Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund will be allocated between (a) early years settings, (b) primary schools, (c) secondary schools and (d) post-16 institutions; and what accountability mechanisms will apply to that funding.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We will publish methodology documents to explain the funding distribution of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for early years settings, schools and 16-19 institutions in the spring.
In our recent publication 'SEND reform: putting children and young people first', we explained we will hold settings and trusts to account on how they take meaningful steps to invest in inclusion. More details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first.
Schools will be required to explain their plans to use their overall funding allocation to embed inclusive practice through a published Inclusion Strategy. 16-19 institutions will be required to demonstrate how they will use their inclusion funding in their Accountability Agreements. In early years settings, local authorities will play a role in ensuring providers use their inclusion funding to support inclusive practice. We will provide further detail on these arrangements in the spring.
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 the removal of the 10% wear and tear allowance on the number of new childminders entering the profession.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is taking a range of measures to support the financial sustainability of childminding businesses and other early years providers. From April 2026, local authorities will be required to pass at least 97% of their funding directly to providers (an increase from 96%). We are also working with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers can be paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. Furthermore, from 1 November 2024, the government introduced new flexibilities to help childminders join and stay in the profession, supporting the government’s commitment to roll out expanded childcare entitlements and give children the best start in life.
Under HMRC’s ‘Making Tax Digital’ system, childminders can still claim tax relief for things they buy, repair, or replace for their business, such as furniture, equipment, and household items. This change standardises the way that sole traders record and claim business expenses.
We are however aware of the strength of feeling amongst childminders and those who work with them. We have been talking regularly to Coram Pacey, HMRC and others to understand the issue, the effect that it is having on the childminding sector and to make sure that the concerns of childminders are clearly understood. The department emphasises its strong support for childminders, who continue to provide high quality and flexible early education, and do so in a way that families across the country greatly value.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of student loan interest accrual on borrowers who take (a) maternity leave, (b) shared parental leave and (c) periods of part-time work due to caring responsibilities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI), currently 3.2%, meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, such as while on statutory maternity leave, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.
Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.
For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of student loan interest accrual on (a) disabled graduates and (b) graduates with long-term health conditions during periods of illness and reduced working capacity.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI), currently 3.2%, meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, such as while on statutory maternity leave, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.
Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.
For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
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 appropriateness of maintaining student loan repayment thresholds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
These loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and the department is having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable.
Unlike commercial loans, student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. If a borrower is earning above the repayment threshold and their income stays the same, then their repayments will remain the same.
Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.
Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of free schools compared with maintained schools and academies in terms of educational outcomes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Many free schools, run by strong trusts, have contributed to raising standards and achieved strong outcomes for their pupils. However, too many children and young people are still being left behind due to their educational needs or their background.
The department is proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, and raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges. We are backing new schools that offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it. For example, we will open two new maths schools, to give talented students in the North and the Midlands a fairer chance to pursue advanced mathematics.
The department has also announced that we are investing at least £3 billion to create 50,000 new specialist places. To support this investment, we are not proceeding with some mainstream free school projects.
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 a reduction in the number of experienced childminders on the availability of early years and out-of-school childcare places in the context of the expansion of funded childcare hours.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This department is taking a range of measures to support the financial sustainability of childminding businesses and other early years providers. From April 2026, local authorities will be required to pass at least 97% of their funding directly to providers (an increase from 96%). We are also working with local authorities and others to ensure that childminders and other early years providers can be paid monthly for the funded hours they provide, making their income more stable. Furthermore, from 1 November 2024, the government introduced new flexibilities to help childminders join and stay in the profession, supporting the government’s commitment to roll out expanded childcare entitlements and give children the best start in life.
In addition, the expansion of the early years entitlements could benefit childminders in different ways. For example, the national average three and four year-old hourly funding rate of local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%. Childminders may also benefit from an expected increase in demand for places.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the gap between her Department's funding rates for early years childcare and the cost of provision.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is prioritising and protecting investment in the early years, and in 2026/27 we expect to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24.
On average nationally, next year we are increasing the 3- and 4-year-old hourly funding rate by 4.95%, the 2-year-old hourly funding rate by 4.36% and funding rate for the 9 months to 2-year-old entitlement by 4.28%. National average funding rate increases continue to reflect in full forecast cost pressures on the early years sector, including the National Living Wage announced at Autumn Budget 2025, and go further.
The department uses the early years national funding formulae (EYNFF) to distribute the early years entitlements budget to local authorities. The EYNFF determine local authority hourly funding rates by taking into consideration the different costs of delivering early years provision in different parts of the country.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps will be taken to ensure that school leaders, exam officers, teachers, parents and students are fully consulted during the 12-week consultation on regulating on-screen assessments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises the importance of securing responses from teachers, school leaders, exams officers, parents and students, and Ofqual is committed to achieving diverse representation.
To support this, Ofqual is engaging these groups through targeted briefings with representative bodies, dedicated stakeholder sessions and a clear communications campaign. This includes a teacher focused blog and social media activity, alongside proactive media briefings ahead of launch which generated widespread national, local and sector coverage. The department is also promoting the consultation via its own channels and stakeholder networks, and is planning to support Ofqual with stakeholder engagement activities during its consultation period.
Ofqual has also published a comprehensive evidence base reflecting views from these groups, which informed its proposals. It will monitor responses and adapt outreach to ensure strong participation.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the written answer to question 55157 of 9 June 2025 on Construction and Social Services: Education, how many Careers Hubs there are in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department funds the Careers and Enterprise Company to work with a regional network of 44 careers hubs across England, in partnership with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to connect with local skills needs.
There is one careers hub working with all eligible secondary schools and colleges in Lancashire, including all eight schools in the Fylde constituency.
Lancashire Careers Hub brings schools together with a wide range of employers in the region to help strengthen the links between education and the world of work. An example in the Fylde constituency is Carr Hill High School’s work with BAE Systems to embed local labour market information throughout education.