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 working with the Imagination Library to increase services for people from the gypsy, Roma and traveller communities.

The Imagination Library promotes book-sharing, an activity that is key to early language development.

Over £28 million has been invested to support early language development and the home learning environment, with priority given to low-income families and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This is delivered through the 75 local authorities developing family hubs through the £300 million Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Family hubs aim to improve all families’ access to a range of services, including connecting families to local SEND support.

The department is also investing in specialist voluntary sector activity to help family hub networks better identify and support children in their early years with SEND and create local provision that is inclusive for all. This work also aims to improve the take-up and quality of provision of speech and language pathways for children with SEND.