Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2025 to Question 66057 on Special Educational Needs: Reform, when her Department plans to make a decision on the future of Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that every child or young person in our country deserves the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.
This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families, which is why we are launching a further period of listening and engagement, testing our proposals with parents, teachers and experts in every region of the country, so that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our solutions.
We know that families need change, and that is exactly why it is critical we get this right. The department will set out the full Schools White Paper in the new year, building on existing work to create a system rooted in inclusion, where children receive high-quality support early on and can thrive at their local school.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to maintain the legal right to additional support for children with SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that every child or young person in our country deserves the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child or young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work. There will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need.
This government is determined to deliver reform that stands the test of time and rebuilds the confidence of families, which is why we are launching a further period of listening and engagement, testing our proposals with parents, teachers and experts in every region of the country, so that lived experience and partnership are at the heart of our solutions.
We know that families need change, and that is exactly why it is critical we get this right. The department will set out the full Schools White Paper in the new year, building on existing work to create a system rooted in inclusion, where children receive high-quality support early on and can thrive at their local school.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of radicalisation ideologies online in rural areas.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is important that children and young people have the appropriate skills to remain resilient to misinformation and disinformation, and to extremist content. ‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance which provides schools and colleges with robust information on how to protect pupils and students online.
Online safety is also taught through compulsory national curriculum subjects such as relationships, sex and health education, computing and citizenship education. These subjects teach pupils a number of skills relating to staying safe online as well as ensuring that pupils are digitally literate, including being able to effectively evaluate and apply information online.
The department publishes comprehensive advice and has made a range of resources freely available on our Educate Against Hate website, supporting teachers across all sectors to educate children and young people about the risks of all types of extremism and radicalisation. We also have a team of regional co-ordinators who work directly with education institutions in England to provide advice, support and training to ensure providers are well equipped to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of far-right extremist ideologies online.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is important that children and young people have the appropriate skills to remain resilient to misinformation and disinformation, and to extremist content. ‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance which provides schools and colleges with robust information on how to protect pupils and students online.
Online safety is also taught through compulsory national curriculum subjects such as relationships, sex and health education, computing and citizenship education. These subjects teach pupils a number of skills relating to staying safe online as well as ensuring that pupils are digitally literate, including being able to effectively evaluate and apply information online.
The department publishes comprehensive advice and has made a range of resources freely available on our Educate Against Hate website, supporting teachers across all sectors to educate children and young people about the risks of all types of extremism and radicalisation. We also have a team of regional co-ordinators who work directly with education institutions in England to provide advice, support and training to ensure providers are well equipped to prevent children and young people from being drawn into terrorism.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of funding for the holiday activities and food programme for local authorities in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
We will communicate specific regional funding allocations in due course to ensure that children across the country can participate in HAF.
Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There should also be good geographical spread across the local authority but with increased supply in areas with higher levels of families eligible for free school meals.
The multi-year funding commitment will provide local authorities with security and flexibility, enabling more strategic planning, innovation, and long-term partnerships to support increased value for money. Alongside the funding allocation we will also issue our updated guidance, which sets out how this funding can be used and builds on what we are learning from the very best provision across the country.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on increasing the availability of holiday club spaces in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency through the holiday activities and food programme.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
We will communicate specific regional funding allocations in due course to ensure that children across the country can participate in HAF.
Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There should also be good geographical spread across the local authority but with increased supply in areas with higher levels of families eligible for free school meals.
The multi-year funding commitment will provide local authorities with security and flexibility, enabling more strategic planning, innovation, and long-term partnerships to support increased value for money. Alongside the funding allocation we will also issue our updated guidance, which sets out how this funding can be used and builds on what we are learning from the very best provision across the country.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of issuing guidance to (a) local authorities and (b) holiday club providers on enabling families to retain holiday club places without having to pay for additional weeks they do not intend to use.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
We will communicate specific regional funding allocations in due course to ensure that children across the country can participate in HAF.
Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There should also be good geographical spread across the local authority but with increased supply in areas with higher levels of families eligible for free school meals.
The multi-year funding commitment will provide local authorities with security and flexibility, enabling more strategic planning, innovation, and long-term partnerships to support increased value for money. Alongside the funding allocation we will also issue our updated guidance, which sets out how this funding can be used and builds on what we are learning from the very best provision across the country.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to increase the level of funding for the Holiday activities and food programme for children in (a) rural areas and (b) West Dorset constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, we confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
We will communicate specific regional funding allocations in due course to ensure that children across the country can participate in HAF.
Local authorities and their providers have flexibility about how they deliver provision to best serve the needs of children and families in their area. The department encourages all local authorities to have a rich mix of provision catering for children with different interests and of different ages. There should also be good geographical spread across the local authority but with increased supply in areas with higher levels of families eligible for free school meals.
The multi-year funding commitment will provide local authorities with security and flexibility, enabling more strategic planning, innovation, and long-term partnerships to support increased value for money. Alongside the funding allocation we will also issue our updated guidance, which sets out how this funding can be used and builds on what we are learning from the very best provision across the country.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to local authorities facing financial strain in delivering SEND services in (a) the South West and (b) Dorset.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is over £12 billion in 2025/26.
Of that total, the Southwest is being allocated over £983 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £71 million on last year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula. Of this amount, Dorset is being allocated over £60 million, an increase of £4 million on last year.
The department intends to set out plans for reforming the SEND system in further detail in a Schools White Paper in the autumn and are considering the funding for future years following the spending review that concluded in June. We will also set out later this year how the government will support local authorities to deal with their historic deficits.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that statutory deadlines for SEND assessments and Education, Health and Care Plans are consistently upheld by local authorities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for West Dorset to the answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 65182.