Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect schools from party political interference after the minimum voting age has been lowered to 16.

Schools are subject to statutory duties regarding political impartiality under Sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996. This means schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.

In 2022, the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.

The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable, and politically impartial.