Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with schools on the potential impact of branded school uniform policies on families; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure that schools comply with the statutory guidance entitled Cost of school uniforms, published on 19 November 2021.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Whilst many schools are taking action to reduce costs, too many families tell us that the cost of school uniform remains a financial burden. The department’s research shows that the average cost of uniform is significantly lower when parents can buy items from somewhere other than a designated shop or school. This research is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms-survey-2023.
The government has introduced legislation through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to limit the number of compulsory branded items schools can require, to remove the cost of uniform as a barrier to pupils accessing school and activities in school.
We estimate that requiring fewer branded items from designated suppliers could save some parents over £50 per child during the back to school shop once the uniform limit comes into effect.
The department has statutory guidance on the ‘Cost of school uniforms’, and schools must have regard to it when designing and implementing their uniform policies. We expect all schools to now be compliant.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department’s Industrial Strategy outlines key interventions to boost employer engagement with the skills system. These include:
This investment will be supported by stronger employer partnerships, including the launch of technical excellence colleges to build local talent pipelines.
Additionally, the chair of Skills England, alongside the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will explore how employers, individuals and government can collaborate to meet national skills needs and drive future job growth.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether investment in family hubs will be included in the upcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 03 July 2025 to Question 63139.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) a hub and spoke model and (b) the utilisation of detached youth work within Young Futures Hubs on (i) outreach and (ii) access for young people.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.
Officials from across several departments are already working jointly, using evidence of what works to start to shape the Young Futures Hubs model. We are engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities, and other stakeholders, including assessing evidence they have supplied, to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery. This includes considering how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from support.
Across Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, the government is adopting a phased approach to learn from what works. To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, we will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas and will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how local areas will be supported to implement Young Futures Hubs.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.
Officials from across several departments are already working jointly, using evidence of what works to start to shape the Young Futures Hubs model. We are engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities, and other stakeholders, including assessing evidence they have supplied, to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery. This includes considering how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from support.
Across Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships, the government is adopting a phased approach to learn from what works. To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, we will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas and will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape and they will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing. The government is developing a National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to help promote reading through (a) digital formats and (b) media platforms commonly used by young people.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 26 June 2025 to Question 61425.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to promote reading through (a) digital formats and (b) media platforms commonly used by young people.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department wants children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information, and teachers should encourage pupils to develop reading habits by listening to, discussing, and reading a wide range of literature. Departmental officials are working with the sector and other departments to consider how we can encourage reading for pleasure across a variety of formats and support children to develop a lifelong love of reading.
The National Literacy Trust's 2025 annual literacy survey shows that more children who enjoyed reading engaged with a variety of formats, both on paper and on screen. It showed that paper remained the most popular format for reading among children and young people in 2025, but some types of content were preferred on screen, such as song lyrics and news articles.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of access to books in low-income households on reading outcomes among children eligible for free school meals.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 20 June 2025 to Question 59345.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing a strategy to ensure the full participation of blind and partially sighted students in education through the use of (a) assistive and (b) mainstream technology.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Assistive technology (AT), such as dictation tools and screen readers, can break down barriers to opportunity for students with disabilities and is a key part of helping every child to achieve and thrive.
With rapid improvements in the accessibility features built into standard devices, schools now have more access to AT than ever before. Evidence shows that, when used effectively, AT is a key component of high-quality teaching for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)..
An independent evaluation report of recent training found that effective AT use positively influences the independence, confidence, attainment, behaviour and engagement of students with SEND. Training participants also felt that effective AT use can positively impact the use of support staff and teacher time.
The government is committed to helping teachers use technology to support their students with SEND. We are embedding evidence-based practice and broadening the effective use of AT. This includes commissioning brand new research to see how different agencies can best come together to encourage schools to use AT as effectively as possible, and ensuring the effective use of AT will become part of national training for all new teachers in 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a (a) national and (b) mandatory Code of Practice to tackle bullying in schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying.
The department has issued guidance to schools on how to prevent and respond to bullying as part of their overall behaviour policy. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.
The department is establishing up to 90 new regional improvement in standards and excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, which will focus on supporting senior leaders to develop safe, supportive school cultures with high expectations for attendance and behaviour, including using data to identify and address areas of concern.
In addition to this, the department has engaged with charities, academics, parents and young people, to understand the issues around bullying. We will use that input to inform ways of testing practice that can be shared through hubs.