Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many primary schools in England have no breakfast club provision; and what they believe are the main reasons for this.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils. According to the 2022 School and College Panel, an estimated 22% of primary schools have no provision at all before school, and the remaining 78% have some provision. However, provision is usually charged for, or has limitations on, the number of places available. This figure will shortly be updated to reflect changes in provision since 2022.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they have calculated the saving of £450 per family annually resulting from the new breakfast clubs; what proportion of that annual saving is made up of a saving on (1) food, and (2) childcare; and how many children this assumes will attend from each family.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 7 March 2025 to Question 32965.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with members of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) review panel about RSHE guidance.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The review panel was appointed by the previous Secretary of State for Education in 2023, to provide independent advice to her on setting age limits on the teaching of certain topics within the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance.

The review of the RSHE statutory guidance is ongoing, and the department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and engaging stakeholders. This includes engaging with Dame Lesley Regan, who chaired the panel in 2023, in her capacity as the government’s Women’s Health Ambassador.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much charitable funding for breakfast clubs will be displaced by their new scheme.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department does not collect data on the amount of charitable funding that schools currently receive for breakfast club provision. We will work in partnership with businesses and organisations as we roll out breakfast clubs to all primary schools. We encourage schools and charities to continue working together.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many policy reviews and consultations the Department for Education has launched since the General Election on 4 July 2024; what the subject of each review is; and what the anticipated timescales are for their completion.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

This government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones, across the Missions, for this Parliament. As the House would expect, the government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer.

Public reviews will be available on GOV.UK as they are published.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to expand the number of high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for young people, particularly in sectors facing skill shortages.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.

Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.

To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the apprenticeship levy is used to create apprenticeship opportunities for young people, rather than the upskilling of existing employees.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.

Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.

To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce differentiated funding bands to incentivise employers to take on younger apprentices.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.

Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.

To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small and medium sized enterprises to offer apprenticeships, particularly with cost and administration.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37179.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow adults with relevant occupational knowledge and experience to directly undertake apprenticeship end-point assessments without completing a full apprenticeship.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Apprentices are not able to directly undertake apprenticeship end point assessments without having completed the required training as set out in the apprenticeship standard and agreed with their employer and training provider at the start of their apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are jobs which contain substantial and sustained on and off-the-job training that allow the apprentice to learn new skills. In order for an employer and training provider to receive government funding for an apprentice, the apprentice must be employed and the apprenticeship must comply with the minimum duration and off-the-job training requirements, as set out in legislation and the apprenticeship funding rules.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the total annual running costs of the Department for Education’s teaching recruitment service.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The department aims to deliver high quality advice and support for every potential teacher, enabling them to successfully apply for initial teacher training (ITT) through our Get Into Teaching service and our modernised in-house digital recruitment services. The total running costs of these services for the 2024/25 financial year are £36.5 million. This includes a range of programmes such as the Get Into Teaching Information service, Apply for Teacher Training service and the Teaching Internships programme.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of children who have received deprivation of liberty orders in the past five years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

Depriving a child of their liberty must always be a last resort, but is sometimes necessary to keep that child, and others, safe. A small but growing number of children, often with complex behavioural needs, require a deprivation of liberty order for their own safety.

Data collected by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory shows that in the year leading up to July 2023, 1,389 applications were made to deprive a child of their liberty under a Deprivation of Liberty Order (DOLO) authorised under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. Data collected in this period suggests that the number of applications has more than doubled since 2020/21. This data is attached and can be accessed at: https://www.nuffieldfjo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CHILDR1.1.pdf.

His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service have been publishing data since December 2023, covering the period July to September 2023. Between Q3 2023 and Q2 2024, 1240 deprivation of liberty applications were made. There were 299 applications made between April and June 2024.

To understand the existing system and how we can achieve better outcomes for these children, the department has commissioned research consisting of a literature review, analysing children’s case files and undertaking case studies of three existing provisions developed in partnership with Integrated Care Boards. This research will provide insights into the characteristics of children who are, or have been, deprived of liberty and what has worked well for them. We aim to publish this research in summer 2025. We consistently seek insights from research and reports undertaken by different organisations, such as the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s report in December 2024 on Illegal Children’s Homes, to ensure we are utilising the information in these resources in our policy development.

The department continues to work extensively with stakeholders across local authorities, the healthcare sector, cross-government, third sector and in academia to draw on relevant expertise throughout our policy development, which allows us to gain valuable insights about the characteristics of these children and what works well to improve their experience and outcomes.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out of the uptake of existing free breakfast club and childcare provision in primary schools in England; and what percentage of pupils attend such clubs regularly.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)

The Government Social Research release ‘Parent, pupil and learner panel: 22/23 March/April wave’ found that as of March 2023, 36% of parents with primary aged children reported that they had used some kind of wraparound childcare for their primary aged children since the start of term, equating to around 1.6 million children. The full release is attached and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170040/Parent__pupil_and_learner_panel_-_2022_to_2023_-_March_and_April_wave.pdf.

Findings from the ‘School and college voice: February 2024’ report show that 72% of primary school leaders (excluding special schools) said their school offers childcare both before and after school, but this includes paid for childcare and clubs with only limited spaces available.

Found: Q1★_ Baroness Barran to move, as an amendment to Motion Q, at end insert “, and do propose the following