Found: Correspondence from Baroness Smith of Malvern relating to the appointment of EHRC commissioners, 19 December

Found: Correspondence from Baroness Smith of Malvern relating to EHRC Appointments, 05 January 2026 Correspondence

Found: Correspondence from Baroness Smith of Malvern relating to EHRC Appointments, 23 February 2026 Correspondence

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 the £4 billion increase over the spending review period that has been allocated to fund special educational needs and disabilities reform is additional funding that increases the spending allocation to the Department for Education above that set out in the Autumn Budget 2025.

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

The £4 billion in funding over the spending review period (2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29) is newly allocated funding from existing departmental budgets. This investment is additional to the core funding allocations for 2026/27 for early years, schools and post-16 funding that have already been announced.

The department confirmed an additional £3.5 billion of new funding for the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in 2028/29, to support reforms to improve outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families, as outlined in ‘SEND reform: putting children and young people first’.

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:

• £1.6 billion on Inclusive Mainstream Fund
• £1.8 billion on Experts at Hand
• Over £200 million on Best Start Family Hubs
• Over £200 million on national training package
• Over £200 million on local authority transformation
• Over £40 million on specialist training (including educational psychologists and speech and language therapists)

The government will publish breakdowns by programme area for this coming financial year as part of publishing allocations in the coming months.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13548), what assessment they have made of the causes of the increase in the (1) proportion, and (2) number, of school children educated in special schools in the past ten years.

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

Assessments by the Education Select Committee, Public Accounts Committee and National Audit Office highlight common challenges across the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system that mean children and young people do not get the effective early intervention they need and leave parents struggling to secure appropriate support.

As set out in our ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper, the government is seeking to reshape the SEND system to make all mainstream early years settings, schools and colleges truly inclusive. We are also investing billions of pounds to adapt classrooms and corridors, train teachers, educators and assistants, and bring experts like speech and language therapists into settings.

We are consulting on these proposals and will continue to work with a wide range of partners to refine them and deliver them.

The department collects and publishes figures on the number and proportion of pupils in special schools. The number of pupils in special schools (State-funded and non-maintained) has increased from 109,177 in 2015/16 to 169,630 in 2024/25. This is an increase of 60,453. The proportion of pupils in special schools was 1.3% in 2015/16 and 1.9% in 2024/25, an increase of 0.6 percentage points.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 9 February (HL13942), whether the review of childcare provision will cover (1) the availability of funded childcare places across the country, (2) the adequacy of funding rates provided to settings, and (3) the sufficiency, distribution and qualification levels of the childcare workforce.

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

Through the department’s Childcare and Early Education Review, we will look at how to improve access to early education and care, making the system simpler for families and delivering a coherent local offer. The Review will focus on improving outcomes for all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and on helping parents participate in the labour market.

Alongside this, the Early Years Funding Consultation is considering how funding is distributed nationally and locally to ensure it remains fair, reflects delivery costs, and supports areas with higher levels of need. We also work closely with local authorities to monitor sufficiency and understand the barriers to delivering funded places.

On workforce, we are expanding funded Early Years Initial Teacher Training places, introducing financial incentives in disadvantaged areas, and will be consulting on routes and professional status to support a strong, sustainable profession.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 9 February (HL13942), whether the review of childcare provision will assess the effect of funded childcare provision on (1) labour market participation, (2) family living costs, and (3) children's outcomes, including school readiness.

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

Through the department’s Childcare and Early Education Review, we will look at how to improve access to early education and care, making the system simpler for families and delivering a coherent local offer. The Review will focus on improving outcomes for all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and on helping parents participate in the labour market.

Alongside this, the Early Years Funding Consultation is considering how funding is distributed nationally and locally to ensure it remains fair, reflects delivery costs, and supports areas with higher levels of need. We also work closely with local authorities to monitor sufficiency and understand the barriers to delivering funded places.

On workforce, we are expanding funded Early Years Initial Teacher Training places, introducing financial incentives in disadvantaged areas, and will be consulting on routes and professional status to support a strong, sustainable profession.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13548), how many special educational needs and disabilities places in schools were provided as a result of mental health, anxiety and depression factors in each of the past five years.

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

The government is committed to supporting local areas to create high-quality places that are suitable to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We want more pupils to access the right support in a local mainstream setting, enabling them to learn alongside their peers and siblings, instead of travelling a long way to a special school.

​The department is investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/2026 and 2029/2030, to support local authorities to provide places for children and young people with SEND, or who require alternative provision.

​Specialist places for pupils with special educational needs are not provided on the basis of specific distinct needs. The department publishes data on the breakdown of pupils by their recorded primary need type and school type on gov.uk although this may not fully reflect the total number of pupils who experience mental health difficulties, anxieties or depression. The department also publishes data on specialist placement capacity on gov.uk since 2023 but this is not broken down by type of need.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 3 March (HL14602), what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the funding for English for speakers of other language programmes to meet demand.

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

As set out in the previous written answer, the Adult Skills Fund is the primary funding stream that supports ESOL for those aged 19+. Currently, approximately 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities (SAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). Therefore in these areas, it is for the authority to make an assessment of whether ESOL funding is adequate to meet need, though government recognises that this has to be weighed against other priorities.

Government announced in its Social Cohesion Action Plan the intent to Review English language provision to identify best practice, and explore how innovation, including digital delivery, can increase the numbers able to speak English, with conclusions published in Autumn 2026.

As well as public funding for ESOL, individuals can pay for English language provision.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 12 February (HL14125), what is the breakdown of the students from England who participated in the Erasmus programme in 2020 by English region.

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

In 2020, the regional breakdown of higher education students from England who participated in the Erasmus+ programme was:

• 18.6% from the South West.
• 14.7% from London.
• 13.7% from the West Midlands.
• 11.7% from the East Midlands.
• 10.6% from Yorkshire and The Humber.
• 10.4% from the South East.
• 8.4% from the North West.
• 7.1% from the North East.
• 4.8% from the East of England.

All Erasmus+ data is publicly available.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 January (HL13547), what is the expected completion date of the review of the Equality and Human Rights Commission draft Code of Practice.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The EHRC has submitted its draft Code to Ministers, and we are reviewing it with the care it deserves. It is crucial that providers have legally robust guidance on how to apply the Equality Act, which is why we are considering the draft Code properly.

We have always been clear that the proper process needs to be followed. The Code will have implications for service providers up and down the country so it is important that we get this right.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 2 February (HL13733), whether they will now answer the question put; whether they responded to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations after consultation with the Scottish and Welsh Governments; whether they responded on 30 June 2025; and if not, on which date they responded.

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

We are following the process in the Equality Act 2006 and are consulting the Devolved Governments at the relevant stages, as required under section 14(9). Consultation with Welsh and Scottish Ministers is required if, or in so far as, the Code relates to a duty imposed by or under the Public Sector Equality Duty. As part of the consultation, the draft Code has been shared with the Devolved Administrations. It is important that the correct process for laying the Code is followed.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, further to the answer of 13 October 2025, by Baroness Smith of Malvern, to Question HL10203, on LGBT+ People: Equality, whether any of those gender identities are recognised by government.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

There is no list of gender identities recognised by the Government.

Found: Letter dated 03/03/2026 from Baroness Smith of Malvern to Baroness Wolf regarding how many providers

Found: Letter dated 06/03/2026 from Baroness Smith of Malvern to Peers regarding a correction to a response

Found: Letter dated 24/02/2026 from Baroness Smith of Malvern to Lord Young regarding a timetable for the implementation