Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all 16 to 18-year-olds receive political education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.
The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.
Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the practice of state grammar schools charging fees for familiarisation tests ahead of 11-plus entrance exams.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.
The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.
Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including a target of at least 80 hours of enrichment activities in the enrichment framework.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62871.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as matchball assistants at grassroots football clubs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill should not prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as match ball assistants at grassroots football clubs, as it does not change the scope of what is or is not considered employment for the purposes of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects construction of Angel Hill Free School in Rosehill to begin.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Works at Angel Hill Free School are expected to commence in September 2025 subject to the contract being awarded in August.
Departmental officials working on the programme would be happy to meet to discuss the project in detail alongside the Trust.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to enable Get Information About Schools to recent census data.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Get Information About Schools (GIAS) is the department’s register for several organisation types, including schools and academies. GIAS is used by the department and key partners to contact establishments, update systems, perform analysis and inform policy decisions, some of which carry funding implications.
Information on pupils in the GIAS service is based on data provided by schools in the January school census and is updated each summer following the publication of the Schools, pupils and their characteristics accredited official statistics release, which is available at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24. This time point is used because it is the spring collection when the department receives information for all establishment types (such as General Hospital Schools, Alternative Provision and independent schools) and across all data items (such as free school meal eligibility). This allows for one consistent time point to be used in this public resource.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
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 proposed reductions in funding for level seven apprenticeships on barriers of access to the legal profession.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support the uptake of apprenticeships in the hair and beauty sector.
Answered by Janet Daby
Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hair and beauty industry. Employers in the sector have developed several apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, to help them develop their workforce.
The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people, adults and employers through the Skills for Life campaign.
Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan, or have been in local authority care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, or £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the number of British National Overseas Hong Kongers aged 14 to 21 who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities without access to student loans.
Answered by Janet Daby
To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course.
Subject to meeting the other relevant eligibility requirements, persons with the status of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after five years). Most persons who acquire settled status will automatically meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. There are no plans to exempt Hong Kong BN(O)s from the requirement that applies to other British Nationals that they must be settled in the UK before becoming eligible for student funding.
The department has not made an assessment of the number of persons with BN(O) status, or persons of any other nationality, who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities.