Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance her Department provides for young people seeking employment upon leaving school.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Young people must continue in education or training until their 18th birthday and may do so through full-time study, full-time work or volunteering combined with part-time learning, or an apprenticeship, while local authorities hold statutory duties to identify and support those needing help, including young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Apprenticeships allow young people to earn and learn. Employers receive financial support to hire young apprentices, including up to £2,000 for small and medium sized enterprises taking on 16 to 24-year-old new starters. Foundation apprenticeships were introduced in August 2025, to give young people a route into critical sectors.
Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, the department is supporting schools to deliver high quality, employer-led careers advice, giving young people clearer insight into the full range of pathways available. We are also bridging the gap between education and work with our commitment to two weeks’ worth of work experience for every secondary pupil.
The Post 16 Education and Skills White Paper set out major reforms, including new Vocational Levels alongside A Levels and T Levels, a further study pathway with a Foundation Certificate, and an occupational pathway with an Occupational Certificate to support progression into study, work or apprenticeships.
For those who want to move into work after they are 18 but cannot find work, the Department for Work and Pensions is strengthening support through the Youth Guarantee, supported by £2.5 billion of investment to create 500,000 opportunities for young people to earn and learn. This includes the delivery of eight Youth Guarantee trailblazers in England, the expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain, and the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in jobcentres, providing more intensive support to 16 to 24-year-olds.
Together these measures demonstrate the government’s commitment to backing young people.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment, (b) retention, (c) career progression and (d) workload in the early years workforce.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. This is why the department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce and make early years careers as accessible as possible.
The department is attracting new people into the early years sector through initiatives like our national recruitment campaign and financial incentives programmes. We are also ensuring there is a career path for everyone who wants to become an early years teacher, through increasing places on our existing teacher training programmes and introducing a new early years teacher degree apprenticeship route.
The department is confident that through our Best Start in Life Strategy, we can lay the foundations for long-term change. We will give early years educators the status they deserve, creating more opportunities to enter the profession, gain higher qualifications, and build fulfilling careers.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of supported apprenticeships and supported internships for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans; whether a centrally held list of such apprenticeships and internships exists at a national or regional level; which Department or body is responsible for maintaining and communicating that information; and what steps are being taken to (a) improve transparency, (b) ensure such information is made publicly available and (c) ensure timely and coordinated responses between relevant Departments in supporting young people into suitable placements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million in supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must keep their educational and training provision under review, including the sufficiency of provision, and each local authority’s local offer must include information on supported internships.
The availability of apprenticeships is determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service allows people to identify opportunities from Disability Confident employers.
The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship. Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments to support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan, or have been, or are, in local authority care.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure teachers are equipped to deal with student mental health challenges.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the application submitted by Pennoweth Primary School to join the free breakfast clubs programme from April 2026; and when the school will be informed of its status on the waitlist.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
On 17 March 2026, Pennoweth Primary School, along with all schools currently on the free breakfast clubs programme waitlist, received a notification from the department to invite them to join the free breakfast clubs programme and deliver from September 2026.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in their Department were found to have broken the Civil Service Code in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Civil Servants are appointed on merit on the basis of fair and open competition and are expected to carry out their role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values: integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.
The department does not hold centrally collated data on the number of breaches of the Civil Service Code.
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 she is taking to ensure adequate careers support in schools, especially for alternative pathways.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Schools are required to offer multiple opportunities for pupils to hear directly from apprenticeship, further education and training providers.
The government has adopted updated Gatsby Benchmarks into statutory guidance. They place greater emphasis on high quality information about alternative pathways. Schools are expected to provide pupils with up-to-date labour market information and information about apprenticeships, T Levels and other technical qualifications across a range of sectors.
The government’s commitment to delivering two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person will further support awareness of alternative pathways, giving secondary pupils practical insights into a wide range of employers and progression routes.
Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, the department is continuing to invest in support for careers leaders to embed the Gatsby Benchmarks in schools and to improve pupils’ access to meaningful encounters with employers and providers, workplace experiences and personal guidance.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the total value of non-contractual severance payments across the department in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
I refer the hon. Member for Mid Leicestershire to the answer of 7 April 2026 to Question 121697.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide additional support to schools to help students with their mental health.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government will provide access to NHS-funded mental health support teams (MHSTs) in every school by 2029, with around six in ten pupils expected to have access by April 2026. Data for 2024/25 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision.
MHSTs supplement existing pastoral provision, and schools retain the freedom to determine support based on pupil need, making best use of their funding.
Alongside providing direct support to pupils, MHSTs can also work with the mental health lead in each school to introduce or develop a whole-school approach to mental health.
The department also encourages whole-school approaches to promoting children and young people's mental health and wellbeing, which includes schools equipping teachers with the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond appropriately to pupil’s mental health needs. The department’s guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/promoting-children-and-young-peoples-emotional-health-and-wellbeing.
To support education staff, the department provides a resource hub for mental health leads, and a targeted support guide and hub to help choose evidence-based targeted support for pupils.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department is supporting university students and graduates with accumulating student debt.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Unlike commercial loans, student loans carry significant protections for borrowers. Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income contingent, if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.
Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold are not required to make repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
The government appreciates that making student loan repayments does have an impact on individuals. This is why there are unique protections for borrowers, and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.