Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools are not required to subsidise EHCP provision from their core budgets.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Since 2014, local authorities are have been required to allocate funding to their local mainstream schools according to a formula that includes factors relating to the likely incidence of special educational needs (SEN) amongst their pupils, and to identify an amount within each school’s overall budget as a guide to what they might need to spend on supporting those pupils, including those with education, health and care plans. Schools are then expected to cover additional costs in respect of SEN pupils up to £6,000 per pupil. For annual costs in excess of £6,000, the local authority should allocate top-up funding from their high needs budgets. The government is providing over £12 billion high needs funding to local authorities in the 2025/26 financial year.
Mainstream school funding is increasing by 2.6% per pupil in the 2026/27 financial year compared to 2025/26. This will support mainstream schools with ongoing costs, including the costs of SEN support. When the Schools White Paper is published later this year, it will set out additional funding for both schools and local authorities to drive forward much needed reform of the SEN and disability system.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Government's SEND reforms on children and young people in South Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will set out the full Schools White Paper later in the new year, building on the work we have already done to create a system that is rooted in inclusion, where children receive high quality support early on and can thrive at their local school. Impact assessments will be produced alongside final reform proposals when published in the Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children waiting more than 20 weeks for an EHCP assessment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold information on the length of time that children and young people wait for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment to be carried out.
The department does publish information on the number of EHC plans that are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. The number and percentage of plans issued within this timeframe (excluding cases where exceptions apply) for both Cambridgeshire and England are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b46a4968-aafd-4bd6-948a-08de4155ee12.
Information at constituency level is not available.
Information on EHC plans maintained by local authorities, including requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out, the number where a decision is made to assess, and the number of plans issued within 20 weeks, are included in the annual statistical release. The latest January 2025 statistics were published in June 2025 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of administrative and bureaucratic barriers within local authorities on the timeliness of EHCP assessments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department understands that some families face challenges with securing education, health and care (EHC) plans in a timely way. We are committed to restoring confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) so that they all get the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive in their education.
The department publishes annual SEN2 data on EHC plans and assessments, including timeliness. This informs performance monitoring and targeted support. Local authorities performing poorly receive additional oversight and specialist advice.
The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plans timeliness. This includes, where needed, providing specialist SEND Adviser support to help identify the barriers to carrying out the EHC plan process in a timely way and to put in place practical plans for recovery.
A new SEND inspection framework launched in January 2023, with all local areas to be inspected by 2027, to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of children in South Cambridgeshire constituency waiting more than 20 weeks for an EHCP assessment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold information on the length of time that children and young people wait for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment to be carried out.
The department does publish information on the number of EHC plans that are issued within the statutory 20-week timeframe. The number and percentage of plans issued within this timeframe (excluding cases where exceptions apply) for both Cambridgeshire and England are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/b46a4968-aafd-4bd6-948a-08de4155ee12.
Information at constituency level is not available.
Information on EHC plans maintained by local authorities, including requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out, the number where a decision is made to assess, and the number of plans issued within 20 weeks, are included in the annual statistical release. The latest January 2025 statistics were published in June 2025 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure schools are up to date with fire safety guidance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Each school’s responsible body, usually an academy trust or local authority, are responsible for ensuring that their schools comply with Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
This means they must have an up-to-date fire risk assessment, appropriate fire alarms and regular fire drills, to ensure they are as safe as possible and well prepared in the event of a fire.
The department supports schools by providing guidance on estates management and responsibility in the Good Estates Guide for Schools.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2026 on Free Schools: Witham, UIN 101355, if she will publish a breakdown of the (a) details and (b) scoring of each school project evaluated; and if she will publish the evidence considered as part of her review into Lodge Farm Primary and Nursery.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is progressing projects that will meet the needs of communities and provide a unique offer for students who would otherwise not have access, without damaging the viability of existing local schools and colleges.
We have written to trusts, local authorities and MPs setting out the position on individual projects as well as offering more detailed feedback.
All projects were evaluated in line with consistent criteria set out in a Written Ministerial Statement in October 2024, including published school capacity data (SCAP24), in line with the department’s longstanding approach to assessing pipeline projects, as well as other data from local authorities, such as plans for future housing developments.
Final decisions on projects where a ‘minded to cancel’ letter was issued will be made once trusts and local authorities have had the opportunity to submit any new evidence. Representations should be made by 30 January 2026.
Asked by: Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat - Westmorland and Lonsdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she will update guidance titled ‘BB101: Ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality 2018’ for the latest available technical standards.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s own school building standards. These standards include ventilation, thermal comfort and air quality and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.
The standards are reviewed regularly and updated when necessary to meet industry best practice and any relevant legislation. An updated set of standards will be published in early 2026.
The department’s publication, ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), provides non-statutory guidance, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The department reviews non-statutory guidance regularly and publishes updates only when necessary.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of education in schools relating to toxic masculinity and misogyny; and what steps her Department is taking to improve culture and behaviours and to promote positive male role models.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Every parent should be able to trust that their child is safe at school, online and in their relationships. But too often toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged. In December 2025, this government published a new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. We want to protect young people and drive forward education on healthy relationships, and we will be investing £11 million to pilot the best interventions in schools over the next three years.
The updated relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education, significantly strengthens content including an emphasis on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary school, focusing on kindness and respect. Pupils are expected to develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around misogyny, sexual harassment and sexual violence, including recognising sexism and misogyny and how to report abuse.
It emphasises opening conversations with young people about positive conceptions of masculinity and femininity, including how to identify and learn from positive male role models.
Through a whole school approach, positive action should be taken to build a culture where misogynistic attitudes and behaviour are not tolerated, and any occurrences are identified and tackled.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many retired teachers in the East of England are waiting to receive their Teacher's Pension Scheme Remediable Service Statement.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information is not readily available or held centrally, and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
The department is working closely with the scheme administrator to process Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) as quickly and efficiently as possible. Several factors have affected the original delivery timeline, including technical dependencies, regulatory requirements, and coordination with external partners.
The administrator will keep affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to the new administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in Summer 2026, the department is working with Tata Consultancy Services to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to relevant members.
The department continues to monitor progress and is working closely with the scheme administrator to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not financially disadvantaged.