Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of (a) increasing the level of funding and (b) introducing a multi-year settlement for the Music and Dance Scheme in the Autumn Budget.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government fully supports the arts and the development of a skills pipeline into the creative industries.
The department is providing £36.5 million for the Music and Dance Scheme this academic year. Funding beyond the current academic year, including any introduction of multi-year funding agreements, will be considered in due course. This follows the department’s Spending Review in June, where my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer allocated funding to the 2028/2029 financial year for revenue spending.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the UN report entitled A/HRC/59/23: From economy of occupation to economy of genocide - Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, published on 16 June 2025, whether she has had discussions with the University of Edinburgh on the report.
Answered by Janet Daby
Since education is a devolved matter, no meetings have taken place between my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the University of Edinburgh concerning the United Nations report.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to question 57351 on Students: Loans; what assessment her Department has made on the reason for the gender difference in the number of borrowers whose loans have increased despite making regular payments.
Answered by Janet Daby
The previous government considered gender differences in lifetime repayments, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments, when introducing Plan 5. The full equality impact assessment was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Student loans are not like commercial loans and carry significant protections for borrowers. Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study only when earning over the relevant student loan repayment threshold.
The system is designed to ensure that those who benefit financially from higher education contribute towards the cost of it. This is why repayments are linked to income and not the loan balance, with regular repayments increasing with borrower income. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing.
Crucially, at the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. This subsidy is a conscious investment in the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support for children’s centres (a) in general and (b) serving (i) disadvantaged and (ii) minority ethnic communities.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Local authorities have a duty under Part 1 of the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure there are sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families, including disadvantaged families and those from minority ethnic communities. Part 1 of the Act can be read in full here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/21/part/1.
Funding for children’s centres is made available through the local government finance settlement. In addition, other government funding, including that for public health, may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres.
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Delivering this will require strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and the Start for Life programme, which build on the lessons from Sure Start children’s centres.
75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, 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.
There are three Family Hubs in the Clapham and Brixton Hill constituency that have been funded by the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, as listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-family-hub-sites.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to provide sustainable funding for community-based support centres working with children and young adults (a) at risk of exclusion, (b) living in poverty and (c) experiencing poor mental health and wellbeing.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. Our Plan for Change will strengthen and join up family services, including continuing to invest in the family hubs and start for life programmes.
We are investing £126 million in 2025/26 to build up the family hubs and start for life programmes, to provide access to vital services to improve the health, education and wellbeing of children, young people, and their families.
Family hubs are focussed on universal, preventative services, targeting disadvantaged families. They can also serve as a non-stigmatising gateway for more targeted, intensive, support delivered by local family help services and other interventions. 75 local authorities on the programme have opened more than 400 family hubs. These are based in some of the most deprived areas in the country.
The government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025. The government will also recruit 8,500 mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, what demographic data her Department holds on borrowers whose loan balances have increased.
Answered by Janet Daby
Below is a table of the number of borrowers whose loan balance has increased between the start and end of the financial year 2024/25, broken down by age group and sex. This table covers Student Finance England loan borrowers only, whereas the previous number provided to Question 50912 included borrowers from all UK funding bodies.
Age group | ||||
Sex | 25 and under | 26 - 35 | 36 - 45 | 46 and over |
Female | 279,484 | 806,398 | 235,598 | 97,671 |
Male | 204,496 | 603,617 | 132,563 | 49,426 |
These figures cover Plan 2, 5 and 3 undergraduate and postgraduate loan borrowers funded by Student Finance England. It has been generated by comparing borrowers’ loan balances on 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025. These numbers include all borrowers whose loan balance has increased, regardless of the number of payments they have made across the financial year. There were a small number of borrowers (<5) for whom age and sex were unknown. These borrowers have been suppressed.
At the end of a borrower’s loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off. This write-off, a government subsidy, is a deliberate investment in our people and the economy.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the student loan system does not entrench socioeconomic disparities for (a) first-generation university students and (b) students from lower-income households.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter higher education (HE) can do so.
All eligible students, regardless of their household income, can apply for up-front fee loans to meet the full costs of their tuition. Unlike commercial loans, student loans carry significant protections for borrowers. Monthly repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed, and individuals are only required to make their contribution to the system when they are earning over the repayment threshold.
The government has announced that maximum loans and grants for living and other costs will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year, with the highest levels of support paid to students from the lowest income families. A 3.1% increase is in line with forecast inflation based on the RPIX inflation index.
The department aims to publish our plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White Paper in the summer, and we will work with the sector and the Office for Students to deliver the change that the country needs.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, what comparative assessment she has made of the number of borrowers with increasing loan balances in (a) financial year 2024-25 and (b) previous financial years.
Answered by Janet Daby
The number of borrowers whose loan balance has increased between the start and end of the financial year for the most recent four years is:
These figures cover Student Finance England loan borrowers only, whereas the previous number provided to Question 50912 included borrowers from all UK funding bodies.
These numbers include all borrowers whose loan balance has increased, regardless of the number of payments they have made across the financial year, whereas Question 50912 included only borrowers who made at least four payments across the financial year.
These figures cover Plan 2, 5 and 3 undergraduate and postgraduate loan borrowers funded by Student Finance England. For each of the financial years provided, the figure was generated by comparing borrowers’ loan balances between 1 April at the start of the financial year and 31 March at the end of the financial year.
At the end of a borrower’s loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off. This write-off is a government subsidy and a deliberate investment in our people and the economy.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of persistent student loan debt on levels of social mobility among (a) graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds and (b) other graduates.
Answered by Janet Daby
The system is designed to ensure that those who benefit financially from higher education contribute towards the cost of it. This is why repayments are linked to income and not the loan balance, with monthly repayments increasing with borrower income.
Student loans are not like commercial loans, as they carry significant protections for borrowers. Those earning below the repayment threshold repay nothing, and at the end of the loan term, any outstanding debt is cancelled. This subsidy is a conscious investment in the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.
Furthermore, student loan balances do not appear on borrower credit records.
A full equality impact assessment of how student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 under the previous government and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, whether her Department has considered (a) changes to interest rates, (b) changes to repayment thresholds and (c) other policy changes to help prevent loan balances from increasing despite regular repayments.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter higher education can do so.
Student loan debt is not like other debt. Monthly repayments depend on earnings, not on interest rates or the amount borrowed. No-one who earns under the student loan repayment threshold is required to make any repayments. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off. This write-off is a deliberate investment in our people and the economy. No commercial loan offers this level of protection.
Furthermore, since August 2023, loans for new undergraduate borrowers have been issued on Plan 5 terms. These have an interest rate set in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation. This means Plan 5 borrowers will not repay more than they originally borrow over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation.
The department will set out longer-term plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.