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Written Question
Childcare and Pre-school Education: Fees and Charges
Tuesday 3rd December 2024

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will take steps to protect working parents eligible for free early education and childcare from charging for consumables by some nurseries.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The department is taking steps to protect parents from unfair charging practices by some nurseries, as we announced last month, as part of our wider effort to ensure that parents can access and afford the hours they are entitled to. More information about the announcement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/school-based-nurseries-plan-kicks-off-with-15-million-funding.

The department is currently looking at updating the early years statutory guidance as part of its regular review, in order to ensure that the guidance around charging is both clear and fair for local authorities, early years providers and parents and that the hours are accessible and affordable for all families that need them.

The department will be seeking to engage with providers, local authorities and other relevant stakeholder groups, including those representing parents, to discuss its proposed updates to the statutory guidance for local authorities and to seek feedback on how the guidance can be improved.

If parents believe they are experiencing unfair consumable charges, they should raise this with their local authority, who will be able to offer the appropriate support and next steps on clarifying appropriate charging with providers.


Written Question
Free School Meals: Voucher Schemes
Friday 25th November 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will restore the meal voucher scheme for eligible school children during future school holidays.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department will continue to keep eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM) under review to ensure that FSM are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM.

Over £200 million a year is being invested in the holiday activities and food programme. This programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning through the provision of healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.


Written Question
Primary Education: Free School Meals
Friday 25th November 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to extend the provision of healthy free school meals to all primary school children.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department will continue to keep eligibility conditions for free school meals (FSM) under review to ensure that FSM are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

The latest published statistics show that around 1.9 million pupils are in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. This equates to 22.5% of all pupils, up from 20.8% in 2021. Together with a further 1.25 million infants supported through the Universal Infant Free School Meal policy, 37.5% of pupils are now provided with FSM.

Over £200 million a year is being invested in the holiday activities and food programme. This programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning through the provision of healthy free meals, nutritional education, and physical activities on a daily basis.


Written Question
Free School Meals
Wednesday 21st September 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that vulnerable school children receive a healthy, nutritious, and free hot meal every day, without affecting the sustainability of school budgets.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing, and are holding regular meetings with other government departments and food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.

Under the benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free, healthy meal to around 1.9 million children. This ensures they are well-nourished and can concentrate, learn and achieve in the classroom. Schools fund benefit-related free school meals (FSM) from their core funding, which they receive through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). This is derived from the national funding formula (NFF). For the 2022/23 financial year, the funding schools attract through the FSM factor in the NFF is increasing to £470 per eligible pupil.

Cost pressures should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. In recognition of cost pressures, after the NFF rates were set, the department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in the 2022/23 financial year, which we distributed through a schools supplementary grant. As a result of this additional funding, core schools funding for mainstream schools is increasing by £2.5 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to last year.

The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.

Schools have the autonomy to agree individual contracts with school food suppliers and caterers. Schools and trusts can also utilise the department’s Get Help Buying for Schools Service, which provides specialist support, advice and guidance for schools around their procurement activity, including support for complex procurements such as catering and signposting to DfE recommended frameworks for schools and trusts.

The standards for school food are set out in the requirements for school food regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day.

Schools also have flexibility under the School Food Standards to substitute food and regularly update and change menus. They may make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available.


Written Question
Educational Institutions: Food
Wednesday 21st September 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to mitigate the impact of increased costs on the quality of the menus provided by education providers.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department recognises the cost pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing, and are holding regular meetings with other government departments and food industry representatives, covering a variety of issues including public sector food supplies.

Under the benefits-related criteria, the department provides a free, healthy meal to around 1.9 million children. This ensures they are well-nourished and can concentrate, learn and achieve in the classroom. Schools fund benefit-related free school meals (FSM) from their core funding, which they receive through the schools block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG). This is derived from the national funding formula (NFF). For the 2022/23 financial year, the funding schools attract through the FSM factor in the NFF is increasing to £470 per eligible pupil.

Cost pressures should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. In recognition of cost pressures, after the NFF rates were set, the department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in the 2022/23 financial year, which we distributed through a schools supplementary grant. As a result of this additional funding, core schools funding for mainstream schools is increasing by £2.5 billion in the 2022/23 financial year, compared to last year.

The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.

Schools have the autonomy to agree individual contracts with school food suppliers and caterers. Schools and trusts can also utilise the department’s Get Help Buying for Schools Service, which provides specialist support, advice and guidance for schools around their procurement activity, including support for complex procurements such as catering and signposting to DfE recommended frameworks for schools and trusts.

The standards for school food are set out in the requirements for school food regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day.

Schools also have flexibility under the School Food Standards to substitute food and regularly update and change menus. They may make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available.


Written Question
Pupils: Afghanistan
Wednesday 20th April 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Afghan children are currently in school in the UK; and how many are waiting for a place in education.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

All school aged children who arrived as part of the Operation Pitting airlift from Afghanistan are now in school. Those children who have arrived since then are either in school, or being placed in schools, as quickly as possible. We continue to monitor the position in local authorities with bridging hotels. All are continuing with the process of placing children in schools and none have reported problems with doing so. However, they are at different stages in the process depending on the date of new arrivals.


Written Question
Overseas Students: Afghanistan
Tuesday 19th April 2022

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how may students from universities in Afghanistan have been offered places to study within the UK.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The department does not hold information on the number of students from overseas coming to study in the UK. However, data from the 2020/21 academic year shows that the number of Afghan domiciled students studying at a UK higher education (HE) provider was 215.

As part of Operation Warm Welcome, it was announced on 1 September 2021 that funding for a single cohort of students for entry into the next academic year (2022/23) will be provided for up to 300 undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships for Afghan students at UK universities. Further details will be launched shortly.


Written Question
Business: Coronavirus
Monday 18th October 2021

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to support educational travel businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

The government has worked at pace to provide an unprecedented and comprehensive package of support to help as many individuals and businesses as possible during this challenging period.

The measures introduced include the small business grants, the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the deferral of VAT and income tax payments. These measures have been designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK.

Further measures have been announced by my Right Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that build on the significant support already available as well as set out how current support will evolve and adapt. This includes the extension of the CJRS until the end of September 2021, extending and amending the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes to allow businesses more time and greater flexibility to repay their loans, and the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant.

The ‘Pay as you Grow’ measures will give UK businesses that borrowed under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years, and benefit from repayment holidays where required.

The Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), which launched on 6 April 2021, will ensure UK businesses of any size can continue to access loans and other kinds of finance up to £10 million per business as they grow and recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 outbreak. For RLS, the government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender to ensure they continue to have the confidence to lend to businesses. The scheme is open until 31 December 2021, subject to review.

In line with the autumn and winter plan the Government continues to keep arrangements for international travel and the relaxation of travel restrictions under review.


Written Question
Children: Coronavirus
Thursday 9th July 2020

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to make children and their rights a priority of the UK’s recovery plan from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Baroness Berridge

Every child and young person in the country has experienced unprecedented disruption to their education as a result of COVID-19, and those from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds will be amongst those hardest hit.

Education recovery lies at the heart of our national mission. This is why the government has announced a package of support worth £1 billion to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all pupils make up for lost teaching time, with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most.

We have also supported charities that provide vital services that are helping vulnerable children and young people, including:

  • £1.6 million for the NSPCC to expand its helpline so that adults can report their concerns about any child’s wellbeing;
  • More than £7 million to Barnardo’s for the See, Hear, Respond service that offers targeted help to vulnerable children, young people and their families affected by COVID-19;
  • £7.6 million for the Vulnerable Children National Charities Strategic Relief Fund, which opened in June and is for national children’s charities that offer services to safeguard vulnerable children that have financially suffered due to the impact of COVID-19; and
  • More than £12 million for 14 innovation projects in social services, each taking a holistic, family-based approach to addressing the increased risk some children and young people are facing.

As we continue on the road to recovery, returning to normal educational routines as quickly as possible will be critical for our children’s and young people’s education and for their wellbeing. That is why the government has announced its plans for schools, colleges, specialist settings and local authority adult education services to fully reopen to all children, young people, apprentices and adult learners from the beginning of the autumn term for full time education.


Written Question
Careers and Enterprise Company: Finance
Wednesday 3rd April 2019

Asked by: Baroness Goudie (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds additional funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company has been approved for the recruitment of the post of (1) a Head of Government and Public Relations at a salary of £40–50,000; and (2) a Communications Manager at a salary of £48,000.

Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton

Funding for the Careers & Enterprise Company for the financial year 2020-21 onwards will be agreed once the government’s next Spending Review has concluded and details of the department’s budget are confirmed.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education said in 2014 that the Careers & Enterprise Company would sustain itself in the longer term. Since then, the government has asked the company to take on an expanded role to help deliver the government’s careers strategy. The company is supporting schools and colleges to improve their careers provision in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. We will shortly publish a revised sustainability plan alongside the 2019-20 Grant Funding Agreement on the company’s website at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.

Funding for all staff salaries at the Careers & Enterprise Company comes from the overall grant funding agreement. The total grant for 2018-19 was £30.2 million. The company recently advertised for a Parliamentary and Government Relations Manager at £40,000 to £50,000 and a Communications Manager at £42,000 to £48,000. Salaries are benchmarked against civil service roles and are on a par with similar organisations.