Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much and what proportion of the loan guarantee provided to Jaguar Land Rover has been used in the wider supply chain.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain.

JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments.

Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies were allocated funding as part of the loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain.

JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments.

Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many companies applied to the loan guarantee scheme for Jaguar Land Rover.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government agreed to back Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) with a loan guarantee, to unlock up to £1.5 billion in commercial financing. The loan covered by the guarantee will be re-paid over 5 years. JLR supports 154,000 UK jobs and is an important customer for the automotive supply chain.

JLR is in the best position to be able to identify and understand the needs of its supply chain, and to ensure that its suppliers receive timely payments.

Eligible exporters are able to apply to UKEF for support. In this case, the UKEF Export Development Guarantee supports a specific commercial loan to JLR.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many independent schools closed in 2024 compared with 2025.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

There were 129 private school closures between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. In 2024, there were 58 closures and in 2025 there were 71 closures.

The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils left independent schools in 2024 compared with 2025, and how this compares with the estimated figure of 3,000 pupils.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

There were 129 private school closures between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. In 2024, there were 58 closures and in 2025 there were 71 closures.

The government does not collect pupil-level data from private schools.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evidence supports the proposal to restrict all V Level qualifications to 360 guided learning hours: and what assessment has been made of the potential impact of this restriction on progression to higher education and skilled employment in sectors where greater breadth or depth of study is required.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

V Levels are designed to be 360 guided learning hours to enable them to be taken alongside A Levels or other V Levels to form broad study programmes, enabling breadth of study for young people who want to keep their options open. For young people who know what broad career path they want to follow, and want to study a single large qualification focused on that area, T Levels provide a great option for progression. In specific and limited cases, we will allow a partnered set of V Levels, which will enable overall depth of study in a linked area.

The department will support providers to transition to V Levels and new Level 2 pathways through comprehensive guidance, exemplar materials, working with awarding organisations on providing teaching resources, and the establishment of a sector-led qualification pioneers group to test, refine, and inform effective implementation.

The department has undertaken an equality impact assessment for the government consultation response and does not anticipate any negative impacts of introducing the new pathways on any groups with protected characteristics. We will carefully consider the impacts on different groups of young people as we design new qualifications.

We are working closely with higher education institutions and UCAS to ensure wide recognition of V Levels, tariff points parity with other qualifications and to clearly communicate progression pathways ahead of first teaching.

Further information on the rollout of 16 to 19 qualifications reform is set out in the government response and the equalities impact assessment, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the capacity of further education providers to deliver the proposed Level 2 and Level 3 reforms within the planned timetable, including workforce, facilities and employer-placement capacity.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

V Levels are designed to be 360 guided learning hours to enable them to be taken alongside A Levels or other V Levels to form broad study programmes, enabling breadth of study for young people who want to keep their options open. For young people who know what broad career path they want to follow, and want to study a single large qualification focused on that area, T Levels provide a great option for progression. In specific and limited cases, we will allow a partnered set of V Levels, which will enable overall depth of study in a linked area.

The department will support providers to transition to V Levels and new Level 2 pathways through comprehensive guidance, exemplar materials, working with awarding organisations on providing teaching resources, and the establishment of a sector-led qualification pioneers group to test, refine, and inform effective implementation.

The department has undertaken an equality impact assessment for the government consultation response and does not anticipate any negative impacts of introducing the new pathways on any groups with protected characteristics. We will carefully consider the impacts on different groups of young people as we design new qualifications.

We are working closely with higher education institutions and UCAS to ensure wide recognition of V Levels, tariff points parity with other qualifications and to clearly communicate progression pathways ahead of first teaching.

Further information on the rollout of 16 to 19 qualifications reform is set out in the government response and the equalities impact assessment, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has the Department made of the potential impact of the proposed Level 3 and below reforms on participation by students with protected characteristics; and whether an equality impact assessment will be published before any funding decisions are implemented.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

V Levels are designed to be 360 guided learning hours to enable them to be taken alongside A Levels or other V Levels to form broad study programmes, enabling breadth of study for young people who want to keep their options open. For young people who know what broad career path they want to follow, and want to study a single large qualification focused on that area, T Levels provide a great option for progression. In specific and limited cases, we will allow a partnered set of V Levels, which will enable overall depth of study in a linked area.

The department will support providers to transition to V Levels and new Level 2 pathways through comprehensive guidance, exemplar materials, working with awarding organisations on providing teaching resources, and the establishment of a sector-led qualification pioneers group to test, refine, and inform effective implementation.

The department has undertaken an equality impact assessment for the government consultation response and does not anticipate any negative impacts of introducing the new pathways on any groups with protected characteristics. We will carefully consider the impacts on different groups of young people as we design new qualifications.

We are working closely with higher education institutions and UCAS to ensure wide recognition of V Levels, tariff points parity with other qualifications and to clearly communicate progression pathways ahead of first teaching.

Further information on the rollout of 16 to 19 qualifications reform is set out in the government response and the equalities impact assessment, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made of potential the impact of the proposed Level 3 and below reforms on progression to higher education.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

V Levels are designed to be 360 guided learning hours to enable them to be taken alongside A Levels or other V Levels to form broad study programmes, enabling breadth of study for young people who want to keep their options open. For young people who know what broad career path they want to follow, and want to study a single large qualification focused on that area, T Levels provide a great option for progression. In specific and limited cases, we will allow a partnered set of V Levels, which will enable overall depth of study in a linked area.

The department will support providers to transition to V Levels and new Level 2 pathways through comprehensive guidance, exemplar materials, working with awarding organisations on providing teaching resources, and the establishment of a sector-led qualification pioneers group to test, refine, and inform effective implementation.

The department has undertaken an equality impact assessment for the government consultation response and does not anticipate any negative impacts of introducing the new pathways on any groups with protected characteristics. We will carefully consider the impacts on different groups of young people as we design new qualifications.

We are working closely with higher education institutions and UCAS to ensure wide recognition of V Levels, tariff points parity with other qualifications and to clearly communicate progression pathways ahead of first teaching.

Further information on the rollout of 16 to 19 qualifications reform is set out in the government response and the equalities impact assessment, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance the Department plans to issue to help ensure that Individual Support Plans (ISPs) are portable across phases and settings, including post‑16 and further education.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

There will be a statutory duty on schools and colleges to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support, ensuring help keeps pace with their development, prevents challenges from escalating, and reduces the risk of them disengaging from learning.

Our ambition is that ISPs will be interactive, easy to use and available in a digital format, supporting consistency across the system and smoother transitions for children moving between settings and phases, as well as reducing workload for teachers and educators. Drawing on user‑centred research with schools, post-16 settings, families and professionals, we are exploring how best to design the ISP as well as exploring digital approaches, so that it reduces workload for teachers and educators by bringing information together in one place and cutting down on duplicated recording, while also supporting smoother transitions so children get the support they need in their new setting from the very beginning.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of her proposed maternity pay reforms; and how she plans to fund this additional cost.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.

The recent Schools White Paper announced our commitment to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From September 2027/28, school teachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay, doubled from the current offer of 4 weeks of full pay to 8 weeks. The announcement responds to evidence that women aged 30 to 39 are the largest group of leavers from the school teacher workforce in terms of volume, which could be linked to choosing between a career and having a family.

While we are not able to share the exact funding amount at this stage, we will fully fund the improved maternity offer at a national level and are currently finalising the estimates.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of maternity pay reforms on teacher retention.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

This government is committed to tackling recruitment and retention challenges and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive.

The recent Schools White Paper announced our commitment to fund improvements to maternity pay for school and college teachers, leaders and support staff. From September 2027/28, school teachers and leaders will see their period of full maternity pay, doubled from the current offer of 4 weeks of full pay to 8 weeks. The announcement responds to evidence that women aged 30 to 39 are the largest group of leavers from the school teacher workforce in terms of volume, which could be linked to choosing between a career and having a family.

While we are not able to share the exact funding amount at this stage, we will fully fund the improved maternity offer at a national level and are currently finalising the estimates.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the long‑term impact of the 2025 increase to the RDEL envelope on the financial resilience of local authorities.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26. By the end of the multi-year Settlement (2028-29), the government will have provided a 15.5% increase in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, worth over £11.4 billion, compared to 2025-26.

As a result of these changes, nine in ten councils will receive funding that broadly matches their assessed need by the end of the multi-year Settlement, up from around a third before our reforms.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the £4 billion SEND investment package is allocated to universal SEND training for the 0–25 workforce, and what training standard will apply.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department is investing over £200 million over the course of this Parliament to upskill staff in every school, college and nursery, ensuring a skilled workforce for generations to come. This significant investment, forms a central pillar of the government’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform plans, helping to secure a fairer system where effective support is available for every child with SEND from early years to the age of 25. This investment will be supported by additional direct funding of £1.6 billion over three years in the inclusive mainstream fund for early years, schools and colleges.

We are currently in the development phase of the programme, working with a wide range of experts, including the department’s Inclusion Expert Advisory Group, and the Education Endowment Foundation, to identify what content will be most impactful in supporting schools and colleges to be more inclusive.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many additional educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists will be required annually to deliver the Experts at Hand programme.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The government is providing substantial, targeted investment to help local areas grow and strengthen their specialist workforce. Over the next three years, £1.8 billion will be made available to local area partnerships to develop and rollout of the Experts at Hand offer.

Local area partnerships will design and implement their own Experts at Hand models, tailored to local needs and workforce capacity. This will be supported by strong national oversight. The department will set the overall framework, provide guidance and tools, and work closely with local areas to ensure consistent quality.

​To support this, we have also announced £15 million for new speech and language therapy advanced practitioner roles, as well as continuing our investment in the educational psychology workforce with £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027, building on previous investment.

The department knows that continuing to build the pipeline of speech and language therapists is essential. That is why we are working 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 SEND.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the proposed fast‑track route for early intervention will be defined, including eligibility thresholds, time limits and approved evidence‑based programmes.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

To achieve this, we will work with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), and NHS England to enable better information sharing between health professionals and local authorities. This will speed up the process of matching children to the right specialist provision package and create a more direct route to specialist provision for those with the most complex needs at the earliest stage.

We have asked for feedback on this proposal as part of the consultation and will build on these responses to develop this policy in partnership with parents, local authorities, settings, DHSC and NHS England.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on Supported Internships; and what the projected cost of the 12‑month extension is.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million into supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment. This investment has been delivered by the Internships Work consortium and has provided training and support to local authorities, employers, education providers and job coaches to increase the number of supported internships and improve quality across the country.

As part of this investment, we also launched a pilot to test supported internships with young people who have learning difficulties and disabilities and are furthest from the labour market, but who do not have an education, health and care plan. This pilot has helped hundreds of young people to develop the skills and confidence needed for the workplace, demonstrating positive outcomes.

In the consultation on SEND reform that was published alongside the ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ paper, we set out that we intend to continue this pilot for at least a further year. Further details will be published in due course.