Afzal Khan

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.

Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce meeting in January focused on the crucial role of local services, including family hubs, in reducing the impact of poverty.

Our new publication ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ sets out that we are making a significant investment of over £500 million which will build back crucial family services and provide high quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age five. Proposals include:

• A new Best Start Family Hub programme that will take the best of the Sure Start, Family Hub and Start for Life programme approaches to create Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place, and linking families to their local services.
• Funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority, so these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities.

This publication is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

The Hubs will help tackle the stain of child poverty ahead of our ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, due to be published in the autumn.

Within the computing curriculum pupils are taught to use technology safely, responsibly, respectfully and securely, to keep personal information private, to recognise unacceptable behaviour, and to understand where to seek support.

Within citizenship and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), pupils learn how to identify misleading and malicious information and to counter the effects of negative and harmful news, events and information online.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report states a renewed focus on digital literacy is key to responding to the rise of artificial intelligence. The department will consider how best to implement the Review’s recommendations following the final report.

The department’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day to prevent disruption to pupils’ learning.

The government’s role in relation to pay and conditions across schools and colleges differs.

The statutory requirements for teachers' pay and conditions within maintained schools in England are set out in the school teachers’ pay and conditions document. This is updated each year, based on recommendations from the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

This year, the department announced a 4% pay award to school teachers and leaders, accepting in full the STRB’s pay recommendation. Combined with last year’s 5.5% award, this above-inflation pay award means school teachers will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years.

In 2023/24, the median full-time equivalent (FTE) average salary for teaching staff on permanent or fixed term contracts in secondary schools was £48,773.

The further education (FE) sector does not have a pay review body and government does not set or recommend pay and this remains the sole responsibility of providers themselves.

Alongside the 2025/26 school teacher pay award, we have announced an investment of £160 million in the 2025/26 financial year, to support colleges and other 16-19 providers with key priorities, including recruitment and retention.

Additional funding of over £30 million will also be provided for 16-19 provision in schools. This funding comes from within the overall funding envelope of £615 million for 2025/26 announced alongside the 2025/26 school teachers’ pay award.

In 2023/24, the median FTE average salary for teaching staff on permanent or fixed term contracts in general FE colleges was £36,300 and £47,100 in sixth form colleges.

The school and FE pay figures are sourced from different datasets and recorded differently which may make it difficult to make direct comparisons.

We are facing a challenging fiscal context. Fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances under control to ensure we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. It is against this backdrop that the decision was made to make a small reduction to the Adult Skills Fund (ASF).

We have launched a Youth Guarantee of support for all 18 to 21-year-olds to access training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work and prevent them from becoming excluded from education or work at a young age. £45 million has been allocated to eight Mayoral Strategic Authority Trailblazers to develop the Youth Guarantee. We will work with local areas on future expansion.

Currently 62% of the ASF is devolved to nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF to their learners and the department is responsible for the remaining ASF.

In non-devolved areas, learners claiming benefits or who earn less than £25,000, are eligible for full funding. This supports social mobility by enabling individuals to move into employment or progress further in their career.

The interim report sets out the Review’s interim findings and confirms the key areas for future work, but there is more to do before publication of the final report. The Review is now carrying out a further investigation into specific policy and subject issues, working closely with the sector and building on the body of evidence gathered so far.

The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.

The Review takes place in the context of an education system facing considerable challenges and staff shortages. The Review recognises the inevitable trade-offs that will be faced in delivering high standards and a broad and balanced curriculum within this context.

The department will give schools, colleges and teachers sufficient time to plan and prepare for changes, particularly where they are significant.

We will also consider how to best support schools to access the resources, training and networking they need. For example, we will consider the role of Oak National Academy, subject associations or the new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Manchester Rusholme to the answer of 7 February 2025 to Question 27291.

The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs.

Manchester City Council (MCC) is one of ten local authorities making up Greater Manchester. Following their SEND inspection, which found no Written Statement of Action was necessary in November 2021, the department has continued to liaise with MCC through regular meetings updating on any key issues or risks in the area. MCC are a lead partner of the SEND Change Programme and provide insights to the department including sharing learning on SEND provision in Manchester.

The UK has a world-class higher education sector, with four universities in the world university rankings top 10 and 15 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of leading institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

There are many factors that influence international students when they choose to study abroad. These include the range and quality of available courses, the visa rules that apply in countries they are considering, and the appeal of living and studying in those countries.

The graduate route enables international students who have successfully completed an eligible qualification to stay in the UK for two years, or three years for doctoral students. Former students who are on the graduate route may switch to another route, for example the skilled worker route, if the relevant requirements are met.

This government has made clear its approach to international students. We welcome international students who enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK.

The teaching of blood, tissue and organs is covered in the biology national curriculum at key stage 3, so is taught to pupils aged 11 to 14. While organ donation is not specifically mentioned, schools may choose to cover it here.

At primary level, schools can talk about blood and organ donation more generally, in an age-appropriate way, as part of the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, which includes content on physical health and mental wellbeing. Blood and organ donation can be covered in more detail in secondary RSHE, within the context of healthy lifestyles and the choices that individuals make in adulthood.

The Oak National Academy, an arm's length public body responsible for creating free curriculum resources, has produced a lesson that can be taught to pupils between the ages of 7 and 11 (key stage 2). This includes a section on organs, the transplant waiting list and the relevant legislation.

The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum, which includes considering whether any additional content is needed. Separately, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will consider how RSHE fits into the wider curriculum.

In July 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced a short pause to the defunding of qualifications to enable a review of post-16 qualification reforms at Level 3 and below. This was followed by a Written Ministerial Statement by my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills on 25 July. This statement can be accessed here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-07-25/hlws20.

Additional details about the principles of the review were published in an FE Week article on 30 September 2024, which can be accessed here: https://feweek.co.uk/how-well-go-about-reforming-the-level-3-landscape.

The department is working to review the defunding due to take place in 2025 and will publish the outcomes of this review before the end of the year.

The department has not announced any defunding for 2026.

The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE), including in sixth form colleges. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.

The department recognises the vital role that teachers in sixth form colleges, as well as other FE colleges, play in developing the skills needed to drive the government’s missions to improve opportunity and economic growth. That is why the department is investing around £600 million across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas, including in sixth form colleges. The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through the Taking Teaching Further programme.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a Budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.

Collection targets are not a feature of the extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging (pEPR). However, the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024, which implement pEPR, set challenging, but achievable, recycling targets for all glass packaging which rise year on year to 85% by 2030.

The Secretary of State has asked his department to convene a taskforce of experts from across the Government, industry, academia and relevant non-governmental organisations. The Taskforce will help to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England and a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the Government will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The Taskforce will consider the evidence for action right across the economy, and as such the Taskforce will evaluate what interventions, including financial incentives, may need to be made in the textiles sector as it helps to develop the Circular Economy Strategy.

Financial incentives are primarily a matter for the Treasury, and Treasury Ministers will be part of a Small Ministerial Group on the Circular Economy, which is also being convened, along with Ministers from Defra, the Department for Business and Trade, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This group will govern, join up and drive work to promote a Circular Economy across the Government. supporting the Government’s Missions to kickstart economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower.

The Secretary of State has not held discussions on plastic waste with his counterparts in France, Germany, and Sweden. However, officials have had discussions with their counterparts in other countries to learn lessons on tackling waste, including plastic waste. For instance, officials have had discussions with the German Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator to assist in developing the DRS in the UK.