Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 Enrichment Framework and associated benchmarks on access to enrichment opportunities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring that all children and young people can access a variety of enrichment opportunities at school and college as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
The enrichment framework, including the associated benchmarks, is designed to support this ambition by providing practical guidance to schools and colleges on how to deliver and strengthen their enrichment offer.
The benchmarks and self-assessment tools provide a clear structure for schools and colleges to evaluate their enrichment offer and make informed improvements. This includes ensuring opportunities are accessible and engaging for all pupils and students, particularly those at risk of missing out.
The framework also signposts to resources that can help schools and colleges enhance their enrichment provision. Case studies from a range of settings, including alternative provision and special settings, provide practical examples of approaches that can support wider access to enrichment opportunities.
The £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme will work with approximately 400 schools in the most deprived areas for England in support them to meet the benchmarks set out in the enrichment framework. This is alongside a variety of governmental programmes, including the upcoming PE and School Sport Partnerships and a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, as well as National Education Nature Parks, TechYouth, the Cadet Expansion Programme, Erasmus+, and Building Equal Access to Chess in Schools.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s ‘Every Child Can’ programme will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes structured around the framework categories, delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to commit to 80 hours of enrichment per student per year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have set out our expectations and intent for school and college enrichment through the enrichment framework, published on the 15 June. The enrichment framework is intended to support equal access and support all pupils and students to engage with a school or college's offer and setting out benchmarks for high-quality enrichment offers.
Schools and colleges need the flexibility to plan and deliver enrichment activities in a manner that best suits their unique circumstances and community needs. The Framework therefore does not outline a set number of hours, but does set out expectations on a wide ranging offer available to all students.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 calculating parental income for Student Finance purposes before the deduction of carried-forward trading losses on self-employed households.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Entitlement to partially means-tested undergraduate loans for living costs is based on the income of the student’s household. The income used is the total income charged to tax as defined at step one of Section 23 of the Income Tax Act 2007, before reliefs for trade losses and other deductions are made by HMRC from step two onwards of Section 23.
The use of income charged to tax in the household income assessment applies a standard measure of income to calculate a student’s entitlement to living costs support and allows all students to be assessed consistently and fairly. It is not intended to be an exact calculation of disposable income for each household.
Information on income is available from HMRC and allows around 1.3 million assessments a year to be carried out quickly and efficiently each year by Student Finance England.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of pupils who have moved from independent schools to state schools since the introduction of VAT on independent school fees.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
School closure information is available via the register of schools, which is accessible at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
The latest school census data, as at June 2026, reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over the last 20 years. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2025-26.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of independent schools in England that have closed since the introduction of VAT on school fees.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
School closure information is available via the register of schools, which is accessible at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
The latest school census data, as at June 2026, reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over the last 20 years. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2025-26.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure children with Developmental Language Disorder are adequately supported following upcoming reforms to the SEND system.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are ensuring every child gets the right support at the right time. This includes all of those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We regularly engage with organisations who represent children with SLCN, including DLD, such as Speech and Language UK who are a member of our Complex Needs Group.
Speech and language therapists (SaLTs) break down communication barriers, but too often, children and young people with SEND wait too long for this support.
As part of our new £1.8 billion investment, schools will be able to access support from professionals such as SaLTs through the Experts at Hand offer. They will work directly with school staff to equip them with skills and strategies to better meet need.
We are also investing £15 million to establish new SaLT advanced practitioners in every integrated care board area to support more SaLTs to work with educational settings, upskill speech and language support workers, and promote the SaLT apprenticeship route.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children with Developmental Language Disorder were considered when writing the policy paper entitled SEND reform: putting children and young people first.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are ensuring every child gets the right support at the right time. This includes all of those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We regularly engage with organisations who represent children with SLCN, including DLD, such as Speech and Language UK who are a member of our Complex Needs Group.
Speech and language therapists (SaLTs) break down communication barriers, but too often, children and young people with SEND wait too long for this support.
As part of our new £1.8 billion investment, schools will be able to access support from professionals such as SaLTs through the Experts at Hand offer. They will work directly with school staff to equip them with skills and strategies to better meet need.
We are also investing £15 million to establish new SaLT advanced practitioners in every integrated care board area to support more SaLTs to work with educational settings, upskill speech and language support workers, and promote the SaLT apprenticeship route.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the level of funding required to improve school food standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England. Healthier food does not have to mean higher cost. We tested proposals to check affordability and are working closely with the sector.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
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 a national rollout of parenting programmes, such as Triple P and Incredible Years, on levels of stigma associated with seeking parenting support.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The government is committed to expanding access to high-quality, evidence‑based parenting and home learning support as part of the Best Start in Life Strategy, delivered through the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs.
Local authorities are expected to commission from departmental menus of programmes with the strongest evidence base, which include both in-person and digital options.
Delivering these programmes through open-access models within Best Start Family Hubs, aims to normalise parenting support by making it widely available and integrated within a broader system of help for families. This approach is intended to broaden access, ensure families can seek support in a non‑judgemental, accessible environment and reduce barriers, including stigma.
The department will continue to evaluate the impact of Best Start Family Hubs to ensure they are delivering positive outcomes for children and families and informing future policy development.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using parenting programmes such as that implemented in Australia to support parents in managing their children’s screen time.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department is monitoring policies put in place in other countries, including Australia, and we are working with counterparts there to share learnings and best practice. Ministers at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will also be visiting Australia to understand the approach taken.
Last month, the government announced a package of measures to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media, including a commitment to produce evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16. This builds on ongoing work to develop screen time guidance for parents 0 to 5 year-olds.
The government also announced that we will be launching a consultation and national conversation on further measures to ensure technology is enriching children’s lives. The consultation will include exploring the option of banning social media for children below a certain age, alongside a range of other measures.