Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that young people are able to develop creative skills.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government published its Industrial Strategy and eight Sector Plans, including for the creative industries, on 23 June.

Skills are central to the strategy, recognising their vital role in enabling young people to succeed regardless of background and in supporting the UK’s future economic success.

Skills England will ensure the UK has the workforce to support growth sectors such as the creative industries by identifying and addressing current and future skills needs.

New shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships will help more people learn new skills at work and provide high-quality entry pathways for young people.

From April 2026, short courses in areas such as digital and artificial intelligence (AI) will be funded through the growth and skills levy and will support skills within the creative industries.

The government believes creative subjects are important elements of the rounded, enriching education every child deserves. The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review is seeking a curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including creative subjects and skills, with the final report due autumn.

We are launching a National Centre for Arts and Music Education in 2026 to support excellent teacher training in the arts and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the effectiveness of relationships and sex education and health education teaching on gambling-related harms, and how they will measure the impact of that teaching on student understanding and wellbeing.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

As with all curriculum subjects, schools are responsible for ensuring the quality of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) they provide. This includes ensuring their staff are properly trained and equipped to teach these subjects accurately and confidently.

However, the department is keen to support schools to implement the updated RSHE curriculum, which will come into effect from 01 September 2026, and plan to pilot a new RSHE training grant, starting from 2026. This will also give us the opportunity to monitor implementation going forward.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what training and support they will provide to teachers to help them to deliver the revised Relationships and sex education and health education guidance, published on 15 July, in a way that is evidence-based and age-appropriate.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

As with all curriculum subjects, schools are responsible for ensuring the quality of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) they provide. This includes ensuring their staff are properly trained and equipped to teach these subjects accurately and confidently.

However, the department is keen to support schools to implement the updated RSHE curriculum, which will come into effect from 01 September 2026, and plan to pilot a new RSHE training grant, starting from 2026. This will also give us the opportunity to monitor implementation going forward.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government when and how they plan to assess the quality and accuracy of teaching about gambling-related harms under the revised Relationships and sex education and health education guidance, published on 15 July.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

As with all curriculum subjects, schools are responsible for ensuring the quality of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) they provide. This includes ensuring their staff are properly trained and equipped to teach these subjects accurately and confidently.

However, the department is keen to support schools to implement the updated RSHE curriculum, which will come into effect from 01 September 2026, and plan to pilot a new RSHE training grant, starting from 2026. This will also give us the opportunity to monitor implementation going forward.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility of the immigration, asylum and nationality function exemption from corporate parenting responsibilities at clauses 21 and 22 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill with the removal of the UK’s immigration reservation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is committed to supporting all looked-after children and care leavers. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and public bodies. This includes a new duty on corporate parents to be alert to matters which could adversely affect the wellbeing of these children and young people, when exercising their functions.

The impacts of the policy on child’s rights and equalities have been assessed. The exemption of functions relating to immigration, asylum, nationality and customs only applies to the specific functions, not to young people themselves, so all looked-after children and care leavers, regardless of immigration status, will be in scope of support provided by corporate parents. Secretaries of State, including my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department, will be required to consider the wellbeing of all looked-after children and care leavers when exercising functions other than those relating to asylum, immigration, nationality or customs.

The UK gives effect to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in immigration matters that affect children through Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. This requires my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to make arrangements for ensuring that immigration, asylum and nationality functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children who are in the UK.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether welfare benefits or tax credits, including disability benefits that a kinship carer receives for themselves or the child, will be impacted if they receive financial support through the Kinship Allowance Pilot.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.

The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.

Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.

The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to improve consistency, fairness and transparency in the provision of special guardianship allowances concurrently with the Kinship Allowance Pilot.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.

The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.

Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.

The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to review further the apprenticeship levy arrangements, particularly the requirement that funds can be split equally between (1) apprenticeships, and (2) other, flexible training opportunities.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners in England and support the industrial strategy.

At this stage, the government has not put targets or limits on the level of flexibility in the growth and skills offer. This will be informed by the result of Skills England’s analysis and engagement, including on where flexibilities will be most helpful for employers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to revise Ofsted guidance that reportedly states that children with autism are at increased risk of being susceptible to extremism.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the noble Lord directly 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, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the hon. Member for Twickenham during the Oral Statement of 7 July 2025 on Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life, Official Report, column 687, what factors informed her Department’s decision to (a) update inspection standards and (b) increase funding for early years settings.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. That is why the Plan for Change set out our ambition for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn.

Ofsted is in the process of delivering changes to the way it works. The decision to update inspection standards is an important element of this work, to ensure that all children receive the best start in life.

​​We want to ensure the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver the early years entitlements. The hourly funding rates for the entitlements are published each year in the autumn ahead of the following financial year. The rate covers the core costs of providing 15 or 30 hours of childcare to parents. We take account of cost pressures facing the sector, including forecasts of average earnings and inflation, and the National Living Wage.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of early years support for parents in disadvantaged areas.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 7 July 2025 the government published its Best Start in Life Strategy which sets out plans to ensure all young families can benefit from high quality family services and early years education and childcare, delivering our Plan for Change.

This includes national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place and linking families to their local services. Backed by £500 million investment these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support, including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities.

From age 2, children from low-income families, those with education, health and care plans, and looked-after children are eligible for 15 hours of funded early education. Disadvantaged children may also receive the Early Years Pupil Premium, from April 2025 this was increased by 45%.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support rural childcare providers to recruit qualified staff.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.

The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024/25, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers, which is the biggest increase we’ve seen since the data became available in 2018.

We are supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something BIG’ campaign, with a dedicated website setting out information on qualifications and linking to job vacancies, alongside financial incentives to attract and retain educators in areas of most need, including some rural areas. In addition, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote and raise awareness of early years careers through the Jobcentre Plus network. We are working with local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities to create new routes into the workforce through skills bootcamps and funding early years initial teacher training, while our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support, including in rural areas.

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 publishing annual statistics on the number of children who miss education due to long term illness; and if she will publish statistics on the child's (a) region, (b) age, (c) ethnicity, (d) gender and (e) type of illness.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department collects data on children missing education from local authorities. The latest data, including breakdowns by geography, characteristic and length of time missing education, is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-missing-education/2024-25-autumn-term. This includes data by region, age, ethnicity and gender.

The department does not yet publish data on physical health or mental health as a primary reason for children missing education. However, these fields have been added to the aggregate termly local authority data collection for the first time beginning autumn 2025 and will be included in the next official statistics release.

Data on pupil absence is collected via the school census and the latest publication is here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england/2023-24. Reasons for absence are included in the publication, including the illness rate.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of nursery availability on parents' ability to return to work when claiming Universal Credit in West Dorset constituency.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

It is the department’s 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. In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, which is an additional £2 billion, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. We will also work with the Department for Work and Pensions to make it easier for parents to use Universal Credit Childcare and the funded hours together.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about its sufficiency of childcare and any issues it faces. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action can be taken to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of interim data or findings from the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme, and the success of the programme in building professional expertise among school staff.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

An independent evaluation of the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme is underway. Further information on this evaluation is available on Contracts Finder here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/0a81fac4-1f16-427a-82d2-b4bbc44d9f21?origin=SearchResults&p=1. This evaluation will thoroughly explore the implementation and outcomes of the PINS programme so far, including to what extent the programme may have improved schools’ capability and capacity to support neurodivergent pupils. Interim findings from this evaluation are expected in autumn 2025 and will be published, in accordance with Government Social Research protocol.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme commissioned in April; and whether any evaluation will be made public.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

An independent evaluation of the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme is underway. Further information on this evaluation is available on Contracts Finder here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/0a81fac4-1f16-427a-82d2-b4bbc44d9f21?origin=SearchResults&p=1. This evaluation will thoroughly explore the implementation and outcomes of the PINS programme so far, including to what extent the programme may have improved schools’ capability and capacity to support neurodivergent pupils. Interim findings from this evaluation are expected in autumn 2025 and will be published, in accordance with Government Social Research protocol.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have held any meetings with the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church regarding the protection of cathedral schools and their choral traditions.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Ministers and departmental officials hold regular meetings with both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. The most recent meetings with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education took place earlier this month. There have been no issues or concerns raised about the protection of Cathedral Schools and their choral traditions.

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 the changes to attendance and penalty notice regulations that came into effect on 19 August 2024 on school (a) staffing and (b) workload.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The changes to the regulations governing the school attendance register simplify and consolidate what is recorded in the attendance register by schools, reducing their complexity and burden on schools.

The changes to the penalty notice regulations aimed to improve the consistency in how penalty notices are used across the country, ending the previous postcode lottery. 81% of school or academy trust respondents agreed with the idea of a consistent national threshold for considering a penalty notice in the 2022 public consultation, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-attendance-policy-and-strategy-team/school-registers-and-national-thresholds-for-legal/supporting_documents/Consultation%20Document_Pupil%20Registration%20Regulations_Thresholds%20Legal%20Intervention.pdf.

Local authorities require information from schools to process a penalty notice. How this is done is agreed locally and should not place an undue burden on schools.

We will keep the policies under review through regular engagement with schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide additional funding to schools to help support the administrative workload resulting from the attendance and penalty notice regulations introduced in August 2024.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The changes to the regulations governing the school attendance register simplify and consolidate what is recorded in the attendance register by schools, reducing their complexity and burden on schools.

The changes to the penalty notice regulations aimed to improve the consistency in how penalty notices are used across the country, ending the previous postcode lottery. 81% of school or academy trust respondents agreed with the idea of a consistent national threshold for considering a penalty notice in the 2022 public consultation, which is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/school-attendance-policy-and-strategy-team/school-registers-and-national-thresholds-for-legal/supporting_documents/Consultation%20Document_Pupil%20Registration%20Regulations_Thresholds%20Legal%20Intervention.pdf.

Local authorities require information from schools to process a penalty notice. How this is done is agreed locally and should not place an undue burden on schools.

We will keep the policies under review through regular engagement with schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure that educational institutions in England have adequate policies to ensure the safety of staff and students during heatwaves.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The responsible body, whether a local authority, academy trust, or voluntary-aided body, must ensure the health, safety, and welfare of pupils and staff, including maintaining safe internal environments during hot weather.

The department’s Education Hub offers guidance on managing heatwaves. Additional advice on emergency planning, including extreme heat, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.

The UK Health Security Agency provides resources for educators on protecting children in hot weather:

• Guidance for teachers and early years settings.
• General hot weather advice.

The department also allocates annual capital funding to improve school conditions and sustainability.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of schools in England that have a fast food facility within 400m.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has not made an estimate of the number of schools in England that have a fast food facility within 400 meters, as the department has no remit over the locations of fast food outlets.

As part of the summer 2024 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consultation, the government sought views on how national planning policy could better support local authorities in promoting healthy communities, specifically in tackling childhood obesity.

The revised NPPF published in December 2024 introduced a new policy to restrict new hot food takeaways and fast food outlets within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate unless the location is in a designated town centre. Applications should also be refused where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social behaviour.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to improve education and training opportunities for disabled people with complex needs under the age of 22.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. This includes:

• Widening the apprenticeships offer to include new foundation apprenticeships, with additional learning support funding available to training providers for reasonable adjustments to support apprentices who have SEND.
• Continuing to invest in supported internships by providing up to £12 million to March 2026 for more young people with SEND to transition into sustained, paid employment.
• The Curriculum and Assessment Review, which prioritises practices to remove barriers to progress for children and young people with SEND.
• The Disabled Students’ Allowance, which supports eligible students alongside reasonable adjustments by higher education (HE) providers.
• Adjustment Planners, which have been developed to help disabled students succeed in HE and employment.

As announced in the spending review, we are investing over £1 billion annually in skills by 2028/29. This will support and grow the wide range of options available for everyone to succeed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect schools from party political interference after the minimum voting age has been lowered to 16.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Schools are subject to statutory duties regarding political impartiality under Sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996. This means schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

In 2022, the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable, and politically impartial.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support workers to train in new sectors when facing unemployment due to artificial intelligence.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

At the recent Spending Review, the government announced substantial investment in skills in England with an additional £1.2 billion by 2028/29. This includes supporting targeted skills packages for key sectors such as construction, digital and technology, engineering, and defence.

The government will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund in the 2025/26 academic year. This includes funding the Free Courses for Jobs offer, which gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualifications for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job.

The government will also support adult learners to retrain through our technical education offer, including through a range of apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps. Our new levy-funded growth and skills offer will introduce greater flexibility to employers and learners in England.

From September 2026, learners will be able to apply for funding from the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will be the new student finance system for courses and modules starting from January 2027 onwards. The LLE will allow people to retrain, upskill and gain new qualifications across their working lives, at a time that is right for them, such as those returning from a career break.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to provide (a) funding and (b) other support to help non-accredited aesthetic training academies to gain OFQUAL recognised status.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has no role in funding or supporting aesthetic training academies to gain Ofqual recognised status. Instead, this is a matter for training academies and awarding organisations. Ofqual, which is the independent regulator of qualifications in England, publishes guidance on how awarding organisations can apply for recognition for their qualifications, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-to-have-your-qualifications-regulated.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Chapter Two of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005, and the provisions of the Special Guardianship statutory guidance, will apply to local authorities participating in the Kinship Allowance Pilot; and, if so how.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.

The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.

Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.

The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding she has allocated to expand (a) vocational and (b) technical training routes in the West Midlands.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is making a substantial investment in skills, with £3 billion of additional funding across the Spending Review period, including an additional £1.2 billion a year by 2028/29.

This includes continuing to invest in apprenticeships and the growth and skills offer to meet priority skills gaps identified by Skills England and the needs of business.

This builds on previous rounds of 16-19 funding agreed for 2025/26 of over £400 million extra funding and making available additional funding of over £190 million in the 2025/26 financial year for the 2025/26 academic year.

The department will spend over £1.4 billion through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year. West Midlands Combined Authority’s devolved ASF budget for the 2024/25 academic year was £133.7 million.

We have also made £155 million available to support schools, colleges and local authorities with increased National Insurance contributions.

The recent Infrastructure Strategy confirmed almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26, to improve the condition of the school and college estate.

This increased funding and investment for skills in England will help to boost the provision of vocational and technical education and training in all areas of the country, including the West Midlands.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the financial support paid under the Kinship Allowance Pilot will be means tested.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The kinship allowance pilot will provide financial support to eligible kinship carers with a Special Guardianship Order or a ‘lives with’ Child Arrangement Order where the child would have otherwise been in care. These carers will receive a weekly non-means tested allowance paid at the same rate as the national minimum fostering allowance, if they reside in the pilot local authorities.

The requirements under chapter 2 of the Special Guardianship Regulations 2005 (2005 Regulations) will not apply to the arrangements made under this pilot. Special Guardians receiving financial support under 2005 Regulations are barred from receiving this pilot's allowance to avoid the risk of double public-funding. We believe this will have minimal effect on financial support arrangements under the Special Guardianship Regulations because this pilot is only being run in a select few local authorities and for a specific period of time, so some Special Guardians will continue to prefer receiving financial support under the 2005 Regulations.

Further details of the pilot, including how payments made through the pilot will interact with social security benefits, will be made available when the pilot goes live.

The pilot will be independently evaluated to find out how best to deliver consistent financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.

We think requiring all social workers to wear body cameras would enhance accountability and transparency. We think this would ensure that all actions taken by social workers are just, honest, and free of personal bias or manipulation.

Introduce safeguarding legislation and regulation for extracurricular activities. Ensure all staff and volunteers are trained, vetted, and members of an accredited awarding, governing or regulated body to safeguard vulnerable individuals.

We feel that neurodivergent children (especially children with hyperactive/impulsive or combined ADHD) need movement to help regulate their brains. We think we need to stop punishing neurodivergent children in schools by removing access to outdoor play and movement opportunities.

Require school uniform policy to allow girls the right to wear skirts or trousers.

I think control over the wearing of either item contravenes the Equality Act 2010 through direct discrimination of women.

With plans to reduce the voting age for the next election to 16, we believe there's a greater need to introduce Government & Politics as a standalone, core subject in secondary schools.

Allow parents and carers to take their children out of school to attend overnight educational trips. We think that permitting this could enable children with additional needs to participate in trips at potentially quieter times. This could ensure they feel safe and are included.

I want the government to review, learn from and adapt principles and pedagogy from Finland's education system to reform our own. Remove standardised tests until age 16, relax the curriculum for more flexibility for individual schools and teachers, limit homework, increase play and exploration time.

Currently, the 30 hours childcare scheme bases eligibility on the baby’s birth date and parent’s return to work. Neonatal leave delays some parents, which may cause them to miss deadlines and lose months of free childcare. We think the government must change this to stop families being penalised.

We urge the Government to allow all schools in England to be able to choose their own holiday dates, such as being able to reduce usual holiday dates by one or two weeks and being able to set the equivalent time of holidays at their choice

We think the government should strengthen Citizenship education in secondary schools including a mandatory minimum number of teaching hours, alongside increased resources and teacher training, to give students the best chance to leave school politically informed and confident to vote.

We want to make Universities accessible for all, as we think higher education should be a right not a privilege for the wealthy. End tuition fees at Universities and make higher education free and accessible for all—no debt, no barriers, just a world of opportunities.

We want the Government to fund all UK schools to screen children by age 7 for dyslexia, visual stress (Irlen Syndrome), and signs of neurodivergence such as autism or ADHD. We think early screening would allow for timely support and help close educational gaps caused by late diagnosis.

I propose that the Government provides extra funding for housing and basic essentials to students limited by the cost of living crisis through a Student program.
I believe students should also be offered free financial counselling to aid with the cost of living crisis

Ban any OFSTED visits and inspection of schools at certain times of year. Specifically, require them to not carry out visits and inspections during the first two weeks of a new term or the final two weeks of the academic year.

Found: • What work is your Department doing – with the Department for Education and others – to ensure that

Found: revisions to the statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health education in spring 2024 (Department for Education

Found: support) o Physiotherapists o Occupational therapists o Speech and language therapists 27 Department for Education

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase access to auditory verbal therapy for deaf babies and children, including by increasing the number of clinicians trained in the auditory verbal approach.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including non-hearing children. Auditory verbal therapy is one of a range of approaches that can be used with deaf babies and children.

NHS England and the Department for Education are co-funding £10 million over two years in nine Early Language Support for Every Child pathfinder sites to improve early identification, universal and targeted support for speech, language and communication needs in early years and primary schools, with quicker referrals to specialist services when needed.

Delivering services that will raise the healthiest generation of children ever begins with its people. We will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the information sharing duties in the (a) Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and (b) Crime and Policing Bill on GPs.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to improving information sharing across services to help safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and the Home Office on their respective information sharing proposals, which are included in Department for Education’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill and the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill.

The information sharing proposals aim to establish a clear and consistent process to share information. To support the formulation and test the feasibility of these proposals, we have engaged with health stakeholders, including general practitioners, though a variety of forums. We will continue to engage with health stakeholders as we plan for the effective implementation of the use of the single unique identifier, the information sharing duty, and the child sexual abuse mandatory reporting duty.

The Department for Education has published an impact assessment on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments

The Home Office and the Ministry of Justice have published an impact assessment on the Crime and Policing Bill, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crime-and-policing-bill-2025-impact-assessments

We will continue to support the departments leading on the respective bills to review and update these documents, once the bills have completed their passages through the House of Lords.

Found: The Department for Education (DfE) updated statutory guidance on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE

Found: Social Care: Ministers’ Hospitality - June 2025 CSV, 952 Bytes View online Department for Education

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