Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make provision in England which is similar to the Childcare Offer for Wales, and whether they have had discussions with the Welsh Government in that regard.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through the English government’s transformative childcare reforms, the department will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. The childcare expansion is being rolled out in phases, with over 210,000 children now benefitting since the launch of the first phase in April. The next stage in September 2024 will extend this to children aged from 9 months. By September 2025, eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare from the term after their child turns 9-months-old to when they start school.
As such, there are currently no plans to introduce the Welsh style childcare provision in England. Education and the entitlement to free childcare for pre-school children in Wales is devolved to the Welsh Assembly. We engage routinely with the Welsh government and other devolved administrations at ministerial and official levels to learn from each other to improve early years outcomes across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Leicester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 29 April (HL3846), what plans they have to (1) roll out Family Hubs to the remaining 242 local authorities, and (2) sustain the funding for the Family Hubs programme beyond 2025.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is currently investing around £300 million in 75 local authorities, half of all upper tier local authorities in England, to transform to a Family Hub model. Funding has been targeted to the most deprived local authorities, ensuring families get the support they need.
The department has also invested in a £12 million transformation fund to open Family Hubs in 13 additional local authorities in England.
All 88 local authorities now have opened at least one Family Hub, with over 400 government-funded Family Hub sites now open across the country.
Further funding for the current programmes is dependent on future fiscal events. It was confirmed at Spring Budget that the next spending review will come after a General Election, the timing of which is still to be determined.
The government would like to see Family Hubs across the country, but it is crucial that the department now focuses on delivering well in these local authorities and building the evidence base.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the school related schemes that have received notice that funding will be (a) reduced and (b) ended since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that.
Including the additional funding for teachers’ pay and pensions, funding for both mainstream schools and high needs is £2.9 billion higher in 2024/25 than in 2023/24. The overall core school budget will total £60.7 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This means school funding is set to have risen by £11 billion by 2024/25 compared to 2021/22.
Asked by: George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain - Rochdale)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in the level of real-terms funding since 2010 on schools in Rochdale constituency; and if she will make it her policy to increase the level of real-term funding for schools in Rochdale constituency to 2010 levels.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that. Overall school funding, including the recently announced additional pensions funding, is rising to £60.7 billion in 2024/25, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This means that real terms funding for schools in England has increased rather than decreased since 2010.
Through the National Funding Formula (NFF), funding is distributed fairly based on the needs of each school and their pupils and all schools attract a per pupil increase in funding. Mainstream schools in the Rochdale Constituency are attracting an extra £1 million in 2024/25 compared to 2023/24 through the schools NFF, which is an increase of 1.9% per pupil in their pupil-led funding. This means schools in the Rochdale Constituency will attract over £112.1 million, based on the schools NFF. Constituency figures are based on an aggregation of school-level allocations through the NFF, and final allocations will depend on the local authority’s funding formula.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will lower the threshold for free school meals qualification.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has extended free school meal (FSM) support several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. As a result, the greatest ever proportion of children are now receiving free lunches. Over one third of children are now eligible for FSM, compared to one in six in 2010.
However, a threshold must be set somewhere. The department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low-income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the correct decision.
The department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the proportion of ultra-processed foods in school meals.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
There is no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods. The term defines foods by how much processing they have been through rather than their nutritional composition.
The standards for school food are set out in The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.
The ‘School Food Standards’ define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted and those which must never be provided. The standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, including crisps, confectionery and high-sugar drinks, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They also ensure that the right foods are available for children every day. For example, one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits every week.
Compliance with the standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
The department believes that the standards provide a robust yet flexible framework for school food provision. The government continues to keep the standards under review.
Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for children to receive (a) SEN assessments and (b) mental health treatment in Morley and Outwood constituency.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department wants to ensure that Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessments, where required, are conducted as quickly as possible, so that children and young people can access the support they need. In March 2023, the government set out its plans to reform and improve the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system through its SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan. The plan commits to establishing a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND, so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and are well prepared for adulthood and employment. Wakefield, Leeds, Calderdale and Bradford are in the SEND Change Programme, representing the Yorkshire and Humber region, to test these reforms. Specifically, these reforms focus on early intervention, improving the quality of EHC plans, streamlining the EHC plan process, reducing conflicts within the EHC plan system through better co-production and ultimately enhancing outcomes for children and young people.
The mental health of children is a national priority for this government and the department recognises that some children will need specialist support for their mental health issues. The department is supporting children and young people nationally, including those in the Morley and Outwood area, in the expansion and transformation of mental health services through an increase in spending through the NHS overall, as well as improved access to early mental health support.
To expand access to early mental health support, the department is continuing to roll out Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to schools and colleges. As of April 2024, MHSTs now covers 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England. The department is extending coverage of MHSTs to at least 50% of pupils and learners by the end of March 2025.
The department has also committed to offering all state schools and colleges a grant to train a senior mental health lead by 2025, enabling them to introduce effective whole school approaches to mental health and wellbeing. So far 16,700 settings have claimed a grant so far, including more than 8 in 10 state-funded secondary schools.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, Education, how many and what proportion of students are studying for a level 3 qualification; and whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of students that will begin (a) a foundation T Level and (b) any T Level course for each academic year between 2024 and 2030.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
In 2022, there were 599,000 students aged 16 in education in England. 440,000 students, or 73%, were studying qualifications at Level 3. More information can be found in the ‘Participation in education, training and employment age 16 to 18’ publication on GOV.UK.
The department does not publish estimates for the number of students that will begin a T Level or T Level Foundation year (TLFY) in each academic year. Over 30,000 students have started a T Level since 2020, and over 16,000 students have started on the TLFY over the first four years. The recently published T Level Action Plan sets out the steps the department is taking to continue to increase uptake over the coming years.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the average length of time the Student Loans Company takes to refund people who have made an overpayment on their student loan.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Student Loans Company (SLC) has a Service Level Agreement of 28 days to make a refund to people who have made an over repayment on their student loan. Based on telephone requests from January to March 2024, the SLC averaged 8 days from the point the request was received to the point the refund was paid to the borrower’s bank account.
Student loans repayments for borrowers resident in the UK are made via HMRC through the UK tax system. Employers deduct repayments each pay period for employees with a student loan when their earnings are above the relevant repayment threshold for that pay period.
Over repayments can occur for a number of reasons, for example the time lag between an employer making a PAYE deduction and HMRC receiving and sending that payment to SLC, which can then confirm that a borrower has paid off their student loan balance. HMRC provides the SLC with student loan repayment information as reported by employers on a weekly basis. For this type of over-repayment, the SLC can automatically make a refund of £5,000 where they are able to verify a borrower’s bank account details.
SLC provide borrowers with the option to switch to repayments via direct debit when they are nearing the end of their loan repayments. This prevents overpayments entirely.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with HM Revenue and Customs on the timeframe for refunding student loan overpayment.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Student Loans Company (SLC) has a Service Level Agreement of 28 days to make a refund to people who have made an over repayment on their student loan. Based on telephone requests from January to March 2024, the SLC averaged 8 days from the point the request was received to the point the refund was paid to the borrower’s bank account.
Student loans repayments for borrowers resident in the UK are made via HMRC through the UK tax system. Employers deduct repayments each pay period for employees with a student loan when their earnings are above the relevant repayment threshold for that pay period.
Over repayments can occur for a number of reasons, for example the time lag between an employer making a PAYE deduction and HMRC receiving and sending that payment to SLC, which can then confirm that a borrower has paid off their student loan balance. HMRC provides the SLC with student loan repayment information as reported by employers on a weekly basis. For this type of over-repayment, the SLC can automatically make a refund of £5,000 where they are able to verify a borrower’s bank account details.
SLC provide borrowers with the option to switch to repayments via direct debit when they are nearing the end of their loan repayments. This prevents overpayments entirely.