Department for Education

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. School nursing services provide health and wellbeing support for children and young people from age 4 up to 19. They provide specialist advice to schools on the management of medical conditions, including allergies.

Schools must have regard to the ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ statutory guidance, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

The department has committed to reviewing this guidance and intends to issue a consultation on an updated version of this statutory guidance.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits.

That is why we are launching the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust. It aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.

Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that we give every child rock solid foundations in oracy, reading and writing, and an improved key stage 3 that re-engages pupils and prevents their learning from stagnating.

Under Ofqual’s regulatory conditions, all students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications must be assessed in English, except where another language is permitted, such as in modern foreign language qualifications. Students may be assessed in British Sign Language (BSL) where an awarding organisation offers this as a reasonable adjustment. Guidance is provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications, and adjustments can include the use of BSL interpreters for spoken instructions, readers, scribes and assistive technology.

Access arrangements are also available for all national curriculum tests, and guidance is provided by the Standards and Testing Agency. This allows for adjustments such as sign language interpreters for instructions and compensatory marks for pupils with profound hearing impairments.

The government is also developing a landmark GCSE in BSL, which will be accessible for both first-time learners and existing BSL users.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet the hon. Member and her constituents to discuss this issue.

Under Ofqual’s regulatory conditions, all students taking GCSE, AS and A level qualifications must be assessed in English, except where another language is permitted, such as in modern foreign language qualifications. Students may be assessed in British Sign Language (BSL) where an awarding organisation offers this as a reasonable adjustment. Guidance is provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications, and adjustments can include the use of BSL interpreters for spoken instructions, readers, scribes and assistive technology.

Access arrangements are also available for all national curriculum tests, and guidance is provided by the Standards and Testing Agency. This allows for adjustments such as sign language interpreters for instructions and compensatory marks for pupils with profound hearing impairments.

The government is also developing a landmark GCSE in BSL, which will be accessible for both first-time learners and existing BSL users.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet the hon. Member and her constituents to discuss this issue.

The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision (AP). Of this funding, Lincolnshire has been allocated just over £10.2 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities. They can make use of this increased capital investment to improve the suitability and sufficiency of high needs provision in their areas and to ensure the sustainability of the system for the longer term.

Provision in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) for children is based on extensive user research, including engagement with schools and education settings. Our 2023 report, ‘Improving multi-agency information sharing’, highlighted that while schools use identifiers such as the unique pupil number (UPN), these are not recognised across other agencies that process and share information relating to safeguarding and welfare, creating fragmentation and risk.

To address this, the department began pilot activity in April 2025 to test the feasibility of using the NHS number as a consistent identifier within health and children’s social care. Future piloting will test this across wider safeguarding partners, including education. The intention is not to replace identifiers that are currently used in education, but to design how the SUI can work alongside existing identifiers to improve information sharing and strengthen safeguarding.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review looked closely at how to break down the barriers that hold back children and young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), and those who are otherwise vulnerable.

The department has accepted the recommendation to develop new evidence-led resources to support curriculum adaptation for all children and young people, including those with SEND in the government response published alongside the review. We will work in collaboration with experts and school leaders to create new Curriculum in Practice resources: a flexible suite of adaptive teaching strategies, case studies and real-world examples tailored to different phases of education.

Progress towards, and attainment of, level 2 mathematics and English is essential for helping 16 to 19 students to by allowing them to seize opportunities in life, learning and work.

Under Part 1 of Education and Skills Act 2008, young people aged 16 and 17 who have not attained level 3 qualifications of sufficient size are under a duty to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. However, schools and colleges can tailor a study programme to the needs of an individual student, and we know that many students undertake part time work alongside their studies.

Study programmes are designed to be full-time with a minimum of 580 planned hours per academic year, however, part time programmes may be agreed where, for example, a student combines part time education with full time employment.

The department is committed to children’s social care reform to ensure opportunity for all children. Our policy statement ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, outlines our vision and core legislative proposals. We have subsequently introduced several measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, a key step towards delivering the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Specifically, we have confirmed the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and Family Group Decision Making reforms. These reforms are being delivered through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme, a national government programme to support Safeguarding Partners, including local authorities, to implement the reforms. In 2025/26 the reforms are backed by £541 million of funding, more than doubling direct investment in preventative services.

Through the FFP programme, the government is giving families and children access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together.

Funding is not provided specifically to enable students to obtain International Baccalaureate qualifications. The amounts of total programme funding allocated to institutions for 16 to 19 year olds to undertake T Levels and study programmes, which include the International Baccalaureate over the last 5 years can be found in the table below:

Department for Education funded providers offering the International Baccalaureate will continue to receive 16-19 education funding in the 2026/2027 academic year but the allocations have not yet been made and so the total programme funding figure is not yet available.

Students aged 16 to 19 on study programmes or T Levels who have not achieved a grade 4 in GCSE English or mathematics must continue studying these subjects. If a student has a grade 3 in GCSE mathematics, they are expected to work toward a GCSE, as these students are closest to securing grade 4 or above. Those with grade 2 or below can study either a GCSE or a Level 2 Functional Skills qualification.

The recently published Post-16 education and skills white paper sets out our plan to support more eligible students to improve their grade and, wherever possible, achieve a GCSE grade 4+ English and mathematics by the time they leave 16 to 19 education. This includes developing new 16 to19 level 1 stepping stone qualifications as a preparation for GCSE to better support lower prior attaining students to progress. The department plans to consult on these qualifications in early 2026.

Entry requirements for further education courses are not set by the department. They are decided by individual providers based on the course and their own policies. All accredited initial teacher training (ITT) providers must ensure that, in the case of graduate programmes of ITT, all entrants hold a first degree from a United Kingdom higher education institution or equivalent qualification.

As part of our Plan for Change, the department is committed to improving the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. We want schools to better identify and support children early, before issues escalate. We are working closely with children, parents, and experts to shape these plans and ensure every young person gets the support and opportunities they deserve.

In September 2025, the department introduced the early career teacher entitlement (ECTE). The ECTE revised and improved the delivery of what we formerly referred to as the early career framework programme, maintaining the grounding in evidence, to ensure the highest standards of professional development for new teachers. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The adaptive teaching content includes, for example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs, and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils.

The department funds a national network of Maths Hubs, aiming to help teachers in state-funded schools teach maths effectively to all children. Maths Hubs encourage practice such as quick and systematic identification of gaps in learning, and requisite support to prevent pupils falling behind.

The department publishes official statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.

Since 2021, the number of 16 to 24 year-olds estimated to be NEET in the North West has been increasing with the latest estimate at end 2024 being 121,400. The lowest number in the series was in 2021, estimated to be 74,200. The data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cc3fd0f9-292c-47fa-d20e-08de2129b4fd.

In recent years, the Office for National Statistics has faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS, which has led to increased sampling variability. This is particularly notable at regional level and caution is advised when interpreting short-term changes. All estimates should be viewed alongside associated confidence intervals.

These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET estimates in Fylde constituency are not available.

The complaints scheme in the Higher Education (HE) (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 needs to be fit for purpose, and that means making changes via primary legislation. In the meantime, the HE sector has new duties in place, as well as requirements to promote freedom of speech, and to put in place Codes of Practice.

This government is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend the provisions in relation to the complaints scheme in due course. These amendments will give the Office for Students (OfS) a power, rather than a duty, to consider complaints from staff and speakers.

There are routes of redress in place for staff, students and external speakers where they believe that an HE provider has breached its duties. For students, this is via the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, whose service is free at the point of use. For staff, it is open to them to bring a judicial review or to make a claim in an employment tribunal. In addition, the OfS already regulates providers in relation to free speech and academic freedom through their existing conditions of registration.

The Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the sector, to offer advice and to share best practice, so providers themselves are more effectively protecting free speech and academic freedom.

No assessment has been made of this report by the Committee for Academic Freedom. The free speech complaints scheme must be effective and workable once it is implemented, and that is why government is working to amend the scheme via primary legislation, to address concerns regarding this scheme, and to provide clear and efficient routes of redress.

The complaints scheme in the Higher Education (HE) (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 needs to be fit for purpose, and that means making changes via primary legislation. In the meantime, the HE sector has new duties in place, as well as requirements to promote freedom of speech, and to put in place Codes of Practice.

This government is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend the provisions in relation to the complaints scheme in due course. These amendments will give the Office for Students (OfS) a power, rather than a duty, to consider complaints from staff and speakers.

There are routes of redress in place for staff, students and external speakers where they believe that an HE provider has breached its duties. For students, this is via the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, whose service is free at the point of use. For staff, it is open to them to bring a judicial review or to make a claim in an employment tribunal. In addition, the OfS already regulates providers in relation to free speech and academic freedom through their existing conditions of registration.

The Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the sector, to offer advice and to share best practice, so providers themselves are more effectively protecting free speech and academic freedom.

No assessment has been made of this report by the Committee for Academic Freedom. The free speech complaints scheme must be effective and workable once it is implemented, and that is why government is working to amend the scheme via primary legislation, to address concerns regarding this scheme, and to provide clear and efficient routes of redress.

The complaints scheme in the Higher Education (HE) (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 needs to be fit for purpose, and that means making changes via primary legislation. In the meantime, the HE sector has new duties in place, as well as requirements to promote freedom of speech, and to put in place Codes of Practice.

This government is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend the provisions in relation to the complaints scheme in due course. These amendments will give the Office for Students (OfS) a power, rather than a duty, to consider complaints from staff and speakers.

There are routes of redress in place for staff, students and external speakers where they believe that an HE provider has breached its duties. For students, this is via the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, whose service is free at the point of use. For staff, it is open to them to bring a judicial review or to make a claim in an employment tribunal. In addition, the OfS already regulates providers in relation to free speech and academic freedom through their existing conditions of registration.

The Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the sector, to offer advice and to share best practice, so providers themselves are more effectively protecting free speech and academic freedom.

No assessment has been made of this report by the Committee for Academic Freedom. The free speech complaints scheme must be effective and workable once it is implemented, and that is why government is working to amend the scheme via primary legislation, to address concerns regarding this scheme, and to provide clear and efficient routes of redress.

The complaints scheme in the Higher Education (HE) (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 needs to be fit for purpose, and that means making changes via primary legislation. In the meantime, the HE sector has new duties in place, as well as requirements to promote freedom of speech, and to put in place Codes of Practice.

This government is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend the provisions in relation to the complaints scheme in due course. These amendments will give the Office for Students (OfS) a power, rather than a duty, to consider complaints from staff and speakers.

There are routes of redress in place for staff, students and external speakers where they believe that an HE provider has breached its duties. For students, this is via the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, whose service is free at the point of use. For staff, it is open to them to bring a judicial review or to make a claim in an employment tribunal. In addition, the OfS already regulates providers in relation to free speech and academic freedom through their existing conditions of registration.

The Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the sector, to offer advice and to share best practice, so providers themselves are more effectively protecting free speech and academic freedom.

No assessment has been made of this report by the Committee for Academic Freedom. The free speech complaints scheme must be effective and workable once it is implemented, and that is why government is working to amend the scheme via primary legislation, to address concerns regarding this scheme, and to provide clear and efficient routes of redress.

The department currently assesses that the overseas funding provisions may duplicate existing information gathering powers and create burden, without the benefit of setting clearer expectations for higher education (HE) providers around appropriate risk mitigation for international partnerships. Providers are already required by the Office for Students to resist any external state threats to academic freedom, and the regulator already has the power to access funding records and take robust action, where it is relevant.

We are seeking to enhance approaches to tackling foreign interference in the sector by engaging with the regulator on setting clearer expectations with providers on due diligence of arrangements, promoting a code of practice for international risk management and cultivating greater expertise on foreign interference in HE.

These are important issues, and it is crucial we support HE providers to maximise international opportunities whilst appropriately mitigating risk. We will keep the overseas funding provisions under review and will act in the event that evidence indicates further transparency reporting is necessary.

The government is clear that foreign interference is unacceptable, and providers are already required to ensure that decisions are taken without direction, coercion or covert influence. Universities are already required by the Office for Students (OfS) to resist any external state threats to academic freedom, and the regulator already has the power to access funding records and take robust action, where it is relevant.

Earlier this year the government strengthened responsibilities for universities on free speech and academic freedom. OfS guidance supporting these requirements published in June made it explicitly clear that universities must resist external state threats to academic freedom, and that suppression of research because of the disapproval of a foreign government is unacceptable in practically any circumstances.

The department is supporting higher education providers to improve international due diligence and raise sector awareness of both foreign interference risks and relevant best practice. This work is underway, alongside evaluation of the implementation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, a new scheme which fully came into effect on the 1 October 2025.

We will keep the overseas funding provisions under review and will act in the event that evidence indicates further transparency reporting is necessary.

The department is clear that foreign interference is unacceptable, and higher education providers are already required to ensure that decisions are taken without direction, coercion or covert influence. Wherever it is identified, the government and the Office for Students (OfS) can and will act, using a range of existing and upcoming requirements.

The government conducted an internal review informed by engagement with the regulator, the sector and academics impacted by foreign interference. It concluded that whilst there were a range of existing requirements on universities that protected against foreign interference, more should be done to support providers to proportionately mitigate risk. We set out our considerations in the “Future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act” policy paper published in June 2025, and are taking steps to share good practice, raise awareness and develop new responses where necessary.

This work, along with the implementation and evaluation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, bolsters the existing layers of protection offered by the OfS and the National Security Act. We take this very seriously and will continue to keep our response under review, including considering these recent allegations, to ensure it remains effective and proportionate.

From the 1 August 2025, provisions strengthening universities duties in relation to securing freedom of speech and promoting academic freedom came into force, along with a requirement for the Office for Students (OfS) to provide advice and guidance on those matters.

​The new OfS guidance, published in June 2025, makes it explicitly clear that universities must resist external state threats to academic freedom, and that suppression of research because of the disapproval of a foreign government is unacceptable under any circumstances.

​If the OfS identifies a breach of a specific or general ongoing condition of registration as part of its enquiries, then it will consider the use of formal sanctions, which may include monetary penalties, suspension from the register or deregistration.

​The department believes more should be done to support higher education providers to maximise international opportunities whilst mitigating risk, which is why we set out in June 2025 that we will work with the regulator to set clearer expectations around international risk management, raise awareness of risks and develop advice on good practice.

From 1 August 2025, provisions strengthening universities duties in relation to securing freedom of speech and promoting academic freedom came into force, along with a requirement for the Office for Students (OfS) to provide advice and guidance on those matters.

The new OfS guidance, published in June 2025, makes it explicitly clear that universities must resist external state threats to academic freedom and that suppression of research because of the disapproval of a foreign government is unacceptable under any circumstances.

If the OfS identifies a breach of a specific or general ongoing condition of registration as part of its enquiries, then it will consider the use of formal sanctions, which may include monetary penalties, suspension from the register or deregistration.

The department believes more should be done to support higher education providers to maximise international opportunities whilst mitigating risk, which is why we set out in June 2025 that we will work with the regulator to set clearer expectations around international risk management, raise awareness of risks and develop advice on good practice.

The department funds a network of careers hubs across England to drive up standards of careers provision for young people. Lancashire Careers Hub works with 162 secondary schools and colleges to connect careers provision to regional skills needs, aligned with the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework.

Through the Boosting Skills Pathway Fund, the careers hub works with local small and medium enterprises to break down barriers and connect young people to diverse pathways including T Levels.

In the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department committed to prevent young people becoming not in education, employment or training through more effective use of data by local partners and by ensuring that those without a post-16 study plan are automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider.

We see the early years as more than just childcare and central to our mission to give every child the best start in life. The department is focused on reforming the childcare system to ensure it is fit for purpose, so children get the best start in life and that high quality early education is available to all who need it.

To ensure that the early years funding system is hardwired to support those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need, the department will review early years funding, including the early years national funding formulae, consulting on a set of changes by summer 2026.

We will review how funding is distributed nationally and locally to ensure the funding system remains fair and effective at reflecting the costs of delivery and supporting those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need. The department will set out full details in the consultation next year.

The department wants to ensure that children leaving care have stable homes, access to health services, support to build lifelong loving relationships, and are engaged in education, employment and training.

We recognise the importance of financial skills, such as those provided through the Stepladder Plus programme, in achieving this aim. The department currently supports the use of this programme through its contract, for the provision of Junior ISA savings accounts to children in care, with the Share Foundation. We do not currently have any plans to assess the merits of match-funding.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults, aiming to engage new audiences in reading and make lasting change to the nation’s reading habits.

Grounded in existing evidence and new research by an external research agency, the campaign is designed to deliver meaningful impact during 2026 and beyond. The impact of the National Year of Reading will be measured through an independent external evaluation. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences including teenage boys, the early years, and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change. The findings will be published in 2027.

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) continues to be available to help disabled students with the additional costs that they may face in higher education as a result of their disability. DSA can fund a range of support, including specialist equipment, non-medical help (human support such as specialist one-to-one study skills support or British Sign Language interpreters), and additional disability-related travel and accommodation costs.

​​Data on the number of specialist teachers in state-funded secondary mainstream schools is published in the School workforce in England statistical publication. Figures for each subject for each year can be found below. This data has been available since 5 June 2025.

​Information on subjects taught is not collected from primary schools.

Headcount of qualified specialist teachers holding a qualification in a related subject by subjects taught and Key Stage, in England for 2024/25:

Source: School Workforce Census November 2024.

Information on the headcount and budgets for Ofsted, Ofqual and the Office for Students’ is publicly available within each organisation’s published Annual Report and Accounts, available at:

• Ofsted: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ofsted-corporate-annual-reports-and-accounts.
• Ofqual: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofqual-annual-report-2023-to-2024.
• Office for Students: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/.

This is otherwise a matter for the relevant bodies, and I have asked them to write to the right hon. Member with a summary of their position since 2005 or the date they were established. A copy of the replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Information on the headcount and budgets for Ofsted, Ofqual and the Office for Students’ is publicly available within each organisation’s published Annual Report and Accounts, available at:

• Ofsted: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ofsted-corporate-annual-reports-and-accounts.
• Ofqual: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofqual-annual-report-2023-to-2024.
• Office for Students: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/.

This is otherwise a matter for the relevant bodies, and I have asked them to write to the right hon. Member with a summary of their position since 2005 or the date they were established. A copy of the replies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The information is not readily available or held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

The government has committed to provide funding for all local authorities to deliver Best Start Family Hubs, backed by over £500 million, to help families in every part of the country. The rollout will deliver up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs nationwide by the end of 2028, reaching an estimated additional 500,000 children.

As of March 2025, there are over 600 Family Hubs across the 88 funded local authorities.

Capita, as the Teachers’ Pension Scheme administrator, has confirmed that payments were completed on 1 September 2025, for those teachers who met the 18 August 2025 deadline for submitting their 2024/25 academic year retirement application.

Applications received after the 18 August deadline are being processed as quickly as possible by Capita and should be paid within 10 working days of receiving the application, provided that all information is available to process.

The department has contractual Service Level Agreements for the processing of these payments and continually monitors Capita’s performance to ensure that members’ pension lump sums are paid on time.

We want to ensure that all families who need it are able to claim the support they are eligible for. Creating a new threshold for free school meals will ensure that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit are eligible, making it easier for parents to understand their entitlement.

The government is also taking action to make it quicker and easier for both families and local authorities to get children signed up for free school meals by rolling out improvements to the eligibility checking system used to verify entitlement to free school meals.

The Child Poverty Taskforce will publish a Child Poverty Strategy in the autumn that will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty.

The department’s statutory guidance on the purpose, principles for practice and expected outcomes of children’s social care that should be achieved so children and young people can grow up to achieve and thrive is in the Children’s Social Care National Framework.

The second outcome of the national framework sets out the expectation that children’s social care “needs to consider how to unlock family networks and identify kinship carers to be a source of support, whenever children and young people need help, protection, or care”.

The support available to help embed the national framework in practice is available in the accompanying advice. Further, the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities sets out a framework for the provision of support to kinship families, and how family networks can be engaged to support the needs of children throughout the children’s social care system, including those unable to live with their parents.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty, with our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy due to be published in the autumn.

The publication will set out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy from this year and in future years, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups.

As part of the strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is prioritising better local services, especially in the early years, for children living in poverty. We have announced close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.

Details of how the Child Poverty Strategy interacts with other policies across government will be set out when the strategy is published, including child health.

The Strategy will be UK wide, drawing on devolved and reserved levers and working closely with devolved governments.

The department does not hold a comprehensive record of all events organised by Civil Service networks since 2017. However, we are able to provide a list of Civil Service network events that were advertised within the department from 2020 onwards. It is important to note that whilst these events were shared with staff, we cannot confirm whether they were organised by departmental colleagues as part of their participation in cross-Civil Service networks, or whether they were arranged independently by the networks and simply shared with departmental colleagues.

The following events were advertised within the department:

• October 2020: Cross-network Black History Month launch (Civil Service Race Forum).
• 26 November 2020: Celebrating Carers (Civil Service Carers Network).
• 4 December 2020: Disability and Accessibility in the Civil Service (Civil Service Disability Network).
• 25 February 2021: LGBT+ History Month – Section 28 and its Legacy (Civil Service LGBT+ Network).
• 3 March 2021: Eating Disorders Awareness Week (Civil Service Eating Disorder Network).
• 4 March 2021: Eating Disorder Ask an Expert (Civil Service Eating Disorder Network).
• 10 June 2021: Young Adult Carers in the Civil Service (Civil Service Carers Network).
• 24 December 2021: Whitehall Carol Service (Christians in Government).
• 25 January 2022: Holocaust Memorial Day (Civil Service Jewish Network).
• 17 February 2022: From Sad to Glad (Christians in Government).
• 3 March 2022: From Panic to Peace (Christians in Government).
• 17 March 2022: From Loathing to Living (Christians in Government).
• 31 March 2022: From Despair to Hope (Christians in Government).
• 27 March 2023: Whitehall Easter Service (DfE Christian Network and Christians in Government UK).
• 14 December 2023: BSL Christmas Coffee Morning (Civil Service Deaf and Hard of Hearing Network).
• 30 April 2025: Climate and Environment Awareness Session (Civil Service Climate and Environment Network).
• 17 October 2025: Black History Month – Raising Black Achievement (Civil Service Race Forum).

The department’s main Whitehall building, Sanctuary Buildings, has 70 single sex cubicles, 16 urinals and 22 non-gendered universal toilets (individual self-contained lockable toilet rooms which contain a toilet, washbasin and hand-drying facilities). This is in addition to 11 wheelchair accessible toilets.

The department’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and provides support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.

The department does not hold complete information on probation outcomes centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The department’s probation policy and guidance advises managers on the steps to take to assess a new employee’s suitability for the post and provides support to enable them to succeed. It also advises on the steps to take where performance, attendance or conduct are not satisfactory. This can include exiting the employee or extending their probation to provide further evidence for a final decision on their suitability.

The department does not hold complete information on probation outcomes centrally and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.

All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

The statutory RSHE guidance includes basic first aid for primary school children, for example dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries, and pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example specifically how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators and how to use them.

Schools also have the autonomy to decide how they teach first aid, including teaching additional topical content and which resources to use. Many schools incorporate additional content, which can include how pupils should deal with a first response emergency situation, including how to respond to knife wounds, drug misuse and road traffic injury.

The department’s defibrillator programme completed in 2023 and was the largest rollout of defibrillators across England to date and provided over 20,000 defibrillators to almost 18,000 schools, ensuring that all state-funded schools in England have access to a device.

Defibrillators are designed so they can be used by anyone with no prior training. As part of the department’s roll out, we provided awareness videos to schools showing how simple defibrillators can be to use, and asked schools to share these videos in staff meetings and assemblies.