Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the affordability of employability courses for students; and whether she plans to increase funding to help improve access to such courses.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Approximately £8.6 billion 16 to 19 programme funding has been allocated during the 2025/26 academic year to colleges, schools and other providers of education and training. This funding enables young people to take part in study programmes or T levels. These are designed to enable students to progress to employment, an apprenticeship or further study including higher education.
Responsibility for adult skills has moved from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Through the adult skills fund (ASF), we have allocated £1.4 billion in academic year 2025/26, ensuring that adults can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
Currently, 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority, who are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and the allocation of the ASF to learning providers.
In non-devolved areas, adults who earn less than £25,750, are eligible for full funding through the ASF, ensuring courses are accessible for those who are either unemployed or on the lowest incomes.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local authorities comply with section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department and NHS England work together to support and challenge local areas to improve their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service delivery where required. This includes carrying out monitoring, support and challenge on any areas of identified weakness, both following an area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, or if those areas are identified outside of inspection timescales.
Where a local authority does not meet its duties, including in relation to securing provision in accordance with education, health and care plans, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. This includes a range of universal, targeted and intensive support through departmental programmes, such as our expert advisers and commissioners.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on supporting children in voluntary foster care to return home in cases where a lack of suitable full-time education provision is a barrier to family reunification.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Where a child is accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, our care planning regulations and statutory guidance are clear that there should be a robust care planning and decision-making process to meet the day-to-day needs of the child. Where reunification is in the best interests of the child and will safeguard and promote their welfare, the local authority should set out the support and services to be provided once the child returns home, including suitable education provision.
The department has not carried out an assessment of the cost to local authorities incurred in cases where there has not been suitable educational provision and children have remained in voluntary foster care.
The department’s children’s social care reforms include the national rollout of the Families First Partnership programme, which will embed a new approach to Family Help and greater use of family group decision making. Family Help will wrap support around families where children in care may be able to return home safely. This includes bringing in relevant agencies or individuals from school attendance teams to support sustainable reunification.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to local authorities of keeping children in voluntary foster care due to inadequate local education provision.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Where a child is accommodated under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989, our care planning regulations and statutory guidance are clear that there should be a robust care planning and decision-making process to meet the day-to-day needs of the child. Where reunification is in the best interests of the child and will safeguard and promote their welfare, the local authority should set out the support and services to be provided once the child returns home, including suitable education provision.
The department has not carried out an assessment of the cost to local authorities incurred in cases where there has not been suitable educational provision and children have remained in voluntary foster care.
The department’s children’s social care reforms include the national rollout of the Families First Partnership programme, which will embed a new approach to Family Help and greater use of family group decision making. Family Help will wrap support around families where children in care may be able to return home safely. This includes bringing in relevant agencies or individuals from school attendance teams to support sustainable reunification.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of specialist nursery and early years places for children with special educational needs and disabilities; and whether she plans to increase the number of core SEND units.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department aims to set every child up to have the best start in life, and this includes delivering access to high quality early education and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Local authorities have a duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND. They are expected to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and make their report available and accessible to parents.
The department continues to monitor sufficiency through regular contact with local authorities. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action is being taken to address those issues and, where needed, support them through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital funding in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. Local authorities are free to choose to spend this across the 0-25 age range and it is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding. Guidance published alongside the allocations encourages local authorities to use the funding to set up resourced provisions or special educational needs units in mainstream schools.
Local authorities can meet the costs of children aged five and under with high needs in different ways from their high needs budget. This may include providing SEND support directly as a central service for young children with high needs and/or resources for early years providers to enable them to make the required provision.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling early years settings to accept voluntary financial contributions from parents to (a) support and (b) enrich learning.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
As the early years entitlements are expanded, it is vitally important they remain accessible and affordable for families. Paragraph A1.41 of the statutory guidance for local authorities says that they must take all steps available to ensure the entitlements are available free of charge to parents and that providers do not charge for certain types of services. This includes top up fees, materials, such as crafts, crayons and paper, business running costs, registration fees and non-refundable deposits as a condition of taking up an entitlements place, general charges and any additional fees not specifically listed and itemised as chargeable extras at A1.33. If a parent wishes to make a voluntary contribution then they can do so, provided they are not being charged for these sorts of services or items and that it is wholly voluntary.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to implement (a) recommendations on guidance for parents on the effects of screen time on infants and (b) other recommendations in the former Education Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2023-24 entitled Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing, HC 118.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department recognises the Education Committee’s concerns about the impacts of screen time and we are committed across government to protecting children online. We have responded to the Committee’s report.
The department and cross-government partners including the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) are taking action now, based on robust evidence and good practice, to provide guidance and support to schools, children and parents. Across government we are taking strong action on regulation to ensure the technology industry is clear on the government's expectations of how they should and must support children’s safety and wellbeing. The effective implementation of the Online Safety Act is a government priority. With leadership from DSIT and Ofcom, the Act is putting in place wide reaching protections for children.
There are areas where further evidence is needed, and it will also take time to understand the impact of guidance and how it could be improved in future. However, we have set out how all recommendations will be carefully considered as future actions are developed.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that primary schools provide adequate (a) swimming and (b) water safety lessons.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Swimming and water safety is a compulsory element of the primary physical education (PE) national curriculum. The department works closely with sector organisations like Swim England and the Royal Life Saving Society, supporting schools to provide swimming and water safety lessons through teacher training and resources. This includes support for pupils with special education needs and disabilities, hosted on Swim England’s online Inclusion Hub. The PE and Sport Premium can be used by primary schools for top-up lessons for those pupils not able to meet the national curriculum outcomes after core lessons. Following public consultation, we are currently reviewing the statutory relationships, sex and health education curriculum, including looking at whether additional content on water safety should be added.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that (a) schools and (b) educational systems provide inclusive (i) physical environments and (ii) social education for trans students.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools make decisions relating to the management and operation of their buildings. This includes ensuring that they comply with the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012 or the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, for local authority maintained schools and academies respectively. The department’s published advice can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/410294/Advice_on_standards_for_school_premises.pdf.
Other educational providers are also expected to fulfil their legal obligations, when drafting their policies concerning the provision of, and access to, single-sex facilities.
Regarding social education, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) seeks to equip all pupils with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive and have happy and healthy personal and social lives. The statutory guidance is clear that RSHE should be taught sensitively and inclusively.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance and the draft non-statutory guidance on gender questioning children. We are looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to increase registration fees for social workers.
Answered by Janet Daby
As set out in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, Social Work England (SWE) is responsible for setting the level of the registration fee for social workers. Before determining the level of any fee, including any change, SWE must both consult publicly and gain the approval of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Further information is available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/16/part/2/enacted#section-36-4.
SWE’s public consultation runs until 13 May 2025 and is available at: https://www.socialworkengland.org.uk/news/public-consultation-on-changes-to-our-fees-is-now-open/.