Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will revise the funding formula for schools in England to better reflect educational disadvantages among young people from white working-class backgrounds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Independent Inquiry into White Working-Class Educational Outcomes published its report in June 2026. The department will continue to engage with the Inquiry as it takes forward the next stage of its work.
The department is determined to do more to improve the life chances of our disadvantaged children, and the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ white paper establishes our plan to improve outcomes for all children.
We are investing significantly in the core schools budget in the 2026/27 financial year, with an extra £2.3 billion for schools.
The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for mainstream schools based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics.
In the 2026/27 financial year, 11% (£5.6 billion) of the schools NFF has been allocated through deprivation factors, and 18.1% (£9.2 billion) has been allocated for additional needs overall. In addition, we are providing approximately £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress the Government has made toward reaching the target of 10,000 new foster care places by the end of the Parliament.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department must expand fostering. That is why creating 10,000 more places for children in foster homes this parliament is a priority, with 14 regional hubs moving towards end-to-end recruitment from September, backed by £12 million in transformation funding. Our Room Makers programme will provide up to £25 million to add additional capacity to existing loving foster homes. We have launched a £12.4 million innovation programme, enhanced digital tools and will launch a communications campaign in the autumn.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what alternatives to the current formula for calculating interest rates for Plan 2 student loans are under consideration by her Department.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The formula for calculating interest rates for Plan 2 student loans is set in accordance with regulation 21A of the Education (Student Loans) (Repayment) Regulations 2009 (as amended). The department has no current plans to amend these.
The department continues to look for ways to make the student finance system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers, but it is important that these are financially sustainable.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department maintains records of local authorities that have received multiple Ombudsman findings relating to failures in the delivery of Education, Health and Care Plans, SEND assessments or statutory timescales; and what criteria are used to determine whether additional intervention, monitoring or formal action is required in cases of persistent non-compliance.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.
The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.
Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.
Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.
In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what enforcement powers are available to her Department where a local authority is repeatedly found by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to have failed in its statutory duties towards children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities; and how frequently such powers have been used in each of the last five years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.
The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.
Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.
Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.
In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the number and proportion of complaints relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) that are escalated to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce the underlying causes of such complaints.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) is independent of government and publishes information about complaints and findings relating to local authorities, including matters concerning special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Annual local government complaint reviews can be found on the LGSCO website.
The department considers a range of evidence to ensure local authorities are held to account. This includes Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection outcomes, outcomes for children and young people, and local improvement activity. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection under the current Ofsted / CQC Area SEND inspection framework by the end of 2027.
Decisions on whether additional monitoring, support or intervention are required are taken on a case-by-case basis and informed by the nature of identified concerns. Repeated ombudsman findings may contribute to the wider evidence considered by the department when assessing local authority performance and determining appropriate improvement and intervention activity.
Where serious concerns arise, the department may intervene directly, using statutory powers and improvement partners to support recovery and improve services for children and young people.
In our response to the SEND consultation and throughout the reforms themselves, we will set out how we will make local partnership working more effective and support all partners to drive SEND reforms across all local areas.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with representatives of SMEs on the potential introduction of incentives to support compliance with the Gatsby Benchmarks for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.
We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.
The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.
Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.
We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to SMEs to provide Gatsby Benchmark-aligned careers and workplace opportunities for students with Education, Health and Care Plans, and what steps her Department plans to take to increase employer participation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.
We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.
The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.
Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.
We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) non-financial incentives her Department is planning to take to support SMEs in meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks for students with Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We want every young person with an education, health and care (EHC) plan to benefit from inclusive careers guidance and meaningful workplace experiences.
We have no plans to introduce specific financial incentives linked directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks. Through the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) and careers hubs, we help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) participate by providing brokerage, employer networks, guidance, special educational needs and disabilities-focused resources and support to deliver inclusive employer encounters and workplace experiences.
The CEC’s Employer Standards help businesses improve the quality and inclusivity of their education outreach. More than 1,650 employers have completed a self-assessment, and 83% say engagement with schools and colleges helps them develop talent pipelines.
Programmes such as supported internships and Access to Work also help reduce practical and administrative barriers for employers providing opportunities for young people with EHC plans.
We will continue to engage SMEs through the CEC and careers hubs to increase participation and remove barriers for young people with EHC plans.
Asked by: Damien Egan (Labour - Bristol North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures her Department will take to ensure adequate support is in place for integrating SEND pupils into mainstream educational settings as part of its planned SEND reforms.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is improving access to specialist support in mainstream settings through an investment of £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), to deliver a new Experts at Hand offer. This will enable earlier access to specialist support and interventions for children and young people in early years settings, schools and colleges.
This is supported by £40 million of investment in the specialist workforce, including £15 million to expand the speech and language therapy workforce. This will fund apprenticeships, upskill staff, and ensure an advanced speech and language therapy practitioner is available in every ICB geographic area.
The remaining £26 million will support the training of at least 200 educational psychologists per year in 2026 and 2027.
In addition, we are further investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support the development of a more inclusive education system. Additional funding will be provided to early years, schools and colleges to boost their existing core funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with over £500 million per year over the next three years to help schools strengthen their inclusive offer.
This funding, alongside their existing core funding for SEND, will help equip schools to invest in high quality, adaptive teaching; inclusive pedagogy and decision-making; and creating safe, calm and accessible learning environments.
The SEND reforms propose the development of Individual Support Plans to provide a record of need and provision for any child or young person receiving targeted, targeted plus or specialist support in school or college. They will be developed by settings together with parents and young people, giving every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support a clear and consistent record of their needs and the help they receive, so that support is joined‑up, timely and genuinely centred on what will help them to thrive.
We have engaged extensively with stakeholders, including parents, carers and sector representatives, throughout the recent consultation period and will continue to do so as we take health and education reforms forward.