Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what he is taking, as co-owner of the International Education Strategy, to ensure UK schools expanding overseas do not use non-disclosure agreements to silence harassment or discrimination in ways that would be unlawful in the UK.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to protecting workers from Non-Disclosure Agreement misuse. The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a measure that void NDAs in cases of workplace harassment and discrimination.

We recently consulted on the measure and are currently analysing responses. A Government response will be issued in due course.

With regards to overseas franchises of UK schools, they must abide by the domestic laws of the host country.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government's response to the Make Work Pay consultation on non-disclosure agreements will address staff employed by the overseas franchises of UK schools.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is committed to protecting workers from Non-Disclosure Agreement misuse. The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes a measure that void NDAs in cases of workplace harassment and discrimination.

We recently consulted on the measure and are currently analysing responses. A Government response will be issued in due course.

With regards to overseas franchises of UK schools, they must abide by the domestic laws of the host country.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider providing funding to support nurseries in upgrading older buildings to make them safer during hot weather.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of cooling and heat-management systems in nurseries and early years settings during periods of extreme heat.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue guidance on the indoor temperatures at which nurseries and early years settings become not safe for young children.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider introducing a maximum safe indoor temperature standard for nurseries and early years settings.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.

Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.

There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.

The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to amend the British Schools Overseas standards to prohibit accredited schools from using non-disclosure agreements to prevent disclosure of harassment or discrimination; and whether the approved inspectorates will be required to assess compliance.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

British Schools Overseas schools must abide by the local laws of the host country. There are no current plans to amend the British Schools Overseas Standards.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure that access to safe and good quality education for children overseas.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK Government is committed to promoting equal access to safe, quality and inclusive education for all children worldwide, with a particular focus on girls, children with disabilities, and those displaced due to conflict and the climate crisis. We work closely with impactful and well-coordinated multilateral channels, including the Global Partnership for Education, the World Bank, and Education Cannot Wait, to build stronger, more resilient and inclusive education systems, including in crises.

We also collaborate with partner governments in line with our modern approach to development, providing evidence on what works, as well as technical assistance and tailored support to strengthen education systems. That includes helping countries to deliver their own services more cost effectively, to ensure that marginalised children can access education and that all children can achieve foundational learning outcomes, including basic literacy and numeracy.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will use the Illicit Finance Summit to press the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to introduce publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership without delay or dilution.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Tackling illicit finance at home and internationally remains a key priority for this Government. We recognise the role of those professional enablers who exploit the integrity of their professions to facilitate serious and organised crime and corruption. That is why the upcoming Illicit Finance Summit will focus on strengthening global enforcement against illicit finance, including forging new partnerships to disrupt such professional enablers and take the profit out of crime and corruption. By driving greater transparency, stronger enforcement and higher global standards, we will also make it harder to hide or misuse money, including through tax evasion. We will confirm details of attendance at the Illicit Finance Summit in the normal way in due course.

We regularly raise our expectations on publicly accessible and legitimate interest access registers of beneficial ownership with Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies, and I most recently discussed this with OT leaders and representatives on 16 July.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to tackle the enablers of illicit finance in the financial and legal services sectors.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Tackling illicit finance at home and internationally remains a key priority for this Government. We recognise the role of those professional enablers who exploit the integrity of their professions to facilitate serious and organised crime and corruption. That is why the upcoming Illicit Finance Summit will focus on strengthening global enforcement against illicit finance, including forging new partnerships to disrupt such professional enablers and take the profit out of crime and corruption. By driving greater transparency, stronger enforcement and higher global standards, we will also make it harder to hide or misuse money, including through tax evasion. We will confirm details of attendance at the Illicit Finance Summit in the normal way in due course.

We regularly raise our expectations on publicly accessible and legitimate interest access registers of beneficial ownership with Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies, and I most recently discussed this with OT leaders and representatives on 16 July.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will expand the remit of the Illicit Finance Summit to include tax abuse.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Tackling illicit finance at home and internationally remains a key priority for this Government. We recognise the role of those professional enablers who exploit the integrity of their professions to facilitate serious and organised crime and corruption. That is why the upcoming Illicit Finance Summit will focus on strengthening global enforcement against illicit finance, including forging new partnerships to disrupt such professional enablers and take the profit out of crime and corruption. By driving greater transparency, stronger enforcement and higher global standards, we will also make it harder to hide or misuse money, including through tax evasion. We will confirm details of attendance at the Illicit Finance Summit in the normal way in due course.

We regularly raise our expectations on publicly accessible and legitimate interest access registers of beneficial ownership with Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies, and I most recently discussed this with OT leaders and representatives on 16 July.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help stop organised crime involving vehicle theft.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the severe impacts that vehicle theft has on individuals, businesses and industry.

The Government is determined to ensure that crimes such as these receive the response they deserve. A central aim of the Government’s police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing: by lifting national responsibilities from local forces, we will allow the police to focus on tackling local issues, such as vehicle crime. We have also strengthened neighbourhood policing capacity, with a further 3,000 police officers and police community support officers placed into neighbourhood roles in less than a year.

The Government is also ensuring that the police have the powers necessary to tackle vehicle crime. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces two new offences criminalising the possession, importation, making, adapting and supply of electronic devices used in vehicle theft.

Since 2024, the Home Office has provided almost £1 million For the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership, to strengthen the enforcement response to organised vehicle theft and export. This funding has supported enforcement activity inland and at ports, including funding additional staff, police training and specialist equipment. A further £300,000 has been committed this year.

Information on stolen vehicles is already shared across law enforcement and with relevant partners to support the prevention, detection and investigation of vehicle crime. Current arrangements also support the circulation of stolen vehicle information through national and international policing channels, including INTERPOL databases. Decisions on the wider public release of stolen vehicle data would need careful consideration of operational impacts, including whether publication could inadvertently assist criminal activity.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to make data showing whether vehicles have been reported stolen publicly available free of charge.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recognises the severe impacts that vehicle theft has on individuals, businesses and industry.

The Government is determined to ensure that crimes such as these receive the response they deserve. A central aim of the Government’s police reforms is to protect and revitalise neighbourhood policing: by lifting national responsibilities from local forces, we will allow the police to focus on tackling local issues, such as vehicle crime. We have also strengthened neighbourhood policing capacity, with a further 3,000 police officers and police community support officers placed into neighbourhood roles in less than a year.

The Government is also ensuring that the police have the powers necessary to tackle vehicle crime. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduces two new offences criminalising the possession, importation, making, adapting and supply of electronic devices used in vehicle theft.

Since 2024, the Home Office has provided almost £1 million For the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership, to strengthen the enforcement response to organised vehicle theft and export. This funding has supported enforcement activity inland and at ports, including funding additional staff, police training and specialist equipment. A further £300,000 has been committed this year.

Information on stolen vehicles is already shared across law enforcement and with relevant partners to support the prevention, detection and investigation of vehicle crime. Current arrangements also support the circulation of stolen vehicle information through national and international policing channels, including INTERPOL databases. Decisions on the wider public release of stolen vehicle data would need careful consideration of operational impacts, including whether publication could inadvertently assist criminal activity.

Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan

Political donations and campaign finance regulation

Infected Blood Inquiry compensation

Proportional representation for general elections

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Indefinite Leave to Remain changes

Touring artists mobility arrangements

Found: Chris Curtis Mr Lee Dillon Maya Ellis Mr Will Forster Naushabah Khan Joe Powell Sarah Smith Luke Taylor

Found: Children and young people’s reading in 2026, June 2026 38 Department for Education (RFP0171) 39 Q61 [Luke Taylor

Found: Committee members present: Charlotte Cane; Sam Carling; Lauren Edwards; Simon Hoare; Peter Lamb; Luke Taylor

Found: OB2092704 R Nicky Collins OB2089339 R THE PART EXCHANGE CENTRE HULL LTD Director(s): LUKE TAYLOR