is available in Table 3b.

The detailed breakdown of the full-time equivalent staffing numbers in 2014 (shown separately for local authority maintained schools and academy and free schools) is available in Tables 1-3 of the previous year’s statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

The information requested is publicly available.

The Department collects information on all school staff employed by state funded schools each year in the November School Workforce Census. The results of each census are published annually. The latest information is for November 2015 and was published in June 2016 in the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015

Time series statistics (2005 to 2015) showing the number of full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff working in primary, secondary and special schools are published in Table 1 of the above statistical release.

Table 3a of the release shows the number of full-time equivalent teachers working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools in the primary, secondary and special school phases. Similar information for the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants, and other school staff working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools is available in Table 3b.

The detailed breakdown of the full-time equivalent staffing numbers in 2014 (shown separately for local authority maintained schools and academy and free schools) is available in Tables 1-3 of the previous year’s statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

The information requested is publicly available.

The Department collects information on all school staff employed by state funded schools each year in the November School Workforce Census. The results of each census are published annually. The latest information is for November 2015 and was published in June 2016 in the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015

Time series statistics (2005 to 2015) showing the number of full-time equivalent teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff working in primary, secondary and special schools are published in Table 1 of the above statistical release.

Table 3a of the release shows the number of full-time equivalent teachers working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools in the primary, secondary and special school phases. Similar information for the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants, and other school staff working in local authority maintained schools and separately in academy and free schools is available in Table 3b.

The detailed breakdown of the full-time equivalent staffing numbers in 2014 (shown separately for local authority maintained schools and academy and free schools) is available in Tables 1-3 of the previous year’s statistical release. This is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014