Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the difference between the Universal Infant Free School Meals funding rate and the average cost of meal provision charged by catering providers; and whether she intends to increase the funding rate to reflect rising food and operational costs.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The cost of providing a school meal varies between schools and catering providers, reflecting differences in local circumstances, operating models, procurement arrangements and contractual terms.
Universal infant free school meals are funded through a separate grant at a rate of £505 per eligible pupil, which assumes that each pupil takes 190 meals over an academic year. The government is committed to ensuring that eligible pupils receive a nutritious meal during the school day and that schools retain flexibility to determine the catering arrangements that best meet their needs. Schools can access procurement support through the Get Help Buying for Schools service.
The department is working across government to address rising costs. We continue to engage with the sector to understand costs to caterers and schools and to support delivery of school food. As with all programmes, funding arrangements are kept under review as part of wider spending decisions.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
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 school attendance penalty notice regulations on NHS ambulance service staff with limited ability to choose annual leave due to operational rostering systems; whether she has assessed trends in the levels at which such families are impacted; and for what reason operational necessity may be accepted as an exceptional circumstance for Police and Fire and Rescue Service employees and not for NHS ambulance service staff.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All children are entitled to a full-time education. While the department recognises that some parents, including NHS ambulance service staff, may face constraints in choosing their annual leave because of operational rostering arrangements, we do not believe the solution is to endorse additional time away from school.
The department does not collect data on the occupations of parents who receive penalty notices, which means trends specifically affecting families of NHS ambulance service staff cannot be identified from the data available.
The national framework for penalty notices is designed to ensure fairness and consistency by applying expectations equally to all, rather than through blanket exemptions for particular occupations. Headteachers retain the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances and must consider each application individually, taking account of the specific facts and circumstances presented by the family. A family holiday would not normally constitute an exceptional circumstance.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that primary schools which have already incorporated PE and Sport Premium funding into their 2026/27 financial plans are not disadvantaged by the discontinuation of that grant.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.
To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence her Department used to determine that the proposed partnerships network would deliver equivalent outcomes for pupil physical activity and wellbeing as the PE and Sport Premium.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.
To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department conducted an equality impact assessment prior to discontinuing the PE and Sport Premium.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.
To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she consulted headteachers and primary school leaders before discontinuing the PE and Sport Premium.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.
To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the difference in annual funding available to primary schools under the PE and Sport Premium compared to the proposed partnerships network replacement.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Despite over a decade of investment via the PE and sport premium, less than half of all children meet the Chief Medical Officer’s recommended 60 active minutes a day. Inequalities persist, particularly for girls and pupils from disadvantaged and black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
We are investing over £1 bIllion for PE and School Sport over the next three years funding a new approach which will combine both a universal offer to all primary and secondary schools, plus targeted support for those schools and pupils who will benefit from it the most. New Partnerships will strengthen links between schools and local clubs, to deliver high quality PE for every child and remove barriers to participation for less active children. Provision will be informed by baseline and ongoing needs assessments led by a national delivery partner.
To support schools with the transition to this new approach, the government has committed to a £100 million transitional Premium payment for the 2026/27 academic year. In response to longstanding calls from schools, we are also investing almost £200 million in capital funding to go towards improving school sporting facilities.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of school attendance penalty notice regulations on families of emergency service workers, including ambulance service staff, with limited ability to choose annual leave due to operational rostering systems; and if she will consider introducing (a) greater flexibility and (b) exemptions within guidance for such workers.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
All children are entitled to a full-time education.
The national framework for penalty notices is designed to ensure fairness and consistency by applying expectations equally to all. While schools must apply the attendance framework fairly and consistently, headteachers retain the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances. This allows them to consider the specific circumstances faced by individual families, including those in emergency services roles. However, a family holiday would not normally constitute an exceptional circumstance, and the school year is structured to provide significant opportunities for holidays outside of term time.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Religious Education Council’s Task and Finish Group on the development of the proposed Programmes of Study for a potential National Curriculum for Religious Education; and what the (a) criteria and (b) process was for selecting members of the (i) Task and Finish Group and (ii) any expert advisory groups.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has met Vanessa Ogden, chair of the independent sector led group, along with some members of the group. She welcomes the independent work being undertaken to develop a draft religious education curriculum.
The department was not responsible for selecting its members or for determining the criteria or processes used to select members of the group or any associated expert advisory groups. As such, decisions on membership were a matter for the sector-led group and were intended to ensure a breadth of expertise and representation from across the religious education sector.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact on adopted children, children living under Special Guardianship Orders, and their families of the reductions to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) fair access limits introduced in April 2025; and if she will publish evidence gathered in the last 12 months on (a) the potential effect of the lower £3,000 annual funding cap, (b) the inclusion of specialist assessments within that cap, (c) the removal of match‑funding provisions for higher‑cost therapeutic interventions, and (d) resulting consequences for the wellbeing of the children and their families, access to therapeutic services, and placement stability.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The revised criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) were introduced in April 2025 and were designed to ensure support for all those applying for ASGSF funding. An equalities impact assessment was published in July 2025.
Analysis shows that in 2024/25, users of the fund had an average spend of £3,170. The department continues to review data on the impact on applications numbers and value of applications to assess the overall impact of the changes made. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies may supplement funding where additional support is assessed to be required. Over 15,000 applications have been approved since April 2025, including over 1,000 specialist assessments, demonstrating continued access to support.
As the Minister for Children and Families, I recently announced the continuation of the ASGSF for 2026 to 2028, and a consultation on the longer-term future of adoption support, including a call for evidence on what works for children and families.