Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what hardship protections are available to student loan borrowers experiencing financial pressure, and what assessment the Department has made of the potential impact of the absence of interest freezes or repayment relief during such periods.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The student finance system is designed to function differently to a commercial loan. Borrowers are protected if they see a reduction in their income for any reason. Weekly or monthly student loan repayment amounts are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks of expanding free school meals in September before updated school food standards are implemented and enforced.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This means over half a million more disadvantaged children will be receiving the support they need in school to be healthy and get the most out of their education.
These meals must be compliant with the School Food Standards. To ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with stakeholders.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the comment of the universities Minister, Baroness Smith of Malvern, that UK education has become "a prime target for foreign states", whether they will publish the details of the threats posed by foreign states to UK universities, and how individual universities have responded to those threats.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It is the long-standing policy of successive UK governments not to comment either on individual cases or operational intelligence.
The world-class reputation of our universities makes them a prime target for foreign states and hostile actors, who seek to erode that reputation by promoting, shaping or censoring what universities can offer.
We are working together across government and with universities themselves to defend the UK’s thriving academic environment. By working together and sharing information, we will foster the confidence needed to stand strong in the face of foreign pressure.
To tackle this enduring threat, MI5 and cyber security services delivered a rare briefing to over 70 Vice Chancellors. The government is also investing £3 million to bolster existing support and access to expert advice on national security risk management, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial stability of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, including debt levels; and what assessment they have made of whether the (1) budget, (2) contents, or (3) availability, of free school meals has been reduced at schools in that trust.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department continues to work with the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust. Where financial non-compliance or governance concerns are identified, the department will intervene in a way that is proportionate to the risk and preserves education and free school meal provision.
The Education Act 1996 as amended places a duty upon academies to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the criteria.
The government is delivering on its manifesto commitment by legislating to introduce Ofsted inspection of academy trusts and related intervention powers for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Trust inspection will help drive better outcomes for children and provide greater confidence for parents.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what targets they have set for raising literacy levels for year 7 students entering secondary education during the National Year of Reading.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The ‘Go All In’ campaign aims to increase reading engagement across all ages and encourage young people to see reading as enjoyable and rewarding, prioritising certain groups, such as boys aged 10 to 16, with a focus on key stage 2 to key stage 3 transition.
To strengthen literacy at the start of secondary school, the department is introducing a mandatory statutory reading assessment for all year 8 pupils, designed to identify gaps in reading fluency and comprehension early, ensuring schools can provide the right support. This academic year we have also launched a secondary pilot of the English Hubs programme, investing £2.3 million to support reading, alongside a national continuing professional development programme, Unlocking Reading, delivered by the Fischer Family Foundation to improve support for struggling readers. These measures collectively aim to strengthen reading engagement and improve literacy outcomes throughout key stage 3.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 SEND transport contracts on local authority spending; and whether she plans to introduce annual cost caps.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We know challenges in the SEND system are creating pressures on home-to-school travel. We will reform the SEND system to enable more children to thrive in local mainstream settings. This will mean fewer children need to travel long distances to access education, reducing the burden on local authorities. The reforms will be set out in the Schools White Paper.
Local councils decide how to arrange travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, public transport passes and contracts with private operators. Contracts are a matter for the council and operator. We encourage councils to have robust arrangements. Many are reviewing and improving their procurement practices.
We are supporting councils through a new home-to-school travel data collection to support benchmarking, publishing guidance to support joined-up decision-making, and creating a bespoke home-to-school travel funding formula within the local government finance settlement. We have no current plans to introduce a price cap.
Asked by: Julia Lopez (Conservative - Hornchurch and Upminster)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the funding for the SEND teacher training programme announced on 16 January 2026 will be allocated to training on speech, language and communication needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teacher training offer comprises an investment of over £200 million over the course of this Parliament. This significant investment forms a central pillar of the government’s SEND reform plans, helping to secure a fairer system where effective support is available for every child with SEND from early years to the age of 25.
This training offer will be freely available to all leaders, teachers and teaching assistants working in schools, colleges and nurseries across England.
We are currently in the design stage for the new programme and plan to develop it in collaboration with sector experts and early years professionals.
This free accessible training will focus on inclusive pedagogy, child development, and practical strategies for supporting children with SEND including those with speech, language and communication needs.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that every primary school is able to access volunteer support for teachers working to raise literacy levels.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Headteachers have the freedom to make recruitment decisions, including the use of volunteers in their schools. This freedom allows schools to tailor their provision to the needs of their pupils and provide safe, effective, and bespoke volunteering programmes. Schools are required to follow employment laws and statutory guidance, including crucial safeguarding guidance.
To support the government’s commitment to strong foundations in reading and writing for all children, we have launched the National Year of Reading 2026, a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment.
The National Year of Reading is spotlighting the vital role that volunteers play in supporting literacy in schools, including helping children discover the joy of reading. We recognise the important work of reading volunteer charities such as Bookmark Reading Charity, Chapter One, Coram Beanstalk and Schoolreaders, who are partners of the National Year of Reading.
The National Year of Reading website includes a tool to find reading volunteering opportunities, information about how to become a National Year of Reading Champion, and case studies showing how volunteers are supporting reading for pleasure.
More information for those interested in reading volunteering is available here: https://goallin.org.uk/get-involved/volunteers/.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what role the Civil Society Covenant will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. It is a department initiative, in collaboration with our delivery partner, the National Literacy Trust, who are leading the delivery of the campaign.
The National Year of Reading is operating as a collective impact campaign, allowing multiple partners from a range of sectors to participate, including schools, libraries, publishers, booksellers, media companies, retailers, and charities. It supports the Civil Society Covenant’s aims to build effective partnerships across the breadth of civil society and government, working together to tackle the deep-seated challenges of our time.
Tackling the long-term decline in reading for pleasure requires cross-sector support across the UK, as encompassed by the Go All In campaign which encourages everyone to get involved. The year includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings across the UK throughout the year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking in response to the warning by MI5's director general that hostile states are shaping research and teaching content, including the use of professional networking sites and financial incentives to form relationships with academic staff and students; and whether they plan to introduce a public register of corporate and personal financial interests of universities and staff.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is investing £3 million to bolster existing support for higher education providers and access to expert advice on national security risk management, alongside a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and new guidance.
The Office for Students has already been clear universities should resist any external state threats to academic freedom, and they have extensive powers to require information from providers and investigate any breach.
We keep all our protections under review, working closely with universities to assess existing approaches to managing foreign interference, to ensure that any new requirements are proportionate and add value to existing protections.