Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to written statement HCWS171 published on 1 July 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of requiring schools to absorb approximately 1% of pay costs on school budgets.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing schools with £700 million in additional funding in the2026/27 financial year and £1,115 million in 2027/28 to support them with overall costs, including the costs of teacher and support staff pay awards. This means the core schools budget will increase by £2.3 billion in 2026/27, totalling £67.6 billion, compared to £65.3 billion in 2025/26.
We set out in the government's evidence to the School Teachers' Review Body last autumn that All schools are expected to continue to secure better value from existing budgets, alongside the additional funding provided by government, to help support pay awards.
We recognise that for many schools the teachers’ pay award will mean reprioritising some of their budget to go towards new pay costs. This is in line with asks to the rest of the public sector to drive better value from existing budgets to help rebuild public services.
Schools are accustomed to managing their resources responsibly, and they are not alone in their efforts to do this. We established the ‘Maximising value for pupils’ programme in December 2025, using the collective buying power of 22,000 schools to help every school get more from every pound, so that money reaches the classroom where it matters most. From reducing energy and supply staff costs, to helping schools unlock better returns through our banking comparison tool, to giving leaders sharper benchmarking tools, we are addressing real opportunities across the system.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the 1,400 new free breakfast clubs opening from September 2026 are located in schools in Fylde constituency.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Following the passage of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, all schools with primary-age pupils will be required to offer a free breakfast club. New groups of schools will be onboarded in stages throughout 2027/28 to ensure we can continue to provide appropriate support.
There is currently one school delivering a free breakfast club in the Fylde constituency, Medlar-with-Wesham Church of England Primary School, who joined the programme during the early adopter phase. For this first year of national rollout, places on the free breakfast club programme were offered to schools with primary provision who have higher levels of disadvantage.
We look forward to more schools in Fylde joining the programme as national rollout continues, getting the benefits of a healthy breakfast, a soft start to the day, and childcare savings to more children and families.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new or expanded school-based nurseries are being delivered in Fylde constituency as part of the Government’s childcare programme.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Backed by £400 million capital investment, the school-based nursery programme will deliver tens of thousands of new places by expanding early education and childcare places where it is most needed. This will help more families access funded childcare and give children the best start in life.
The department has already made an impact, awarding £82 million in capital funding to more than 600 primary and maintained nursery schools, which is expected to deliver over 11,000 new nursery places by September 2027. This includes 3 schools in Fylde: Clifton Primary School, Singleton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, and Treales Church of England Primary School.
Schools report that by the end of September 2026 450 new and expanded nurseries will have created over 9,000 new places since the start of the programme.
Local authorities have until 5pm on 30 September 2026 to submit their funding proposals for phase 3.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the total value of the contract awarded to Pearson Education Limited in April 2024 for the delivery of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum Tests.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Pearson Education Limited was awarded the contract to deliver key stage 2 tests on behalf of the Standards and Testing Agency in April 2024, following an open procurement process in line with the relevant legal procurement regulations and commercial requirements. The contract term was four years and had an initial value of £85 million. This was later reduced to £79 million as activity relating to optional key stage 1 tests was descoped.
Pearson informed the government on 1 July 2026 that they were not ready to upload results to the online portal for schools, and they needed additional time to ensure the system was ready for schools to access. Pearson has fully apologised for failing to return results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. Ministers have been closely involved in monitoring the situation with Pearson since we first became aware of problems with Modmark, Pearson's online marking platform.
We will use all available contractual provisions to hold Pearson to account and are considering all options for future delivery. An independent review, led by Dame Christine Gilbert, has been launched into how such serious failures occurred and is expected to report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in October 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether Ministers had discussions with Pearson Education Limited before 1 July 2026 regarding risks to the publication timetable for SATs results.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Pearson Education Limited was awarded the contract to deliver key stage 2 tests on behalf of the Standards and Testing Agency in April 2024, following an open procurement process in line with the relevant legal procurement regulations and commercial requirements. The contract term was four years and had an initial value of £85 million. This was later reduced to £79 million as activity relating to optional key stage 1 tests was descoped.
Pearson informed the government on 1 July 2026 that they were not ready to upload results to the online portal for schools, and they needed additional time to ensure the system was ready for schools to access. Pearson has fully apologised for failing to return results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. Ministers have been closely involved in monitoring the situation with Pearson since we first became aware of problems with Modmark, Pearson's online marking platform.
We will use all available contractual provisions to hold Pearson to account and are considering all options for future delivery. An independent review, led by Dame Christine Gilbert, has been launched into how such serious failures occurred and is expected to report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in October 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date officials first became aware of risks to the publication of Key Stage 2 SATs results.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Pearson Education Limited was awarded the contract to deliver key stage 2 tests on behalf of the Standards and Testing Agency in April 2024, following an open procurement process in line with the relevant legal procurement regulations and commercial requirements. The contract term was four years and had an initial value of £85 million. This was later reduced to £79 million as activity relating to optional key stage 1 tests was descoped.
Pearson informed the government on 1 July 2026 that they were not ready to upload results to the online portal for schools, and they needed additional time to ensure the system was ready for schools to access. Pearson has fully apologised for failing to return results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils and parents. Ministers have been closely involved in monitoring the situation with Pearson since we first became aware of problems with Modmark, Pearson's online marking platform.
We will use all available contractual provisions to hold Pearson to account and are considering all options for future delivery. An independent review, led by Dame Christine Gilbert, has been launched into how such serious failures occurred and is expected to report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in October 2026.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training will be provided to teachers ahead of the introduction of new media literacy content relating to artificial intelligence and online safety.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Media literacy is currently covered in the citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing curricula.
On 15 July 2025, the government published updated RSHE statutory guidance introducing new content on artificial intelligence (AI), online safety and pornography, which is now mandatory from 1 September 2026.
The department expects to hold a public consultation on proposals for the curriculum and assessment system, including media literacy, in due course, following publication of the government response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025.
We will continue to invest in the National Centre for Computing Education to deliver free and flexible online courses which equip teachers with the knowledge they need to embed age-appropriate teaching of AI into computing lessons.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) remained outstanding for members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme as at 1 April 2026; how many remain outstanding as at the latest available date; and how many of those outstanding cases relate to retired members.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 31 March 2026, 478,761 Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) remained outstanding. Currently, 466,909 remain outstanding for members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. Of these, 64,484 relate to retired members.
The majority of retired members impacted by the McCloud remedy will have the option to retain their benefits currently in payment. If they decide to choose the alternative benefits, the RSS will provide them with all the detail to make an informed choice, including the implications this choice will have on the benefits they currently receive. Any change in benefits will be backdated and details of this are also included in the RSS.
As the Minister for School Standards, I have official responsibility for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, which includes delivery of the rectification work following the McCloud judgement.
The department recognises that there have been delays in the processing of McCloud remedy cases. Officials continue to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to address these delays, while also working with the incoming administrator, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to ensure the remedy work is a key focus following the transition in administration.
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 impact on retired members' ability to plan their finances of delays in issuing Remediable Service Statements under the McCloud remedy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 31 March 2026, 478,761 Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) remained outstanding. Currently, 466,909 remain outstanding for members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. Of these, 64,484 relate to retired members.
The majority of retired members impacted by the McCloud remedy will have the option to retain their benefits currently in payment. If they decide to choose the alternative benefits, the RSS will provide them with all the detail to make an informed choice, including the implications this choice will have on the benefits they currently receive. Any change in benefits will be backdated and details of this are also included in the RSS.
As the Minister for School Standards, I have official responsibility for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, which includes delivery of the rectification work following the McCloud judgement.
The department recognises that there have been delays in the processing of McCloud remedy cases. Officials continue to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to address these delays, while also working with the incoming administrator, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to ensure the remedy work is a key focus following the transition in administration.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, who within her Department has ministerial and official responsibility for oversight of the delivery of Remediable Service Statements by the Teachers' Pension Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 31 March 2026, 478,761 Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) remained outstanding. Currently, 466,909 remain outstanding for members of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. Of these, 64,484 relate to retired members.
The majority of retired members impacted by the McCloud remedy will have the option to retain their benefits currently in payment. If they decide to choose the alternative benefits, the RSS will provide them with all the detail to make an informed choice, including the implications this choice will have on the benefits they currently receive. Any change in benefits will be backdated and details of this are also included in the RSS.
As the Minister for School Standards, I have official responsibility for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, which includes delivery of the rectification work following the McCloud judgement.
The department recognises that there have been delays in the processing of McCloud remedy cases. Officials continue to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to address these delays, while also working with the incoming administrator, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), to ensure the remedy work is a key focus following the transition in administration.