Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 6 March (HL15294), whether they plan for ministers to be responsible for approving the NHS Payment Scheme after NHS England is abolished; and if so, whether ministers will be consulted about approval of that scheme in the transition period before new legislation is passed by Parliament to transfer that responsibility to ministers.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Primary legislation is required to enable the transfer of NHS England’s functions, powers and responsibilities formally to the Department or out to the wider system. Primary legislation is subject to the will of Parliament, and the Government welcomes parliamentary scrutiny of these provisions. The bill will be introduced in Parliament when parliamentary time allows.

Currently, NHS England is responsible for publishing the NHS Payment Scheme, with the relevant legislation set out in schedule 10 of the 2022 Health and Care Act. Under NHS England’s Scheme of Delegation, responsibility for approving the NHS Payment Scheme rests with the Chief Executive Officer of NHS England, delegated to the Chief Financial Officer of NHS England.

During development of the NHS Payment Scheme, NHS England engages with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Department. The 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme was published on 26 March 2026 and incorporates a number of changes following consultation.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what additional funding schools and colleges will receive as a result of the announced special educational needs and disabilities reforms in (1) 2026–27, (2) 2027–28, (3) 2028–29, and (4) 2029–30.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In every year of this Parliament, core funding for schools and special educational needs and disabilities is expected to increase, subject to future spending reviews. The government is committed to prioritising early intervention and is making a major increase in investment, with £4 billion over the three years of the Spending Review. This will reverse the trend of late intervention and escalation in needs.

Within this total, the Inclusive Mainstream Fund will provide over £500 million per financial year, over three years, to schools, colleges and early years settings to develop and embed improved inclusion practice. On Wednesday 25 March, the department published methodology documents explaining how funding will be allocated for the Inclusive Mainstream Fund. Details on the funding for schools and mainstream 16-19 provision are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mainstream-fund-2026-to-2027. Details on the Inclusive Early Years Fund are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-early-years-fund-2026-to-2027. Funding from 2029 to 2030 onwards is subject to future spending reviews.

Also on 25 March, we announced further details on the allocation of £860 million of high needs capital funding as part of the landmark £3.7 billion announced to deliver 60,000 more specialist places. This funding will drive a transformative expansion of inclusion bases across the country, as well as adaptations to improve the inclusivity and accessibility of mainstream settings as well as supporting special school place creation where needed.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 February (HL14387), whether the central performance management framework for the Senior Civil Service has been, or will be, changed in order to deliver the plans set out by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister in his speech on 20 January.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We are in the process of updating the Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework aimed at ensuring performance across the SCS is focused on the Prime Minister’s priorities and that underperformance is held to tougher standards and addressed as soon as it arises.