Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to increases levels of emphasis on the development of essential life skills in schools and colleges.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
A reformed national curriculum will provide pupils with a broad range of knowledge and skills that prepares them for adult life.
The department will prepare young people for life and careers in a changing world, embedding vital applied knowledge skills in financial, media and digital literacy in the revised curriculum, improving climate and sustainability education.
We will make citizenship compulsory in key stages 1 and 2 and will explore a new level 3 qualification in data science and artificial intelligence.
We are also setting out a new enrichment framework for every pupil, which will help them play, explore, create, and develop wider life skills.
We will develop ‘V Levels’ as the pathway of vocational qualifications at level 3 for young people. These will be linked to occupational standards.
This will be complemented by sharing best practice between 16-19 providers to ensure students develop the important applied knowledge and transferable skills for adulthood.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of financial literacy and basic life skills education in secondary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025. The department will engage with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this, and life skills content, in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on updated curriculum programmes of study in 2026, seeking views on the content before they are finalised.
Oak National Academy, an independent arm’s length body, provides high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.
The government is determined that every child has access to enriching activities that develop their essential skills. We have set out an enrichment offer schools and colleges should aim to provide for all children, including civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activities; and developing wider life skills.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to include financial literacy and life skills education as a mandatory and assessed part of the secondary school curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship following publication of the Curriculum and Assessment Review final report in November 2025. The department will engage with sector experts and young people in how best to reflect this, and life skills content, in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on updated curriculum programmes of study in 2026, seeking views on the content before they are finalised.
Oak National Academy, an independent arm’s length body, provides high quality curriculum materials to support financial literacy.
The government is determined that every child has access to enriching activities that develop their essential skills. We have set out an enrichment offer schools and colleges should aim to provide for all children, including civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activities; and developing wider life skills.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those remanded in custody for more than six months receive access to (a) education, (b) work and (c) mental health support.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held in custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative, educational, and wellbeing support while in prison.
Remand prisoners are eligible to access the core education provision available in prisons. This may include literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic digital skills, and library services. On arrival, all prisoners undergo initial screening for learning needs and receive an individual Learning and Work Plan to support progression. Governors must ensure that education is available to all prisoners who can benefit, in line with Prison Rule 32, and remand prisoners are encouraged to participate in these opportunities. In addition to education, remand prisoners can take part in work related activities where they wish to and where operationally feasible. These activities provide purposeful engagement and help maintain routine and structure during custody.
Together with our health partners, we are committed to ensuring that people in prison have access to an equivalent standard, range and quality of health care in prisons to that available in the wider community. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England. All people in prison, including those held on remand, have access to integrated mental health services commissioned by NHS England. This includes access to a range of treatments and interventions within prison as set out in the national service specification for mental health care in prisons.
For prisoners with severe mental health needs, the Mental Health Act received Royal Assent earlier this month and contains several flagship reforms to improve access to mental health care and treatment, including, but not limited to, provisions to:
Introduce a new statutory 28-day time limit for transfers from prison and other places of detention to hospital to reduce unnecessary delays experienced by prisoners who require mental health treatment.
Stop courts temporarily detaining people with severe mental illness in prison as a ‘place of safety’ whilst awaiting a hospital bed for treatment or assessment under the Mental Health Act; and
End the use of remand for own protection under the Bail Act where the court’s sole concern is the defendant’s mental health.
We will implement these reforms as soon as it is safe to do so.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she has taken to improve computer literacy rates amongst elderly people in a) England and b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
We know there are lower computer literacy rates amongst older people and this can lead to digital exclusion - with statistics showing 86% of adults aged 60+ are online, compared to 95% of all UK adults in 2025 (2025 Consumer Digital Index report).
That’s why the Government is committed to helping more older people build these skills and confidence including through the Government’s digital entitlement. This gives eligible adults, including elderly people, access to fully funded basic digital skills courses and qualifications.
The Government £11.7 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund is also funding projects directly helping more older people build the skills and confidence to get online - for example the £139,000 trial to co-design targeted strategies to improve digital inclusion for older people across England and London.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration his department has given to making remand prisoners eligible for a) educational programmes and b) offender behaviour programmes.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring that individuals held on custody, including those on remand, have access to appropriate rehabilitative and educational support while in prison.
Remand prisoners are eligible to access core education provision within prisons. This may include literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic digital skills, as well as library services. On arrival, all prisoners undergo initial screening for learning needs and receive an individual Learning and Work Plan to support progression. Governors must ensure that education is available to all prisoners who can benefit, in line with Prison Rule 32, and prisoners on remand are given the choice to participate in these opportunities. While remand prisoners cannot access advanced learning funded through student loans or the Prisoner Education Trust, they are encouraged to participate in the core educational offer within their prison setting.
Accredited offending behaviour programmes are generally reserved for sentenced individuals, as remand periods and uncertain outcomes make it impractical to deliver these interventions before sentencing. We are focused on expanding appropriate rehabilitative provision for people on remand; probation pre-release teams support all people in prison, including on remand, with pre-release planning. The scope of the Commissioned Rehabilitative Services has been extended to include remand prisoners, offering practical support such as accommodation and for women, additional services addressing finance, family and social inclusion.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to teach young people from disadvantaged backgrounds about (a) finance, (b)employment and (c) other life skills.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England.
The government’s response to the report includes a commitment to commits to strengthening pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in maths and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. New statutory citizenship at key stages 1 and 2 will also ensure that primary aged children are introduced to key content on media literacy, financial literacy, law and rights, democracy and government and climate education. These principles will be extended to the secondary core content to reflect the age range of pupils and will focus on more complex content, particularly digital elements of financial literacy.
The department expects schools to develop and improve their careers provision to be inclusive for all young people in line with the world-class Gatsby Benchmarks, including benchmark 3, which focuses on addressing the individual needs of each pupil.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the timeline is for delivering (1) the new primary oracy framework, and (2) the combined secondary oracy, writing and reading framework.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s focus on oracy. Expressing oneself fluently and communicating well is crucial for life and work, and an important vehicle for social justice.
We will make sure that communication skills are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will also create a primary oracy framework and a combined secondary oracy, writing and reading framework to be published following the revised national curriculum.
The primary oracy framework will support teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers by the end of key stage 2. This will build on our primary frameworks for reading and writing.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timeline is for the (a) new oracy framework and (b) combined oracy, writing and reading framework.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department welcomes the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s focus on oracy. Expressing oneself fluently and communicating well is crucial for life and work, and an important vehicle for social justice.
We will make sure that communication skills are more clearly expressed through revised programmes of study. We will also create a primary oracy framework and a combined secondary oracy, writing and reading framework to be published following the revised national curriculum.
The primary oracy framework will support teachers to help their pupils become confident, fluent speakers by the end of key stage 2. This will build on our primary frameworks for reading and writing.
Asked by: Allison Gardner (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the National Curriculum adequately covers a) practical skills related to basic food preparation and nutrition and b) education on the origins of food and agricultural production.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Food education is covered primarily within design and technology, and elements of food education can also be covered across biology, geography and relationships, sex and health education in the national curriculum. The curriculum requires that pupils learn about healthy eating, where food comes from, nutrition and sustainability. Schools also have flexibility within the broad framework of the national curriculum to tailor curriculum subjects to meet the needs of their pupils.
Additional resources are available from Oak National Academy, who have recently developed a new cooking and nutrition curriculum package. This has been designed by experts to give access to practical, engaging lessons covering food preparation, cooking techniques and healthy eating.
In the recent response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the department has set out that we will be ensuring that the programmes of study for cooking and nutrition, which will be renamed food and nutrition, are more specific and prepare pupils for life and potential future careers in the food sector.