Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for Family Hubs after the 2025-26 financial year; and whether her Department plans to provide a multi-year pledge to fund the Family Hubs and Start for Life program beyond this period.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.
Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes.
75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the nutritional value of breakfast meals provided by primary schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary-aged children, starting with more than 750 early adopter schools from April 2025.
The School Food Standards statutory guidance, which regulate the food and drink provided at school, already apply to breakfasts. Compliance with the Standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.
Alongside the existing School Food Standards, in January, the department published guidance for the early adopter schools which provides additional helpful guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help tackle low pay in the further education sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government does not set or recommend pay in further education (FE). This remains the responsibility of individual colleges who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.
The government recognises the vital role that FE teachers play in developing the skills needed to drive our missions to improve opportunity and economic growth. That is why the department is investing around £600 million in FE across the financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. 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 our 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.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help ensure that home-to-school transport is provided for all children aged between 16 and 18 with special educational needs and disabilities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
Local authorities are responsible for transport to education and training for 16-19 year olds. Post-16 transport guidance requires local authorities to make the necessary transport arrangements or provide financial support to ensure young people can participate in education or training. The needs of young people with SEND should be specifically considered and the arrangements put in place for each group must be documented in local authority transport policy statements.
In addition to their statutory responsibilities, many local authorities do offer some form of subsidised transport which, combined with the 16-19 bursary, has been intended to provide financial support to students from low-income households. These decisions are best made locally, in consideration of local needs, the resources available and other local circumstances.