Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of adequacy of the Law Commission's findings regarding regional variations in support for disabled children; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure consistent entitlements for such children across all local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to consider the recommendations in the Law Commission's 2025 report on disabled children's social care; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of legislative reform alongside the rollout of the Family Help programme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the benefits of tennis-focused teaching as part of PE and sport provision; and what steps is she taking to support tennis education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools play a vital role in giving many pupils their first experience of playing sport, including tennis, in a structured and inclusive environment. This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so that every child can access high-quality physical education and school sport.
That is why, in June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced a new approach to PE and school sport, focused on building strong partnerships between schools, local clubs and national governing bodies of sport, such as the Lawn Tennis Association, to support greater participation and physical activity.
National governing bodies provide valuable resources, workforce development and teacher support to help schools deliver high-quality sporting opportunities, both within the PE curriculum and through enrichment activity. The department is preparing to procure a national partner to lead the new PE and School Sport Partnerships, which will provide an opportunity to regularly assess the adequacy of support available to schools across PE and school sport, including the provision for tennis.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure that Initial Teacher Training equips all new teachers with the skills to deliver adaptive teaching for children with speech and language challenges.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South West Norfolk to the answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 115276.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve training for primary school teachers on how to deliver high quality PE and school sport.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity so every child can access high‑quality PE and school sport.
As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, 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. We expect the partnerships to improve school-to-school collaboration, increase opportunities for high-quality PE, encourage children to move more, make best use of facilities and provide teacher CPD and training.
In addition, we have provided a grant of up to £300,000 a year to a consortium led by the Youth Sport Trust to deliver Inclusion 2028, providing advice, guidance and training to upskill teachers and school workforce to deliver high-quality, inclusive PE.
Further details on the PE and School Sports Partnerships will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Lord Kempsell (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote reading and the use of libraries to improve reading rates among children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department, in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, is leading the National Year of Reading 2026 to tackle declining reading enjoyment. This UK-wide campaign combines a marketing initiative with events in schools, libraries, and communities. Activities will take place across the year and will include national events, alongside resources for schools and early years, and library engagement through initiatives such as the Summer Reading Challenge. The campaign aims to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change. As part of this, we are providing £5 million of funding for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading for pleasure. The government has also committed £12.5 million in funding to guarantee a library for every primary school by the end of this parliament, which will be delivered by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The government has also committed £28.3 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of reading across all primary stages and key stage 3 in secondary via the English Hubs programme.
Asked by: Lord Gilbert of Panteg (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, on 14 July 2009 (HC Deb col 373W), what plans they have to investigate whether official government information regarding the sale of the student loan book was passed by Lord Mandelson to Jeffery Epstein or his associates.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The sale of student loans forms part of a loan sale programme established under the Sale of Student Loans Act 2008, which enables the government to sell certain income‑contingent student loans while preserving borrowers’ terms and conditions.
The first sales under the programme were delivered through two transactions completed in 2017 and 2018, following decisions taken under subsequent administrations and several years after Lord Mandelson had left office. Those sales were undertaken in accordance with the relevant statutory and contractual framework and were subject to established governance and assurance arrangements.
There is no evidence of any unauthorised disclosure of official government information in relation to the student loan sales.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education is responsible for undertaking identity checks for governors of independent schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this data, as it does not carry out identity checks on individuals involved in the governance or management of independent schools. In accordance with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, responsibility for ensuring that appropriate identity and suitability checks are carried out rests with the school’s individual proprietor or proprietor body, as applicable.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many governors of independent schools fail an identity check using Verifile each year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this data, as it does not carry out identity checks on individuals involved in the governance or management of independent schools. In accordance with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, responsibility for ensuring that appropriate identity and suitability checks are carried out rests with the school’s individual proprietor or proprietor body, as applicable.
Asked by: Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many governors of independent schools are required to verify their identity using Verifile.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this data, as it does not carry out identity checks on individuals involved in the governance or management of independent schools. In accordance with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, responsibility for ensuring that appropriate identity and suitability checks are carried out rests with the school’s individual proprietor or proprietor body, as applicable.