Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with the PCS trade union over the Department for Education office closures in Exeter.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department engages regularly and constructively with its recognised trade unions, including the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union, in line with established frameworks. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is fully briefed, and engagement with PCS and other unions is taken forward constructively on her behalf by departmental officials, including on workforce changes such as office closures.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she are taking to support children with medical conditions in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions.
The department has consulted on revised statutory guidance on Medical conditions at school: statutory guidance, seeking views from schools, parents, health professionals, and other stakeholders on proposals to strengthen how schools meet their duties, including on allergy safety. Our aim is to ensure that every child can access education safely and confidently, regardless of their health needs. The guidance can be accessed at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/medical-conditions-at-school/medical-conditions-at-school-statutory-guidance/.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act has introduced new allergy safety duties, requiring all schools in England to have clear, regularly updated policies and arrangements for managing allergy safety.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish an impact assessment of the provisions in Part 2 (Sections 24–29) of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of those provisions on (a) children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans and (b) children experiencing mental health difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has published impact assessments considering a broad range of impacts of provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty, all public authorities, including government departments, must give due regard to equality considerations, including the impact on disabled people.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that disabled children have access to social care support following the Law Commission's report on social care law; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing legal reform to achieve that objective.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of adequacy of the Law Commission's findings regarding regional variations in support for disabled children; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure consistent entitlements for such children across all local authorities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to consider the recommendations in the Law Commission's 2025 report on disabled children's social care; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of legislative reform alongside the rollout of the Family Help programme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
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 introducing national eligibility criteria for disabled children's social care in England; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care.
The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families.
In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response.
Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has reviewed the findings of the National Association of Disability Practitioners’ December 2025 critique of the Equality Impact Assessment relating to Disabled Students’ Allowance changes; and what steps she plans to take in response that critique.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any further reductions or restrictions to DSA-funded assistive technology or non-medical support are currently under consideration.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many formal requests for meetings her Department has received from disability sector organisations regarding recent DSA policy changes since October 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.