Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the trends in the length of time it takes parents who suspect their child has SEND to get an assessment in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), rests with local authorities. To support this, we are investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/2026 and 2029/2030. In 2025/26 and 2026/27, Hertfordshire has been allocated just over £11.1 million and circa £17.3 million respectively through high needs provision capital allocations.
This funding can be used to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools to deliver more tailored support. It can also be used to improves accessibility in mainstream settings and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
Hertfordshire County Council will receive over £220 million through the high needs funding block of its 2026/27 dedicated schools grant, following a 10% per-head increase in its high needs revenue funding last year.
Across Hertfordshire, the rate of education, health and care plans issued within 20 weeks was 94% in January 2026, 97% in February, and 93% in March.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make it easier for parents to get support for children with SEND in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), rests with local authorities. To support this, we are investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/2026 and 2029/2030. In 2025/26 and 2026/27, Hertfordshire has been allocated just over £11.1 million and circa £17.3 million respectively through high needs provision capital allocations.
This funding can be used to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools to deliver more tailored support. It can also be used to improves accessibility in mainstream settings and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
Hertfordshire County Council will receive over £220 million through the high needs funding block of its 2026/27 dedicated schools grant, following a 10% per-head increase in its high needs revenue funding last year.
Across Hertfordshire, the rate of education, health and care plans issued within 20 weeks was 94% in January 2026, 97% in February, and 93% in March.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of then number of school places for children with SEND in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), rests with local authorities. To support this, we are investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/2026 and 2029/2030. In 2025/26 and 2026/27, Hertfordshire has been allocated just over £11.1 million and circa £17.3 million respectively through high needs provision capital allocations.
This funding can be used to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools to deliver more tailored support. It can also be used to improves accessibility in mainstream settings and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
Hertfordshire County Council will receive over £220 million through the high needs funding block of its 2026/27 dedicated schools grant, following a 10% per-head increase in its high needs revenue funding last year.
Across Hertfordshire, the rate of education, health and care plans issued within 20 weeks was 94% in January 2026, 97% in February, and 93% in March.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2020, in each local authority; and in each year prior as far back as comparable statistical information is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2025, in each local authority.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, does she intend to answer question UIN113162 given that it is now more than 7 weeks overdue.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 113162 was published on 20 April 2026.
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the tender for the new School Sport Partnerships Network will be released, and what steps are being taken to ensure continuity of provision for schools and young people.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 19 June 2025 that the government will establish a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network to ensure all children and young people have access to high quality PE and extracurricular sport, helping young people develop an interest in sport that continues beyond the school environment.
To deliver this, the department is preparing to procure a national partner to lead the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network. This partner will work with the government, Sport England and national governing bodies to make links across provision for children and young people to strengthen support to schools and increase access to opportunities. Further details on the PE and School Sports Partnerships will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how schools are encouraged to teach students about the long-term environmental impact of human activity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommended an enhanced focus on climate education and sustainability, with detailed engagement and earlier sequencing in subjects such as geography, science, design and technology, and citizenship. The government has accepted these recommendations and is committed to improving climate education in the national curriculum.
Curriculum content is only part of the picture, and the method of teaching also has an important role to play through the use of climate and nature related resources.
The National Education Nature Park provides free, quality‑assured, curriculum‑aligned resources, filterable by key stage. By participating in the National Education Nature Park and developing robust climate action plans, schools can help children and young people see real-world connections to their studies.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of SEND reforms, how her Department plans to implement identification of special education needs in children younger than five years old; and how early intervention will be enacted.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We are consulting on proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities system, including strengthening early identification and support in early years settings. We also propose introducing a fast track for a Specialist Provision Package for children under 5 whose needs are complex and identified at an early stage and to work with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England on these proposals, including improving information sharing between health professionals and local authorities.
We have already made the commitment that Every Best Start Family Hub will have a Best Start Inclusion Practitioner, who is a dedicated professional who works across hubs and outreach sites to support early identification and support children with emerging needs, particularly those aged 0 to 5.
Together, these reforms will mean children’s needs will be identified earlier, gaps will be closed sooner, and more children will make strong progress in line with our Best Start in Life ambition.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness among parents of safe sleeping practices for babies.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Advice on safe sleeping is provided to parents through health visitors, midwives and early years professionals at key points during pregnancy and a child’s early months, in line with nationally recognised guidance. Best Start Family Hubs act as a front door to this support, bringing together health, early years and family services so parents can easily access trusted, in-person advice on infant care, including safe sleeping.
Alongside this, the Best Start in Life website, which launched on 1 September 2025, brings together information and support from across government in one place, making it easier for parents to find clear, reliable guidance on topics such as safe sleeping when they need it.
The department is continuing to invest in Best Start Family Hubs, strengthening their role as a universal access point for families and ensuring parents can benefit from both high-quality local support and joined-up digital services. These hubs are part of a wider Best Start in Life strategy, backed by over £900 million over the next three years, to expand family services, bring support together in one place, and make it easier for parents to get the help they need. Hundreds of Best Start Family Hubs are now open across England, with more on the way as we work towards having hubs in every local authority by 2028.
We are also updating the wording in the Early Years Foundation stage statutory framework to make the safe sleep requirements clearer. This new wording will come into force in September 2026, subject to parliamentary procedure. I have sent a letter to early years providers via Ofsted outlining these changes. Additionally, we have published a safer sleep article on the ‘Help for early years providers’ platform to help early years settings understand how to ensure babies and children are kept safe whilst sleeping.