Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Oral Statement: Enduring Relationships Strategy for Children’s Social Care of 4 June 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the impact that the new fostering hubs will have on the number of children able to remain in their local community, attend their existing school and maintain established friendships and support networks.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ministers have not yet made a full assessment of the impact of the new fostering hubs on the number of children able to remain in their local community, attend their existing school, and maintain established relationships.
The hubs are designed to strengthen local fostering capacity, with the aim of increasing the likelihood that children can stay close to home and maintain continuity in their lives. The fostering hubs programme sits alongside the department’s development of regional care cooperatives, which are designed to drive local placement sufficiency for children, enabling children to stay local. Ministers are monitoring the impact as the programme develops, and formal evaluation is planned.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Oral Statement: Enduring Relationships Strategy for Children’s Social Care of 4 June 2026, what estimate she has made of the number of additional foster carers required to deliver the Government's target of 10,000 new foster care places by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
'Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’ commits to creating 10,000 more foster placements by April 2029, providing a foster placement for every child who needs one. Using Ofsted trends in new approval and deregistration rates of foster households (converted into placements), we project a continued decline in fostering capacity without intervention. This forecast provides the department's baseline for the target. It is difficult to estimate the true number of foster carers required.
Our demand estimate is based on:
Combined, these factors indicate 10,000 additional places will be needed by April 2029. This estimate contains uncertainty and does not reflect likely reductions in demand from reforms such as the Families First Partnership.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of devolving responsibility for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to regional or local decision-makers on families.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has recently undertaken a consultation on the future of adoption support, including a proposal to devolve funding to local level, inviting evidence on the potential impacts. We are currently reviewing responses and will continue to engage with stakeholders on a range of issues. No decisions have been made at the current time.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training is being offered to exam invigilators to adapt to new trends in the use of technology to cheat in school examinations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Examination centres are required to follow the ‘Joint Council for Qualifications’ guidance which sets out requirements on training invigilators, including how to detect and prevent malpractice, such as the misuse of technology.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the measures set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper have reached (a) consultation stage, (b) pilot stage and (c) full implementation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out the government’s plan to deliver a world-leading skills system which meets the economic needs and improves lives. This is a multi-year reform programme that will be delivered through consultation, legislation, cross-government working, and partnership with learners, providers, employers, and local government.
Since the white paper’s publication in October, we have responded to the franchising in higher education consultation, published our implementation plan for post-16 pathways at level 3 and below, closed our consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform and currently consulting on 16-19 performance measures.
We have also boosted investment to accelerate delivery of other measures. In March, we launched a youth employment drive with £1 billion investment, contributing to £2.5 billion for Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy over the next three years. In April, we invested £295 million in Technical Excellence Colleges, to support 100,000 learners to develop skills in key sectors.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to engage with professional sports teams to improve physical education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that PE and school sport enable pupils to become confident and competent in a wide range of sports and physical activities. Professional sports teams and local clubs play an important role in supporting this ambition, and many already work with schools to deliver engaging, age‑appropriate sessions that promote positive experiences of being active through sport.
We are building on this through the new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, which will strengthen links between schools, community organisations and local clubs, bringing sporting expertise into every school. The government has committed over £1 billion to school sport over the next three years, including £580 million for the Partnerships Network, alongside investment in facilities and transitional support for primary schools.
Sport England and National Governing Bodies will support delivery by providing expertise, insight and resources. Together, this will help increase participation, protect time for PE, and enable more children to enjoy the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will update the School Food Standards policy to prohibit the use of meat derived from animals which have not been stunned prior to slaughter.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government sets out required minimum standards for school food in the School Food Standards, to ensure that children are served healthy and nutritious meals at school. The standards do not specify food requirements in terms of cultural or religious needs.
We encourage the highest standards of animal welfare at slaughter and would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter. However, we respect the rights of religious communities to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs. Schools must comply with the School Food Standards but retain flexibility in how they meet them.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, by what date will local authorities have to produce registers of Children Not in School.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Mandatory local authority Children Not in School registers will be implemented in England by the end of this Parliament.
To implement the registers, we will hold a consultation in due course on draft statutory guidance and on the policy content of regulations. There will then be a process of making the regulations, which will be voted on in Parliament, and further steps, including publication of the guidance and a period of pre-implementation to enable local authorities to prepare for the registers coming into force.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport is integrated into Physical Education and PSHE curricula.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the government’s response to the Independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in November 2025, the department is strengthening the national curriculum, including in science and physical education.
Pupils develop underpinning knowledge of energy transfer during physical activity, nutrition, and how food is converted into energy for movement through the science curriculum. Physical education and relationships, sex and health education build on this by providing opportunities to apply and deepen this knowledge, helping to secure pupils’ learning.
Work is underway to refresh the curriculum in line with the Review’s recommendations, working closely with subject experts. The department will publish the revised national curriculum in 2027 for first teaching in 2028 and will support schools to implement the changes. There will be an opportunity to provide views on the proposed content through a public consultation on draft programmes of study later this year.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce demand-led funding arrangements for further education colleges enrolling additional 16–24 year old learners in priority skills sectors.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are providing nearly £9 billion in 16 to 19 programme funding in the 2026/27 academic year. This includes the high value courses premium to encourage and support delivery of selected study programmes and T Levels.
We recognise that where an institution makes a significant expansion in student numbers in a single year, that can cause cost pressures, so we provide exceptional in-year growth funding for institutions that grow student numbers above a certain level. We are investing £87 million to fund exceptional in-year growth for the 2025/26 academic year.
The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3 including the Free Courses for Jobs (FCFJ) offer. FCFJs cover a wide range of sector subject areas including engineering, construction, health and social care and accounting. The government is investing more in FCFJ through the construction and engineering skills packages.
Providers in receipt of an ASF allocation from the Department for Work and Pensions may earn up to an additional 10% on top of their ASF allocation for over-delivery. They have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF allocations to meet local needs and support learners.