Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether schools and academy trusts with existing Management Information System contracts will be required to move to the proposed framework when those contracts expire; and whether exemptions will be available where an existing or alternative procurement arrangement represents better value for money.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The requirement to use the framework for MIS once it is launched is to be followed at the natural expiry of current contracts. The sector are not expected to terminate contracts early in order to award a contract under the framework. An exemption to using the framework will be available for schools who do not have sufficient network connectivity to host a cloud-based MIS solution. Due to the wider concerns raised to us by the sector the primary objective of the framework is to tackle reported poor supplier behaviour and provide benefits to the sector including more balanced terms and conditions, easier migration to new suppliers, better price transparency and overall better value for money.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department’s proposed Management Information System procurement framework will require all schools within a multi-academy trust to procure Management Information System products through the same framework, supplier or procurement approach.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer to paragraph 2.30 of the Academies Trust Handbook 2026 which provides the requirement for trusts in England regarding procurement of Management Information Systems from the launch of the proposed framework and the approach to be taken until the framework is live. The handbook is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2026-effective-from-1-october-2026.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential costs to schools and academy trusts of moving from existing Management Information System contracts to suppliers or products available through its proposed procurement framework, including (a) contract termination costs, (b) data migration costs, (c) implementation costs and (d) staff training costs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are classified as Contracting Authorities under the Procurement Act 2023 and are expected to comply with that legislation in addition to the principles set out in the Managing Public Money Green Book.
Therefore, there is already a pre-existing expectation for the sector to routinely test the market and to demonstrate compliance with both procurement legislation and the MPM Green Book for all categories of spend including spend on management information systems. The requirement to use the framework for MIS once it is launched is to be followed at the natural expiry of current contracts. The sector is not expected to terminate contracts early in order to award a contract under the framework.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed technical education pathways on the revised Progress 8 and Attainment 8 performance measures.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department wants to ensure that key stage 4 performance measures, including Progress 8 and Attainment 8, support the new technical pathways and encourage schools to play their part in delivering valuable opportunities for young people. In due course, we will set out proposals on how schools are measured to incentivise a broader offer and reward inclusion, underpinned by progress in English, maths and science.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve cooperation between police forces in tackling offences in rural areas affecting farms and agricultural businesses.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is committed to reducing crime in rural areas and improving the safety of rural communities, including farms and agricultural businesses.
The Home Office has worked with Defra to support the National Police Chiefs’ Council Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2025-28, which provides a framework through which policing and its partners can work together to tackle the crimes that predominantly affect rural communities, including organised criminality affecting farms and agricultural businesses.
To support the policing response, the Home Office is providing over £800,000 in 2026/27 to the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit. These specialist units provide intelligence, analysis, coordination and operational support to police forces across the UK, helping forces share information, coordinate activity and tackle offenders operating across force boundaries. They also support the identification and disruption of organised criminal groups involved in rural crime and help share best practice across policing.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist facilities and equipment in secondary schools to deliver the proposed technical education pathways from September 2028.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is still at an early stage of developing the new technical education pathways. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment. We will work with the Mayoral and Strategic Authorities and local leaders to design locally tailored, vocationally focussed pathways for each region to begin rolling them out from September 2028. We will work closely with Strategic Authorities, schools, colleges and employers to understand the implications of the proposals for staffing, facilities and infrastructure.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government's proposed technical education pathways will require changes to the funding available for post-16 transport in rural areas such as Suffolk.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will work closely with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers to understand the implications for staffing, facilities and infrastructure of the new technical education pathways.
Responsibility for post-16 transport rests with local authorities, which must publish an annual transport policy statement setting out the arrangements they consider necessary to support young people to access education and training.
The introduction of new technical education pathways does not in itself require changes to post-16 transport policy. Decisions on local transport support, including in rural areas such as Suffolk, remain a matter for local authorities, who are encouraged to work with transport providers, employers and training providers in their local area to support participation.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of whether Suffolk will have sufficient specialist school places to meet the needs of pupils who are unable to have their needs met through the Government's proposed more inclusive mainstream education system.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities.
The department is supporting local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND by investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital funding between 2025/26 and 2029/30.
In the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years, Suffolk has been allocated just over £9.4 million and just over £9.4 million respectively through High Needs Provision Capital Allocations.
This funding is expected to fund a transformative expansion of inclusion bases, as well as adaptations to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of mainstream settings. It can also be used to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
We are also developing Specialist Provision Packages which will set out nationally consistent, evidence-based provision offers covering the full range of provision required by children at the specialist tier. Local authorities will be under a duty to forecast demand for the packages and commission sufficient placements to meet local need.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of differing access to technical education pathways as a result of variations in local employer, school and further education capacity on pupils in different geographical parts of England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that young people can access high-quality technical education wherever they live.
We will work with schools, colleges, employers and Mayoral Strategic Authorities to design locally tailored vocational pathways from age 14, improving awareness of technical routes and supporting skills linked to local and national labour market needs.
V levels, T Levels and new level 2 pathways will be available across England. For T Levels, the industry placement delivery framework supports providers and employers to offer high-quality placements regardless of sector or locality.
The department is also working with further education providers, local partners and employers to strengthen the infrastructure, workforce and capacity needed to deliver excellent technical education, so learners in every region can access the facilities, expertise and opportunities they need to succeed.
Asked by: Patrick Spencer (Conservative - Central Suffolk and North Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding she intends to make available for the recruitment and training of specialist staff required to deliver technical education pathways from September 2028.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is at an early stage of developing the new technical education pathways. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment. We will work with the Mayoral Strategic Authorities and local leaders to design locally tailored, vocationally focussed pathways for each region and begin rolling them out in some areas from September 2028. The department will consider how its existing budgets can best support schools, colleges and local authorities to implement the technical education pathways from age 14.