Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 15 December (HL12482), when they expect to publish their response to their consultation, Post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The results of the consultation on Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways and the department's response will be published on GOV.UK in spring 2026.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will publish guidance on recruiting impartial school governors.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government’s guidance on the constitution of school governing bodies explains that the most robust governing bodies welcome and thrive on diversity of viewpoints, skills, experiences and backgrounds. This ensures open debate, effective decision-making, and prevents dominance by a single perspective. It promotes inclusivity, strategic challenge, and decisions in the best interests of the school community. As public officeholders, governors must uphold the seven Nolan principles of public life. Additionally, governors must ensure compliance with the law on political impartiality in schools.
Governors, associate members and governance professionals must declare their interests to ensure that transparent strategic decision-making can take place.
Schools should publish governors’ relevant business, financial and pecuniary interests on their website.
There are comparable expectations for academy trusts.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many placements British individuals will have through rejoining the Erasmus scheme in 2027 in (1) universities, (2) schools, (3) adult learning, and (4) sports opportunities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government remains committed to providing opportunities to study and work abroad, especially for those participants from disadvantaged backgrounds. We expect that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from Erasmus+ participation in 2027/28. Placement totals will depend on the length of each placement and grant rates. The Erasmus+ Work Programme sets out budget thresholds for education by sector. Thresholds for 2027 will be published in the 2027 Erasmus+ Work Programme.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the reduction in the number of exams on school standards.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review acknowledged that young people in England sit more hours of exams than their peers in many other countries. As GCSEs are reformed, the department will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student. In analysis submitted to the Review, Ofqual considered that a reduction of 10% is feasible with current content levels whilst balancing reliability and effects on teaching and learning. We will ensure that any amendments maintain high standards and protect the integrity and validity of the assessment system.
Asked by: Saqib Bhatti (Conservative - Meriden and Solihull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions to exam times on students.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review acknowledged that young people in England sit more hours of exams than their peers in many other countries. As GCSEs are reformed, the department will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student. In analysis submitted to the Review, Ofqual considered that a reduction of 10% is feasible with current content levels whilst balancing reliability and effects on teaching and learning. We will ensure that any amendments maintain high standards and protect the integrity and validity of the assessment system.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her department has to support wards receiving funding through the Pride in Place programme in a) Telford, b) West Midlands and c) England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Pride in Place Programme is being led by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and is the government’s flagship communities programme, which empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood. Supported by up to £5 billion in funding over ten years, this programme represents a long-term strategy to fix the foundations in hundreds of communities across the country.
The department’s contributions to educational improvements in Telford and Wrekin include:
Asked by: Lord Knight of Weymouth (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the conclusions of the local child safeguarding practice review of Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy will inform their advice to schools in England on behaviour management; and, if so, how.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines effective strategies that will encourage good behaviour.
The Behaviour in Schools guidance is clear that any policy must be lawful, proportionate, and reasonable and comply with the school’s duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Education and Inspections Act 2006.
The report recommends that the federation should consult its communities on its behaviour policy, including how best to reflect the government’s expectations on proportionality, dignity and reasonable adjustments. The department continues to engage with Mossbourne Federation to ensure that it implements any changes needed in response to the review’s findings and those from its own review, led by Anne Whyte KC.
The Behaviour in Schools guidance is kept under regular review and will be updated as necessary.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what evaluation her Department has undertaken of the effectiveness of Pupil Premium Plus funding in improving educational and wellbeing outcomes for adopted children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The pupil premium grant provides funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. ‘Pupil premium plus’ (PP+) refers to the portion of the grant for children who are looked-after by the local authority or were previously looked-after by a local authority or other state care.
The pupil premium Conditions of Grant set out that maintained schools and academies must publish annual strategy statements setting out their planned use of pupil premium. Governors and trustees should scrutinise schools’ strategy statements, including their plans for and use of their pupil premium grant and the outcomes achieved in the previous academic year.
Pupil premium funding, including PP+, is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including looked after and previously looked after children. Pupil premium guidance supports school leaders to use their funding effectively. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2025-to-2026/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-for-the-2025-to-2026-financial-year.
Designated teachers statutory guidance is clear that the school’s designated teacher should ensure the specific needs of the PP+ cohort are understood by the school’s staff and reflected in how the school uses PP+ to support these children. They should use parents and guardians’ insights to support decisions on how the PP+ is used. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/designated-teacher-for-looked-after-children.
An evaluation of pupil premium was published in March 2025. This included findings that 58% of schools and 70% of trusts identify looked-after children as one of the groups who most benefit from pupil premium funding. This evaluation can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67dd5b7f0114b0b86e59f42b/Pupil_premium_and_recovery_premium_evaluation.pdf.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging educational institutions, including higher education providers, to share campuses to broaden the range of courses available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator of the English higher education (HE) sector, is working with the University of Essex to ensure plans are in place to protect students and maintain learning continuity following the Southend campus closure. There is further work to be done by the OfS and the University to support students less able to move to other campuses. The department is monitoring the situation and is aware of concerns about local students’ access to HE provision.
HE providers are responsible for managing their own finances and we expect them to take appropriate and necessary decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. As we stated in the Post-16 education and skills white paper, we expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector. This will help institutions be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served.
As HE providers are independent, the government is not involved in workforce matters in the same way that it is in other education sectors. While the government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff and with trade unions to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country.
The government welcomes international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Indeed, UK HE providers 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 as well as research and development.
However, the OfS has identified reliance on international student fee income as a risk to HE providers’ sustainability. It has been clear that some providers may need to change their business models to protect their financial health, as a response to this risk and others.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the planned closure of the University of Essex's Southend Campus, if she will review the University of Essex's business decisions over the last 10 years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator of the English higher education (HE) sector, is working with the University of Essex to ensure plans are in place to protect students and maintain learning continuity following the Southend campus closure. There is further work to be done by the OfS and the University to support students less able to move to other campuses. The department is monitoring the situation and is aware of concerns about local students’ access to HE provision.
HE providers are responsible for managing their own finances and we expect them to take appropriate and necessary decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. As we stated in the Post-16 education and skills white paper, we expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector. This will help institutions be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served.
As HE providers are independent, the government is not involved in workforce matters in the same way that it is in other education sectors. While the government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff and with trade unions to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country.
The government welcomes international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Indeed, UK HE providers 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 as well as research and development.
However, the OfS has identified reliance on international student fee income as a risk to HE providers’ sustainability. It has been clear that some providers may need to change their business models to protect their financial health, as a response to this risk and others.