NOTTINGHAMSHIRE SCOUTS PUBLIC AFFAIRS BULLETIN No.25 OCTOBER 2014

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE SCOUTS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS BULLETIN No.25
OCTOBER 2014
City
Hello All,
Since the last edition of the Bulletin we have seen two interesting By-elections at
Clacton and Heywood & Middleton. Time will tell if the results signalled a significant
change in British politics or merely another protest vote at a By-election.
The next By-election is at Rochester and Strood to be held on 6th November 2014.
The General Election will be held on 7th May 2015.
We are still looking for additional Public Affairs Ambassadors to join our team. We
would like to have at least one in each District and reflect our demographic makeup. If you're interested and want to know more, why not have a chat with Harry,
Tom, Jayne or myself.
Yours in Scouting, John
Graham Allen,
MP for Nottm North
John Mann,
MP for Bassetlaw
Ken Clarke,
MP for Rushcliffe
Alan Meale,
MP for Mansfield
Vernon Coaker,
MP for Gedling
Robert Jenrick,
MP for Newark
Gloria de Piero,
MP for Ashfield
Anna Soubry,
MP for Broxtowe
Lilian Greenwood,
MP for Nottm South
Mark Spencer,
MP for Sherwood
Chris Leslie,
MP for Nottm East
1
 Ministry of Justice: Policy for victims of crime
 Dept for Education and Ministry of Justice: Young person’s guide to family justice changes
 Public Health England: Health inequalities evidence papers
 Home Office and Ministry of Justice: Anti-Social Behaviour Order Statistics 2013
 Office for National Statistics (ONS): Labour market statistics
 Dept of Health: Chief Medical Officer annual report
 Child and Maternal Health Intelligence Network: Looked after children emotional and behavioural
health
 BBC News: Scottish referendum and young voters
 Public Health England: Consultation on physical activity proposals
 Home Office: Survey on resource pack to tackle the use of so called ‘Legal Highs’
 Dept for Communities and Local Government: Rotherham Council inspection
 Prime Minister’s Office: Cities of Service UK
 UK Government: Welcome for social impact investment report
 Government: Response to Select Committee report on White Working Class Children
 Criminal Justice and Courts Bill: Government response to JCHR report
 Parliamentary questions
 Dept for Education: Influences on students' development at age 16
 Dept for Education: Progress of students who retake GCSEs
 Cabinet Office: Brooks Newmark’s first speech as Minister for Civil Society
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Home Office: Fiona Woolf to chair child abuse inquiry
Gang and youth violence-related issues
HM Treasury: Autumn Statement 2014 consultation
Government: Children, residence and legal aid
Transport Select Committee: Report on safeguarding young people at major railway stations
Sutton Trust: Tuition and extra-curricular activity
Dept of Health: New youth survey
 Trades Union Congress: Under-employment
 Cabinet Office: Youth Engagement Fund
 Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: National Minimum Wage
 Business Secretary Vince Cable has outlined proposals to simplify and increase the national
minimum wage for apprentices.
 Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: Vocational skills research
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Dept for Education: 35 new free schools
Dept for Communities and Local Government: 'Rent to Buy' scheme
Ministry of Justice: Call for review into children’s access to legal aid
Dept for Business, Innovation & Skills: Changes to consumer rights
2
 Office for National Statistics: Young people
 Office for National Statistics: Childhood circumstances and poverty
 Dept for Education: Child poverty basket of local indicators
 King's Fund and Local Government Association: Public health interventions
 Dept for Education: Participation in education or training
 Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: Social mobility in schools
 Dept for Culture, Media and Sport: Taking Part survey
 British Chambers of Commerce: Workforce Survey
 The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES)
 The Office of the Children’s Commissioner: Legal Aid
 NSPCC: Teachers’ role in protecting children
 The Sentencing Council: Youth Workers sentencing survey
 Ofsted: Disruptive behaviour in schools report
 Plotr: Psychometric testing tool for careers
 Cabinet Office: Ministerial Change
 Ofsted: Classroom Disruption
 Dept for Education: New GCSE in Cooking and Nutrition
 Dept for Education: Spending on services for young people
 Children's Partnership: Staying Put Survey
 Skills Commission: Skills policy
 At Labour Party conference – policy plans introduced
 At Conservative Party conference – policy measures introduced
 Liberal Democrat Party Conference round-up
3
Ministry of Justice: Policy for victims of crime
The government has published Our Commitment to Victims, which
announces measures to improve the experience of victims within the
criminal justice system. The proposals included: a nationwide Victims'
Information Service, to be introduced by March 2015; measures to improve
the experience of court for vulnerable victims,; greater accountability of
criminal justice agencies; legislation to guarantee key entitlements for
victims, including a right to speak in court about the impact of harm caused
by the crime; and a new regime for paying compensation (subject to
consultation).
Department for Education and Ministry of Justice: Young
person’s guide to family justice changes
The guide, produced by the Children's Partnership, working with the former children's
rights director, Roger Morgan, explains recent changes to the family justice system. It
explains all the changes that have been made in response to the Family Justice Review
in young person friendly language.
Public Health England: Health inequalities evidence papers
The series of reports, written by the UCL Institute of Health Equity, consider
a range of social determinants and present the best evidence and
information on approaches to reduce health inequalities that can be applied
locally. Reports cover issues including resilience in school and reducing the
number of young people not in employment, education, or training.
4
Home Office and Ministry of Justice: Anti-Social Behaviour Order
Statistics 2013
The report, Anti-social behaviour order statistics: England and Wales 2013 shows:
24,427 ASBOs were issued between April 1999 and December 2013; the
highest number of ASBOs issued annually was in 2005 (4,122); since then,
there were year-on-year falls in the number issued between 2005 and 2012
in 2013, 1,349 ASBOs were issued, a 2% increase from the 1,329 ASBOs
issued in 2012
since 1 June 2000, 36% of ASBOs have been issued to juveniles
Juveniles have accounted for 42% of ASBOs breached; just over two-thirds of
juveniles had breached their ASBOs at least once by the end of 2013,
compared to just over half of adults
Office for National Statistics (ONS): Labour market statistics
The latest monthly figures show:
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In the three months to July 2014, there were 3.76 million 16 to
24 year olds in employment
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There were 747,000 unemployed 16 to 24 years olds, down
106,000 from the previous quarter (and down 213,000 on the same
quarter in 2012-2013)
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The unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year olds was 16.6%, down
from 18.5% in the previous quarter (and down from 21.0% on the
same quarter in 2012-2013)
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The number of 16 to 24 years olds unemployed for over a year
decreased to 200,000 (from 240,000) and the number unemployed for
over two years decreased to 84,000 (from 103,000).
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There are 237,000 unemployed young people who are not in
education and do not claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, 48.5% of all
unemployed young people who are not students
Department of Health: Chief Medical Officer annual report
This report looks at the epidemiology of public mental health, the quality of evidence, possible
future innovations in science and technology, and the economic case for good mental health. It
also outlines the importance of both treating mental health as equal to physical health and of
focusing on the needs and safety of people with mental illness. It notes that 50% of adult mental
illness starts before the age of 15 and 75% by age 18. The Chief Medical Officer makes 14
recommendations including for a regular survey on children and young people's health needs.
5
Child and Maternal Health
Intelligence Network: Looked
after children emotional and
behavioural health
BBC News: Scottish
referendum and young voters
Maps and information are available
relating to emotional and physical
health outcomes for looked after
children for 2013, at top tier local
authority level.
109,533 young people aged 16 to 17
registered to vote after being given the
chance to do so for the first time. A snap poll
found that 71% of this age group had voted
Yes to independence. It also found that
among the 16-24-year-old age group the
Yes vote was 51%.
Public Health England: Consultation on physical
activity proposals
The draft physical activity implementation document 'Everybody Active,
Every Day’ sets out the case for change, an evidence base for
implementation and options for action. It highlights 4 key domains for
action at national and local level: active society; moving professionals:
active lives; moving at scale. The deadline for responding to the
consultation is 25 September.
Home Office: Survey on resource pack to tackle the use of so called
‘Legal Highs’
The Home Office is developing a pilot resource-pack to tackle the use of so called ‘legal highs’
by young adults – particularly those young adults who may be from a socio-economically
deprived background or young offenders. The pack is designed to be used by the front-line
practitioners that work with these groups, particularly ‘informal educators’ such as youth and
community workers or youth offending teams. The Home Office wants to provide these
practitioners with the information, advice and tools they will need to successfully challenge
drug taking behaviour within this group. To make sure the pack meets the needs of these
practitioners a short survey (which will take only five minutes) is live until September 19.
6
Department for Communities and Local Government: Rotherham
Council inspection
An inspection into the running of Rotherham Borough Council is being launched following
Professor Jay’s inquiry into child sexual exploitation. The inspection will review current
governance arrangements, how the council can improve the delivery of services to children
and young people, taxi licensing, examine how the council works with other providers and can
improve care. It will also look at the capacity of Rotherham council to address the issues
identified by the Jay report. The inspection will be headed by Louise Casey, Director General
and head of the Troubled Families programme.
Prime Minister’s Office: Cities
of Service UK
Cities of Service has launched in the
aim of helping volunteers to address
local issues. Seven cities have
unveiled plans to organise up to 2,000
volunteers to address local problems.
Over the next 18 months these cities
will use their new status to encourage
local volunteers to go out into their
communities and address
neighbourhood issues.
UK Government: Welcome for
social impact investment report
The Social Impact Investment Taskforce,
established by the UK Presidency of the
G8, has published a report. Impact
investment: the invisible heart of markets –
harnessing the power of entrepreneurship,
innovation and capital for public good,
recognises how social investment helps
address society’s most difficult problems
and calls for more action to grow the
market. A group of leading UK social
investment experts, have also set out their
vision for developing the UK social
investment market.
Government: Response to Select Committee report on White
Working Class Children
In its response to the Education Select Committee’s Underachievement in Education by
White Working Class Children report, the government said that a school-led, selfimproving education system is key to delivering better outcomes for disadvantaged
white children. It said underperformance among disadvantaged white children will
continue to be a priority for Ofsted and highlighted the role of teaching schools and the
pupil premium in raising disadvantaged children’s attainment . The committee’s report,
published in June, showed that white boys and girls from disadvantaged backgrounds
are continuing to achieve lower outcomes than peers from other major ethnic groups.
7
Criminal Justice and Courts Bill: Government response to JCHR report
The Government has published its response to the Joint Committee on Human Rights report
on the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, which criticised aspects of secure college plans. In
response to the JCHR, the Government said that: it does not believe international Rights
standards preclude the use of large custodial establishments and the secure college
pathfinder will allow for tailored regimes; it “considered” the equality impact of its plans for
secure colleges but does not think they will “have any adverse impact on any group”; it
disagrees that the 2008 judgement on the STC Rules means using force on children to
preserve good order and discipline necessarily infringes their rights.
Parliamentary questions
Stephen Timms (Shadow Minister
(Work and Pensions); East Ham,
Labour) has asked about the
reallocation of funds from the youth
contract wage incentive scheme.
Esther McVey (Minister of State
(Department for Work and Pensions);
Wirral West, Conservative) said these
funds, from the total £1 billion Youth
Contract, were focused on youth
groups who are still finding it difficult
to take up vacancies and encourage
self-employment.
Ian Mearns (Gateshead, Labour)
asked the Minister for the Cabinet
Office what steps he is taking to
maintain the level of youth
services provision.
Department for Education: Influences on students' development at age 16
The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary (EPPSE) project launched in 1997 and has
followed 3,000 children from early childhood to the age of 16. The research found:
an enduring effect of pre-school; attendance, quality and duration at pre-school all
show long term effects on students’ academic outcomes
early home learning has a long term impact and later learning opportunities outside
school are important too
individual student, family and neighbourhood characteristics continue to influence
student outcomes at age 16
8
Department for Education: Progress of students who retake
GCSEs
This experimental Statistical First Release provides information on the English and
maths qualifications entered and achieved by students aged 16 to 18 who did not
achieve a GCSE grade A* to C by the end of KS4. The figures suggest that for such
students:
in 2011, 188,365 students did not achieve A* to C in English and 211,171
in maths
just over half continued to study English and maths, but by 2013 only 6.5%
eventually got the grades in English and 7% in maths.
Cabinet Office: Brooks Newmark’s first speech as
Minister for Civil Society
Newmark spoke about social action and said he thought the concept of big
society meant “making it easier for people to help their families, their
communities and those around them; contributing to making this country a
better place.” When responding to a question about charities campaigning,
he said that charities should “stick to their knitting” and stay out of the
“realm of politics”.
Home Office: Fiona Woolf to chair child abuse inquiry
Fiona Woolf CBE, JP has been appointed to chair an independent inquiry into
historical child sexual abuse. The inquiry will consider whether and the extent
to which public bodies and other important institutions have taken seriously
their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. Woolf, the current
Lord Mayor of London, will be assisted by Graham Wilmer MBE, a child
sexual abuse victim and founder of the Lantern Project and Barbara Hearn
OBE, the former Deputy CEO of the National Children’s Bureau. Ben
Emmerson QC will serve as counsel to the inquiry.
9
Home Office: Seeking experts on gang and youth violence
The Home Office is looking for frontline experts and highly skilled practitioners with an in-depth
understanding of gang and youth violence-related issues, to become peer reviewers
for the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme. With knowledge of the programme, and
experience of working with local partners, you will provide practical advice and support to help
partnerships improve both how they tackle gang and youth violence locally, and prevent young
people from getting involved.
The Home Office is looking for highly skilled practitioners and frontline experts with knowledge
and expertise in one or more of the following fields: safeguarding, gang-associated women and
girls, troubled families, housing, mental health, mainstreaming complex multi-stakeholders
initiatives and delivering VFM and evaluation and demonstrating impact. For a full job advert, or
to discuss the application process, please contact lorraine.joyce1@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
Applications should be submitted to Lorraine Joyce by 12 noon, Tuesday 30 September, 2014.
HM Treasury: Autumn Statement 2014
consultation
The Autumn Statement is to be delivered on 3 December
2014. The Treasury is seeking views from the public and
charities on the Government’s plans for the economy.
Representations should be submitted by 17 October.
Government: Children, residence and legal aid
In June, a Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) report, Legal aid: children and the
residence test, concluded that the impact of introducing a legal aid residence test on
children will lead to breaches by the United Kingdom of the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) because it will in practice prevent children from being
effectively represented in legal proceedings which affect them. The government has
responded to the JCHR report, rejecting these conclusions and restating plans to
introducing the legal aid residence test.
10
Transport Select Committee: Report on safeguarding
young people at major railway stations
The report, Security on the Railway, notes that vulnerable children
and young people who have run away from home or from care are
often found in and around railway stations. It calls for BTP (British
Transport Police) to compile and examine the available data on
vulnerable young people in railway stations, and to establish the
extent and nature of the issue.
Sutton Trust: Tuition and extra-curricular activity
The Sutton Trust report, Extra-curricular Inequalities, finds:
children from wealthier families gain a "substantial
advantage" from tuition and extra-curricular activities
27% of the wealthiest pupils received private tutoring in
the past year, compared with 15% from the pupils from
the least affluent families
top earners are almost four times more likely than
bottom earners to have paid for out of school enrichment
classes
Department of Health: New youth survey
What about youth? is a new study funded by the Department of Health which
aims to make improvements to the health of young people across England. The
survey is to be launched towards the end of September 2014 with thousands of
15 years old invited to take part. They will be invited to answer questions about
subjects such as their health, diet, exercise, bullying, alcohol, drugs and smoking.
The large sample size has been designed to produce outputs that are reliable and
robust at a local authority level.
Trades Union Congress: Under-employment
The Trades Union Congress has published a report on
underemployment. It shows:
the number of under-employed workers - those doing
part-time jobs because they can't find full-time ones or
wanting more hours in their current jobs - has increased
by 1 million (42%) over the last four years to reach 3.3
million
young people are almost twice as likely to be underemployed as any other age group with around one in
five young people in this position
11
Cabinet Office: Youth
Engagement Fund
The 39 Social Investment
Partnerships which have been
selected to tender for the fund
have been announced. The Youth
Engagement Fund is a £16 million
payment by results fund. It aims to
help disadvantaged young people
aged 14 to 17 to participate and
succeed in education or training.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills: National Minimum Wage
New National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates came into force on 1 October. The rate rise to £6.50
per hour, the first real terms cash increase since 2008, follows the recommendations from the
independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) in March this year (2014). The National Minimum
Wage rates as recommended by the LPC are:
a 19p (3%) increase in the adult rate (from £6.31 to £6.50 per hour)
a 10p (2%) increase in the rate for 18 to 20-year-olds (from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour)
a 7p (2%) increase in the rate for 16 to 17-year-olds (from £3.72 to £3.79 per hour)
a 5p (2%) increase in the rate for apprentices (from £2.68 to £2.73 per hour)
Business Secretary Vince Cable has
outlined proposals to simplify and
increase the national minimum wage
for apprentices. The proposal would give
around 31,000 apprentices in the first year of their
programme a pay rise of more than £1 an hour,
rising from £2.73 to £3.79 per hour (based on the
current national minimum wage rates for 16 to 17
year olds). The new policy, which will be presented
to the Low Pay Commission (LPC) in the coming
weeks, would create a single national minimum
wage rate for 16 to 17 year olds in employment and
for all apprentices in the first year of their
programme.
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Department for Business,
Innovation & Skills: Vocational
skills research
The Department for Business, Innovation &
Skills will open to an independent research
centre to understand the role of vocational
skills. The centre will be responsible for
developing and delivering its own
independent research programme. It will
receive funding from BIS of around £1
million a year for 3 years with the possible
extension to 5 years.
Department for Education: 35 new free schools
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has approved 35 new free school applications, creating
more than 22,000 additional school places for children across England. The new schools
include The Citizen School, which will “play an active role in encouraging students and their
families to shape their community for the better.” The announcement comes as
a survey reveals the positive impact headteachers say their free schools are having on
raising the standard of education in neighbouring schools.
Department for Communities and Local
Government: 'Rent to Buy' scheme
The £400 million programme aims to help young people save and move
up housing ladder. It will provide low-cost loans to housing associations
and other providers to fund the building of new homes from 2015 to
2018, with half of the fund being made available for building within
London. Providers will be required to make the homes available for rent
at below-market rates while the loans are being repaid, and for a
minimum of seven years. At the end of a fixed period, the tenant will be
given first refusal to buy the property.
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Ministry of Justice: Call for
review into children’s access
to legal aid
Family Justice Minister, Simon
Hughes, has called for an urgent
review of legal aid cuts. Hughes has
asked his department to investigate
whether vulnerable children are being
deprived of access to justice. This
follows the publication of a report by
the Children’s Commissioner for
England, Maggie Atkinson. That report
– Legal Aid Changes Since April 2013:
Child Rights Impact Assessment –
claimed that rights guaranteed by the
United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child are being breached
because children are denied adequate
legal representation and support.
Department for Business,
Innovation & Skills: Changes to
consumer rights
New rights come into force on 1 October
2014 which aim to give consumers will
greater powers to challenge
unscrupulous rogue traders and get their
money back. Consumers who are bullied
or misled into buying services or goods
they neither need nor want, will now have
a period of up to 90 days to take legal
action. The Consumer Rights Bill, which
aims to streamline consumer rights is
currently going through Parliament.
Office for National Statistics: Young people
This collection of ONS statistics on young people includes statistics on marriages,
parenthood, labour market status, NEETs, deaths due to drug misuse, crime and living with
parents. Most facts are related to those aged between 16 and 24 although a couple focus
on those aged under 20.
Office for National Statistics: Childhood circumstances
and poverty
The research looks at how childhood factors affect educational
attainment, income poverty and material deprivation. It uses data for both
the UK and other EU countries. The findings have shown that the UK has
a low level of earnings mobility across the generations, meaning that
there is a strong relationship between the economic position of parents
and that of their children.
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Department for
Education: Child poverty
basket of local indicators
King's Fund and Local
Government
Association: Public health
interventions
The report brings together
indicators of child poverty as
identified by the Child Poverty
Unit and aims to allow the
comparison and analysis of data
from different local authorities
(LAs) and regions in England.
The set of infographics, Making
the case for public health
interventions, describe key facts
about the public health system
and the return on investment for
some public health interventions.
Department for Education: Participation in education or training
Figures on the Participation in education and training by local authority show that for 16and 17-year-olds in June 2014:
1,033,732 were in education or training, a rise of more than 6,000 young
people since the previous year
more than 9 out of every 10 of last year’s school leavers (16-year-olds)
stayed on in education or training for a further year
the proportion of young people in education and training has increased in
every region in England and in more than two-thirds of local authority areas
Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission: Social mobility in schools
The report, Cracking the code: how schools can improve on social mobility, looks at the gap in
performance by different schools on improving poorer pupils' exam results. It notes that gaps in
cognitive development between better-off and disadvantaged children open up early on. Those
from the poorest fifth of families being on average more than 11 months behind children from
middle income families in vocabulary tests when they start school and over the years that follow,
these gaps widen rather than narrow.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Taking Part survey
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has published data from the latest
Taking Part survey. It includes data on Arts; Archives; Digital Participation;
Heritage; Museums and Galleries; Libraries; Olympics; and Volunteering and
Charitable Giving.
15
British Chambers of Commerce: Workforce Survey
The findings from Workforce Survey, Developing the Talents of the Next
Generation suggest that stronger links must be formed between educators (schools,
colleges and universities) and business to better prepare young people for work. It
finds
88% of businesses believe school leavers are unprepared for the world
of work, in comparison to 54% of businesses that think graduates are
unprepared for the workplace.
76% of firms believe a lack of work experience is the reason young
people are unprepared for work, yet 52% of businesses say they don’t
offer work experience placements.
46% of businesses said there was a lack of careers advice available for
young people.
39% of businesses said they offer apprenticeships and a further 32%
would consider offering apprenticeships in future
The UK Commission for Employment
and Skills (UKCES) has responded to
the report by calling for more work to be done to
offer work experience and dispel the myth of unprepared
young people.
The Office of the Children’s Commissioner: Legal Aid
The report follows in depth research into the effect of changes to Legal Aid on
children and shows:
70% of private family cases one or both parties did not have legal
representation compared with 54% who had it previously
under the ‘exceptional funding' regime, only 57 grants were provided
in its first year, rather than the 3,700 the Ministry of Justice had
expected
NSPCC: Teachers’ role in protecting children
A survey teachers, school leaders and support staff has found:
over 66% of teachers, school leaders and support staff have reported a
safeguarding concern in the past year
staff in primary schools are more likely to have raised concerns, with
71% having taken action in the last year
16
The Sentencing Council: Youth Workers sentencing survey
The Sentencing Council is the body responsible for creating sentencing guidelines and raising
awareness of and confidence in sentencing in England and Wales. It is aiming to raise
awareness of sentencing and the guidelines among young people and youth workers,
particularly as the guidelines for youth sentencing are likely to be reviewed next year. They are
keen to hear back from young people and youth workers particularly, whether as a victim,
witness, offender or just out of interest, what they want to know about sentencing.
Ofsted: Disruptive behaviour in schools report
The report, Below the radar: low-level disruption in the country’s classrooms, said that a
survey showed that teachers, parents, and carers were concerned about the loss of
learning time through low-level but persistent disruptive behaviour in schools in
England. The report said that the prevalence and negative impact was underestimated
by some school leaders, and that many teachers had come to accept some low-level
disruption as a part of everyday life in the classroom. The report drew on evidence from
school inspections to discuss areas of good practice, and those that could be improved.
Plotr: Psychometric testing tool for careers
Careers website Plotr.co.uk has launched a free psychometric testing game that
enables young people to match their personality, skills and interests to real and
relevant careers. The game measures user traits across seven key areas of
character and initial matches are available to explore within just three minutes.
The new version of Plotr also connects young people to the world of work by
providing information covering over 700 different careers.
Cabinet
Office: Ministerial
Change
Brooks Newmark MP has
resigned from his role as
Minister for Civil Society. He
will be replaced by Rob
Wilson MP (Reading East,
Con).
Ofsted: Classroom Disruption
Ofsted have warned that low-level, persistent disruptive
behaviour in England’s school is affecting pupils’ learning
and damaging their life chances. The watchdog says some
pupils could be losing up to an hour of learning each day or 38 days a year. The report, Below the Radar: Low-level
Disruption in the Country's Classrooms, is based on the
inspection reports of a sample of 95 state schools and
academies inspected between January and July this year.
The report is also based on a YouGov survey of 1,024
parents and 1,048 teachers.
17
Department for Education: New GCSE in Cooking and
Nutrition
A new GCSE in cooking and nutrition will be taught in schools from
September 2016 alongside the reformed GCSE in design and technology.
The new GCSE will require pupils to acquire a proper understanding of the
scientific principles behind food and nutrition, and use a number of
practical cooking techniques to prepare and cook food. The government
has published a consultation on the draft content for this new GCSE
alongside revised content for GCSEs in design and technology, drama,
citizenship studies, and AS and A levels in drama and theatre.
Department for Education: Spending on services for young people
The Department for Education has published section 251 budget data from 2014 to 2015, as
reported by local authorities. It said that:
The total spend on services for young people would be £622m, with £305m on
universal services and £317m on targeted services.
(For comparison, Planned Expenditure for 2013-14 noted that spending on ‘Total
Services for Young People' was planned to decrease from £664m in 2012/13 to
£636m in 2013/14, with £329m on universal services and £306m on targeted
services.)
Children's Partnership: Staying Put Survey
The online survey looks at the initial impact and implementation of the
staying put legislation, which requires local authorities in England to facilitate,
monitor and support staying put arrangements for fostered young people until
they reach the age of 21. They are interested in hearing from voluntary and
community organisations who have an understanding of the impact of the
legislation together with foster carers, staying put carers and others. The
questionnaire is confidential and findings will be reported anonymously to the
Department for Education in January 2015.
Skills Commission: Skills policy
The Skills Commission, an independent body comprising figures from across the education
sector, has published the preliminary findings in its ongoing inquiry into Skills and the Changing
Structures of Work. It raised four ‘strategic alerts’ that require ‘urgent attention from all players’;
uncertainty around the responsibility for training; declining social mobility; fragmentation in the
system; policy dissonance between different central Government departments. The
commission’s final report is due at the end of October.
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Party conferences
At Labour Party conference a number of policy plans were introduced:
Improving technical education – Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt
referred to the “forgotten 50 per cent” of young people who did not go to
university and were denied the “rewarding education they deserved”. He
announced Labour plans to develop a vocation education system and made
promises of Further Education colleges focused on training for local jobs, two
year apprenticeship, a technical baccalaureate, careers advice and technical
degrees.
Voting and political engagement: Labour announced that they would work
with the government to allow 16-year-olds to vote at the 2015 general election.
They also pledged to hold any future elections on a weekend in order to raise
turnout and boost political engagement amongst the public.
Voluntary sector: Labour is promising a return to grants, a new attitude to
commissioning, a continuation of support for social investment, and a new deal
on campaigning.
Youth Justice Board: Shadow Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan said the party is
exploring extending the remit of the Youth Justice Board to under-21s, to help
reduce the numbers of 18- to 20-year-olds coming into contact with the justice
system. Labour have pledged that funding would be made available to help
youth offending teams deal with the additional work they would face.
Rushanara Ali MP, former Shadow Minister for Education, has voted to
abstain on the Government’s motion on UK military intervention in Iraq and so
resigned her position.
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At Conservative Party conference a number of policy measures have so far been
introduced:
Young people's benefits: Chancellor George Osborne said people under 21 (and
without children) would be banned from claiming housing benefit and jobseekers'
allowance. Young people would instead have access to a "youth allowance" for which
they would be compelled to work for after six months. The £300m saved from the cuts
will be spent on increasing the number of paid apprenticeships from 2m to 3m between
2015 and 2020.
Education and character: Education Nicky Morgan announced that creating “wellrounded” young people with “character, resilience and grit” is a new fifth priority for the
Department for Education. This follows a story (in the Daily Mail) about a £5m fund for
schools to ensure children are given character-building activities, including debating
competitions, sports coaching, theatre productions and musical instrument tuition.
(Neither story has yet been confirmed on the Department for Education website.)
Jobcentre and young people: Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith
announced his intention for Jobcentre Plus coaches to work with young people in
schools across the country, for the first time, from as early as 15.
Liberal Democrat Conference Round-Up
This is a around-up of the key events and news from this year's
Liberal Democrat Conference:
Health - http://bit.ly/1C1DWoR
Business and Finance - http://bit.ly/1s2RcqM
Education - http://bit.ly/1o3CHF0
Foreign Affairs and Defence - http://bit.ly/ZynDna
Transport - http://bit.ly/1qxzzLQ
Energy and Environment - http://bit.ly/1smLX88
Local Government and Housing - http://bit.ly/1vU3bHK
Home Affairs - http://bit.ly/1q8tS80
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INFORMATION RE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA
If you wish to know what is happening in your Council area, enter the
web address and go to the appropriate page, eg Council, Cabinet and
Committee etc.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk
NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk
ASHFIELD
www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk
BASSETLAW
www.bassetlaw.gov.uk
BROXTOWE
www.broxtowe.gov.uk
GEDLING
www.gedling.gov.uk
MANSFIELD
www.mansfield.gov.uk
NEWARK& SHERWOOD
www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
RUSHCLIFFE
www.rushcliffe.gov.uk
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