Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration she has given to awarding compensation to individuals impacted by forced adoptions.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 2 July, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister issued a formal apology on behalf of the state for historical forced adoption practices in England.
The government recognises that these practices caused deep and lasting harm to many mothers, adopted people and families. The apology acknowledged the role of the state and some public institutions in systems that failed to protect and support mothers, children and families, and recognised that women were denied genuine choice.
Alongside the apology, the government announced a £4 million support package, to be delivered over the next three years. Our focus is on delivering practical support that can make a meaningful difference to people’s lives today and that responds to what people have told us matters most. This includes improving access to adoption records, strengthening intermediary and reconnection services, and improving recognition and signposting within health services.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of the findings of the National Literacy Trust’s report entitled Children and young people’s reading in 2026 relating to children’s reading enjoyment.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a wide range of benefits, from increased wellbeing, confidence and empathy to better vocabulary and aptitude for learning. That is why this government, in collaboration with our delivery partner, the National Literacy Trust (NLT), has declared 2026 the National Year of Reading (NYR), a UK-wide campaign to inspire a love of reading, combining a universal campaign with a targeted focus on priority groups who are least likely to read for pleasure. We are pleased to see that the NLT’s recent report shows children’s reading enjoyment increased in 2026 for the first time in five years.
Since the launch of NYR in January, the campaign has attracted significant attention and momentum, including 2.1 million children across the UK engaging in NYR events and activities, and over 6,000 schools and 11,000 teachers across the UK registering to get their schools involved in the NYR schools and settings offer, which includes exciting activities, resources, events and continuing professional development webinars.
This government has also committed £12.5 million to provide a library in every primary school in England by the end of this Parliament, alongside £5 million for secondary schools to purchase books and reading material to support reading for pleasure.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government has assessed the combined impact of reducing adoption support funding while also changing school meal eligibility.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides important therapeutic support for adopted and special guardianship order children. The changes made in 2025/26 financial year were to ensure support for all those applying for ASGSF. The average cost per approved therapy in 2025/26 was below the maximum permissible Fair Access Limit amount, at £2,844.
Free school meals (FSM) are an income-based support offered for lower-income families. Speculative evidence (Adoption Barometer) suggests adopted children have historically been less likely to be FSM-eligible than the wider pupil population, reflecting that their needs are not solely income-related. From September 2026. FSM eligibility will be extended to all households receiving Universal Credit, significantly widening access and meaning more adopted children should benefit. Although more children under special guardianship arrangements would be eligible for FSM, they may face greater economic disadvantage and the department is exploring wider support, including trialling kinship allowances.
In 2026 27, the ASGSF budget has increased by 10% to £55 million, supporting access to provision at similar levels to previous years. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies may supplement this support where appropriate.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of faith-based oversubscription criteria in school admissions on (a) racial and (b) ethnic groups.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Faith schools are an important part of our diverse school system and parliament has legislated so that they can make certain choices about their admission arrangements. The Equality Act 2010 permits designated faith schools and academies to use faith-based admissions criteria to determine priority for places when the school is oversubscribed. Where schools receive fewer applications than there are places available, they must admit applicants regardless of faith.
All schools, including faith schools, must comply with the School Admissions Code and equalities legislation, and be aware of the general impact of their admissions policies. They must comply with the public sector equality duty and their duties to actively promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to include key life skills such as cooking, fixing and mending, upcycling and budgeting into the national curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is taking forward changes to the national curriculum that will strengthen pupils’ understanding of key life skills, including financial education, food and nutrition, sustainability and wider skills that help prepare them for life and work. These reforms will ensure that relevant knowledge and practical understanding are embedded across the curriculum and are supported by wider activity to help children and young people develop the skills they need to thrive.
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, we will strengthen financial education in mathematics and citizenship, including budgeting and understanding credit. We will revise design and technology to develop design capability and sustainability, while making food education a clearer and more specific strand to prepare pupils for life and future careers.
We have also introduced a new enrichment framework for school with five key strands including life and future skills.
Through relationships, sex and health education and our wider enrichment offer, pupils will also develop broader life skills, including self-care, first aid and practical experiences beyond the classroom.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the proposed updated School Food Standards improve the nutritional quality of meals provided to pupils in receipt of Free School Meals.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. The action we are taking to extend free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will ensure that over 500,000 additional children and pupils from the most disadvantaged households will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
We are ensuring that the proposed updated School Food Standards fully support the provision of free school meals. The changes we propose to make are related to increasing fibre, reducing sugar and further restricting foods higher in fat, sugar and salt, in line with the latest nutritional advice set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition.
We are consulting on the proposed updates to the School Food Standards and the consultation will run until 12 June 2026. Details of the consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing free school milk to the end of reception year for all children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The Department of Health and Social Care-led Nursery Milk Scheme (NMS) allows early years childcare settings registered with OFSTED to reclaim the cost of providing 189ml (one-third of a pint) of milk to children in their care who are under the age of five and who attend the childcare setting for at least two hours per day.
While the NMS entitlement ends once pupils reach the age of five, there are other provisions in place. The School Food Standards require lower fat or lactose reduced milk to be available to children who want it during school hours. As part of our proposals for updated School Food Standards, this daily requirement is retained, with semi‑skimmed milk, skimmed milk or lactose free milk continuing to be available for drinking at least once a day during school hours.
There is also separate legislation which allows pupils who are eligible under the current free school meal criteria, to continue to receive free milk at school after the age of five years old.
The government is expanding eligibility to free school meals meaning that more children are able to access milk when it is offered as part of their free meals. For these reasons, there are no current plans to extend NMS eligibility to the end of reception year.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that independent faith schools meet independent school standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
All private schools are required to comply with the Independent School Standards (ISS). Schools that fail to meet the ISS at inspection are subject to regulatory action as per the ‘Independent Schools: Regulatory and Enforcement Action’ policy statement.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made as to the suitability of the teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to review teachers' contractual obligation to work for a maximum of 1265 hours over 195 days in a year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Directed and undirected time is a contractual provision unique to teaching, and we know that many teachers work significantly more than 1265 hours; so, this year’s remit asked for the School Teachers Review Body’s (STRB) views on the benefits and drawbacks of the current working hours arrangements within the ‘School teachers pay and conditions’ document, to gather information as part of work to reduce working hours and make teaching a more attractive profession.
To be clear, the department has not proposed the removal, or a specific change, to the current 1265 directed hours limit, which is a key teacher protection. We will take into account the Review Body’s views and evidence from statutory consultees, including unions, before considering whether to pursue any change to the provision for teachers or leaders. No policy change is being recommended or decided upon at this stage.