Sarah Gibson

The department publishes details of 16 to 19 Total Programme Funding allocations by academic year. These are available for each academic year since 2020, and can be accessed at the following pages:

• 2020/21: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2020-to-2021-academic-year.
• 2021/22: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2021-to-2022-academic-year.
• 2022/23: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2022-to-2023-academic-year.
• 2023/24: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2023-to-2024-academic-year.
• 2024/25: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-allocation-data-2024-to-2025.

Each publication can be filtered by local authority to identify the funding for Wiltshire.

Allocations for the Adult Skills Fund, formerly the Adult Education Budget, are also published annually, and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/adult-education-and-skills-funding-allocations#published-allocations.

Whilst they cannot be filtered by local authority, they can be filtered by individual provider.

Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government and are responsible for their own admissions decisions.

Universities and colleges decide who to offer a place to by considering a range of factors detailed within an applicant's UCAS application. In addition to their predicted grades, this can include their personal statement, teacher references, contextual factors and, for certain courses that have an October application deadline, their performance in admissions tests. This is a process that differs between providers and even between different courses at the same providers.

Admissions teams are accustomed to considering a wide range of personal circumstances when making decisions.

Higher education (HE) providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) intending to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS. Providers are expected to take into account the OfS Equality of Opportunity Risk Register in developing a plan. The Register identifies service children as a group in particular need of support.

The government takes a close interest in ensuring that the system is fair. We work closely with HE providers and sector bodies to make sure the system works well for students.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.

Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.

Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.

ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.

Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.

Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.

ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

Initial teacher training (ITT) bursaries are designed to incentivise more applications to ITT courses from high-achieving graduates. As such, for postgraduate bursaries, we take account of the grade of the trainee’s highest academic qualification. These bursaries are only awarded to trainees with at least a 2:2 undergraduate degree classification, unless the trainee possesses a higher academic qualification, such as a doctoral or master’s degree.

Graduates who do not hold a 2:2 degree can apply for student finance in the form of a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan to support their living costs. Additional funding is also available depending on individual circumstances, such as the childcare grant.

Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are designed to provide candidates for ITT with the minimum knowledge required to train to teach their chosen subject. Completion of a SKE course is not a requirement for all ITT candidates. The ITT provider determines whether it is requirement of the candidate’s offer after assessing their prior subject knowledge. Completion of SKE is not a factor in postgraduate ITT bursary eligibility.

ITT providers determine whether their trainees are eligible for a bursary, using the eligibility criteria set by the department. The department only holds data on trainees who are eligible for bursaries, alongside data on the overall number of trainees by subject and ITT provider. The department does not hold data on why trainees were ineligible for a bursary.

For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve. This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The department and NHS England have been supporting local areas to improve their SEND service delivery for a number of years. This includes a monitoring, support and challenge relationship following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Where a local authority does not meet its duties, we can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement.

Wiltshire’s Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND inspection, carried out in October 2024, identified positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The report, which was published on 6 December 2024, included no Areas for Priority Action and highlighted that children and young people with SEND typically benefit from personalised provision delivered by dedicated staff from across education, health and social care, and when children and young people transition into school practitioners have a shared vision and commitment to inclusion.

Officials from the department and NHS England meet regularly with partners from the local area, including health, education, agencies, parent/carer, children and young people representatives, to review and reflect on the SEND services.

I refer the hon. Member for Chippenham to the answer of 12 June 2025 to Question 57812.

I refer the hon. Member for Chippenham to the answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37179.

The publication referred to sets out Skills England‘s findings from its analysis and engagement with sectors on the growth and skills offer, supported by its assessments of skills needs. Skills England and the department will work together to ensure the offer meets the needs of employers across the country.

Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life.

The department is investing in, and promoting, a wide range of non-academic routes to support young people into employment, including:

• T Levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them work.

• Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focused level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.

• Skills Bootcamps, which give learners the chance to build sector-specific skills and include with a job interview on completion.

• Free Courses for Jobs, giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications.

There is also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.

The criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access funding, including in Wiltshire. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses in due course.

Since December 2023, ASGSF applications have required the use of outcomes measurement tools to monitor the impact of ASGSF-funded therapies. Over time, these tools will enable the department and local areas to monitor the long-term impacts of the ASGSF.

The department expects the ASGSF to remain an important source of support for adoptive families across the country, with no regional differences. However, it is not the only source of support. We are funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year, including to improve adoption support. This includes the establishment of Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams in various regions to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families. We are also making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. This will nearly double direct investment in preventative services.

The criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access funding, including in Wiltshire. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses in due course.

Since December 2023, ASGSF applications have required the use of outcomes measurement tools to monitor the impact of ASGSF-funded therapies. Over time, these tools will enable the department and local areas to monitor the long-term impacts of the ASGSF.

The department expects the ASGSF to remain an important source of support for adoptive families across the country, with no regional differences. However, it is not the only source of support. We are funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year, including to improve adoption support. This includes the establishment of Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams in various regions to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families. We are also making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. This will nearly double direct investment in preventative services.

The criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access funding, including in Wiltshire. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses in due course.

Since December 2023, ASGSF applications have required the use of outcomes measurement tools to monitor the impact of ASGSF-funded therapies. Over time, these tools will enable the department and local areas to monitor the long-term impacts of the ASGSF.

The department expects the ASGSF to remain an important source of support for adoptive families across the country, with no regional differences. However, it is not the only source of support. We are funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year, including to improve adoption support. This includes the establishment of Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams in various regions to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families. We are also making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. This will nearly double direct investment in preventative services.

Schools have been prioritised because they met one or more of the following criteria:

• They had buildings of specific construction types that require replacement.
• Their buildings had the highest condition need, identified in data collected in the Condition Data Collection and verified through collecting additional condition information, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/condition-data-collection-programme-information-and-guidance.
• Their buildings had severe and urgent condition need that meant they were a high priority for replacement.
• Their buildings had risks that have the potential to cause significant harm to pupils or staff that meant they were a high priority for replacement.

More information about how the department prioritised schools can be found in the published methodology notes, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-rebuilding-programme-schools-in-the-programme.

The number of schools in Wiltshire that have been included in the School Rebuilding Programme is 3.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.

Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.

The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.

Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.

The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

The department does not have data on the proportion of young carers in Wiltshire who have received an assessment of their needs in the last 12 months. However, being a young carer was identified as a factor at end of assessment in 253 episodes of need in Wiltshire in the year ending 31 March 2024.

Services for young carers are monitored through the inspection of local authorities. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is assessing how well local authorities in England are delivering their duties under Part 1 of the Care Act 2014, including those relating to young carers. CQC has published their assessment of Wiltshire Council, rating them Good. It reports that there were no delays in wait times for young unpaid carers needs assessments and that the young unpaid carers offer was well established with robust oversight from senior leaders. Further, Ofsted’s inspection of Wiltshire’s Children’s Services in September 2023 found the overall service to be Outstanding.

The department is aiming to publish national key stage 2 and key stage 4 data for young carers for the first time later this year. Subject to data quality, this will allow comparison of young carers progress and attainment with their peers at local authority level.

Since 2015, the department has spent approximately £50 billion on capital investment across England.

£19 billion of that total has supported responsible bodies to invest in the condition of the estate. This is in addition to major rebuilding programmes, including the Priority School Building Programme (532 schools across England, including five in Wiltshire) and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) (518 schools, including three in Wiltshire).

Since 2010, previous governments have taken capital decisions which have allowed the condition of the school estate to decline significantly. This government is tackling that inheritance, which is why for 2025/26, we have increased condition allocations to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. More information on these allocations can be found on GOV.UK. We have also committed £1.4 billion for 2025/26 to continue the current SRP. The number of schools in the SRP released for delivery will increase to 100 this financial year. This means work on these schools can begin sooner.

Local authorities in England have been allocated £10.3 billion of basic need funding between 2015/16 and 2027/28, of which Wiltshire Council has been allocated £62.2 million, to provide mainstream school places.

Of the £3.8 billion high needs capital investment since 2018, Wiltshire has been allocated £29 million to create or improve provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Since 2015, over 450 new free schools have opened (not including studio schools or University Technical Colleges (UTC)), and of those, four schools and one UTC have opened in Wiltshire. The UTC has subsequently closed.

From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 is providing updated data on the condition of schools in England. Findings from Condition Data Collection 1 can be accessed here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.

Since 2015, the department has spent approximately £50 billion on capital investment across England.

£19 billion of that total has supported responsible bodies to invest in the condition of the estate. This is in addition to major rebuilding programmes, including the Priority School Building Programme (532 schools across England, including five in Wiltshire) and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) (518 schools, including three in Wiltshire).

Since 2010, previous governments have taken capital decisions which have allowed the condition of the school estate to decline significantly. This government is tackling that inheritance, which is why for 2025/26, we have increased condition allocations to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion in 2024/25. More information on these allocations can be found on GOV.UK. We have also committed £1.4 billion for 2025/26 to continue the current SRP. The number of schools in the SRP released for delivery will increase to 100 this financial year. This means work on these schools can begin sooner.

Local authorities in England have been allocated £10.3 billion of basic need funding between 2015/16 and 2027/28, of which Wiltshire Council has been allocated £62.2 million, to provide mainstream school places.

Of the £3.8 billion high needs capital investment since 2018, Wiltshire has been allocated £29 million to create or improve provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Since 2015, over 450 new free schools have opened (not including studio schools or University Technical Colleges (UTC)), and of those, four schools and one UTC have opened in Wiltshire. The UTC has subsequently closed.

From 2021 to 2026, the department’s Condition Data Collection 2 is providing updated data on the condition of schools in England. Findings from Condition Data Collection 1 can be accessed here: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. The accompanying statutory guidance on ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions, including allergies. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.The department will keep the statutory guidance under review as we take forward our commitment to delivering an inclusive mainstream system.

The department publishes local authority level information on cross border movement, which is where pupils attend school in a different local authority to the one where they live, in the following annual accredited official statistics publication: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24.

As of January 2024, there were 245 pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan living in Wiltshire and attending a primary, secondary or special school outside the local authority. This information does not include cases where the pupil attends an independent, general hospital school or non-maintained special school.