Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the activities of the National Education Union on community cohesion.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education plays a vital role in preparing our children and young people for life in a modern and diverse Britain. Accordingly, the department plays a key role in the government’s efforts to strengthen social cohesion, as outlined in the recently published social cohesion action plan ‘Protecting What Matters’.
As part of these actions to strengthen social cohesion, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has launched an independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges in England, led by Sir David Bell.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number of Remediable Service Statements issued to retired teachers; and whether her Department will publish these statistics on a regular basis.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process. For those members retiring, these cases are relatively straightforward, as no benefits are already in payment. For retired members, additional complications around tax, interest rules and system functionality required extensive consultation.
As of 18 March 2026, 73,913 Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) have been issued to retired members, and there are 68,126 remaining to be issued. There are currently no plans to publish RSS statistics on the website. However, the scheme administrator keeps affected members informed of general progress through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of people in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have fully repaid their Plan 2 student loan.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are 330 people with contact postcodes held by the Student Loan Company (SLC) indicating they live in the South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency who have repaid their plan 2 Student Loan.
There are 6,530 people in the constituency who currently have outstanding plan 2 student loans; of which 5,700 borrowers have loans that have become liable to repay as they are beyond the statutory repayment due date.
In the 2024/25 financial year, 2,100 plan 2 borrowers with loans that had become liable to repay made regular repayments but saw their outstanding balance increase as the total interest added exceeded the total amount repaid over the year. Outstanding debt, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the loan term, with no detriment to the borrower.
For this analysis, a borrower is deemed to have made regular repayments if they have made at least four repayments in the 2024/25 financial year. This may include borrowers who stopped their regular repayments or ceased being liable to repay part-way through the year.
This will include borrowers who were resident in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, including at parental addresses, when they applied for the loan and have not informed the SLC of a subsequent change of address.
(Borrower numbers rounded to the nearest 10).
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on whether medical students will qualify for maintenance grants when these are reintroduced.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to attend higher education. We must, therefore, reform the higher education system to better support disadvantaged students.
Maintenance grants will support students studying courses aligned with the government’s missions and the Industrial Strategy at Levels 4 to 6 under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, including technical qualifications and degrees. The new grants will provide disadvantaged students with up to £1,000 extra per year on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing the cash in student’s pockets without increasing their debt.
It is vital that the list of subjects that will be eligible for maintenance grants is informed by the best and most up-to-date evidence available on future employment and skills priorities. The full list of eligible subjects will be confirmed in advance of maintenance grant introduction in the 2028/29 academic year.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of (a) recruitment and (b) retention in further education colleges in (i) island and (ii) coastal communities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is taking actions to strengthen the recruitment and retention in further education (FE) colleges across the country, including coastal and island communities, as outlined in the recent Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.
Across the spending review period we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029. This will support colleges to recruit and retain excellent teachers. Delivery of this funding is weighted to account for levels of disadvantage.
Our national recruitment campaign promotes careers in FE, and retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax are offered for early career teachers, with higher payments for providers with a higher proportion of disadvantaged learners. Bursaries of up to £31,000 are available for teacher training. With reference to pay, FE colleges, rather than the government, are responsible for setting pay.
The department will continue to monitor workforce recruitment and retention trends through the FE Workforce Data Collection.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of pay disparities between mainland further education colleges and those in island communities on staff recruitment and retention.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is taking actions to strengthen the recruitment and retention in further education (FE) colleges across the country, including coastal and island communities, as outlined in the recent Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.
Across the spending review period we will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/2029. This will support colleges to recruit and retain excellent teachers. Delivery of this funding is weighted to account for levels of disadvantage.
Our national recruitment campaign promotes careers in FE, and retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax are offered for early career teachers, with higher payments for providers with a higher proportion of disadvantaged learners. Bursaries of up to £31,000 are available for teacher training. With reference to pay, FE colleges, rather than the government, are responsible for setting pay.
The department will continue to monitor workforce recruitment and retention trends through the FE Workforce Data Collection.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the repayment forecast for Plan 2 student loan graduates in each of the last five years compared to actual repayments in each of those years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The actual repayments for plan 2 are published in Figure 14 on this page:
The forecasts for Plan 2 are published here:
Forecasts are always likely to deviate from actuals due to uncertainty around many factors. Forecasts are based on the most up to date inputs available. Even looking only a year into the future, factors affecting repayments are likely to deviate from model inputs, especially in times of greater economic uncertainty. Over time, improvements to modelling methodology also affect accuracy of forecasts.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support young adults in Newbury constituency with financial difficulties as a result of freezes to the Plan 2 student loan repayment threshold.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and we are having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. The repayment threshold will rise in April 2026, to £29,385 which is a higher rate than the average graduate salary three years after graduation. 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, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. Even with the freeze, in year one the average borrower on a Plan 2 loan will repay around £8 more than had the freeze not been enforced.
Those earning below the earnings threshold do not 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. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of freezes to the Plan 2 student loan repayment threshold on recent graduates.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Plan 2 loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and we are having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable.
Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. The repayment threshold will rise in April 2026, to £29,385 which is a higher rate than the average graduate salary three years after graduation. 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, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. Even with the freeze, in year one the average borrower on a Plan 2 loan will repay around £8 more than had the freeze not been enforced.
Those earning below the earnings threshold do not 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. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of places available for educational psychology courses at universities in England, and whether she has considered salaried training routes for experienced professionals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recently announced £26 million investment to train at least 200 new educational psychologists per year, starting in 2026 and 2027. This is set to be followed by further investment from 2028 to train more educational psychologists than we currently do, subject to future spending reviews. This builds on £31 million invested to train around 200 educational psychologists annually since 2023.
To qualify, trainees are required to undertake a three year doctorate training course. The department funds the tuition fees and year one bursary payment. In years two and three, trainees are based on placements across England, with placement providers funding a bursary or salary for these years.
Following graduation, department-funded trainees are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period (three years for trainees who began in September 2024).
This investment in the training scheme will help to grow local authority workforces, so that more educational psychologists are available to provide a variety of support, including identifying and supporting needs earlier and bolstering capacity to deliver assessments.