Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure local authorities have equal access to funding for special educational needs and disabilities services.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
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 providing an increase of almost £1 billion for English local authorities’ high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND in England to £11.9 billion.
The department is now in the process of calculating indicative high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year through the national funding formula (NFF), which we expect to publish by the end of November.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of rejoining the Erasmus+ programme.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Following their meeting in Brussels on 2 October, the President of the European Commission and my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing. The government will now work with the EU to identify areas where it can strengthen co-operation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience.
The government recognises and supports the benefits of collaborating with its international partners on education. The department is working with the higher education sector to ensure our world leading universities continue to attract outstanding students from around the world and support our economy. However, we have no plans for rejoining the Erasmus+ Programme.