Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of schools that were affected by flooding in each of the last five academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department cannot provide the information requested for all schools. However, our Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) collects details of claims to its service. The table below shows the number of flooding related claims made to the RPA in each of the last five academic years as at 31 December 2024.
Academic Year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25* | Total |
RPA Member Schools | 6,387 | 7,716 | 9,098 | 10,008 | 11,144 | 12,538 |
|
Members who experienced a weather-related event | 317 | 267 | 203 | 427 | 427 | 258 | 1899 |
*Partial year up to and including December 2024.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of days of education lost because of flooding in each of the last five academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The information requested cannot be provided as this is not held by the department.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled New national flood and coastal erosion risk information, published on 25 March 2025, whether her Department has held discussions with local authorities on insurance costs for schools now included in flood zones (a) two and (b) three.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the department’s Schools Water Strategy team work with delivery partners such as the Environment Agency, water companies and lead local flood authorities to deliver flood prevention measures in schools through a number of workstreams.
The department has invested in measures to reduce risk to flooding at 573 schools to the end of 2023/24 and through the Schools Water Strategy, we continue to invest in flood prevention in schools at risk of flooding in line with the published Sustainability and Climate Change strategy.
Local authorities can choose which insurance provider is suitable for their needs, considering both breadth of cover and value for money.
The department’s Risk Protection Arrangement is an alternative to commercial insurance and operates on a no material fact disclosure basis, which means the cost of the service to its members will be unaffected by this information.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 40352 on Mathematics: Mid Bedfordshire, when she plans to publish further details on (a) funding for the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme and (b) the full offer for (i) schools and (ii) colleges in each area.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
On 6 May 2025, the department announced £8.2 million of funding for the advanced maths support programme (AMSP). More information about this programme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-girls-to-study-maths-under-plans-to-improve-pathway-into-ai-careers.
The AMSP have recently provided an update on these changes, effective from 1 April 2025, with further information on the full offer for schools and colleges to be released shortly. These updates can be found via the AMSP’s website using the following link: https://amsp.org.uk/.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding per pupil per school day will be provided to schools to fund universal breakfast clubs.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire to the answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56756.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing VAT on independent schools in (a) January, (b) August and (c) September 2025 on the number of independent school closures.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury (HMT). HMT published a tax information and impact note concerning the introduction of VAT on independent school fees which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees. Information about individual schools is available at the Get Information About Schools service.
Between 2010 and 2024 over 1,000 private schools closed. During the same period 1,213 opened, of which 705 were independent special schools.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the national flood risk assessment data, published on 25 March 2025, whether she has written to schools with buildings in flood zones (a) two and (b) three.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s Schools Water Strategy team works with delivery partners such as the Environment Agency, water companies and lead local flood authorities to deliver flood prevention measures in schools through a number of workstreams.
The Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in schools project collaborates with industry experts to jointly fund SuDS’ installation in schools at risk of surface water, reducing their flood risk.
The Environment Agency Partnership contributes funding to enable large-scale community flood schemes to be delivered.
The Property Flood Resilience assesses and implements property flood resilience and recovery measures across the school estate, targeting schools in high-risk areas and schools that have suffered repeated disruption.
Awareness and Education signposts or provides schools with appropriate information and tools to manage their water-related climate risks, as well as educational materials to support this and necessary behavioural changes
The department has invested in measures to reduce risk to flooding at 573 schools to the end of 2024/25 through the Schools Water Strategy, and will continue to invest in flood prevention in schools at risk of flooding in line with the published Sustainability and Climate Change strategy.
All education settings are expected to have a climate action plan to prepare for the effects of climate change, of which flooding is one. Taking a whole-school approach to climate change includes consideration towards climate adaptation and mitigation, supporting carbon reduction and nature recovery and increasing resilience to climate-related impacts such as flooding. The department has commissioned the Sustainability Support for Education hub to help settings start or continue with their sustainability journey, as well as funding the Climate Ambassador programme, which provides access to tailored support from experts from industry to develop and implement their climate action plans. Details about the hub can be found here: https://www.sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.uk/. Details about the programme are available here: https://climateambassadors.org.uk/.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the national flood risk assessment data, published on 25 March 2025, whether her Department plans to improve the flood defences of schools in flood zones (a) two and (b) three.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s Schools Water Strategy team works with delivery partners such as the Environment Agency, water companies and lead local flood authorities to deliver flood prevention measures in schools through a number of workstreams.
The Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) in schools project collaborates with industry experts to jointly fund SuDS’ installation in schools at risk of surface water, reducing their flood risk.
The Environment Agency Partnership contributes funding to enable large-scale community flood schemes to be delivered.
The Property Flood Resilience assesses and implements property flood resilience and recovery measures across the school estate, targeting schools in high-risk areas and schools that have suffered repeated disruption.
Awareness and Education signposts or provides schools with appropriate information and tools to manage their water-related climate risks, as well as educational materials to support this and necessary behavioural changes.
The department has invested in measures to reduce risk to flooding at 573 schools to the end of 2024/25 through the Schools Water Strategy and will continue to invest in flood prevention in schools at risk of flooding in line with the published Sustainability and Climate Change strategy.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 April 2025 to Question 43285 on Schools: Solar Power, whether any schools in Bedfordshire are on the long list.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Pursuant to my answer of 10 April 2025, work is still progressing on finalising the long and short lists of projects in the East of England region to participate in this first year of the Great British Energy Solar Partnership programme. The department hopes to have finalised the selection before the summer break.
In the interim, we are providing support for all schools and colleges to start on their journey towards net zero via our new online sustainability support for education platform and our climate ambassador programme. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education.
Where schools are considering the purchase of solar panels or other sustainable systems, our ‘Get help for buying’ service provides support to ensure that schemes procured are of high quality and value to the sector. More information can be found here: https://gethelpbuyingforschools.campaign.gov.uk/.
Details of other government funding available to public bodies for sustainability can also be found at this website, prepared by the Crown Commercial Service: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/social-value/carbon-net-zero/funding-and-grants.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the change in the VAT status of private school fees was introduced during the school year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Tax policy is a matter for HM Treasury.
As set out in the government response to the technical note on applying VAT to private school fees, the government believes it was right to introduce these changes as soon as possible in order to raise the funding needed to help deliver our education priorities for the 94% of children who attend state schools in the UK. This response is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees-removing-the-charitable-rates-relief-for-private-schools.
As a result of the January 2025 start date, the VAT policy is forecast to raise £460 million in the 2024/25 financial year.
The January 2025 start date gave schools and parents five months to prepare from the date the policy was announced.
HMRC has taken action to support private schools through the change, including providing detailed guidance, running webinars and allocating additional resource to process VAT registration applications.