Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help support kinship carers in (a) Liverpool and (b) other areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. In October 2024, the department published the new Kinship Care statutory guidance for local authorities, which sets out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families, including reaffirming the requirement to publish their local offer of support in a clear, accessible way.
Alongside this, as part of her role as the National Kinship Care Ambassador, Jahnine Davis will work alongside all local authorities to help them improve their kinship practice and local policies and ensure they are following national guidance. She will share learning nationally so that more local authorities can benefit from evidence of best practice. In turn, this will help to improve outcomes for children and families across England.
In October 2024, the government also announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting a child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date and could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home.
The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of pay for further education teachers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government recognises the vital role that further education (FE) teachers and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills that they need to succeed in their education and throughout life.
That is why this government is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and colleges, and tackling retention challenges to support teachers to stay within the profession.
To boost recruitment and retention of teachers, the targeted retention incentive is giving eligible early career teachers working in disadvantaged schools, and in all colleges, up to £6,000 after tax annually, on top of their pay.
In colleges this includes those teaching in key subjects including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and technical shortage subjects, such as construction and early years.
The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the FE teaching workforce through its ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.
FE colleges, including sixth form colleges, were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff. The government plays no role in recommending or setting pay or terms of employment within the FE sector.
The Autumn Budget 2024 set out the government’s commitment to skills, by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of updating school food standards to promote (a) healthier and (b) more sustainable diets.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided throughout the school day. They aim to ensure that the right foods are available for children. For example, one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day. The standards also restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods, and ensures that pupils always have healthy options.
The department has committed to supporting schools to drive up their sustainable practices on food. Schools can voluntarily follow the government buying standards, which includes advice around sustainable sourcing.
As with all policies, the department will keep its approach to school food under continued review.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reintroducing maintenance grants on widening access to higher education.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is determined that the higher education (HE) funding system should deliver for our economy, universities and students, and the government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university.
The government recognises the impact that the cost of living crisis has had on students. That is why we are increasing maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of RPIX inflation, to ensure that the most support is targeted at students from the lowest income families. In addition, vulnerable groups of students, such as lone parents and some disabled students who are eligible for benefits, qualify for higher rates of loans for living costs.
Means-tested, non-repayable grants remain available to low-income students with children, or adults who are financially dependent on them. Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses also qualify for non-repayable grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.
However, the department recognises that there is more to be done to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and is determined to reverse the decline in participation rates for disadvantaged students.
The department will set out this government’s longer term plan for HE reform by summer 2025.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of support for children with epilepsy in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Some children with medical conditions may be considered to be disabled under the definition set out in the Equality Act 2010. Where this is the case, governing bodies must comply with their duties under that Act.
Governing bodies should ensure all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. They must ensure the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and should ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children in kinship care.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs, such as supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives, can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
In October 2024, the department announced the appointment of the first National Kinship Care Ambassador, to advocate for kinship children and their carers, and to work directly with local authorities to help improve services whilst sharing good practice across areas. We also published new Kinship Care statutory guidance for local authorities, which sets out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families.
From September 2024, the role of Virtual School Heads has been expanded to include championing the education, attendance and attainment of children in kinship care.
The government is extending the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, and the department is also delivering a package of training and support for all kinship carers across England. In addition, the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund continues to provide therapeutic support for some children in kinship care.
The government recognises the challenge that many kinship carers face in continuing to work alongside taking in and raising a child. The department is introducing kinship leave for its own employees and are dedicated to keeping this area under review to ensure working kinship families receive the support they need.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to remove the 50% cap on faith-based admissions at (a) academies and (b) free schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The diversity of schools in this country is one of our education system’s most valuable assets and faith schools play a pivotal role in that by providing high-quality school places and choice for parents. This government remains committed in its support for faith schools.
Faith school providers, including churches, are among the largest providers of academy trusts. As the department moves to an education system that is increasingly based on schools being part of strong academy trusts, the department needs to ensure that it is making the best and full use of the talents of all trusts. This includes having mechanism in place for all providers to open new schools.
As the department continues to uphold diversity and quality education for all, it is keeping all policies, including the 50% faith admissions cap for free schools with a faith designation, under review to ensure that this country’s education system is world leading.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential implications for her policies on provision of free school meals of universal school meals roll-out in (a) London, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government has extended Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. Around 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related FSM. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Taken together, over one third of pupils are receiving free meals.
The department invests over £1 billion in support of these policies. Schools are currently funded at £480 per eligible pupil per year as a factor value within the National Funding Formula. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. For UIFSM, schools receive £2.53 per meal per child. This was uplifted from £2.41 for the current academic year. Further Education institutions have received the same uplift.
In setting an income threshold for FSM, the government’s judgement is that the current level enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools and the taxpayer. It is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on the lowest incomes. The department does not have any plans to further extend provision at this time. The department will keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department facilitates this by working with other government departments to monitor the cost of living and impact on disadvantaged families and considering a wide range of evidence, including findings produced by the Child Poverty Action Group. In addition to this, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including school leaders, pupils and catering organisations.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her department has made a recent assessment of the potential (a) economic, (b) health and (c) educational benefits of extending eligibility for free school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government has extended Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. Around 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related FSM. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Taken together, over one third of pupils are receiving free meals.
The department invests over £1 billion in support of these policies. Schools are currently funded at £480 per eligible pupil per year as a factor value within the National Funding Formula. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. For UIFSM, schools receive £2.53 per meal per child. This was uplifted from £2.41 for the current academic year. Further Education institutions have received the same uplift.
In setting an income threshold for FSM, the government’s judgement is that the current level enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools and the taxpayer. It is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on the lowest incomes. The department does not have any plans to further extend provision at this time. The department will keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department facilitates this by working with other government departments to monitor the cost of living and impact on disadvantaged families and considering a wide range of evidence, including findings produced by the Child Poverty Action Group. In addition to this, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including school leaders, pupils and catering organisations.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help tackle cost pressures on (a) parents and (b) schools who are paying to provide school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds
This government has extended Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. Around 2 million pupils are currently eligible for benefits-related FSM. Close to 1.3 million additional infants receive free and nutritious meals under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Taken together, over one third of pupils are receiving free meals.
The department invests over £1 billion in support of these policies. Schools are currently funded at £480 per eligible pupil per year as a factor value within the National Funding Formula. This is increasing to £490 in 2024/25. For UIFSM, schools receive £2.53 per meal per child. This was uplifted from £2.41 for the current academic year. Further Education institutions have received the same uplift.
In setting an income threshold for FSM, the government’s judgement is that the current level enables the most disadvantaged children to benefit while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools and the taxpayer. It is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work, or those on the lowest incomes. The department does not have any plans to further extend provision at this time. The department will keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who need them most. The department facilitates this by working with other government departments to monitor the cost of living and impact on disadvantaged families and considering a wide range of evidence, including findings produced by the Child Poverty Action Group. In addition to this, the department regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders including school leaders, pupils and catering organisations.