Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she supports arts programs in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is committed to revitalising arts education in schools, including changes to the curriculum, qualifications, accountability and enrichment.
We are consulting on an improved Progress 8 model, which balances a strong academic core with breadth and student choice. The current structure has hampered progress in subjects that strengthen our economy and society, including the arts. The improved version recognises the value of these subjects.
The department is supporting arts in schools through a £13 million investment in the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, which will launch in September 2026 to provide strategic national leadership, support excellent teaching, and promote arts opportunities, ensuring every child can access a high‑quality arts education.
The department provides significant funding for the Music Hub network, Music Opportunities Pilot, Music and Dance Scheme, and Dance and Drama Awards, all designed to improve equity in the arts, mainly in schools and colleges.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committed £22.5 million enrichment in up to 400 schools, across all types of enrichment activity, including arts and culture.
Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of DCMS, provides funding to a range of programmes that support arts in schools. As part of the government’s recent response to the independent review of Arts Council England, the department has committed to enabling all children across the country to have access to excellent culture in both schools and communities.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with (a) University College London and (b) other higher education institutions on levels of student society support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.
We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to higher education institutions on the promotion of narratives in student societies linked to foreign political leadership.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.
We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Office for Students has reviewed the adequacy of compliance procedures at students' unions following public statements praising Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.
We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.
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 for protections for teachers and staff at schools, colleges and universities who do not use pronouns of one gender for students of the opposite biological sex.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Schools, further education colleges and higher education institutions are responsible for their own decisions on employment issues. The department expects schools, colleges and universities, like all employers, to follow all relevant employment law, statutory guidance and abide by their obligations under the Equality Act.
Guidance for schools and colleges on gender-questioning children can be found in ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance is clear that a school or college must also be conscious of the rights of pupils and staff in relation to their religion or belief as protected characteristics. Alongside this, the guidance also states that schools or colleges will appropriately sanction any cases of bullying or harassment and take a strong stand against bullying.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the consultation on the proposed revisions to Keeping children safe in education, published on 12 February, why paragraph 97 of the draft guidance makes provision for pupils to participate in sports teams of the opposite sex.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The recently published consultation draft of ‘Keeping children safe in education’ does not say that schools should accept requests for pupils to join sports teams for the opposite sex. The guidance is absolutely clear that some sports may need to be played in single sex sports to ensure children’s safety, and that where this is the case there should be no exceptions.
Where there are other reasons for providing single sex sports, the guidance sets out that schools should take into account all the relevant factors, including the best interests of the child, as well as considering the impact on other children.
Schools should be informed by advice from national governing bodies on what is appropriate for individual sports.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to review the commencement date of interest accruing on student loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We inherited the student loans system, including Plan 2, which was devised by the previous government. Threshold freezes have been introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.
Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index, currently 3.2%. This means graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms.
Interest accrues on loan balances from the first day the loan is paid to the learning provider, and/or to the student, until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will will consider exempting PhD students from the International Student Levy.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are engaging with the higher education sector to shape the design of the International Student Levy (ISL) to make delivery as easy as possible for providers. A technical consultation on the delivery of the ISL was open for responses until 18 February 2026. The government will publish its response in Summer 2026.
We have listened to concerns raised by the sector. The levy will not be introduced until 2028/29 to give providers time to plan for its introduction. Providers will also pay the ISL one year in arrears, to help with their financial planning and will also be given an allowance for the first 220 international students per year. This is to mitigate the ISL having a disproportionate impact on smaller providers, particularly those operating specialist and resource intensive models with limited other means of cross-subsidisation.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 24 February (HL Deb col 565), whether they will publish a breakdown by programme area of the £4 billion for special educational needs and disabilities reform over the next three years, including allocations for (1) the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, (2) Experts at Hand, (3) Best Start Family Hubs, and (4) a national training package.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As set out in special educational needs and disabilities reform: putting children and young people first, the breakdown of our £4bn investment package, over the next three years, is as follows:
The government will publish breakdowns by programme area for this coming financial year as part of publishing allocations in the coming months.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has reviewed the findings of the National Association of Disability Practitioners’ December 2025 critique of the Equality Impact Assessment relating to Disabled Students’ Allowance changes; and what steps she plans to take in response that critique.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.