Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for higher education programmes involving Chinese (a) military institutions, and (b) companies connected to the military.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not received any representations from UK universities on funding partnerships with Chinese military institutions or companies connected to the military.
Universities are independent from government, and it is their responsibility to assess their arrangements. We encourage universities to pursue partnerships and engage internationally, provided they comply with UK security policies and regulations.
The government supports the sector in managing risks through the Research Collaboration Advice Team, and a comprehensive package of legislative and regulatory measures including the Academic Technology Approvals Scheme, export controls and the National Security and Investment Act.
The department provides grant funding through the strategic priorities grant to the Office for Students for distribution to providers in line with terms and conditions set by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. None of these terms and conditions relate to programmes involving Chinese military institutions or companies connected to them.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received from UK universities on funding partnerships with Chinese (a) military institutions and (b) companies connected to the military.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not received any representations from UK universities on funding partnerships with Chinese military institutions or companies connected to the military.
Universities are independent from government, and it is their responsibility to assess their arrangements. We encourage universities to pursue partnerships and engage internationally, provided they comply with UK security policies and regulations.
The government supports the sector in managing risks through the Research Collaboration Advice Team, and a comprehensive package of legislative and regulatory measures including the Academic Technology Approvals Scheme, export controls and the National Security and Investment Act.
The department provides grant funding through the strategic priorities grant to the Office for Students for distribution to providers in line with terms and conditions set by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. None of these terms and conditions relate to programmes involving Chinese military institutions or companies connected to them.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between UK universities and Chinese (a) military institutions, and (b) companies connected to the military.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has not received any representations from UK universities on funding partnerships with Chinese military institutions or companies connected to the military.
Universities are independent from government, and it is their responsibility to assess their arrangements. We encourage universities to pursue partnerships and engage internationally, provided they comply with UK security policies and regulations.
The government supports the sector in managing risks through the Research Collaboration Advice Team, and a comprehensive package of legislative and regulatory measures including the Academic Technology Approvals Scheme, export controls and the National Security and Investment Act.
The department provides grant funding through the strategic priorities grant to the Office for Students for distribution to providers in line with terms and conditions set by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. None of these terms and conditions relate to programmes involving Chinese military institutions or companies connected to them.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2025 to Question 82925 on Special Educational Needs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) children, (b) parents and (c) experts on SEND provision; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing (i) consultation portals and (ii) additional contact mechanisms for the public to share ideas.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families. To ensure lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our solutions, we are currently engaging with children, young people and their families, experts, charities and other sector organisations through our special educational needs and disabilities Ministerial development group, regional and online engagement sessions, and ministerial roundtables as well as through our online portal which can be accessed here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-reform-national-conversation/.
We want to hear from as many people as possible, from parents and young people to those working in schools, colleges and early years – building a consensus on what works to help deliver lasting reform. The experiences shared during these engagement opportunities will be vital in ensuring that our proposals effectively deliver meaningful reforms for families. We will also continue engagement as part of a formal consultation following the Schools White Paper publication, and the responses received will be carefully considered in shaping the reforms.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the links between child poverty and school absence due to ill health or other circumstances.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that disadvantaged pupils face barriers to engagement with education. A recent report from the Child Poverty Action Group found that more than 1 in 4 pupils aged 11 to 18 eligible for free school meals in the UK say they have missed school at least once because they did not have something they needed to attend. Absence data reinforces this with the rate of overall absence for pupils eligible for free school meals continuing to be almost twice that of pupils not eligible.
The government’s landmark decision to remove the two-child limit will lift almost half a million children out of poverty; this comes alongside our actions to tackle the cost of the school day, through expanding free school meals, cutting the cost of uniform and delivering free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which will all remove barriers to school attendance and attainment. Mental health support teams are also providing earlier support in school for young people.
Our real-time attendance data and toolkits for schools enable early identification of pupils at risk of persistent absence and include a self-assessment tool that explicitly asks schools how they track and respond to the absence of pupils entitled to free school meals. Schools can also use Pupil Premium funding to provide attendance support for disadvantaged students.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department records sickness absence categorised to show the broad reason for the absence, with one option titled ‘anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses’. As of 31 October 2025, five or fewer members of staff in the department were on sickness absence for six months or more, and were still absent on that date, with a recorded reason for the sickness absence of ‘anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses’. Due to the small numbers involved, figures are rounded to the nearest five and are not reported separately. The department does not hold more detailed information on the individual circumstances of these cases.
Statistics on mental ill-health related absence across the Civil Service, including for the department, are publicly available in the Civil Service sickness absence reports on GOV.UK. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next release is due on 18 December.
The department is committed to supporting staff wellbeing and provides a range of services, including occupational health support, access to an Employee Assistance Programme, and trained Mental Health First Aiders.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78154 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what assessment her Department has been made of the potential economic impact of funding additional therapies beyond the fair access limit on local authorities; and if her Department holds data on how many families require therapy beyond the fair access limit.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and is engaging with stakeholders. Decisions to fund additional therapy beyond the fair access limit rest with individual local authorities.
This financial year, we have invested £50 million in the ASGSF, giving adopted and kinship children access to therapeutic services that stabilise placements and address complex needs.
The government has introduced the Families First Partnership programme, with an extra £547 million, bringing total funding to £2.4 billion over the next three years. We are also investing nearly £1.5 billion to improve family services and early years education, including £500 million for Best Start Family Hubs between 2026 and 2029. Local authorities should decide how best to use these resources to support adoptive and kinship families.
The department does not collect data on how many families require therapy beyond the fair access limit.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of international educational internships on developing skills among young people.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government believes that work and study placements overseas, including internships, can help students to develop their skills, gain international experience and boost their employability. That is why, in the current academic year, the department is funding over 35,200 Turing Scheme placements, an estimated 61% of which are for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
An evaluation of the Turing Scheme in its first year of operation showed that 91% of higher education and 80% of further education students on work placements believed that their Turing Scheme placement enhanced their career and prospects.
As set out at the UK-EU Summit in May, we are working towards association to Erasmus+ on mutually agreed financial terms. Erasmus+ provides opportunities for young people to study, train, or gain work experience abroad. Erasmus+ placements provide valuable international experiences, helping young people develop new skills, broaden horizons, and enhance future career prospects.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of pupils who completed two weeks of work experience in each of the last three years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold published national data on the number of pupils who completed two weeks of work experience in the last three years. Schools currently report on whether pupils have had an experience of a workplace rather than the duration of that experience.
According to school and college performance data captured through the Compass+ online self-assessment tool, more students are experiencing workplaces than in previous years. Overall performance on Gatsby Benchmark 6 (experiences of workplaces) in the 2024/25 academic year improved by 2% points from 2023/24 to 74% on average for all schools and colleges.
The department is funding the Careers and Enterprise Company to deliver the first phase of activity to prepare schools and employers to deliver the government’s commitment to ensure every pupil has access to two weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education.
Asked by: Nigel Huddleston (Conservative - Droitwich and Evesham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) extend the consultation period and (b) hold further discussions with (i) specialist and (ii) independent providers on the proposed schools white paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families.
To ensure lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our reforms, we have launched a national conversation on SEND with children, young people and their families, experts, charities and other sector organisations through our SEND Ministerial development group, regional and online engagement sessions, and ministerial roundtables. Further information is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-reform-national-conversation/.
The experiences shared during these engagement opportunities will be vital in ensuring that our proposals effectively deliver meaningful reforms for families. We will continue engagement as part of a formal consultation following the White Paper publication, and the responses received will be carefully considered in shaping the reforms.