Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote the National Year of Reading in (1) early years settings, (2) primary schools, (3) secondary schools, (4) further education, and (5) higher education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment.
It includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout the year. Reading together is one of the most powerful ways to build a child’s language and communication skills, strengthen early bonds, and spark a lifelong love of reading, which is why early years is one of the priority groups for the National Year of Reading.
We are raising awareness of the National Year of Reading through a range of methods, such as via departmental communication channels, the National Year of Reading mailing list and social media, communications from the National Literacy Trust, and promotion via the English Hubs network.
All interested parties are encouraged to sign up to the National Year of Reading website for more information: https://goallin.org.uk/.
To further support reading for pleasure, this government has committed over £10 million of dormant assets funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament, and a further £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading enjoyment amongst their pupils.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the provision of physical exercise for (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils; and whether her Department is working with School Sport Partnerships.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is this government’s mission is to break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child benefits from high-quality PE and school sports. The new PE and School Sport Partnerships, announced last June by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, will ensure that all children have equal access to high-quality PE by bringing together primary and secondary schools, local clubs, and national governing bodies to target funding and support where it is most needed.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 108298, when she estimates to complete their work on producing robust repayment figures broken down by British citizen status.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department and the Student Loans Company (SLC) have strengthened the quality and consistency of the data in this area and now hold reliable information on borrowers’ citizenship status, nationality and residency category.
However, eligibility for student finance is complex, not dependent on nationality and not determined solely by immigration status. We will continue to work with SLC and look at any further data improvements that may provide additional insights.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of declining pupil numbers on school budgets in Eastleigh constituency; and what steps her Department is taking to support schools experiencing financial deficits linked to declining pupil numbers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
School funding is increasing nationally by £1.7 billion in 2026/27, meaning that the core school budget will total £67 billion compared to £65.3 billion in 2025/26.
Southampton and Hampshire local authorities allocate school funding for the constituency of Eastleigh. Through the dedicated schools grant, Southampton is receiving £6,893 per pupil on average and Hampshire is receiving £6,354 per pupil on average in financial year 2026/27 (including premises and excluding growth). Total funding for mainstream schools is growing by £17 million in Hampshire in 2026/27, compared to 2025/26 (a 1.6% increase) and by £3.3 million in Southampton (a 1.5% increase).
We recognise 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 to aid their planning, and is particularly important in providing schools with falling pupil numbers, time to plan ahead with their budgets.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many overseas students have started undergraduate degrees at UK universities in each of the past 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. This data is shared with the department and includes a wide range of information on students in UK higher education providers (HEPs), including their country of domicile.
Between 2015/16 and 2024/25, international entrants to undergraduate courses at UK HEPs have increased from 103,000 to 123,000. Year on year details are in the table below.
Academic Year | International Entrants to Undergraduate courses at UK HEPs |
2015/16 | 103,295 |
2016/17 | 104,970 |
2017/18 | 107,850 |
2018/19 | 114,470 |
2019/20 | 127,240 |
2020/21 | 124,115 |
2021/22 | 110,145 |
2022/23 | 121,915 |
2023/24 | 121,630 |
2024/25 | 123,325 |
Counts of entrants to UK HEPs by domicile are published in Table 1 of HESA’s Student Data.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of borrowers on Plan 2 student loans whose outstanding balance is projected to increase for at least the first ten years of repayment due to interest accrual exceeding annual repayments.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold analysis of the proportion of borrowers whose loan is projected to increase in their first ten years of repayment.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers.
Outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of (a) the average outstanding student loan balance and (b) the proportion of borrowers currently making repayments in (i) Merseyside and (ii) the North West of England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The average outstanding student loan balance of borrowers in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England was £37,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand) on 15 March 2025. This includes all loans, even those not yet liable to repay. The proportion of borrowers currently residing in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England and made at least one repayment in this financial year is 46.8%.
The department does not hold student loan data for Merseyside specifically, as it is not a defined statistical geography in our datasets. Therefore, figures can only be provided at North West regional level.
Please note published national data provides the picture of borrowers’ repayment and employment status on 31 March 2025 and differs to the proportion who have made a repayment in the last year.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness and funding for (a) materials and mining programmes of study and (b) science and engineering apprenticeships and qualifications in the quarrying sector.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government supports education and skills training in the minerals, mining and quarrying sectors through:
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the future funding settlements for the Music and Dance Scheme Schools; and whether Music and Dance Scheme Schools will receive a long-term settlement.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion to my answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111335.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government following the ruling of the High Court on 24 February in relation to Oak National Academy, whether the Minister will meet the unions, publishers and educational suppliers to understand their concerns.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Ministers regularly meet and engage with a range of stakeholders to discuss and seek views on the curriculum and how best to support schools, teachers and pupils.
We will set out Oak National Academy’s remit and funding for the coming year in a published letter to the Chair of the Oak Board in due course. I cannot comment on the Judicial Review of Oak, which is ongoing.