Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of ending transitional protections for free school meals on levels of school funding.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
Transitional protections have been in place since 2018 to ensure no one who gained FSM eligibility would lose it while Universal Credit was rolled out. Following our expansion of eligibility from September 2026, it is our intention to end all protections.
Schools will receive an increase in funding as a result of the change in FSM policy. We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multiyear spending review period to cover the cost of additional free meals, after taking into account the removal of protections.
There will be no impact of the removal of FSM protections on the pupil premium or related disadvantage funding during the spending review period. Pupils that are currently protected will remain so for 6 years after they receive FSM under the "FSM6" categorisation.
Over the longer term, we are reviewing how we allocate pupil premium and related funding to schools and local authorities to ensure it is targeted to those who need it most, while maintaining the overall amount we spend on these funding streams.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the increase to the core schools budget for 2025-26 and 2026-27 is expected to be spent by schools in covering part of the (a) recent teacher pay rise and (b) National Insurance contribution increase.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing £1.4 billion to support schools with their increases to employer National Insurance contributions and staff pay awards in the 2025/26 financial year. Following the spring Spending Review, this level of funding will continue, and we announced additional funding that will take core school budgets to £65.9 billion by the 2028/29 financial year. Schools have autonomy over how they use their core funding to best meet their priorities, including any decisions on staffing.
More information on core funding allocations for 2026/27 will be announced in the autumn, as part of the usual national funding formulae process. Costs such as pay for future years are currently uncertain and subject to the outcomes of separate pay processes.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the funding announced in the Spending Review 2025 for reform of the SEND system will be invested in improving early identification of SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
At the 2025 Spending Review, the department announced that funding for schools will increase by £4.7 billion per year by 2028/29 compared to the 2025/26 core schools budget, which was published in the Spring Statement 2025.
This additional funding will enable us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to make mainstream education more inclusive and improve outcomes for children with SEND.
Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform, including how we will ensure children get the support they need earlier, will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We do not expect local authorities to use their future high needs funding allocations to pay down their historic deficits.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any of the funding announced in the Spending Review for reform of the SEND system will be used to cover existing SEND related deficits at local authority level.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
At the 2025 Spending Review, the department announced that funding for schools will increase by £4.7 billion per year by 2028/29 compared to the 2025/26 core schools budget, which was published in the Spring Statement 2025.
This additional funding will enable us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to make mainstream education more inclusive and improve outcomes for children with SEND.
Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform, including how we will ensure children get the support they need earlier, will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We do not expect local authorities to use their future high needs funding allocations to pay down their historic deficits.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the announced expansion to Free School Meals eligibility will affect eligibility for Free School Transport.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
100,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by the end of this Parliament, through the extension of free school meals (FSM) to all households on Universal Credit. Children who meet the new, higher threshold for FSM from September 2026 will not automatically be entitled to ‘extended rights’ home to school travel. The government’s overriding priority is to tackle child hunger.
Children will continue to be eligible for ‘extended rights’ home to school transport if they live in a household with an income below the existing FSM threshold and meet the eligibility criteria relating to the distance between their home and school. Further information about a new mechanism for assessing eligibility for ‘extended rights’ home to school travel will be available shortly.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's timetable is for bringing forward plans to reform SEND provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed and thrive in their education and as they move into adult life.
We are aware of the challenges in the current SEND system, and the government is urgently considering how it needs to be reformed. However, these are complex issues which need a considered approach to deliver sustainable change.
The department is working closely with experts on reforms, including appointing a strategic advisor for SEND, who is playing a key role in convening and engaging with the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children and families.
The department has also established an expert advisory group for inclusion to improve the mainstream education outcomes and experiences for those with SEND, and a Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group to provide a shared understanding of what provision and support in mainstream educational settings should look like for neurodivergent children and young people within an inclusive system.
The department is working at pace to address these challenges and will be setting out our plans to do so in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the status is of each of the 19 special free schools that have been in pre-opening phase since 2021 or prior.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
For those schools that have been in the pre-opening phase since 2021 or prior, the department is engaging with local authorities and trusts in the usual way and progressing work in line with our vision for the special educational needs (SEN) system.
As the hon. Member for Twickenham will appreciate, pipeline projects are at different stages of development and the department is prioritising operational decisions on those that are due to open in the shorter term. The department is, however, pleased to note that one of those 19 schools, Carew Academy, has recently officially opened and pupils have moved in as of April 2025.
The government is clear it wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, and ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.
As with all government investment, special and alternative provision free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the SEN system.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 49038 tabled by the hon. Member for Twickenham on 29 April 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 49038 was published on 16 May 2025.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applicants for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support fund were unsuccessful in each year since 2015.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below shows the number of rejected applications for the adoption and special guardianship support fund by financial year:
Financial Year | Rejected Applications |
2015/16 | 11 |
2016/17 | 93 |
2017/18 | 48 |
2018/19 | 24 |
2019/20 | 0 |
2020/21 | 0 |
2021/22 | 0 |
2022/23 | 0 |
2023/24 | 1 |
2024/25 | 0 |
The reduction in rejected applications is largely the result of improved systems, and of close working between local authorities, Regional Adoption Agencies and the department’s delivery partner to address queries and support re-work of applications. This means that, although some applications are withdrawn for a range of reasons, few are ultimately rejected.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has produced an impact assessment for the recently announced changes to grants available under the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable as many children and families as possible to access the available funding. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment.