Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support families of disadvantaged pupils with the cost of school trips.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is for schools to decide whether to offer school trips to their pupils. Schools receive pupil premium funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, which may be used to support extracurricular activities, including school trips.
Schools must comply with the law on charging for school activities, which prohibits charging for education provided during school hours. This means they may not make compulsory charges for a trip which takes place during school hours but they may ask parents for voluntary contributions towards the cost of the trip.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to written question 93138, what her planned timetable is for publication of the (a) terms of reference and (b) membership of the regional improvement for standards and excellence Operations Working Group.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will publish the terms of reference, membership details and minutes of the first meeting of the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence Operations Working Group by the end of January 2026. Minutes for future meetings with be published following each meeting.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make new capital funding available for school buildings in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We are investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
As part of this, in 2025/26, Lincolnshire County Council was allocated almost £6 million to invest across its maintained schools. Capital funding for other bodies responsible for schools in South Holland and the Deepings are also available on GOV.UK. We expect to publish capital allocations and the outcomes of the Condition Improvement Fund for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring.
We are also investing almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme through to 2034/35, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within two years. We plan to open a nomination round early in 2026.
Lincolnshire has also been allocated £62.2 million of Basic Need capital funding to support it to create mainstream school places needed between May 2024 and September 2028.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the percentage of doctoral loans used by students to cover the costs of childcare.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Doctoral loans are intended to contribute to the cost of study, rather than to specifically cover tuition fees or livings costs, which provides flexibility to the student. The department does not hold any information on the proportion of doctoral loan funding that is spent on childcare.
Asked by: Sarah Pochin (Reform UK - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of excluding full-time higher-education student households from childcare support schemes when mandatory placements prevent parents from working on those households.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Students with children who are undertaking work placement years with private employers do not qualify for the full-rate partially means-tested loans for living costs or means-tested dependants’ grants (Childcare Grant or Parents’ Learning Allowance). They only qualify for a reduced rate loan for living costs from Student Finance England. The government expects private employers who benefit from students’ work to provide support for students during work placements rather than the taxpayer
The government makes an exception for many work placements in the public sector by making available the full-rate partially means-tested loan for living costs and dependants grants to encourage students to gain work experience in these areas. This ensures that low-income students with children undertaking working placements in the public sector receive targeted support through the student support system.
Public sector work placements include unpaid service with a hospital, with a local authority in relation to the care of children and young persons, health and welfare, with the prison and probation service, and with either House of Parliament. They also include unpaid research at a UK or overseas institution.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number and percentage of a) undergraduate and b) postgraduate students who are parents with caring responsibilities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. This data is shared with the department and includes a wide range of information on students studying at UK HE providers.
However, information on students who are parents with caring responsibilities is not collected, and therefore numbers and percentages of students in this position cannot be identified by the department.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of local authorities which voluntarily provide support for self-employed adoptive parents in each of the last five years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect information from local authorities or regional adoption agencies on the extent to which they provide voluntary support for self-employed adoptive parents.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Association of Colleges' report entitled From treatment to prevention: how colleges can build a healthier society, published in December 2025, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting further education colleges to deliver programmes for young people not in education, employment or training due to health reasons.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department consults with Cabinet colleagues on a range of policies, and we are determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all young people, including those with specific needs.
We have introduced the Youth Guarantee to tackle the number of those who are not in education, employment or training and improve access to opportunities.
Colleges are responsible for ensuring that their provision is designed, delivered, and continuously improved to meet the needs of all students and are subject to statutory duties and responsibilities in the area of special educational needs and disabilities. This underpins our commitment to providing all young people with learning difficulties and disabilities with the opportunities they need.
The department also continues to work closely with the further education (FE) sector to promote and support providers to develop mental health and wellbeing approaches. This is supported by the FE student support champion, Polly Harrow, who is improving colleges' ability to give learners the full opportunity to succeed and progress.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure continuity of local provision and specialist staffing be during transition, in the context of the number of colleges providing the Level 3 BTEC Forensic and Criminal Investigation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, alongside the publication of the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper, the department published a consultation on Post-16 level 3 and below pathways, which closed on the 12 January. As part of our consultation, we have been engaging with the sector on transition arrangements. We will set out our response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect learners (a) in and (b) planning to enter the BTEC pipeline before first teaching in September 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 20 October 2025, alongside the publication of the Post-16 Education and Skills white paper, the department published a consultation on Post-16 level 3 and below pathways, which closed on the 12 January. As part of our consultation, we have been engaging with the sector on transition arrangements. We will set out our response to the consultation in due course.