Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the £2.61 meal rate paid to Oxfordshire schools for providing universal infant free school meals, taking into account rising (a) food, (b) energy and (c) staff costs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We spend around £600 million per year ensuring close to 1.3 million additional infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of the universal infant free school meal (UIFSM) policy in 2014.
The department has not made a formal assessment of UIFSM funding for Oxfordshire schools, but we meet regularly with the sector, including school food caterers, and draw on these insights to inform our policy thinking.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of student maintenance grants in meeting students' living costs.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The previous government removed maintenance grants, and the real-terms value of loan support for students has reduced by more than 20% over the last five years. It is essential that our government improves this.
That is why we will reintroduce targeted means-tested maintenance grants before the end of this Parliament, funded by a levy on international student fees. The grants will support students from low-income households studying courses aligned with our missions and the Industrial Strategy, and we will set out further detail at the Autumn Budget.
Additionally, the government will increase maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. This will provide students with long-term financial certainty on the financial support they will receive while studying and ensure that students from the lowest income families receive the largest year-on-year cash increases in support.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the statutory training (a) SENCOs and (b) teachers receive on dyscalculia.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including pupils with dyscalculia.
National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are available to education professionals at all levels. From 2024, the NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators became the mandatory qualification for SENCOs. This will play a key role in ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high quality, evidence-based training, allowing them to fulfil their central role in supporting pupils with SEND.
We know some children face real challenges in maths, particularly those with dyscalculia and other special educational needs. We are supporting schools through our national RISE Maths Hubs, helping teachers deliver effective, inclusive lessons.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report, published in March 2025, what steps her Department is taking to ensure (a) climate and (b) nature education is embedded across the curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is important that pupils learn about climate and nature education. Therefore, these topics are already included within the geography, science, and citizenship national curricula, and schools can also choose to teach these matters where they feel relevant in other subjects.
In addition, the Natural History GCSE will enable more young people to benefit from the opportunity to learn about the natural world in more depth at key stage 4. It will equip them to understand, and respect, the natural world and contribute to the protection and conservation of the environment locally, nationally and internationally.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report set out that rapid social, environmental and technological change necessitates that the curriculum keep pace, including a greater focus on sustainability and climate science.
The Review’s final report has been published on 5 November with the government response to the recommendations published on the same day.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department plans to provide to schools that are not eligible for funding under the Connect the classroom programme for upgrading essential IT infrastructure.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to supporting all schools to harness the transformative potential of technology. By setting digital and technology standards, developing support services, including our plan technology for your school service, and investing in connectivity, we aim to help all schools to have essential digital infrastructure in place.
Funding under the Connect the Classroom programme is targeted at schools in greatest need, ensuring public investment delivers the most impact.
The department is currently finalising internal budgeting processes and will announce any updates on future funding via GOV.UK.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to ensure that funding through the School Rebuilding Programme is spent in line with (a) net zero standards and (b) sustainability goals.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department commits to a wide range of actions in our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, including a requirement that all new school buildings we deliver are net-zero carbon in operation and are adapted to climate change. The strategy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy.
All schools funded through the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) have been designed to meet this standard, supporting the UK’s 25-year Environment Plan by requiring all projects to increase their level of greening in support of biodiversity net gain. The design principles of our output specification for SRP will ensure sites are more resilient to the impact of climate change and buildings delivered will achieve net zero carbon in operation.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) early years and (b) childcare infrastructure keeps pace with housing growth in (i) rural and (ii) semi-rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The government is boosting availability and increasing access to childcare for families through the school-based nurseries programme, including school-led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers operating from school sites.
The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Childcare Works, a government-supported initiative designed to help local authorities, schools, and early years providers deliver our childcare reforms, additionally provides one-to-one targeted support for local authorities who need it, alongside a wider package of support for all local authorities to support them to deliver the childcare expansion programme.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided guidance to local authorities on (a) forecasting and (b) meeting childcare demand in areas of rapid population growth.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. The government is boosting availability and increasing access to childcare for families through the school-based nurseries programme, including school-led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers operating from school sites.
The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children. We have regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
Childcare Works, a government-supported initiative designed to help local authorities, schools, and early years providers deliver our childcare reforms, additionally provides one-to-one targeted support for local authorities who need it, alongside a wider package of support for all local authorities to support them to deliver the childcare expansion programme.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has with the Scottish and Welsh Assemblies on the potential merits of issuing an apology to people affected by the adoption of children of unmarried women between 1949-1976.
Answered by Janet Daby
Departmental officials have had, and will continue to have, discussions with the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly to understand and learn from their approaches. We are considering all aspects of this issue with the seriousness and sensitivity it deserves.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early years and childcare provision in areas experiencing significant housing development.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is this government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26, we plan to provide over £8 billion as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. This represents an additional £2 billion compared to 2024/25. Additionally, the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 legal agreements allow local authorities to raise funds from new developments to support infrastructure needs in their area.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.