Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to ensure family hubs are accessible for adoptive and kinship families.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) will be open to all families, including adoptive and kindship families. Best Start Family Hubs (BSFHs) are focused on universal, preventative services, targeting disadvantaged families. They can also serve as a non-stigmatising gateway for more targeted, intensive, support delivered by Family Help services and other interventions.
Parents and carers including adoptive and kinship families will have access to a universal offer of parenting programmes through their local hub, alongside targeted support for those most in need.
When adoptive and kinship families walk through the door of their local BSFH, they should be able to see evidence of various services co-located in one place and be easily connected to a wider range of support delivered elsewhere in the BSFH network. BSFHs should bring together a wide range of statutory and non-statutory services for children ages 0 to 5 within BSFHs, spanning education, childcare, health and social care.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October to Question 78154, how much of the £500 million allocated to local authorities for Family Help services is being allocated to help adoptive and kinship families with post placement support.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Family Help reforms are being delivered nationally through the Families First Partnership programme, offering services to all families, including adoptive and kinship families.
On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing total programme funding to £2.4 billion over this Spending Review period. This funding demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities and partners to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real difference to families.
It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.
The department will soon pilot a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, which will support around 4,500 children. This will test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures are being undertaken to recruit speech and language therapists.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This includes extending the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is now in its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to assess the impact of the April 2025 changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, including (a) the reduction in the fair access limit and (b) reductions in funding for (i) assessments and (ii) match funding.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - 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 support. So far this year, over 12,500 applications have been approved, including almost 1,000 applications for specialist assessments. The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes and is engaging with stakeholders.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2025 to Question 78154 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, what steps she has taken to ensure (a) adoptive and (b) kinship families receive appropriate help from local authority Family Help services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to rebalancing the children’s social care system, which is why we are rolling out the Families First Partnership programme. On 20 November, we announced additional investment of £547 million, bringing the total funding provided for the programme to £2.4 billion over the next three years. This demonstrates our commitment to invest in prevention, supporting local authorities, working in collaboration with partners, to deliver reformed help and protection services that make a real, tangible difference to families.
We will spend close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on improving family services and early years education. Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £500 million of this investment between 2026 and 2029.
It is for local authorities to determine how best to make use of these resources to support adoptive and kinship families with the help they need.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the eligibility criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) in 2026-27; whether her Department will provide funding for the ASGSF after April 2027; and, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 September 2025, HCWS908, if she will set out details of the proposed public engagement process.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has confirmed the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will continue in 2026/27 and that applications running into 2026/27 can now be made. Details of the ASGSF from April 2026 will be made available once departmental business planning decisions are completed. We will share details of the public engagement process on longer-term decisions as soon as possible in the new year.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 67594 on Adoption Support Fund, whether the equalities impact assessment was drafted prior to the date of her Department's decisions to amend the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The equalities impact assessment (EIA) was drafted prior to the decisions to amend the adoption and special guardianship support fund. Following the announcement of the changes to the Fund, the EIA was prepared for publication and subsequently made available in the House Libraries.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing the maximum income threshold for free school meals eligibility for children in families with no recourse to public funds in line with the eligibility criteria introduced on 4 June 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. The department has now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. 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.
Children from households with no recourse to public funds can receive FSM, subject to meeting income criteria set by the department in our published guidance.
The department does not hold exact figures for FSM-eligible children from households with no recourse to public funds. In total, 2.2 million school pupils are eligible to receive FSM on the basis of low income. This figure includes children who are eligible under the criteria for households with no recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in families subject to no recourse to public funds provisions have received the concession on access to free school meals introduced in 2022; and what the breakdown is of those figures by (a) region and (b) year since 2022.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. The department has now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. 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.
Children from households with no recourse to public funds can receive FSM, subject to meeting income criteria set by the department in our published guidance.
The department does not hold exact figures for FSM-eligible children from households with no recourse to public funds. In total, 2.2 million school pupils are eligible to receive FSM on the basis of low income. This figure includes children who are eligible under the criteria for households with no recourse to public funds.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children in families subject to no recourse to public funds provisions that have received the families receiving additional support (FRAS) entitlement for eligible 2-year-olds in each of the last five years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Families in receipt of additional forms of support to children in ‘no recourse to public fund’ households have been eligible for the 15-hours entitlement since September 2022.
The early years census data collects data on the number of children taking up the entitlement for families in receipt of additional forms of support, however, the department is unable to break this down by immigration status.