Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) UK Visas and Immigration and (b) universities on the implementation of student visa compliance measures.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will crack down on abuse of our immigration system by strengthening requirements for universities. This will involve tighter enforcement by government on visa approvals and course enrolments and completions. The Immigration White Paper set out that we will retain the graduate visa but reduce its duration from 2 years to 18 months, whilst maintaining the 3-year duration for PhD students. This will maintain our competitive post-study offer whilst ensuring individuals on this route obtain employment in graduate level roles and contribute to the country’s skills needs more quickly.
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed this government's continued commitment to welcome legitimate international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. International students positively impact our HE sector and become global ambassadors for the UK.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the findings of the British Council Scotland and Universities Scotland report, entitled Scotland’s Higher Education: Partnering for Global Impact, on the contribution of universities to economic growth and innovation; and what steps her Department is taking to support that contribution across the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK Government recognises the important contribution that universities across the UK make to our economic growth, innovation and international standing. Our recently published International Education Strategy supports strong and sustainable long-term international partnerships for UK universities by promoting the whole of the UK’s education offer overseas, including research collaboration and driving growth through high quality UK transitional education.
The department will continue to work with the UK’s education sector, devolved governments and key partners such as the British Council to support the contribution of British universities, including in Scotland, to growth, innovation and international partnerships. Steps to strengthen this collaboration include the ministerially-chaired Education Sector Action Group, which brings together stakeholders to identify opportunities and remove barriers to growth, and the recent publication of the sector-led brochure ‘Advancing Talent with UK Education – Building Global Partnerships’.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the priorities set out in the British Council Scotland and Universities Scotland report entitled Scotland’s Higher Education: Partnering for Global Impact have informed the Government’s approach to the International Education Strategy; and what steps she is taking to strengthen international partnerships with UK universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK Government recognises the important contribution that universities across the UK make to our economic growth, innovation and international standing. Our recently published International Education Strategy supports strong and sustainable long-term international partnerships for UK universities by promoting the whole of the UK’s education offer overseas, including research collaboration and driving growth through high quality UK transitional education.
The department will continue to work with the UK’s education sector, devolved governments and key partners such as the British Council to support the contribution of British universities, including in Scotland, to growth, innovation and international partnerships. Steps to strengthen this collaboration include the ministerially-chaired Education Sector Action Group, which brings together stakeholders to identify opportunities and remove barriers to growth, and the recent publication of the sector-led brochure ‘Advancing Talent with UK Education – Building Global Partnerships’.
Asked by: Mel Stride (Conservative - Central Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers, published on 7 April 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of capping interest on Plan 2 and 3 student loans at 6%.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is capping maximum interest rates on Plan 2 and Plan 3 (postgraduate) student loans at 6%, instead of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) plus 3%, for the 2026/27 academic year.
This short-term protective measure will apply from the 1 September 2026 to the 31 August 2027 and removes the risk of a temporary increase in inflation causing loan balances to compound at an unsustainable rate.
Student loan interest rates are ordinarily set for each academic year by reference to the RPI value for the year to the preceding March. On that basis, interest rates for the 2026/27 academic year would normally be determined using the RPI figure for March 2026, due to be published on 22 April 2026.
The impact of the interest rate cap on the public purse will depend on the March RPI value.
Asked by: Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that proposed reforms to the SEND system help support local authorities to comply with their statutory duties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Schools White Paper sets clear expectations for local authorities in regard to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision and we are backing that with significant investment to support transformation of the system.
We have written to local authorities and Integrated Care Boards requesting SEND reform plans on improving outcomes for children.
We will hold them to account to deliver strong outcomes for children and young people with SEND and intervene decisively wherever needed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children in rural schools have equitable access to advanced STEM programs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils, including those in rural schools, have access to high‑quality science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education. All our STEM programmes can be accessed across England, regardless of location.
The department funds a range of programmes for teachers to support STEM education, including the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching programme, the National Centre for Computing Education, and the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP).
For pupils, the AMSP offers the Maths into Data Science and artificial intelligence programme, an online, assessed course for post-16 learners.
The government continues to fund the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of more than 28,000 volunteers registered from over 7,500 employers, reaching over 3 million young people every year. These volunteers engage with young people to spark interest in STEM subjects and showcase the wide variety of STEM careers by sharing their personal experiences.
Asked by: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to hold local authorities accountable for meeting the statutory 20-week timeframe for issuing education, health and care plans.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Schools White Paper sets clear expectations for the quality and timeliness of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision delivered by local authorities, supported by significant investment to drive system transformation.
In March 2026, the department commissioned local authorities, working with Integrated Care Boards, to develop SEND reform plans and will hold them to account for delivering strong outcomes for children and young people with SEND, intervening decisively where progress stalls and using our full intervention powers where failure persists.
The department publishes annual SEN2 data on education, health and care (EHC) plans and assessments, including timeliness, which informs performance monitoring. Where this highlights a concern around local authority failure to meet statutory duties on EHC plan timeliness, we take action that prioritises children’s needs. Support and challenge is delivered through expert improvement advisers, commissioners and managed support programmes to drive sustained improvement.
Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement, including the issuing of Improvement Notices or Statutory Directions to drive urgent improvements.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to account for the costs of transporting SEND students to school in rural areas when making future funding allocations.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The Settlement uses relative needs formulae to assess each local authority’s relative need to spend on specific services. From the 2026/27 financial year, we have introduced a new specific relative needs formula for home-to-school travel which estimates each authority’s relative need to spend based on pupil numbers and home-to-school distances. This ensures funding reflects real journeys to school including those for rural local authorities.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that veterans have access to childcare options.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is the department’s ambition that all families, including those from Armed Forces and Veteran communities, 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.
In April 2026, over 200 new Best Start Family Hubs in areas not previously funded are now open to families, backed by over £900 million of investment. These hubs act as welcoming, one-stop shops rooted in local communities, supporting families from pregnancy through to early childhood with everything from infant feeding support and parenting advice to help with the cost of living and early identification of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Support will also extend beyond dedicated hubs into up to 2,000 community venues, known as Best Start Network Sites, by 2028, ensuring families can access help.
The department's guidance for Best Start Family Hubs sets out minimum expectations for supporting Armed Forces and Veteran families. Hub staff are expected to be aware of the unique challenges these families can face, including the cumulative impact of mobility, separation, deployment, life after service and bereavement, and to signpost families to relevant support services including the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Education Advisory Team and the dedicated Armed Forces Families Federations.
Best Start Family Hub staff are also expected to be familiar with the joint non-statutory guidance 'Service Pupils in Schools' (April 2025) and the MOD Local Authority Partnership (MODLAP) principles for supporting Service children with SEND through school transitions. The guidance also encourages the establishment of a dedicated military champion in every hub, linked to existing Armed Forces Covenant commitments.
Veteran families who are based in England can apply for government funded childcare through the Childcare Service or through their local authorities. Families may also be eligible for support if they receive Universal Credit.
Current service families may be eligible for 30 hours (over 38 weeks of the year) funded childcare support, which is available to eligible working parents from the term after their child turns nine months old until they start school. Parents must earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year to be eligible. In a two-parent household, both parents must meet the eligibility criteria.
All three- and four-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours free early education per week (over 38 weeks of the year), regardless of family circumstances. This is available the term after the child’s third birthday. Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare are also available to families to help with childcare costs.
The department wants to ensure that parents are aware of and are accessing all the government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government funded childcare support available via the Best Start in Life Parent Hub website to stimulate increased take up by eligible families, because we know this could make a significant financial difference to families. The website can be accessed here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Melanie Onn (Labour - Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement as of 31 March 2020, in each local authority; and in each year prior as far back as comparable statistical information is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of children looked after who were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by local authority between 2004 and 2020 and for 2025 is in the attached table.