Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many phases of roll-out of free breakfast clubs will there be; when is the next phase due to start rolling out; which schools will be eligible for the second phase roll-out; and when can all state primary schools expect to have free breakfast clubs.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government is committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill means that those schools with children on roll from Reception to Year 6 are required to offer a free breakfast club before the start of each school day. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day.
So far, the department has delivered 2.6 million breakfasts and has offered places to almost 180,000 pupils across the country. Following the success of the early adopters, we will start the first phase of national rollout of the clubs from April 2026. We are investing a further £80 million into the programme to fund approximately 2,000 additional schools between April 2026 and March 2027. This will benefit around 500,000 more children.
Further information, including specifics on eligibility, funding and expectations for schools will be provided later in the Autumn term. This will include detailed guidance as well as a wider package of support.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement (a) foster care reforms, (b) initiatives to improve the (i) recruitment and (ii) retention of foster carers and (c) other measures outlined in the Government’s response to the Education Select Committee’s report on Children’s Social Care published on 17 October 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We must take urgent action to substantially increase foster care numbers. The government is delivering a regional programme for fostering recruitment and retention to streamline the process for prospective carers. There are ten regional fostering recruitment hubs, covering over 60% of local authorities in England. The hubs will continue to rollout the Mockingbird Programme, which offers peer-support to foster carers and children in their care.
Foster care is one of my top priorities as Minister for Children and Families, and we will need to go further and faster with recruiting and retaining more carers. We are prioritising fostering in our reform of children’s social care, as evidenced by the announcement of an additional £40 million investment over the next two financial years. This will benefit thousands of fostered children. We will set out more detail on our planned investments and reforms for fostering in due course.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the Fourth Report of Session 2024-25 of the Education Committee, Children’s Social Care, published on 10 July 2025, HC 430; and whether she plans to accept the recommendation on the development of a national foster care strategy.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department responded to the Fourth Report of the Session 2024-25 of the Education Committee, Children’s Social Care in September 2025. This includes our response to recommendation 29: ‘The Department for Education must put in place a national fostering strategy to complement the existing strategies for adoption and kinship care. As part of this, it should consult on introducing a national register of foster carers and review the financial support available to ensure that it is adequate to meet their needs.’
Foster care is one of my top priorities as Minister for Children and Families, and we need to go further and faster with recruiting and retaining more carers. We are prioritising fostering in our reform of children’s social care, as demonstrated by the announcement of an additional £40 million investment over this financial year and the next two financial years. This will bring benefits to thousands of fostered children. We will set out more detail on our planned investments and reforms for fostering in due course.
The Education Select Committee published the findings on 17 October 2025, the findings can be found here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/49799/documents/266904/default/.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that integrated family hubs are available in all communities.
Answered by Janet Daby
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.
Answered by Janet Daby
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that all local authorities provide family hubs in their communities.
Answered by Janet Daby
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Child Poverty Taskforce has held discussions with the Department for Education on the potential inclusion of family hubs in the forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.
The Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has now met nine times to discuss the critical issues that drive child poverty. One such meeting in January focused on the crucial role of local services, including Family Hubs, in reducing the impact of poverty.
Family Hubs offer vital services from birth to age 19, or to 25 with special educational needs and disabilities, supporting health, education, and wellbeing, particularly for families in poverty. In 2025/26, £126 million will be invested through Family Hubs and Start for Life to give every child the best start in life.
The Taskforce will continue to explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term action across government to reduce child poverty, including Family Hubs.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 learning through play in early years on children's development.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.
There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.
As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.
In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.
For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 interventions in the early years sector.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.
There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.
As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.
In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.
For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
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 promoting a culture of reading for pleasure in the home learning environment on the development of children in (a) the early years and (b) school-age children.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government is committed to giving every child the best start in life by strengthening early intervention, supporting families to engage in play and communication, and enhancing the home learning environment. Our Plan for Change includes a national target for 75% of children to achieve a Good Level of Development by 2028 and increase school readiness.
There is strong evidence that the first 1,001 days, from conception to age two, are critical for a child’s cognitive, emotional and physical development. Through the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, we are supporting families with joined-up services across health, education and early years. This includes support for infant feeding, perinatal mental health, parenting, early language development and the home learning environment.
As announced in last month’s Spending Review, the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, ensuring more families across the country can access high quality, integrated support to give their children the best start in life.
In 2025/26, we are investing £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs to help parents create language-rich, nurturing settings. Our Little Moments Together campaign provides free, accessible resources that encourage parents to chat, play and read with their children.
For school-age children, we continue to promote parental engagement in reading and learning at home, recognising the importance of sustained support throughout a child’s educational journey.