Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the shortage of science teachers in Hampshire; and what support is available for schools relying on supply staff.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching has the strongest positive impact on pupil outcomes in schools, which is why this government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers, including in science subjects, backed by a near 10% pay award since July 2024.
To aid recruitment, the department is providing teacher training financial incentives worth nearly £233 million, including bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships up to £31,000 tax-free, in science subjects. We are also providing retention incentives for early career science teachers worth up to £6000, with 39 schools in Hampshire qualifying for these.
Schools that host trainee placements leading to qualified teacher status, including those studying a PGCE, can claim funding to help cover the time staff members spend mentoring, given the importance of peer-to-peer support. In 2024/25, the department welcomed over 23,100 new postgraduate trainee teachers, an increase of 8% compared to 2023/24. In 2024/25, 399 trainees began postgraduate teacher training in Hampshire, compared to 317 in 2023/24.
The department’s interventions are having a positive impact, with the teaching workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. In the South East, the number of secondary school teachers increased by 221.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to schools that host PGCE students; and what assessment she has made of the contribution of this to teacher recruitment and retention in Hampshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching has the strongest positive impact on pupil outcomes in schools, which is why this government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers, including in science subjects, backed by a near 10% pay award since July 2024.
To aid recruitment, the department is providing teacher training financial incentives worth nearly £233 million, including bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free, and scholarships up to £31,000 tax-free, in science subjects. We are also providing retention incentives for early career science teachers worth up to £6000, with 39 schools in Hampshire qualifying for these.
Schools that host trainee placements leading to qualified teacher status, including those studying a PGCE, can claim funding to help cover the time staff members spend mentoring, given the importance of peer-to-peer support. In 2024/25, the department welcomed over 23,100 new postgraduate trainee teachers, an increase of 8% compared to 2023/24. In 2024/25, 399 trainees began postgraduate teacher training in Hampshire, compared to 317 in 2023/24.
The department’s interventions are having a positive impact, with the teaching workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent teachers between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools. In the South East, the number of secondary school teachers increased by 221.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools that have amended their subject curricula due to staff shortages.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools have the flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils and to suit their local contexts.
There is no prescription about the number of teaching hours for each subject, or about the format of lessons. It is for schools to decide how much time is spent on any subject.
As part of our Plan for Change, the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
In 2024/25, we drove forward teacher recruitment and retention, backed by investment of around £700 million across schools and further education. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools where they are needed most. This includes 1,435 more secondary school teachers and 911 more special and pupil referral unit teachers compared to last year.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to schools in Hampshire schools with (a) increased class sizes and (b) reduced staffing levels due to budget constraints.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), Hampshire is receiving £1.1 billion for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year. That is equivalent to £6,031 per pupil (excluding growth and falling rolls funding), which is an increase of 2.4% per pupil compared to 2024/25.
On top of the DSG funding, the department is providing additional funding to support schools with increases to employer National Insurance Contributions, and the costs of the teacher and local government support staff pay awards in 2025/26.
The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support to help schools better manage their budgets. Schools are already bringing core operating costs down through initiatives such as our new ‘Energy for Schools’ offer. Additionally, they can access services such as the ‘Get Help Buying for Schools’ service to get best value when procuring goods and our ‘Teaching Vacancies Service’ to save recruitment costs.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools with increases in the number of in-year admissions in Hampshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.
The department engages with local authorities, including Hampshire County Council, on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional school places. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, the department offers support and advice.
The department also provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to meet their statutory duty to secure sufficient school places. Hampshire has been allocated just over £22.2 million to support it to create the mainstream school places needed between May 2024 and September 2028.
The Schools Admissions Code also requires every local authority to have a Fair Access Protocol in place, to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible, minimising the time the child is out of school.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review the effectiveness of the national funding education formula in reflecting socioeconomic disparities within counties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In the 2025/26 financial year, 10.6% (£5.1 billion) of the schools national funding formula (NFF) has been allocated through deprivation factors, as part of the 17.8% (£8.6 billion) allocated for additional needs overall. The most deprived schools continue, on average, to attract the largest per pupil funding amounts through the schools NFF. This helps schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps.
The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs, such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language, receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils.
The government will keep the operation of the schools NFF for the 2026/27 financial year and future years under review.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will have discussions with the Co-operative Group on Project Lunar.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Project Lunar is an internal policy that the Co-op is introducing and is not a matter that DBT can comment on.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for regulation of workplace health and safety in Great Britain. The primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them.
HSE provide guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of climate-related wildfires on fire service budgets; and what steps she is taking to ensure sustainable funding for fire (a) response and (b) prevention.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In 2024/25, the Government funded a National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.
Preparing for the future not only means tackling climate and nature emergencies but also adapting to the changes they will bring to our environment. A coordinated approach is essential to mitigate the impact on people, property, habitats, livestock, natural capital and wildlife, and to plan the most effective response to incidents.
The Ministry maintains close working relationships with the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum, and will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to consult (a) fire authorities, (b) local councils and (c) the insurance sector on potential alternative funding mechanisms for fire services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government recognises that the current funding formula for fire and rescue services is considered outdated. As such, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is committed to reforming the way funding is allocated to local authorities and fire and rescue authorities.
In the summer of 2025, the Ministry launched the Fair Funding Review 2.0, seeking views on the approach to determining new funding allocations for local authorities and fire and rescue authorities. The public consultation closed on 15 August 2025; and the response to which will be published in the autumn, followed by the publication of the provisional multi-year Settlement.
The Ministry will continue to work closely with stakeholders across the sector to ensure fire and rescue services have the resources they need to protect communities.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Conservative - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential annual revenue that could be generated by a £1 to £2 levy on all (a) home and (b) vehicle insurance policies for provision to fire and rescue services.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Fire and rescue services in England receive funding from several sources, including a central government grant, local council tax income (precept), and retained business rates allocated by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This funding is distributed through the Local Government Finance Settlement.
Any introduction of a statutory levy on home and vehicle insurance as a source of funding to fire and rescue services would require further consideration.