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Written Question
Children: Gambling
Thursday 17th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support schools to (a) identify and (b) manage risks related to children and young people accessing gambling content through (i) websites, (ii) apps and (iii) social media.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is committed to helping schools in England protect pupils from online harms, including gambling content accessed via websites, apps, and social media.

The ‘keeping children safe in education’ guidance makes clear that schools and colleges should ensure appropriate filtering and monitoring systems are in place and their effectiveness is regularly reviewed. This limits children's exposure to harmful content, including gambling, while on school-managed computers.

To help schools meet their safeguarding obligations, the department has published filtering and monitoring standards. These standards set out how schools can effectively assign roles and responsibilities, review filtering and monitoring annually, block harmful illegal and inappropriate content, and implement monitoring strategies.

Online safety is also embedded in the curriculum through relationships, sex and health education, where pupils are taught about the risks of harmful online behaviours, including gambling.

The department continues to share best practice with counterparts across the UK.


Written Question
Family Hubs
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to oblige local authorities to provide family hubs.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.


Written Question
Family Hubs
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.


Written Question
Family Hubs: Finance
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to family hubs for each year of the Spending Review 2025.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.


Written Question
Family Hubs
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by Barnardo's entitled Building Families, Building Futures, published on 24 June 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing family hubs to support families.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.


Written Question
Family Hubs
Thursday 10th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Family Hubs programme is available across England.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.


Written Question
Family Hubs
Wednesday 9th July 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Child Poverty Taskforce on family hubs, in the context of the development of the Child Poverty Strategy.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. member for East Antrim to the answer of 3 July 2025 to Question 63139. The information given in the linked response relates to England only.


Written Question
Schools: Allergies
Wednesday 25th June 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of allergic reactions in schools in England in each year since 2016.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department does not hold this data.


Written Question
STEM Subjects: Teachers
Wednesday 5th February 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a STEM teachers continuing professional development fund with industry.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department has a range of programmes to support continuing professional development for teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), for 2025/26 these include:

  • The subject knowledge for physics teaching programme, which supports non-specialist teachers of physics in teaching the requirements of the key stage 3 and key stage 4 physics curriculum.
  • The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, mathematics hubs and the advanced mathematics support programme, which provide professional development to teachers of mathematics from reception to key stage 5.
  • The National Centre for Computing Education, to support the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with teaching groups on the potential merits of establishing a continuing professional development fund with industry, but funding to support STEM education beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be considered as part of the forthcoming spending review.

.


Written Question
STEM Subjects: Teachers
Wednesday 5th February 2025

Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with teaching groups on the potential merits of establishing a STEM teachers continuing professional development fund with industry.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department has a range of programmes to support continuing professional development for teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), for 2025/26 these include:

  • The subject knowledge for physics teaching programme, which supports non-specialist teachers of physics in teaching the requirements of the key stage 3 and key stage 4 physics curriculum.
  • The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, mathematics hubs and the advanced mathematics support programme, which provide professional development to teachers of mathematics from reception to key stage 5.
  • The National Centre for Computing Education, to support the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has not had any discussions with teaching groups on the potential merits of establishing a continuing professional development fund with industry, but funding to support STEM education beyond the 2025/26 financial year will be considered as part of the forthcoming spending review.

.