Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions in the level of funding for the Adult Skills Fund to mayoral combined authorities on (a) Courses for Jobs and (b) tailored learning; and whether her Department has completed a related equality impact assessment.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is currently facing a challenging fiscal context. Fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control and ensure that we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. In this challenging context, the government carefully considers the impacts of its decisions, including public sector equality duty.
The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
As of August 2025, the department will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities, who are now responsible for adult skills provision in their areas. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding and are responsible for the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for allocating the remaining ASF budget in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas, our allocation methodology for the 2025/26 academic year recognises priority courses, as well as providers with a strong track record of delivering above their allocations and providing for more learners. As a result, there will be a significant number of providers who will see their allocations increase in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in the Education and Skills Funding Agency Adult Skills Fund on (a) Courses for Jobs and (b) tailored learning.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is currently facing a challenging fiscal context. Fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control and ensure that we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. In this challenging context, the government carefully considers the impacts of its decisions, including public sector equality duty.
The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
As of August 2025, the department will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities, who are now responsible for adult skills provision in their areas. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding and are responsible for the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for allocating the remaining ASF budget in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas, our allocation methodology for the 2025/26 academic year recognises priority courses, as well as providers with a strong track record of delivering above their allocations and providing for more learners. As a result, there will be a significant number of providers who will see their allocations increase in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department consulted with its (a) kinship carer and (b) adopter reference groups before the decision to change the funding arrangements for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support fund in the 2025-26 financial year was made.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable the funding to be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. This level of funding will still allow eligible adoptive and kinship children to access a significant package of therapeutic support to help prevent placement breakdowns. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
We have been working closely with our delivery partners to implement operational changes which will make it easier for local authorities and regional adoption agencies to submit applications, and we will continue to review what further steps we can take. The department’s delivery partners are working as quickly as possible to review and approve applications so that children and families can access therapy without delay.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 the changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in the 2025-26 financial year on (a) kinship and (b) adoptive families.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable the funding to be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. This level of funding will still allow eligible adoptive and kinship children to access a significant package of therapeutic support to help prevent placement breakdowns. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
We have been working closely with our delivery partners to implement operational changes which will make it easier for local authorities and regional adoption agencies to submit applications, and we will continue to review what further steps we can take. The department’s delivery partners are working as quickly as possible to review and approve applications so that children and families can access therapy without delay.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process applications for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support fund in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable the funding to be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. This level of funding will still allow eligible adoptive and kinship children to access a significant package of therapeutic support to help prevent placement breakdowns. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
We have been working closely with our delivery partners to implement operational changes which will make it easier for local authorities and regional adoption agencies to submit applications, and we will continue to review what further steps we can take. The department’s delivery partners are working as quickly as possible to review and approve applications so that children and families can access therapy without delay.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which (a) Departments, (b) agencies and (c) public bodies employ staff on graduate visas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department employs people on graduate visas.
Of our executive non-departmental public bodies, the following employ people on graduate visas:
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with public sector pension scheme boards on ensuring that public sector workers who transfer to a private sector prison education provider retain access to their teachers’ pensions.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has been consulting on proposed changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) regulations in view of the recent reclassification of further education colleges as public sector by the Office for National Statistics. The extension of the Fair Deal provisions will allow those workers who are covered by the regulations to retain access to the TPS where that work is transferred to a private sector provider. That may include prison education providers. The consultation process involved discussion with the TPS Advisory Board.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the ten pilot areas for the Kinship Care Allowance.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role local authorities have in supporting them.
The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many seafarer apprentices were in training in 2023-24.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Latest figures for the 2023/24 academic year show that there have been 50 starts on the Level 2 Seafarer (deck rating) apprenticeship standard.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the cost for introducing free school meals for all primary school children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has not made a formal assessment of the cost of providing free school meals to all primary school children.
The department is separately committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school to ensure children are set-up for the day and ready to learn.