Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing a tiered Office for Students registration fee structure that reflects the size and turnover of higher education providers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In line with the recommendation set out in the Independent Review of the Office for Students (OfS), led by former Interim Chair of the OfS David Behan, the government plans to consult on the structure of fees charged to the sector by the OfS. The consultation will allow us to work with the sector to ensure that the system is fair, proportionate, and sustainable. We will be inviting views from across the sector as part of this process. An assessment of financial impacts upon all types of providers will be made as part of this work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the financial impact of Office for Students regulatory fees on small higher education providers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In line with the recommendation set out in the Independent Review of the Office for Students (OfS), led by former Interim Chair of the OfS David Behan, the government plans to consult on the structure of fees charged to the sector by the OfS. The consultation will allow us to work with the sector to ensure that the system is fair, proportionate, and sustainable. We will be inviting views from across the sector as part of this process. An assessment of financial impacts upon all types of providers will be made as part of this work.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the proportionality of data return requirements placed on small higher education providers compared to large universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Whilst the department recognises that effective regulation brings a certain amount of data burden to those being regulated, we must ensure that English higher education (HE) remains world class, financially stable and good value for students.
The department continues to work with the Office for Students to reduce unnecessary data burden, ensure a proportionate and risk-based approach to regulation, and to ensure the HE regulatory system is clearer, more effective, and more accountable.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 her Department's changes to the eligibility criteria for funding for master’s degree-level apprenticeships on (a) disabled adults and (b) people whose education has been delayed or interrupted by (i) health, (ii) social and (iii) economic circumstances.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Nottingham East to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57823.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 using tablets for the Reception Baseline Assessment on children's (a) cognitive and (b) social development; and what guidance her Department has issued to schools on ensuring that the use of tablets in the classroom is balanced with traditional learning methods.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The digital elements of the reception baseline assessment (RBA) have been in development since 2019 and subject to extensive trials with teachers and pupils, using the Standards and Testing Agency’s internationally recognised assessment development approach. This has included item validation trials in 2020, 2021 and 2023 involving 2,801 pupils across 277 schools, and a technical pre-test trial in 2022 where 2,406 assessments were completed across a nationally representative sample of 254 schools. In November and December 2024, a voluntary trial involving over 1,000 schools took place, and participating schools undertook key activities needed to administer the assessment, including completing a sample assessment with three pupils. Input from the trials and extensive review by early years experts and teachers has helped shape the content and the digital platform to meet the needs of schools and pupils.
The revised RBA remains interactive and play-based, retaining the use of small toys and verbal responses for other questions. Pupils can respond verbally to on-screen questions if they do not wish to interact with the screen, and a paper-based alternative is available where this is more suitable for the pupil.
Schools, trusts, and local authorities are responsible for making decisions that best meet their educational and operational needs regarding the use of technology in the classroom. The department does not set specific requirements for how often schools should use tablets. To help schools make informed decisions when procuring technology, the department has published advice and guidance to schools through the digital and technology standards and the plan technology for your school service.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the financial sustainability of the higher education funding model.
Answered by Janet Daby
Higher education (HE) providers are independent from government and as such are responsible for making the financial decisions that support their long-term sustainability.
To support providers in stabilising their finances, the Office for Students (OfS) continues to dedicate significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability. We have appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, and he will play a key role in strengthening this commitment while also expanding opportunities in HE.
Additionally, we have made the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1%, in line with inflation, from the 2025/26 academic year.
The government also provides funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) on an annual basis to support teaching and students. This includes funding to support teaching of expensive-to-deliver subjects such as science and engineering, access and participation of students from under-represented groups, and world-leading specialist providers. The total SPG for the 2025/26 financial year will be £1,348 million in recurrent (programme) grant and £84 million for capital to support teaching and learning.
We aim to publish our plans for HE reform soon as part of the Post-16 Skills White Paper, and will work with the sector and the OfS to deliver the change that the country needs.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Nottingham East to the answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49523.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve (a) early intervention and (b) post-adoption support for (i) adoptive parents and (ii) local authorities.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government’s goal is to ensure all adoptive families receive ongoing support from the moment the child is placed with them and throughout their childhood, delivering on the government’s mission to provide all children with the best start in life and breaking down barriers to opportunity.
The department has recently announced funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services, including adoption support. This includes supporting regional adoption agencies (RAAs) to provide an early support core offer for all families in the first 12 to 18 months after an adoption placement, as well as providing families with a new adoption support plan to give them information and guidance, including how they can access help.
Adoption England will be supporting RAAs to develop and make sustainable Centres of Excellence with local health partners, so families receive holistic assessment and packages of support.
They will also be supporting RAAs to put in place services that can respond quickly and more effectively to adoptive families in crisis.
The government will be providing therapeutic support to adoptive children via the £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund. Local authorities and RAAs can apply for funding of up to £3,000 per child.
Adoptive families can also receive help from local authority Family Help services. The government is doubling investment in these services to over £500 million in the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for councils in the East Midlands to provide (a) accessible and (b) integrated family support services for children in the first 1,001 days of life.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, measured by a record 75% of children starting school ready to learn and measured by the number hitting the early learning goals at the end of reception. Delivering this will require strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes. In the 2025/26 financial year, the government is providing a £126 million boost for Family Hubs and Start for Life services to give every child the best start in life and to deliver on the Plan for Change. More information on this funding can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/families-to-receive-126-million-in-early-years-support.
Five local authorities in the East Midlands currently receive funding for Family Hubs and Start for Life services: Derby, Lincolnshire, Nottingham, North Northamptonshire and Leicester. Leicestershire, the upper-tier authority for the council, separately receives funding for Family Hubs only, as part of the Family Hubs Transformation Fund. On 3 April, participating local authorities received confirmation of their funding allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support apprenticeships in the hairdressing industry.
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.