Asked by: Lord Bishop of Sheffield (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 16 September 2025 (UIN HL10060), what plans they have to amend the International Education Strategy; and what the anticipated timeline for the publication of a revised strategy is.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government’s International Education Strategy (IES) was launched on 20 January 2026.
The strategy backs UK providers at all levels to expand overseas, strengthening global partnerships and giving millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home. It sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
We want to increase the UK’s international standing through education and make the UK the global partner of choice at every stage of learning. The IES is now co-owned between the Department for Education, the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish proposals for the reform of provisions for delivery for special educational needs pupils in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to fix the special educational needs and disabilities system and restore the trust of parents. My right hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Education, wrote to the Education Select Committee in October setting out the decision to have a further period of co-creation with families, teachers and experts from across the sector to design and test our proposals further and our full Schools White Paper building on this work will be published shortly.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total non-capital resource spend on special educational needs pupils in England in (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25, and what is the projected non-capital resource spend in 2025–26.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Mainstream schools are not required to record or report to the department how much they spend specifically on pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so this information is not available. Local authorities are required, however, to identify a notional budget for each school, intended as a guide to how much they might need to spend on supporting their pupils with SEN, for annual costs up to £6,000 per pupil.
Local authorities allocate high needs funding for SEND support costs in excess of £6,000 and make provision and services available for other children and young people with complex needs. Their actual high needs expenditure is set out in the table below, including a small amount of high needs funding allocated directly by the department to schools and colleges, alongside the notional SEN budget total for mainstream schools. For the financial year 2025/26 we have included a forecast of high needs expenditure that the department provided to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and that was included in their forecasts published at the autumn 2025 Budget.
Financial year | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
Total amount identified as notional SEN budget for mainstream schools | £4.8 billion | £5.4 billion | £5.8 billion |
Total high needs actual expenditure by local authorities and the separtment | £11.1 billion | £13.1 billion | |
High needs forecast expenditure for financial year 2025/26 | £14.8 billion | ||
Totals (rounded) | £15.9 billion | £18.5 billion | £20.7 billion |
Neither the OBR nor the department have finalised projections of spend over the next three financial years that take into account reforms to the SEND system from 2026/27.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the projected additional non-capital resource spend on special educational needs pupils in England in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Mainstream schools are not required to record or report to the department how much they spend specifically on pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so this information is not available. Local authorities are required, however, to identify a notional budget for each school, intended as a guide to how much they might need to spend on supporting their pupils with SEN, for annual costs up to £6,000 per pupil.
Local authorities allocate high needs funding for SEND support costs in excess of £6,000 and make provision and services available for other children and young people with complex needs. Their actual high needs expenditure is set out in the table below, including a small amount of high needs funding allocated directly by the department to schools and colleges, alongside the notional SEN budget total for mainstream schools. For the financial year 2025/26 we have included a forecast of high needs expenditure that the department provided to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and that was included in their forecasts published at the autumn 2025 Budget.
Financial year | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
Total amount identified as notional SEN budget for mainstream schools | £4.8 billion | £5.4 billion | £5.8 billion |
Total high needs actual expenditure by local authorities and the separtment | £11.1 billion | £13.1 billion | |
High needs forecast expenditure for financial year 2025/26 | £14.8 billion | ||
Totals (rounded) | £15.9 billion | £18.5 billion | £20.7 billion |
Neither the OBR nor the department have finalised projections of spend over the next three financial years that take into account reforms to the SEND system from 2026/27.
Asked by: Sureena Brackenridge (Labour - Wolverhampton North East)
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 extending VAT exemption to further education colleges on (a) college finances, (b) learner outcomes and (c) skills provision; and whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this matter.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
While VAT is a matter for His Majesty’s Treasury, we are aware that the VAT status of providers is an area of interest for the sector. Many public bodies cannot recover the VAT they incur. The government keeps all taxes under review, and any proposals to change the tax system would need to be considered in the context of the broader public finances.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 101957 on Erasmus+ Programme, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse of participating in Erasmus+ in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have now concluded negotiations with the European Commission on the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027. This commitment covers the 2027/28 academic year. Any participation in Erasmus+ into the next Multiannual Financial Framework needs to be agreed in future and be based on a fair and balanced contribution.
We have secured significantly improved financial terms compared to default arrangements, ensuring a fairer balance between the UK’s contribution to the EU and the number of UK participants who receive funding. We negotiated a 30% discount, securing participation for 2027 at a cost of approximately £570 million, saving UK taxpayers around £240 million while securing the benefits of participation for young people in the UK and across the EU.
The UK will receive most of that money back to distribute amongst UK beneficiaries. UK participants can compete for grants from an approximate £1 billion central pot directly managed by the European Commission.
Our experience of associating in 2027 will inform any future participation in Erasmus+ under the next Multiannual Financial Framework from 2028/2034.
We will report to Parliament the costs arising from participation, including costs related to the implementation of the programme, in its annual accounts.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Strategy to boost UK education abroad in major £40bn growth drive, published on 20 January 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of achieving the target to grow UK education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed the government's continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. They join one of the world’s most vibrant, diverse and inclusive learning communities, form lifelong friendships and professional networks, and earn qualifications respected around the globe. Higher education providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.
Future international student numbers are inherently uncertain. The international student market is highly competitive, and inflows depend on a range of factors, including recruitment strategies from international competitors, exchange rates and other economic variables. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the sustainable recruitment of high-quality international students to the UK’s world-class higher education institutions from a diverse range of countries.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile in each of the last five years; and how many children have gone through that assessment in each of the last five years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years foundation stage profile assessment (EYFSP) is undertaken by teachers at the end of the academic year in which children turn five, usually reception year. No fee is charged per child for the EYFSP. Any costs incurred by schools would primarily relate to staff time in connection with undertaking the assessment and submitting the data to their local authority. The department does not collect data on the time spent to complete the assessment at school level or time spent processing the data by local authorities.
The number of children assessed under the EYFSP in the last five years is available alongside further details on GOV.UK at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cf4c5896-b574-421b-70de-08de5e4c1b9a.
The 2020/21 EYFSP data collection was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, so the department does not hold information for that year.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reporting requirements UK providers will have for international education initiatives.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sector stakeholders will be central to the successful delivery of the new International Education Strategy. The reformed Education Sector Action Group (ESAG), chaired by Ministers, will bring together industry, government, and representative bodies from across the education sector to tackle key concerns and identify opportunities for partnerships. Each representative will lead on an action plan, published within the first 100 days of appointment to ESAG, outlining how their members will support delivery of the strategy.
Asked by: Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the expansion of free school meal eligibility from 2026 on the level of demand for school milk; and what steps are being taken to ensure adequate provision.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is a legislative requirement that milk is provided free of charge to children who meet the free school meal criteria.
We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals putting £500 back in families’ pockets.
We have set aside over £1 billion in funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover additional meal costs. This includes milk. This is on top of £1.5 billion we already spend annually supporting schools to deliver free school meals and milk.