Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, published on 7 April 2026, what assessment she has made of the impact of the cap on incentives for graduates to pursue higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has taken decisive action to cap the maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 (postgraduate) student loans at 6%, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%, for the 2026/27 academic year. This short term protective measure removes the risk of a temporary increase in inflation causing loan balances to compound at an unsustainable rate.
The interest rate cap follows changes we have already made to the student finance system to improve it and make it fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers. This includes increasing the repayment threshold for Plan 2 loans to £28,470 in April 2025, its first increase since 2021, and increasing it again on 6 April this year, to £29,385. The department is also reintroducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants from the 2028/29 academic year, providing students from low income households with up to £1,000 extra support that will not need to be repaid.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the pay gap between further education teachers and school teachers, and the potential impact of this gap on the level of recruitment and retention in technical subjects.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The statutory requirements for maintained schoolteachers' pay are set nationally subject to recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body. In 2023/24, the median full-time equivalent (FTE) salary for teachers in secondary schools was £47,666.
Further education (FE) colleges have statutory autonomy over the pay of their staff. There is value in colleges having the freedom to meet local technical skills needs within their own local circumstances, and the government does not set college teacher pay. In 2023/24, the median FTE average salary for teachers on permanent or fixed term contracts in FE colleges was £36,316 and £47,133 in sixth form colleges.
FE teachers are central to delivering high-quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million broadly equivalent to the pay award in schools for colleges and other 16-19 providers to help them address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. Our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of support guidelines in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools for children with autism.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
To ensure teachers can support children before needs escalate, the department will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators across the 0 to 25 system, to use in identifying and supporting children and young people with additional needs.
Access to support should not be dependent on a child or young person having a diagnosis. Educators will be able to draw on the National Inclusion Standards to put in place evidence-based support as needs are identified, including for autistic children and young people.
From this year, schools will be held to account on the use of their inclusion funding in the form of an Inclusion Strategy. This will ensure schools are taking steps through evidence-based activities and approaches to embed inclusive practice. Ofsted will be able to draw on the strategy to assess how effectively leaders are planning for, implementing and delivering inclusive practice.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the definition of anti-Muslim hatred will be taught as part of the religious education national curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Religious education is a mandatory subject but not part of the national curriculum.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps with Cabinet colleagues to (a) maintain funding for all 16 to 24 year olds enrolled in further education and training, (b) extend VAT reimbursement to further education colleges and (c) lift the cap on the Adult Skills Fund for 18 to 24 year old learners who are not in education, employment or training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has made significant increases to the average funding per student since the 2024/25 academic year, an expected per student increase of 10.5%. We expect that the average per student funding in 2026/27 will stand at £6,874, compared to £6,219 in the 2024/25 academic year. We will continue to fund the demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds, providing significant investment to ensure there are valuable and high-quality post-16 places for every student that wants one.
My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has committed to looking into VAT reimbursement to further education colleges. The Government does keep all taxes under review, and any changes would be announced at a fiscal event.
We are committed to investing in education and skills training for adults and are investing over £1.4 billion in the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) this academic year. The ASF supports a range of learners, including young people who are unemployed.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce transitional protections for students already enrolled on courses affected by changes to funding eligibility.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the department’s wider work to protect public money in higher education, we take swift and proportionate action to identify fraud and error in the student finance system.
We work closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to ensure student finance is delivered in line with statutory eligibility requirements and funding rules set by Ministers. Where courses are found to be ineligible, the department actively engages with the SLC to implement the appropriate actions in accordance with established processes.
The government recognises the importance of minimising disruption to students where errors in funding eligibility occur and will carefully consider the impact on affected students.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Student Loans Company on its approval of funding for courses later deemed ineligible.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of the department’s wider work to protect public money in higher education, we take swift and proportionate action to identify fraud and error in the student finance system.
We work closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) to ensure student finance is delivered in line with statutory eligibility requirements and funding rules set by Ministers. Where courses are found to be ineligible, the department actively engages with the SLC to implement the appropriate actions in accordance with established processes.
The government recognises the importance of minimising disruption to students where errors in funding eligibility occur and will carefully consider the impact on affected students.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure access to musical instruments and instruction for children from vulnerable and marginalised children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has committed £76 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, including the 2025/26 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning, and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is invested £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment, and technology across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years. The grant can be used predominantly to purchase instruments and equipment, including where they have been adapted or developed to meet the needs of those with special educational needs or disabilities. In addition, all hubs are required to have a named inclusion lead and a published inclusion strategy. Most music hubs provide remissions or targeted provision aimed at supporting pupils who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The independent interim evaluation report into Music Hubs, published in February 2026, reported that 77% of teachers expected increased access to instruments, and 68% an increase in disadvantaged pupil participation under the new model. The report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/music-hubs-evaluation-interim-report.
Asked by: Will Forster (Liberal Democrat - Woking)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered expanding statutory guidance for schools on supporting children and young people with medical conditions to all school types.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’, is issued under section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014. This requires local authority-maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, and to have regard to statutory guidance.
As part of the department’s consultation on revised statutory guidance on medical conditions at school, we are inviting views on whether we should seek to extend the section 100 duty to cover independent schools, non-maintained special schools and post-16 institutions. This would ensure the guidance is statutory guidance for all types of school.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the pay gap between Further Education lecturers and school teachers; and whether she is taking steps support FE colleges in recruiting and retaining skilled teachers to deliver technical education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The statutory requirements for maintained schoolteachers' pay are set nationally subject to recommendations from the School Teachers’ Review Body. In 2023/24, the median FTE salary for teachers in secondary schools was £47,666.
Further education (FE) colleges have statutory autonomy over the pay of their staff. Colleges should have the freedom to meet local technical skills needs within their own local circumstances, and the government does not set college teacher pay. In 2023/24, the median FTE average salary for teachers on permanent or fixed term contracts in FE colleges was £36,316 and £47,133 in sixth form colleges.
FE teachers are central to delivering high-quality technical education. Last year, we announced an additional £190 million broadly equivalent to the pay award in schools for colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help them address the recruitment and retention of specialist FE teachers. Our targeted retention incentive offer is designed to retain eligible FE teachers in technical subjects with payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In its first year, nearly 6,000 teachers received a payment.