Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address period poverty in East London.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Nobody should have to miss out on education because of their period, which is why the department provides free period products to girls and women in their place of study, through the period products scheme. The scheme aims to remove periods as a barrier to accessing education, addresses pupils being unable to afford period products and aims to destigmatise menstruation.
Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 87% of post-16 organisations in England have used the scheme to order period products.
The department publishes statistics regarding the scheme’s operation, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) employers and (b) further education providers to help ensure the post-16 curriculum is aligned with the future needs of the UK workforce.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is looking at ensuring all 16 to 19-year-olds have access to rigorous and high-value qualifications and training, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in the changing workplace.
The Review has consulted employers and further education (FE) providers through events and meetings and has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.
The Review Group has now published its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. The interim report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.
The government will consider any changes it wishes to make to the curriculum, assessment and qualifications whilst the Review is conducted, and will respond to the final recommendations in autumn 2025.
The government has engaged extensively with stakeholders, including employers, FE providers, and their representative bodies, through its Review of Qualifications Reform and the establishment of Skills England. Employers and education providers have strongly supported aligning technical qualifications with occupational standards. They also welcome Skills England’s role in uniting businesses, training providers, unions, and both national and local government to assess the UK’s evolving workforce needs. This collaborative approach will help ensure that post-16 education and training remain aligned with current and future labour market demands.
Our recent apprenticeship reforms, which give businesses more flexibility to adapt to real training needs, have shown that we are committed to listening to what businesses and providers need to grow the workforce in support of our Plan for Change. The government is committed to continuing to listen as we work to drive further improvements to how qualifications and the wider skills system can supply the UK workforce with the skills it needs. This will include ongoing engagement work with FE providers, employers, and other skills system stakeholders on the development of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy, Technical Excellence Colleges, and the role of Skills England and the Growth and Skills Offer.
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking encourage the take-up of STEM subjects at further education level.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Developing the skills of young people, especially in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a critical enabler for the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth.
To support young people with careers information, advice and guidance, the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), backed by over £30 million of government funding in 2024/25, coordinates a national network of careers hubs which now includes 95% of secondary schools and colleges.
The network includes 400 leading employers and around 4,000 business volunteers, including many representing STEM occupations. Our careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, includes a clear expectation that all 11 to 18 year-olds should have at least one meaningful interaction with employers per year. This should include an encounter with a STEM employer or workplace, or a careers event focused on STEM, before year 11.
The CEC has also worked in partnership with employers and multi-academy trusts to co-design curriculum resources linking a range of careers to specific curriculum points across all national curriculum subjects, including STEM subjects. This helps students to understand how STEM subjects are the pathways to certain careers.
The government’s Skills for Careers website brings greater coherence to the careers offer. This provides a single platform to access information about skills training options and careers, illustrating pathways to STEM occupations, including via further education.
The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central government and regional and local organisations, businesses, training providers and unions, to help meet the skills needs of the next decade, aligned to the government’s Industrial Strategy.
This will be underpinned by Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) that support our aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs.
We also continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through our technical education offer. This includes making available:
Asked by: Jas Athwal (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking through Young Futures Hubs to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has set an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. To achieve this, we plan to reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending and prevent abuse from happening altogether.
This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures prevention partnerships.
Young Futures Hubs will be set up across the country, bringing together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling young people to thrive.
Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types, including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls, are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.
Officials from across government, including the Department for Education, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice are working together using their various bodies of evidence of what works to shape Young Futures Hubs.