Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce a national alternative to the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring every young person can develop the skills they need to succeed in work and life. We want them to have access to good quality careers advice as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, under our Plan for Change.
Nationally, schools and colleges can access a range of digital and in-person support to help them inform their students about technical routes, such as apprenticeships. This support includes T Levels Ambassador Networks, the Skills for Apprenticeships support page (part of the government’s Skills for Life – ‘It All Starts With Skills’ communications campaign), and The Careers and Enterprise Company’s (CEC) resource directory.
Locally, through careers hubs, data and front-line insights support conversations about what is preventing take-up of technical and vocational pathways at the local level, enabling local partners to devise solutions. The government will continue to invest in high-quality careers education for young people, including boosting skills pathways such as apprenticeships and other technical education routes.
We will continue investing in wider careers infrastructure, including careers hubs, to ensure successful implementation of our careers programme.
Careers hubs, supported by CEC, will continue locally to address barriers relating to apprenticeships and technical education awareness and uptake.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage young people to engage with (a) Scouts, (b) Girlguiding and (c) other youth organisations in Fylde.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the transformative role that youth services play in young people’s lives, including the important role that Scouts and Girlguiding play in providing young people with opportunities to take part in new activities, make new friends and build skills for life. I have met with both organisations in my capacity as Minister for Youth.
In a written statement on 15 May 2025, the Secretary of State announced DCMS’ commitment to provide over £28 million to increase access to more and better enriching activities for young people. This includes £7.5 million funding to increase access to uniformed youth groups in areas of unmet demand and reach more young people from harder to reach communities, who are underrepresented in these organisations. Over £2.4 million of this funding has been awarded to the Scouts and over £1.4 million to Girlguiding in 2025/2026. It is the organisation's decision on how best to allocate the funding to meet objectives.
We are also co-producing a new National Youth Strategy with young people and the sectors that support them. The strategy will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny, provide them with meaningful choices and chances and rebuild a thriving and sustainable sector. The Strategy will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Romanians and (b) Roma are resident in (i) Northern Ireland and (ii) North Antrim constituency.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Obtaining the specific information requested would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by multiple teams across various departments and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is timetable is for the publication of the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the Defence Investment Plan will be published in the Autumn.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) misinformation and (b) disinformation in elections.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes seriously, including from the threat posed by mis/disinformation.
The UK’s Online Safety Act captures disinformation aimed at disrupting elections where it is a criminal offence in the scope of the regulatory framework. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which requires all in-scope companies to act against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.
As the department responsible for managing the risk posed by online mis/disinformation targeting electoral processes, DSIT also supports ongoing work through the government’s Defending Democracy Taskforce to tackle the full scope of threats to democracy.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve therapeutic continuity for adoptive families.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has supported therapeutic continuity in a range of ways. Therapy which began in 2024/25 could continue into 2025/26 for up to 12 months under transitional funding arrangements. Applications may continue to be made for therapy lasting up to 31 March 2026. The eligibility criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund have remained stable, enabling children to continue receiving therapy. The department has also maintained the range of therapies which may be funded.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the Defence Industrial Strategy.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government is committed to bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy which ensures the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned.
The Defence Industrial Strategy will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Henley and Thame of 13 March 2025 on the honours list.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
A response was sent to the hon. Member for Henley and Thame on Monday 9th June 2025. I apologise for the delay.
Asked by: Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 50912 on Students: Loans, whether her Department has considered (a) changes to interest rates, (b) changes to repayment thresholds and (c) other policy changes to help prevent loan balances from increasing despite regular repayments.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter higher education can do so.
Student loan debt is not like other debt. Monthly repayments depend on earnings, not on interest rates or the amount borrowed. No-one who earns under the student loan repayment threshold is required to make any repayments. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off. This write-off is a deliberate investment in our people and the economy. No commercial loan offers this level of protection.
Furthermore, since August 2023, loans for new undergraduate borrowers have been issued on Plan 5 terms. These have an interest rate set in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation. This means Plan 5 borrowers will not repay more than they originally borrow over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation.
The department will set out longer-term plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that young people with care experience have support available from local authorities until the age of 30.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to tackling stigma and discrimination faced by care-experienced children and young people. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will introduce corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and other relevant public bodies. This will ensure corporate parents are aware of issues that could negatively impact on children in care and care leavers.
The leaving care grant for care leavers was increased from £2,000 to £3,000 from April 2023.
To support them to engage in education, employment, and training, care leavers are entitled to a £3,000 bursary for apprenticeships and a £2,000 bursary for university. They are also prioritised for the 16-19 bursary in further education.
Over 600 businesses, including John Lewis, Sky, and Amazon, have signed the department’s care leaver covenant, offering employment and training opportunities. The government's civil service care leaver internship scheme has provided over 1,000 paid jobs across government. Care leavers who access Staying Close will receive support to engage in education, employment and training.
The government currently has no plans to extend support to care leavers to age 30.