Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of vocational qualifications for post-16 learners in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Post-16 education and skills white paper, published on 20 October, set out our vision for a world-leading skills system which breaks down barriers to opportunity, meets student and employers’ needs; widens access to high-quality education and training; supports innovation, research, and development; and improves people’s lives.

The department has set out our plans to introduce V Levels, which will sit alongside A levels and T Levels, and will become the only pathway for vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16 to 19-year-olds. We will also introduce two clear post-16 pathways at level 2 for further study and for occupations. We have launched a consultation on these measures, which will close on 12 January 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of home tuition fee eligibility rules on British citizens who relocated to EU member states while the UK was part of the European Union; and whether she plans to review these rules to account for decisions made whilst the UK was still a member of the EU.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

UK nationals and their children living in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, who wish to study in the UK, will be eligible for automatic home fee status and student support for courses starting up to seven years from the end of the transition period.

The seven-year period ensures that eligible UK nationals and their children, whose normal place of residence is in the EEA or Switzerland but wish to undertake higher education in England, will still be able to access home fee status and student financial support immediately on their return to the UK during this time.

From 1 January 2028, UK nationals and their children must normally have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for at least three years immediately before the start of their course to qualify for automatic home fee status and student support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to address the difference in home fee status eligibility for siblings who are both British nationals where one child benefits from Withdrawal Agreement protections and another does not due to the timing of their university entry after 2028.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

UK nationals and their children living in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, who wish to study in the UK, will be eligible for automatic home fee status and student support for courses starting up to seven years from the end of the transition period.

The seven-year period ensures that eligible UK nationals and their children, whose normal place of residence is in the EEA or Switzerland but wish to undertake higher education in England, will still be able to access home fee status and student financial support immediately on their return to the UK during this time.

From 1 January 2028, UK nationals and their children must normally have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for at least three years immediately before the start of their course to qualify for automatic home fee status and student support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will consider introducing discretionary provisions within home tuition fee eligibility criteria for British nationals living abroad who can demonstrate genuine and ongoing connections to the UK but were unable to relocate prior to their children commencing university.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

To qualify for automatic home fee status and higher education student support, students must normally be settled in the UK and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for at least three years before their course begins. However, if a student has spent time overseas due to their own or a specified family member’s temporary employment abroad, this does not interrupt their ordinary residence in the UK, providing flexibility for those who have not made a long-term decision to live outside the UK. Decisions on whether a student meets the criteria for home fee status rest with higher education providers, which are independent and autonomous bodies. Student Finance England makes decisions about eligibility for student finance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95258 on Children: Abuse, whether her Department has consulted with the organisations listed specifically on the risk of (a) increased amounts of children's data being held on the Children Not in School Register, and (b) potential data leaks which may result in harm to the children included in the list.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.

We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95259 on Home Education, whether home education experts were consulted on any training that may be needed for frontline workers collecting data for the Children Not in School Register.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.

We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95260 on Home Education, if her Department will publish a forecast of the funding to be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.

We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 95260 on Home Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure any training delivered to local authorities is holistic and trauma informed.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.

We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 95257 on Children: Data protection, whether her Department has consulted with the ICO on the safety of the increased amount of children's data to be held on the Children Not In School Register; and what steps she is taking to ensure this data is protected from data leaks and inappropriate sharing.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is engaging with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the Data Protection Impact Assessment for the Children Not in School registers to ensure that all data protection risks have been identified and mitigated before any processing of data begins.

The department has also held discussions with both Women’s Aid and the NSPCC, and other domestic abuse organisations, such as SafeLives, on the Children Not in School registers. We recognise the importance of protecting survivors of abuse and have worked with these partners to understand the implications of the Children Not in School measures and how concerns about access to data and identification can be resolved. We will continue this engagement ahead of implementation, including to inform our statutory guidance.

We will also commission and deliver training for all local authorities on the Children Not in School requirements and how they interact effectively with home education and alternative education approaches. This will be co-developed and co-delivered by home education representatives, and we will engage with relevant stakeholders, including safeguarding and domestic abuse organisations, as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to support local authorities to fulfil their new duties under the Children Not in School measures.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of uniform changes proposed in the Children and Wellbeing Bill on parents who wish to buy branded uniform items for convenience.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded items. This is why we have introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, giving parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allowing them the flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.

Schools may continue to offer optional branded items, provided these are kept to a minimum and a generic alternative is available.

Parents should have choice over where they shop, so they can control the cost of uniforms. Our data suggest that where parents can buy items from a range of suppliers the average cost of uniform is significantly lower.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The requested information is available in the table below:

*Footnote – cases relating to performance are managed separately through the department’s performance management policy and are excluded from the above table

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns, is published annually. The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.

The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025.

In the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 13 formal performance warnings were issued to staff.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to (a) affordable and (b) flexible childcare provision through childminders in (i) Surrey and (ii) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

The department has implemented new flexibilities for childminders that will help them to join and stay in the profession, giving them the flexibility to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises if they prefer.

Childminders can contribute to the delivery of the expanded entitlements and may also benefit from an expected increase in demand for places. While we do not retain constituency level data, the hourly funding rates for Surrey are £12.89, £9.01 and £6.25 for children under two years old, aged two, and aged three to four respectively. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. We will also keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage more people to become childminders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the financial sustainability of childminding roles in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

The department has implemented new flexibilities for childminders that will help them to join and stay in the profession, giving them the flexibility to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises if they prefer.

Childminders can contribute to the delivery of the expanded entitlements and may also benefit from an expected increase in demand for places. While we do not retain constituency level data, the hourly funding rates for Surrey are £12.89, £9.01 and £6.25 for children under two years old, aged two, and aged three to four respectively. We will work with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers are paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. We will also keep working with Jobcentre Plus to encourage more people to become childminders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of the volume, proportion and value of food waste in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) colleges and (d) universities.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Schools, colleges and universities are responsible for their day-to-day running, including their meals service and waste management. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has engaged closely with the department and representative organisations from the education sector to raise awareness of the requirements and provide guidance and resources to support compliance.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered including sun-safety lessons in the national curriculum.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81731.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered providing sun-safety education in schools.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Newbury to the answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 81731.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending ring-fenced support for (a) nutritious meals and (b) food education to all early years settings.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Our landmark Child Poverty Strategy tackles the root causes of poverty by cutting the cost of essentials, boosting family incomes and improving local services so that every child can have the best start in life.

Removing the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures, such as expanding free school meals to all children in households receiving Universal Credit from September 2026.

This will deliver the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began and will also apply to children in school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools.

Under the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework, any meals, snacks and drinks provided must be healthy, balanced and nutritious. The department has published new EYFS nutrition guidance, and the ‘Help for early years providers’ website offers resources on food activities and sensory food education. The EYFS guidance is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6839b752210698b3364e86fc/Early_years_foundation_stage_nutrition_guidance.pdf.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what processes are in place to ensure accountability and transparency when GCSE examination scripts are lost by exam boards.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many incidents of lost exam scripts have been reported to the Department and Ofqual in each of the last two academic years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adherence of private children’s homes to notifying the receiving local authority of vulnerable young people being placed in their area.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.

The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses in Bristol North East to partner with education providers to deliver vocational training and Post-16 skills programmes to local young people.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government works with employer representative bodies (ERBs) and local partners to strengthen collaboration between businesses and education providers. Through ERB-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), we encourage employers to help shape the local post-16 technical education offer, so training meets labour market needs. Statutory guidance for the development of these plans was published on 18 November.

Business West is leading the development of the local LSIP working with the West of England Combined Authority, local businesses and delivery partners. The plan will be published in Summer 2026. Businesses are supported to partner with colleges and training providers to deliver vocational programmes, apprenticeships, and national initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps and T Levels.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to school trusts to safeguard against cyber attacks and to protect children's personal data.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department provides guidance to help schools build their cyber resilience in our Cyber Security Standards, which address the core principles of cyber governance, processes and strategy.

We have also introduced a free interactive assessment tool, Plan Your Technology, to help schools understand if they meet our Cyber Security Standards and support schools to achieve them. We have incorporated the cyber security standards into Keeping Children Safe in Education and the Academy Trust Handbook. The department also has a small, dedicated sector cyber security team to support schools. This team provides appropriate advice and guidance via regular targeted and broad communications and more specific incident signposting when required.

The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) added cover for cyber incidents from 2022. With over 60% of schools RPA members, in the event of a cyber incident they have access to a 24/7 Incident Response Service.

We also work closely with the National Cyber Crime Security Centre (NCSC), who offer cyber security tools and guidance for schools, including free Protective Domain Name Service.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with school governing bodies on improving transparency for parents.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s governance guidance for schools and trusts makes clear that as publicly funded organisations, schools and trusts should foster a culture of transparency and welcome public scrutiny.

When shaping the school or trust’s vision, the governing body or trust board should remain connected and responsive to pupils, staff, parents, carers, and the wider community through meaningful engagement.

To promote transparency in decision-making, the governing body or trust board should actively seek and consider the views of parents and carers. Governing bodies and trust boards are required to have at least two parent governors/trustees.

To ensure transparency, details of governors/trustees are recorded on Get Information About Schools, and governance structures, governor/trustee register of pecuniary of interests and governance meeting attendance are published on the school’s or trust’s website.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a financial protection scheme for users of home learning providers which become insolvent.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Where an online home learning provider closes, parents and local authorities should work together to identify other suitable provision which is safe and meets the needs of the child. Home learning providers are often private providers and so are responsible for the financial management of their business.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on funding SEND provision of the mainstream school spending per pupil on page 122 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s Economic Financial Outlook.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget.

Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the total cost to the public purse of the decision to extend the statutory override for the cost of SEND to 2027-28.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The statutory override is an accounting measure, designed to keep Dedicated Schools Grant deficits separate from local authorities’ wider financial position. The extension of the override to the end of the 2027/28 financial year does not affect local authorities’ statutory duties to provide support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), nor does it change how much they spend to fulfil those duties. As these duties remain unchanged and, as with the previous government’s decision to extend the statutory override to the end of 2025/26, the extension itself does not result in any additional cost to the public purse.

The government recognises many local authorities are likely to continue to accrue deficits due to their spending on high needs, as we have seen in recent years, as they ensure that there are sufficient resources to secure provision for children and young people with SEND in mainstream or in specialist education. We will set out our plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits through the upcoming Local Government Finance Settlement.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEND is taken into account in school attendance policies.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

As set out in the department’s 2024 guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, every pupil has a right to a full-time education, and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils.

A school’s attendance policy should account for the specific needs of each pupil and provide these pupils with the necessary support. This includes pupils with specific barriers to attendance, such as those with mental or physical ill health and/or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

To support pupils with SEND, schools should understand the individual needs of the pupil and family, work in partnership with the pupil and family to put in-school support in place, as well as with the local authority and other agencies where external support is needed, and regularly review and update support to ensure it continues to meet individual needs.

Schools should ensure attendance data is regularly monitored for pupils with long-term illnesses and/or SEND, including alongside the local authority, so that additional support from other partners can be accessed where necessary.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding the cost of SEND provision from RDEL allocations on local authorities.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have illustrated the impact in the funding required for this, estimated at £6 billion, if these costs were met by diverting mainstream schools funding. However, that is only an indicative example and does not reflect government policy. We have confirmed that SEND pressure will be absorbed within the overall government DEL budget from 2028/29 onwards, not that it will be absorbed within the core schools budget.

Furthermore, the £6 billion figure quoted by the OBR is based on current spending trajectories and does not take account of future government decisions on reforms to the SEND system, details of which will be set out in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not currently operate a performance management system that includes ratings. However, it is in the process of introducing ratings for its Senior Civil Servants, with ratings for the 2025/26 performance year due to be determined in spring 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support families to read with children before they start (a) nursery and (b) school in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government is investing £500 million in the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, which will be available in every local authority by 2028. These hubs bring together services for families with children aged 0 to 19, with a particular focus on support in the early years, recognising the Plan for Change’s ambition to give every child the best start in life and improve child outcomes by age 5.

A key priority is strengthening the home learning environment, because what happens at home makes the biggest difference. The services provided by Best Start Family Hubs will help families to build simple, everyday routines to chat, play and read more with their children, such as sharing stories at bedtime and visiting local libraries.

We also work with trusted voluntary and community partners, including the National Literacy Trust, to provide books, resources and activities that make reading fun and accessible. Alongside this, the National Year of Reading will launch in January, offering practical resources to help parents read with their children before nursery and school.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Clause 4 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, if she will set out (a) what safeguards will be put in place to protect information shared under this clause against unauthorized access, misuse, or hacking; (b) how she will define the scope of relevant information, (c) which identifier will be used as the consistent identifier, (d) whether she has taken any independent advice on the strength of oversight procedures, and (e) what steps her Department will take to ensure that marginalized or vulnerable children and families are not disproportionately affected by this data-sharing duty.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Information sharing governance is crucial to Clause 4, and existing data protection requirements will apply. As is the case now, misuse of personally identifiable information is guarded against via governance processes that are the responsibility of data controllers and processors, who use systems to store sensitive children's data and follow the relevant security and processes. Consistent identifier piloting will consider what measures are needed for the number to be used securely and effectively.

“Relevant information” will be set out in statutory guidance, which relevant agencies must have regard to

The NHS number is being piloted as the consistent identifier, we will mandate the consistent identifier via regulations only when confident in the benefits, cost, security and governance

The department is working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office for both the consistent identifier and the information sharing duty to develop our approach.

Impact and equalities assessments will ensure vulnerable families are not disproportionately affected.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve child protection services in (a) Surrey and (b) Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working closely with local authorities and their partners to improve multi-agency child protection and safeguarding. Officials meet regularly with Surrey County Council, including to discuss local child protection delivery.

We are providing £2.4 billion over the next three years for the Families First Partnership programme to support local areas to embed reforms across Family Help, multi-agency child protection, and family group decision-making. Effective multi-agency child protection arrangements are vital to prevent children from slipping through the cracks.

These teams will bring multi-agency expertise and a clear focus to identify and respond decisively to all forms of significant harm from inside and outside the home and online.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will deliver the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation. It puts multi-agency child protection teams on a statutory footing, improves information sharing within and across agencies, and ensures education and childcare settings are part of local safeguarding arrangements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This financial year, the department has invested £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund. We have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments. We continue to review the impact of the changes to funding made in April 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making mandatory directions to schools in England to ban mobile phones in the classroom.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in school and school leaders already have the power to ban them.

The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

We expect all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning. If pupils fail to follow those rules, schools have the power to confiscate devices.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools (99.8% of primary schools and 90% of secondary schools) already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the number of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions among pupils with SEND in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department trusts headteachers to use their professional judgement, based on the individual circumstances of the case, when issuing a sanction and in the most serious cases exclusion may be necessary.

The department regularly analyses and publishes pupil suspension and permanent exclusion data to address disproportionate impacts and remains committed to providing earlier intervention in mainstream schools, focusing on pupils most at risk of exclusion to ensure every child can achieve and thrive.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Budget 2025 confirmed capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) plans for 2025/26 to 2029/30; £6.8 billion in 2025/26, £8.3 billion in 2026/27, and £7.7 billion in 2027/28 to 2029/30.

A proportion is allocated to improving condition of the school and college estate by increasing the annual capital maintenance investment in line with inflation, rising to around £2.6 billion in 2029/30. The settlement also commits around £2.4 billion capital funding per annum over the next four years to continue the School Rebuilding Programme of over 500 schools.

We have committed over £560 million to reform the children’s social care system and support the refurbishment and expansion of children’s homes and foster care placements, and around £370 million for school-based nurseries.

Yearly allocation will be determined through the department’s internal processes to balance these commitments with operational needs. This will be presented to parliament and published annually at Mains Estimates. All capital DEL allocations are fully allocated towards departmental capital priorities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help increase levels of attainment in schools in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed.

Through the government’s Plan for Change, the department is giving every child the best start in life and has set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. This is backed by an investment close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education.

Building on this work, the department is driving high and rising standards in every school to strengthen attainment and outcomes for all children.

This includes regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, recruiting an additional 6,500 teachers across secondary and special schools, and colleges, and a refreshed high quality curriculum and assessment system.

Alongside this, we are working to address barriers to learning, including rolling out free breakfast clubs and tackling school absence in all schools, including in Surrey Heath, as well as tackling child poverty through our historic Child Poverty Strategy that will lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

We know there is further work to do, which is why our upcoming Schools White Paper will set out our vision for a school system that drives educational excellence for every child, no matter their background or circumstances.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve education on (a) sexual consent and (b) relationships in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department published updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance in July 2025. It includes a focus on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary school and sets out that secondary schools should cover the role of consent, including how to recognise, respect and communicate consent and boundaries in both platonic and romantic relationships.

Pupils should be taught the law about the age of consent, that they have a choice about whether to have sex, and their capacity to give, withhold or remove consent at any time, even if initially given. They should also be taught that that there are a range of strategies for identifying, resisting and understanding pressure in relationships from peers or others, including in relation to sex, and how to avoid putting pressure on others.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to shorten the time between a child’s SEND diagnosis and them receiving their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in Hertfordshire.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

We know some families face challenges with education, health and care (EHC) plans, and we understand how urgently they need to be addressed. This government’s priority is improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), ensuring they receive the opportunities and support to achieve and thrive in their education.

The department has been working closely with Hertfordshire local authority since its local area SEND inspection in July 2023 to address areas for improvement. Data from November 2025 shows Hertfordshire is now above the national average on EHC plan timeliness, with 94% of plans issued within deadlines.

We are continuing to engage closely with children and young people, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will share more information on plans for reform in a full Schools White Paper in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the factors causing increased numbers of Education, Health and Care Plans to be issued, including in Oldham.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

There are a range of views as to why demand for education, health and care (EHC) plans has increased. This is why the department is continuing an extensive programme of engagement to gather insight and evidence that allows us to shape a proposed reform programme that prioritises early intervention, fairness and effective evidence-based support.

As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education outlined in her letter to the Chair of the Education Select Committee, we must move towards a system where high quality support is provided as soon as a need is identified, rather than only once an EHC plan is in place. Every school should be resourced and able to meet common and predictable needs, including as they change over time, without parents having to fight for support.

As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to make changes to the special educational needs and disabilities system, restore the trust of parents by ensuring early years, schools and colleges have the tools to better identify need early, and support children and young people before issues escalate. We will share more information on plans for reform in a full Schools White Paper in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 91415 on Citizenship: Teachers, what steps she is taking to train and support teachers to teach citizenship as a national curriculum subject at Key Stages 1 and 2; and if she plans to fund additional training routes to help meet this need.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Work is underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system, including Programmes of Study for citizenship at key stages 1 and 2. Working closely with the sector, we are working towards a first teaching of the new curriculum from September 2028.

Proposals will be consulted on from 2026 to ensure that we are capturing the important views from those most impacted. This will inform decisions about teacher training to support implementation. We will provide time for familiarisation and high quality digital resources through Oak National Academy (Oak).

Oak draws expertise from the best in the sector and shares it with teachers. Its curriculum partners include high performing school trusts, subject associations, education charities, publishers and universities. All resources are openly licensed and free for anyone to use and adapt.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to raise awareness in schools of the potential impact of vapes on health.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department has included a specific reference to the dangers of vaping in the amended relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance, which was published in July. This includes the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks of vaping, the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs, and the facts about vaping, including the harms posed to young people.

To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the department’s existing suite of teacher training modules includes one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes. In addition, Oak National Academy has developed materials across the updated curriculum.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2025 to question 93149, whether RISE advisors will be dismissed if they do not meet the Programme-level Key Performance Indicators.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

RISE advisers are managed in line with the Civil Service performance management framework. Any issues or concerns, including whether performance objectives are being met, will be addressed through the established Civil Service performance management process.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October to Question 78154, how much of the £500 million allocated to local authorities for Family Help services is being allocated to help adoptive and kinship families with post placement support.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Family Help reforms are being delivered nationally through the Families First Partnership programme, offering services to all families, including adoptive and kinship families.

On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing total programme funding to £2.4 billion over this Spending Review period. This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities and partners to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real difference to families.

It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.

The department will soon pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, which will support around 4,500 children. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of locally delivered mentoring schemes in improving youth employment outcomes.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.

Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.

Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate has been made of the number of reports of child (a) sexual (b) criminal exploitation safeguarding failings at (1) private (2) local authority children’s homes in England since 2015.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All registered children’s homes, whether privately run or local authority-operated, must notify Ofsted, the regulator for children’s social care, about certain serious incidents that happen to children in their care living with them and what they have done in response. The published data, available from April 2023, includes a category of ‘sexual exploitation’, which shows:

• 01 Apr 2024 – 31 Mar 2025: 42,500 notifications of which 560 (1.3%) related to sexual exploitation.
• 01 Apr 2023 – 31 Mar 2024: 34,481 notifications of which 535 (1.5%) related to sexual exploitation.

This data does not distinguish between private or local authority run homes and does not specify data on criminal exploitation.

Ofsted review the notifications received to ensure homes have acted to protect the child from immediate harm, and the information contained in the notifications informs their risk assessment and inspection scheduling.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that specialist speech and language therapies are available to children with education, health and care plans in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with speech, language and communication needs in early years settings and primary schools.

In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist, helping to grow the pipeline.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce standardised digital literacy guidance for schools to teach children critical evaluation skills for assessing the reliability of online information.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, the department will update the national curriculum to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. In line with the Review’s recommendations, refreshed programmes of study will include critical thinking skills, in addition to digital and media literacy and artificial intelligence.

To ensure consistency, we are legislating so that academies will be required to teach the refreshed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.

Currently, media literacy is taught through citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing, whilst digital literacy is addressed in computing and RSHE. To support teachers now, the department-funded National Centre for Computing Education provides free resources and continuing professional development, including materials on messaging in digital media, the credibility of sources and identifying ‘fake’ news and edited images.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to scale up effective mentoring and employability schemes for young people.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is working to strengthen how young people at risk of becoming NEET are identified and supported. Local authorities, Strategic Authorities, schools and further education providers will be enabled to share and use data more effectively, supported by new ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tools and guidance. We have published guidance to support local authorities to identify at-risk young people, support participation and post-16 transition, and prevent NEET.

Alongside this, the Youth Guarantee ensures all 18- to 21-year-olds have support to access training, an apprenticeship or work, backed by careers advice, work experience and a targeted job backstop.

Our statutory careers guidance sets clear expectations for schools and colleges to provide inclusive, high quality careers programmes to encourage schools to make links with providers and employers offering mentoring opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged young people and those at risk of becoming NEET.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the consistency of pupil experience between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2; and what steps she is taking to address declines in pupil motivation or engagement during the transition between these stages.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department recognises that moving between key stages can be challenging for some children, including the transition from key stage 1 to key stage 2.

One of the ways the department is looking to understand the experiences of children is through our Educational Outcome Pathways Studies (EOPS). EOPS Primary follows children in primary school from years 1 through 6 and collects data on their experiences, progress at school and wellbeing. It also examines factors at home, at school and in the wider environment that may influence children’s attitudes, behaviours and outcomes. Children in the study are currently in year 3, which is the key stage 2 transition year.

Alongside this, the government has committed to publish a new pupil engagement framework, helping schools to identify and address aspects of the pupil experience in their setting which may be preventing children from attending, achieving and thriving. As it is developed, we will consider the evidence around effective practice that supports pupil transitions alongside other approaches that can support pupil engagement.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what number of students eligible for the 16-19 large programme uplift funding in the last five academic years studied four or more A Levels and pursued STEM-related subjects.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The requested data can be found in the below table. Please note that the large programme uplift (LPU) is calculated using attainment data and as such operates on a three-year lag. Therefore, the latest LPU calculation was for 2025/26 academic year allocations based on 2022/23 attainment data. The department has announced that moving forward LPU funding will be focused on large programmes which include maths, further maths and other high value A-levels.

Notes about the data:

1. Includes state-funded students who ended 16-18 study in the reported year (e.g. 2022/23).

2. Includes students who entered for at least four STEM A levels and achieved at least a grade B in each A level, or a grade C in the case of further mathematics.

3. Discounting rules apply (i.e. where students have multiples entries in the same subject, the best result is included).

4. STEM subjects are defined by subject mapping codes as used in the A level and other 16 to 18 results statistical release.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 91414 on Citizenship: Teaching, what method her Department uses to assess whether citizenship is a shortage subject in schools in the absence of subject-specific data.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The Teacher Workforce Model (TWM) is used each to year estimate required number of teachers, which the department then uses to calculate the number of trainees needed. This includes those on postgraduate initial teacher training (PGITT), which is the largest source of new trainees. Required PGITT trainee numbers and actual numbers of PGITT trainees are published annually.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on supporting schools with falling pupil numbers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Local authorities hold the statutory place planning function, ensuring there are sufficient schools in their area to meet the needs of pupils. It is for local authorities, in collaboration with academy trusts and other local partners, to balance the supply and demand of school places.

The department recognises the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. The lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels, and is particularly important in giving schools with falling rolls time to re-organise their staffing and costs.

Where falling pupil numbers results in spare space becoming available, primary schools have been able to apply for capital funding to create or expand school-based nurseries. We have just announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, on top of the £740 million this year, to create special educational needs units and resourced provision, including where there is spare space, and to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of the school environment.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether British students will be able to take part in the Erasmus+ exchange programme by January 2027.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

As set out at the UK-EU Summit in May, the UK agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on mutually agreed financial terms.

Negotiations are ongoing, and the timelines for any association are subject to ongoing discussion. We are open to associating to Erasmus+ for 2027 in principle, but only if we can reach agreement on financial terms, which should ensure a fair balance as regards the contributions of and benefits to the UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a new right to kinship care leave.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has launched a review of the parental leave system, which represents a much-needed opportunity to consider the department’s approach to the system of parental leave and pay. This will consider whether the support available meets the needs of working families, such as kinship carers.

In 2023, the department published ‘Kinship Carers in the Workplace: Guidance for Employers’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/kinship-carers-in-the-workplace-guidance-for-employers. This sets out best practice for supporting kinship carers at work, including how to adapt internal policies, signpost existing entitlements and create a culture of support to meet the needs of kinship carers. The department has since implemented our own Kinship Leave and Pay offer and we encourage all organisations to review their guidance and explore what changes they can make.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Act 2025 – Report on exercise of the Secretary of State’s functions, published on 27 November, what the role of Ofqual will be in the development of V levels, and what transitional arrangements they have made to maintain level 3 options for 16 to 19 year olds prior to the introduction of the new qualifications.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Ofqual will set the design rules for V Level structure, assessment and grading which each V Level must meet. In addition to the General Conditions of Recognition, these V Level specific conditions will be used to regulate awarding organisations’ design and delivery of every V Level, in the same way that each A level is regulated.

Ofqual will consider the regulatory approach that best meets the policy intent for V Levels and will consult on their plans in due course.

The department will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations on the approach to development and roll-out to ensure providers have as much time as possible to prepare for the delivery of V Levels.

In our consultation, we outlined plans to transition to V Levels while maintaining Level 3 options for 16 to19-year-olds. The government response will confirm the route order, implementation timetable, and priority subjects for first teaching in 2027.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they intend to take in response to the estimate published by the BBC that during the last five years the adoption arrangements of more than 1,000 children have resulted in those children being returned to local authority care.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Providing support for families at an earlier stage, before needs escalate to crisis point, is critical and we are working with Adoption England to achieve this.

Adoption England are working with their local authority partner safeguarding teams to improve the support adopted families receive when they are in crisis. This includes developing a national protocol which can be used for all adoption support services teams in regional adoption agencies and local authority front door safeguarding services.

We have provided funding of £8.8 million to Adoption England to improve adoption services, including support to adoptive families This includes implementing a new framework for an early support core offer which covers the first 12 to 18 months after placement.

This financial year the department has also invested £50 million into the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to ensure that adopted children can access therapeutic services which help stabilise placements and address complex needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of young people who have been off-rolled by schools and colleges while awaiting Education, Health and Care Plans in England.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not hold data on the number of children or young people who have been off-rolled while waiting for an education, health and care plan assessment.

This government is clear that off-rolling in any form is unacceptable, and we will continue to work closely with Ofsted to tackle it.

Pupils may leave a school roll for many reasons, including permanent exclusion, transfer to another school, or change of circumstances. All schools are legally required to notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is removed from the admissions register.

The law is clear that a pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 9 of the School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024.

Our ambition is that all children with special educational needs (SEN) receive the right support to succeed. We are committed to strengthening the accountability system and to providing earlier intervention in mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will set out the reasons for the reduction in the Fair Access Limit for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund from £5,000 to £3,000 from April 2025; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this reduction on the provision of therapeutic support for adoptive families and special guardians.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access support. So far this year, nearly 14,000 applications have been approved. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of early years SEND support capacity in North East Lincolnshire; and what support her Department is providing to ensure early identification and intervention for children aged under five.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

We aim to set up every child, in every local authority, to have the best start in life and this includes delivering access to high quality early education and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

On 7 July, we published our commitment to Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support. We also will increase the funding available to early years providers to support children with SEND.

On 4 December, we announced access to early SEND support across the country through Best Start Family Hubs. In every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting a dedicated SEND practitioner for every Hub to provide direct, family-facing support. The new offer will help parents understand their child’s development, identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.

We have also invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the price of school uniforms.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Parentkind recently found that more than a quarter of parents will go without heating or eating to be able to afford school uniform. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum.

This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, to bring down costs and remove barriers to accessing sport and other school activities. This will allow parents greater flexibility to make spending decisions that suit them. The department intends to introduce this limit from September 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of local authority compliance with the national legislation establishing the threshold of (a) 10 sessions of unauthorised absence and (b) a rolling 10-school-week period for issuing fixed penalty notices.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The National Framework for Penalty Notices, which was designed to embed our support-first approach and improve consistency and fairness across the country, was introduced in August 2024.

Every local authority must draw up, and is expected to publish, a local code of conduct, which must be adhered to by all parties issuing a penalty notice. Amongst other things, each code is expected to include details of the national threshold and local arrangements for determining if the support provided has been sufficient. Further details are listed in paragraph 197 of our statutory attendance guidance, which is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf#page=60.

Local authorities are also expected to supply details related to the use of penalty notices in their area as part of the parental responsibility measures census, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parental-responsibility-measures-statistics-guide.

Data is collected annually for the previous academic year. The department expects the first set of data related to after the introduction of the National Framework to be published in January 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of pupils suspended or sent home for not wearing the required school uniform and (b) lost school days as a result for the most recent year the data is available.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not hold the requested information. While statistics on suspension are collected by reason category, ‘not wearing the required school uniform’ is not included as a separate category.

The department publishes data on suspensions and permanent exclusions in state-funded schools in England. The most recent full academic year release, covering 2023/24, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2023-24. This has been available since 10 July 2025.

The department’s position is clear that it is for the headteacher to determine how to address breaches of the school’s uniform and appearance, in line with the school’s behaviour policy. We expect schools to respond to non-compliance, such as uniform breaches in a proportionate and fair way. Where a school imposes a sanction such as a suspension the formal exclusion process must be followed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available to schools to tackle the challenges faced by pupils living in poverty, including access to (a) free school meals, (b) mental health services and (c) after-school programmes in the North East.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

​​We are supporting schools to tackle the challenges faced by pupils in poverty. As part of this support, schools will receive pupil premium funding worth over £3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.

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​The removal of the two-child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty, rising to around 550,000 alongside other measures announced this year, including the expansion of free school meals, which will lift 100,000 children out of poverty by the end of this Parliament and put £500 back in families’ pockets. Further, we are delivering on our pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children.

​

​We are also providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs). As of April 2025, 57% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in the North East region were covered by an MHST.

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​The department will also publish an Enrichment Framework, providing advice for schools on delivering a high-quality enrichment offer, including extra-curricular activities after school.

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​Since September 2024, the department has invested over £180 million in the National Wraparound Programme, which has created over 50,000 additional childcare places.

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​Support with costs for wraparound childcare is also available for eligible parents through the Tax-Free Childcare and the childcare element of Universal Credit.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children who are attending the early adopters breakfast clubs.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The free breakfast clubs early adopter phase has been a huge success, with data showing that over 5 million breakfasts have been served so far. We continue to receive excellent feedback from schools, parents and pupils on the positive impact that the free breakfast clubs are already having. For example, schools are reporting improved punctuality, attendance and behaviour.

We want every school, every child, and every family to have the chance of those benefits and that is why we’re committed to rolling out free breakfast clubs in every school with primary age children in England.

Following the success of the early adopter phase, we are investing a further £80 million into the programme to onboard approximately 2000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 thousand more children.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of early language intervention on educational outcomes for deaf children.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Every child deserves the best start in life, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Early language skills at age five strongly predict future academic success, and timely access to specialist support is critical.

From April 2026, funding for home learning environment and parenting support within Best Start Family Hubs will focus on evidence-based interventions for 3-4-year-olds, including Auditory Verbal Therapy, for children who are deaf or use hearing technology.

The department funds proven programmes like the Nuffield Early Language Intervention which improves oral language and literacy. Independent evaluation found children made four months’ additional progress, rising to seven months for those eligible for free school meals. Whilst not a substitute for specialist therapy, many children benefit from such interventions, including some deaf children. We have also updated the early years foundation stage profile handbook, ensuring children can use their preferred mode of communication, such as signing, across all early learning goals.

Alongside this, the Early Language Support for Every Child programme trials new approaches to identify and support speech, language, and communication needs, with evaluation due autumn 2026.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the proportion of food served in state schools in England that is sourced from British (a) farms and (b) other food producers.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Schools are responsible for their school meals service and how and where they choose to buy their produce. We encourage schools to provide a wide range of foods using fresh, sustainable locally sourced, seasonal ingredients including produce from the school vegetable garden where possible.

Alongside this, we encourage schools to follow the Government Buying Standard for food and catering, which includes advice around procurement and sustainable sourcing of produce.

We aim to revise the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history and will be consulting publicly in due course. As part of this work, we will review our guidance on sourcing good quality produce.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on the inclusion of targets for child poverty reduction in Hexham constituency within the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on the inclusion of targets for child poverty reduction in the Northumberland within the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders on the inclusion of targets for child poverty reduction in the North East within the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Our recently published landmark Child Poverty Strategy is set to lift 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030.

The publication sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the Strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. The publication also sets out how we will measure the experience of children in the most severe and acute forms of poverty.

The Child Poverty Taskforce and Unit engaged extensively with stakeholders in the North East throughout the development of the Strategy. This includes engagement with the North East Poverty Commission and attendance at the North East Child Poverty Summit. Furthermore, Kim McGuinness, Mayor of the North East Combined Authority, attended a Taskforce meeting in September 2024 to discuss the experience of poverty in local communities and approaches to tackling child poverty.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative assessment she has made of disparities in AI training and support between (a) state and private schools, and (b) high-performing and underperforming schools; and what steps she is taking to address these inequalities.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The department does not publish comparative assessments of artificial intelligence (AI) training between school types, but we monitor sector capability through the Technology in Schools Survey, which informs our programmes. Earlier this year we published online support materials to help teachers and leaders use AI safely and effectively, developed with sector experts. Our approach benefits all schools and reduces disparities in access and capability.

Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, we will update the national curriculum to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. Refreshed programmes of study will include AI, including issues like bias, in addition to digital and media literacy.

To ensure consistency, we are legislating so that academies will be required to teach the refreshed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make education more inclusive of disabled children in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

We want to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting all children and young people in every part of the country to achieve and thrive in education, through early identification of need, access to the right support at the right time, high quality adaptive teaching and effective allocation of resources.

On 12 December, the government announced a £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 specialist places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The funding will be distributed to local authorities for them to spend on new places in mainstream settings (including SEN units), on adaptations to mainstream settings to make them more inclusive, or on special schools where required. This investment will help to make education inclusive by design, so every child, in every corner of the country can have their needs met where they live.

We will bring forward our full vision for an inclusive education system in the Schools White Paper in the new year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in her Department in the last year.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

For the last financial year, the total cost to the department of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in annual report and accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to provide advice and support for headteachers to transition to a smartphone free school.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Mobile phones have no place in schools.

The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

Alongside the guidance, the department has published a series of case studies showcasing good practice to support schools in prohibiting the use of mobile phones.

Schools also have access to a toolkit on communicating their policy with parents. This provides practical guidance to help schools gain parental support for their mobile phone policies.

Research from the Children’s Commissioner published in April 2025, with responses from nearly all schools and colleges in England, shows that the overwhelming majority of schools already have policies in place that limit or restrict the use of mobile phones during the school day.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of early interventions in speech and language support.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The potential merits of focusing on early intervention in providing speech and language support are clear. That is why we have invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, both of which support children with their speech and language.

We are funding Family Hubs to train practitioners to support families with the home learning environment to help parents support children’s speech and communication.

We will fund local early language leads to provide training to early years settings. Reception staff will also be able to access early language and literacy support.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support she is providing to adoptive families when attempting to return a child to care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Returning a child to care should only ever be a last resort. We recognise the significant emotional and practical strain adoptive parents can face, particularly when managing complex needs and trauma. Our priority is to keep families together wherever possible by providing timely tailored support for parents in crisis.

We are investing £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund this year to provide therapeutic services to support children with complex needs to help prevent families reaching crisis. In addition, we have provided Adoption England with £8.8 million so that families can access high quality support provision at all stages of their adoption journey.

When a child must return to care, adoption agencies should maintain a non-judgemental approach and remain actively involved to ensure the process is handled with sensitivity and support. This includes working closely with the adoptive parents to understand the circumstances, providing emotional and practical assistance, and facilitating access to therapeutic services when appropriate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a cross-government protocol with the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care setting out roles, referral routes and timescales between schools, police forces and health services when responding to allegations of child-on-child sexual abuse.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is taking the strongest action to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation. This includes setting up a new national inquiry, with which government departments will cooperate fully, to ensure we are tackling this vile crime and supporting victims and survivors.

Working Together is the national multi-agency statutory guidance for all practitioners working with children and their families. Local safeguarding partners (local authorities, police and health) already have a statutory duty to set out in their threshold document and local protocols the process for referrals, assessments, support and services for children who need help or protection. This guidance underpins Ofsted’s Inspection of Local Authority Children’s Services framework.

We are also delivering the biggest reform to children’s social care in a generation, investing £2.4 billion in the Families First Partnership programme, introducing multi-agency child protection teams through our landmark Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill and establishing a national Child Protection Authority.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department monitors local authority compliance with their duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide suitable education without delay for children who are out of school following incidents of child-on-child sexual abuse; and whether she plans to introduce statutory timescales for such provision.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Under Section 19 of the Education Act 1996, local authorities must arrange suitable education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive it. This education should be full-time, or as close to full-time as is appropriate for the child’s needs.

Ofsted monitors local authorities’ arrangements for the sufficiency and commissioning of alternative provision through Area special educational needs and disabilities inspections.

The department also issues statutory guidance on planning and commissioning alternative provision, which sets out principles for timely, safe, and high quality education. The guidance was last updated in January 2025 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.

The government is committed to an inclusive education system that identifies additional needs early and delivers the right support at the right time, helping children remain in and succeed within mainstream education wherever possible.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support adoptive families from being subject to legal action when attempting to return a child to care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department knows that some adoptive families do not get the support they need when in crisis. Rather than being supported, they experience blame and criticism of their parenting approach.

Adoption England are working with their local authority partner safeguarding teams to improve the support families receive when they are in crisis. The aim of this work is to develop a national protocol which can be used for all adoption support service teams and local authority front door safeguarding services. This will help ensure that parents are supported when they need it most.

We are also investing £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund this year to provide therapeutic services to support children with complex needs to help prevent families reaching crisis, and £8.8 million into Adoption England so that families can access high quality support provision at all stages of their adoption journey.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support small village primary schools with low pupil numbers to remain financially stable.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor.

In the 2026/27 financial year, the sparsity factor provides eligible primary schools up to £58,600, and all other eligible schools up to £85,200. This funding recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools.

In addition to the sparsity factor, all small schools will benefit from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2026/27, including the NFF lump sum set at £152,700. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is particularly beneficial to small schools, as it is not affected by pupil numbers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding arrangements for village primary schools with low pupil numbers.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities, many of which are in rural areas. The schools national funding formula (NFF) accounts for challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factor.

In the 2026/27 financial year, the sparsity factor provides eligible primary schools up to £58,600, and all other eligible schools up to £85,200. This funding recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools.

In addition to the sparsity factor, all small schools will benefit from the increase to core factors in the NFF in 2026/27, including the NFF lump sum set at £152,700. This provides a fixed amount of funding that is particularly beneficial to small schools, as it is not affected by pupil numbers.

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Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on adapting their support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.

At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.

We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing training to mental health teams on support to children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.

In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.

At the Spending Review, we confirmed that we will deliver on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers by the end of this Parliament, roll out mental health support teams to cover all schools in England by 2029/30 and expand NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement and Support schemes.

We have also already started piloting Neighbourhood Mental Health Centres. These pilots aim to provide open access care for anyone with a severe mental illness 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our aim is to have one Neighbourhood Health Centre in each community that brings together National Health Service, local authority and voluntary sector services in one building to help create a holistic offer that meets the needs of local populations including children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce youth economic inactivity in rural communities.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

This Government is investing in all young people’s futures irrespective of where they live in Great Britain. At Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Through the expanded Youth Guarantee, young people aged 16-24 across Great Britain are set to benefit from further support into employment and learning, including:

Support to find a job: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we are introducing a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, which over the next three years will offer nearly 900,000 16–24-year-olds a dedicated session, followed by four weeks of additional intensive support with a Work Coach. This new support will identify specific work, training, or learning opportunities locally for each young person and ensure they are supported to take those up. This support could be delivered at a Youth Hub.

Further expansion of Youth Hubs: We are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations so that all young people – including those not on benefits – can access opportunities and wider support in every local area of Great Britain. Youth Hubs will bring together partners from health, skills and the voluntary sector, working closely with Mayors and local authorities to deliver joined-up community-based support.

c300,000 additional opportunities for workplace experience and training: For young people on Universal Credit who are looking for work, we will create up to 150,000 additional work experience placements and up to 145,000 additional bespoke training opportunities designed in partnership with employers – Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). At the end of each SWAP, employers offer a guaranteed job interview to participants.

The Youth Guarantee ensures paid work for eligible 18–21-year-olds in Great Britain who have been on Universal Credit and seeking work for 18 months. Through the Jobs Guarantee scheme, participants get six months of government-funded employment at minimum wage for 25 hours weekly, plus extra support to build skills and experience. The program aims for an 80% employment rate and includes safeguards for quality and fairness. It will benefit about 55,000 young people over three years.

Prevention: We are improving support for young people at risk of becoming NEET by enhancing data sharing, monitoring further education attendance, and using new tools to help local areas target assistance effectively. We are also funding work experience opportunities for high-risk pupils in state-funded Alternative Provision settings. These efforts build on measures from the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper announced earlier this autumn.

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education are also working closely with the seven Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England who are delivering the eight Youth Trailblazers announced in the Get Britain Working white paper.

The West of England Combined Authority is running a Rural Access Pilot as part of its Youth Guarantee Trailblazer. This pilot focuses on supporting young people in rural areas by providing tailored employment coaching and practical transport solutions, alongside bursaries to cover work-related costs. A free travel pass is designed to remove transport barriers for young people in these areas, enabling them to access employment opportunities, training, and support services.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the National Youth Strategy will help youth organisations to set boundaries and safeguarding protocols to protect young people and service providers.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As part of the new National Youth Strategy, a £15 million investment will be delivered over three years to strengthen the youth sector workforce by increasing the number of youth workers, volunteers and wider trusted adults and providing upskilling opportunities. We will be working with the sector to design the workforce funding to ensure it meets needs and has the right expectations on safeguarding.

The Government has committed to supporting trusted adults to adhere to safeguarding standards and have the right understanding of the challenges young people are facing today. We will also continue to fund the National Youth Agency to deliver an online safeguarding and risk management hub to provide guidance, support and access to training resources for all organisations and individuals working with young people.

Beyond the measures above, the Department for Education held a Call for Evidence on Safeguarding in Out-of-School Settings, including youth clubs and other forms of youth work, between May and September this year. Analysis and further engagement are ongoing, before the Government responds in due course.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how she will ensure helping young people to develop relationships with trusted adults aligns with safeguarding expectations

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As part of the new National Youth Strategy, a £15 million investment will be delivered over three years to strengthen the youth sector workforce by increasing the number of youth workers, volunteers and wider trusted adults and providing upskilling opportunities. We will be working with the sector to design the workforce funding to ensure it meets needs and has the right expectations on safeguarding.

The Government has committed to supporting trusted adults to adhere to safeguarding standards and have the right understanding of the challenges young people are facing today. We will also continue to fund the National Youth Agency to deliver an online safeguarding and risk management hub to provide guidance, support and access to training resources for all organisations and individuals working with young people.

Beyond the measures above, the Department for Education held a Call for Evidence on Safeguarding in Out-of-School Settings, including youth clubs and other forms of youth work, between May and September this year. Analysis and further engagement are ongoing, before the Government responds in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Restoring Control Over the Immigration System: White Paper, whether her Department plans to apply the 5 and 10 year penalties for accessing public funds to those on limited leave to remain who are currently living in the UK and receiving benefits.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.

The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.

Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) children and (b) adults are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds condition.

Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

Data regarding how many people in the UK are subject to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition (NRPF) is currently in development and not ready for release. We will continue to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced. We are unable at this time to provide a specific timeframe for data publication or indeed confirm what will be published.

The earned settlement model is currently subject to a public consultation, running until 12 February 2026. Details of the earned settlement scheme will be finalised following that consultation.

The consultation seeks views on whether there should be transitional arrangements for those already on a pathway to settlement. Consideration will then be given, if appropriate, to how transitional arrangements may be designed to ease the impact of policy change, especially for individuals or groups already afforded permissions by the previous system.

The final model will also be subject to equality impact assessment, which the government has committed to publish in due course.

Free school meals are not classed as a 'public fund' for immigration purposes. It is the Department for Education who set the eligibility criteria for who can access free school meals.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to protect children from gambling advertisements online.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

All gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with advertising codes, which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) independently of Government. These codes apply across all advertising platforms, and include a wide range of provisions designed to protect children from harm. In addition to rules on content and audience, operators must ensure that gambling advertising is not targeted at children. Earlier this year the Department for Education announced new statutory guidance for relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education, which includes more in depth education about the risks of gambling related harms. We will continue to monitor this area closely and take action where there is evidence to do so.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the role of the mathematical sciences within future Strategic Priorities Grant funding.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The mathematical sciences sector is key to delivering the Government’s missions and plays an important role from advising government and business, to sharing expertise that underpins the innovation and scientific discovery that helps our country and economy thrive.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) engage regularly with counterparts in the Department for Education (DfE) on a wide range of issues related to mathematical sciences and higher education funding. While we maintain this ongoing dialogue with the DfE, there have been no specific discussions on the role of mathematical sciences in the Office for Students’ Strategic Priorities Grant funding.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department will work with the Department for Education to legislate to allow prisoners to obtain a student loan more than 6 years from their earliest release date.

Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip

The Ministry of Justice is committed to enabling prisoners to access higher education while in custody and, alongside HMPPS, works with partners such as the Prisoners Education Trust and the Open University to widen access to higher education for prisoners.

The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education will continue to consider access to student finance for prisoners.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to treat developmental language disorders in line with autism by matching levels of freely available support, training and information for parents and carers.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities. NHS England is working with the Department for Education to identify and support children with speech, language, and communication needs by co-funding pathfinder sites to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child programme.

The programme aims to identify and support children and young people in their early years and primary school settings with mild to moderate speech, language, and communication needs, reducing the rate of specialist referrals, and increasing workforce capacity through innovative workforce models.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance to help integrated care boards (ICBs) and the National Health Service to deliver improved outcomes for people referred to an autism assessment service. The guidance also sets out what support should be available before an assessment and following a recent diagnosis of autism. Since publication, NHS England has been supporting systems and services to identify where there are challenges for implementation and how they might overcome these.

The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October, was explicit that ICBs and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for autism assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing published guidance.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of job vacancies in key professions within her Department’s responsibilities, including contractor organisations.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes information on the number of vacancies at UK-level, by industry, and by size of business as part of the vacancies and jobs in the UK release. Using that data, we see that in August to October 2025 there were 15,000 vacancies in arts, entertainment and recreation, 33,000 vacancies in information and communication and 76,000 vacancies in accommodation and food service activities. Parts of these industries are included in DCMS sector definitions.

Compared to August to October 2024:

• Arts, entertainment and recreation vacancies are down 14.0%

• Accommodation and food service activities vacancies are down 16.5%

• Information and communication vacancies are down 13.5%

DCMS uses a more granular industry classification (4-digit Standard Industrial Classification codes) to define our sectors and ONS vacancy data is not publicly available at this level.

DCMS publishes official statistics in development estimating the number of vacancies, alongside skills shortages and skills gaps, based on the Department for Education’s (DfE) Employer Skills Survey. Two regular data releases have been published so far: DCMS Sectors Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2019 and DCMS Sector Skills Shortages and Skills Gaps: 2022, UK, as well as additional analysis for the Creative Industries. The 2022 data showed that 25.5% of DCMS Sectors businesses in the UK had at least one vacancy open at the time of the survey. This was significantly higher than All Sectors (23.2%).

Further insights into labour demand are provided in the ONS’s Labour demand volumes by Standard Occupation Classification (SOC 2020), UK dataset, which includes official statistics in development sourced from Textkernel data. DCMS has published additional estimates by SOC code for the Creative Industries using the DfE’s Employer Skills Survey.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many NEET young people (a) live with their parents or guardians and (b) live independently.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Office for National Statistics and the Department for Education – who both produce official statistics publications on young people who are NEET – do not publish a breakdown of young people who are not in employment, education or training broken down by whether they live with parents/guardians or live independently.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many NEET young people are parents, broken down by month since January 2020.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Office for National Statistics and the Department for Education – who both produce official statistics on young people who are NEET – do not publish a breakdown of young people who are not in employment, education or training broken down by parental status.

The Department for Education do publish an estimate of the proportion of young people aged 16-24 who are economically inactive for the primary reason of looking after family/home – which shows that in 2024 1.5% of 16-24 years where economically inactive due to looking after family/home – down from 1.7% in 2023. See here for more the annual series back to 2020: Create your own tables on neet age 16 to 24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on reducing waiting times for children requiring speech and language therapy.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Community health services, including children’s speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.

For 2026/27 we have asked systems to actively manage long waits for community health services, including reducing the proportion of waits over 18 weeks, developing a plan to eliminate all 52-week waits, and increasing community health services capacity to meet growth in demand, expected to be approximately 3% nationally per year.

NHS England is working with the Department for Education to identify and support children with speech, language, and communication needs by co-funding pathfinder sites to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child programme.

The programme aims to identify and support children and young people in early years and primary school settings with mild to moderate speech, language, and communication needs, reducing the rate of specialist referrals, and increasing workforce capacity through innovative workforce models.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of voter registration among young people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission’s 2023 report on electoral registers found that young people are among the least likely groups to be registered to vote.

As set out in our Strategy for modern and secure elections, the Government is committed to improving voter registration, which includes work to support groups who are less likely to be registered.

A comprehensive programme of work is underway, involving collaboration with the Electoral Commission, local authorities, think tanks, academics, and civil society organisations. This programme is focused on identifying the attitudinal and knowledge barriers that prevent those with historically low participation, including young people, from becoming democratically active, and on exploring effective interventions to overcome these challenges.

Over the coming years, we will work to create a new automated registration system, removing key barriers to eligible citizens participating in our democracy. We want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote – registering to vote is a vital first step towards doing that.

We also want to build and encourage long-lasting engagement of young people with our democracy. Evidence from places that have lowered the voting age shows that doing so can increase turnout when implemented in a supportive environment. That is why the Government is committed to extending the right to vote to 16-and-17-year-olds and working alongside the Electoral Commission and civil society organisations to ensure that young people are both prepared and motivated to exercise their democratic rights. We hope that this early engagement will build the foundations for lifetime participation in our electoral processes.

While we are making these changes, we want to talk to young people to ensure we’re putting their needs at the centre of our policy making. We will work with other key actors to consider what additional measures can support schools, colleges, and youth groups to roll out practical voter/civic education. We know that it is imperative that citizenship education is fit for purpose in order to support this change. Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review and its recommendations to the Government, we have committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. The Department for Education will consult on programmes of study next year and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.

Altogether, we will create an environment in which young people understand their rights and responsibilities, and where they are equipped and empowered to participate in our democracy.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage newly eligible young voters to participate in elections in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission’s 2023 report on electoral registers found that young people are among the least likely groups to be registered to vote.

As set out in our Strategy for modern and secure elections, the Government is committed to improving voter registration, which includes work to support groups who are less likely to be registered.

A comprehensive programme of work is underway, involving collaboration with the Electoral Commission, local authorities, think tanks, academics, and civil society organisations. This programme is focused on identifying the attitudinal and knowledge barriers that prevent those with historically low participation, including young people, from becoming democratically active, and on exploring effective interventions to overcome these challenges.

Over the coming years, we will work to create a new automated registration system, removing key barriers to eligible citizens participating in our democracy. We want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote – registering to vote is a vital first step towards doing that.

We also want to build and encourage long-lasting engagement of young people with our democracy. Evidence from places that have lowered the voting age shows that doing so can increase turnout when implemented in a supportive environment. That is why the Government is committed to extending the right to vote to 16-and-17-year-olds and working alongside the Electoral Commission and civil society organisations to ensure that young people are both prepared and motivated to exercise their democratic rights. We hope that this early engagement will build the foundations for lifetime participation in our electoral processes.

While we are making these changes, we want to talk to young people to ensure we’re putting their needs at the centre of our policy making. We will work with other key actors to consider what additional measures can support schools, colleges, and youth groups to roll out practical voter/civic education. We know that it is imperative that citizenship education is fit for purpose in order to support this change. Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review and its recommendations to the Government, we have committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. The Department for Education will consult on programmes of study next year and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.

Altogether, we will create an environment in which young people understand their rights and responsibilities, and where they are equipped and empowered to participate in our democracy.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to raise awareness of voter registration requirements among young people in Surrey Heath constituency.

Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The Electoral Commission’s 2023 report on electoral registers found that young people are among the least likely groups to be registered to vote.

As set out in our Strategy for modern and secure elections, the Government is committed to improving voter registration, which includes work to support groups who are less likely to be registered.

A comprehensive programme of work is underway, involving collaboration with the Electoral Commission, local authorities, think tanks, academics, and civil society organisations. This programme is focused on identifying the attitudinal and knowledge barriers that prevent those with historically low participation, including young people, from becoming democratically active, and on exploring effective interventions to overcome these challenges.

Over the coming years, we will work to create a new automated registration system, removing key barriers to eligible citizens participating in our democracy. We want young people to find their voice and exercise their right to vote – registering to vote is a vital first step towards doing that.

We also want to build and encourage long-lasting engagement of young people with our democracy. Evidence from places that have lowered the voting age shows that doing so can increase turnout when implemented in a supportive environment. That is why the Government is committed to extending the right to vote to 16-and-17-year-olds and working alongside the Electoral Commission and civil society organisations to ensure that young people are both prepared and motivated to exercise their democratic rights. We hope that this early engagement will build the foundations for lifetime participation in our electoral processes.

While we are making these changes, we want to talk to young people to ensure we’re putting their needs at the centre of our policy making. We will work with other key actors to consider what additional measures can support schools, colleges, and youth groups to roll out practical voter/civic education. We know that it is imperative that citizenship education is fit for purpose in order to support this change. Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review and its recommendations to the Government, we have committed to make citizenship compulsory in primary schools and to publish revised programmes of study to ensure that all pupils receive an essential grounding in a range of topics including democracy, government and law. The Department for Education will consult on programmes of study next year and the new national curriculum will be published in 2027 for first teaching in 2028.

Altogether, we will create an environment in which young people understand their rights and responsibilities, and where they are equipped and empowered to participate in our democracy.

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Found: (DfE), Teachers’ Pension Scheme (England and Wales) Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025,

Found: (DfE) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).9 Responsibility for skills-related

Found: (DfE) published a policy paper on the future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech)

We need to apply pressure to the Department for Education to directly intervene and allocate funding for new school places or a new school in Bromsgrove.

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Found: Working with UK Research and Innovation, the Department for Education, and the Office for Students on

Found: It works closely with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Education (DfE

Found: individual support from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy or the Department for Education

Found: policies should be adapted to meet the needs of young persons and to follow any applicable Department for Education

Found: policies should be adapted to meet the needs of young persons and to follow any applicable Department for Education

Found: Department for Education (DfE) will monitor this through asking grant recipients to provide additional

Found: TOTAL NON-BUDGET NON-BUDGET Department for Education X022A344 X022A344-IFA DEPT NON BUDGET

Found: discuss cross-departmental initiative in partnership with His Majesty's Treasury and the Department for Education

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