Asked by: Sarah Smith (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken in response to delays and service issues in respect of the Teachers Pension Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Providing a good quality of service for members is a key aim for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
The department consistently monitors the scheme administrator’s performance and maintains strong oversight through contract management processes and an independent Pension Board, which includes employer and member representatives, to ensure service standards are upheld.
Where examples of poor service are identified, the department’s contract management team engages directly with the scheme administrator to understand the issues and ensure improvements are made.
Asked by: Sarah Smith (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make Breaktime Plus more accessible to people; and if she will publish guidance on the running of Breaktime Plus.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Breaktime Plus is a short breaks programme run by Lancashire County Council. Local authorities have a duty to publish their own short breaks offer, and the government has supported them in this by publishing the lessons learned from the Short Breaks Innovation Programme in February 2026. This report includes a range of approaches to improving the effectiveness, accessibility and efficiency of short breaks provision.
The government is also carefully considering the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its September 2025 report on disabled children's social care. The Commission highlighted the importance of short breaks as a key form of support for disabled children and their families. Ministers are considering the Commission's findings and recommendations and intend to publish the government's response in the autumn.
Asked by: Sarah Smith (Labour - Hyndburn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help increase enrichment activities for children and young people in educational settings in Hyndburn.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring all young people across England can access a wide range of enrichment opportunities at school and college, as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure all children deserve a childhood with a wide range of things to do away from screens.
In our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving Schools White Paper, we set out our ambition to introduce an enrichment entitlement for every pupil, underpinned by a core enrichment offer that every school and college should aim to provide.
This is supported by the new Enrichment Framework, which sets out benchmarks, case studies and practical tools to help schools and colleges plan high-quality enrichment more strategically.
We are also putting in place support for wider provision, including through PE and School Sport Partnerships, Music Hubs, and the £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, delivered with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, supporting up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to meet these benchmarks. ‘Every Child Can’, funded through the Dormant Assets Scheme, will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision, structured around the same five categories as the Enrichment Framework.