Department for Education

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.

Children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, will be eligible for free travel if they attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or the safety of the route. Extended rights to free travel support low-income families to exercise school choice. The department does not currently have any plans to change the existing statutory framework.

Central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement. From the 2026/27 financial year, it includes a new specific relative needs formula for home-to-school travel which estimates each authority’s relative need to spend based on pupil numbers and home-to-school distances. This ensures funding reflects real journeys to school including in areas outside London.

I refer the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 119909.

Decisions on Plan 2 and Plan 5 conditions were made by the previous government. This government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers. Over time, this has led to reforms being made to student loan terms. Such reforms consider factors such as macroeconomic conditions, demographic trends and the participation rate in higher education at the time. Therefore, this leads to different plans having different terms and conditions.

When comparing Plan 2 and Plan 5 loans it is important to compare the terms in the round. Whilst Plan 5 will ask graduates to repay for longer, and from a lower annual income threshold of £25,000, it also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing their interest rate to match inflation only.

Decisions on Plan 2 and Plan 5 conditions were made by the previous government. This government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers. Over time, this has led to reforms being made to student loan terms. Such reforms consider factors such as macroeconomic conditions, demographic trends and the participation rate in higher education at the time. Therefore, this leads to different plans having different terms and conditions.

When comparing Plan 2 and Plan 5 loans it is important to compare the terms in the round. Whilst Plan 5 will ask graduates to repay for longer, and from a lower annual income threshold of £25,000, it also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing their interest rate to match inflation only.

To ensure teachers can support children before needs escalate, the department will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators across the 0 to 25 system, to use in identifying and supporting children and young people with additional needs.

Access to support should not be dependent on a child or young person having a diagnosis. Educators will be able to draw on the National Inclusion Standards to put in place evidence-based support as needs are identified, including for autistic children and young people.

From this year, schools will be held to account on the use of their inclusion funding in the form of an Inclusion Strategy. This will ensure schools are taking steps through evidence-based activities and approaches to embed inclusive practice. Ofsted will be able to draw on the strategy to assess how effectively leaders are planning for, implementing and delivering inclusive practice.

The department has made significant increases to the average funding per student since the 2024/25 academic year, an expected per student increase of 10.5%. We expect that the average per student funding in 2026/27 will stand at £6,874, compared to £6,219 in the 2024/25 academic year. We will continue to fund the demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds, providing significant investment to ensure there are valuable and high-quality post-16 places for every student that wants one.

My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has committed to looking into VAT reimbursement to further education colleges. The Government does keep all taxes under review, and any changes would be announced at a fiscal event.

We are committed to investing in education and skills training for adults and are investing over £1.4 billion in the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) this academic year. The ASF supports a range of learners, including young people who are unemployed.

There are 21 T Levels available across England, delivered by over 320 providers. Further subjects are being introduced from 2028, and the first rollout of V Levels will be in 2027. We have published a transition document for providers to move to the new system- supporting access to the full suite of reformed qualifications across the country. This document can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways/outcome/transition-plan-to-the-reformed-16-to-19-qualifications-landscape.

We recognise the challenges of T Level delivery in some areas, particularly around accessing industry placements in rural locations. We provide a contracted offer to support employers to engage with and offer placements and a ‘Connect’ service to help providers and employers to connect locally. We are also making further changes to support students in rural locations where travelling to placements can be more difficult, including greater provision for remote placements.

In addition, the 1,200-member-strong T Level Ambassador Network published regional plans in February 2026, using evidence to better target engagement activity across the North, Midlands and South.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out reforms to the skills system to ensure skills provision is aligned to the needs of the Industrial Strategy and support people to train in sectors which support growth and meet priority skills needs. The department is working across government to achieve these aims.

Several universities deliver Environmental Health provision spanning BScs, MScs, and degree apprenticeships. All courses are professionally regulated by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and support people to access careers in this occupation.

The Environmental Health Practitioner apprenticeship allows individuals to develop the knowledge and skills needed to work in areas such as environmental protection, food safety, housing standards and public health.

Skills England works with employers to ensure that apprenticeship content is relevant and up to date. It will soon be updating the Environmental Health Practitioner assessment plan in line with new Apprenticeship Assessment Principles to ensure that the assessment is proportionate, timely and efficient while retaining rigour and validity.

These reforms and polices are applicable in England. Skills policy in Scotland is devolved and is a matter for the Scottish Government.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out reforms to the skills system to ensure skills provision is aligned to the needs of the Industrial Strategy and support people to train in sectors which support growth and meet priority skills needs. The department is working across government to achieve these aims.

Several universities deliver Environmental Health provision spanning BScs, MScs, and degree apprenticeships. All courses are professionally regulated by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and support people to access careers in this occupation.

The Environmental Health Practitioner apprenticeship allows individuals to develop the knowledge and skills needed to work in areas such as environmental protection, food safety, housing standards and public health.

Skills England works with employers to ensure that apprenticeship content is relevant and up to date. It will soon be updating the Environmental Health Practitioner assessment plan in line with new Apprenticeship Assessment Principles to ensure that the assessment is proportionate, timely and efficient while retaining rigour and validity.

These reforms and polices are applicable in England. Skills policy in Scotland is devolved and is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Families are having to fight and go through bureaucratic and legal processes to get special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support for their children despite funding increases to the high needs budget. These and other failures in the current system mean that families are rightly demanding reform and that is what the government is delivering. The plans for a reformed SEND system, including the allocation of £4 billion investment to support transformation of the system, were set out in the recently published Schools White Paper and SEND reform consultation, and annexes.

The department’s assessment of future SEND spending will be updated following the SEND consultation and subject to future spending reviews.

Religious education is a mandatory subject but not part of the national curriculum.

I refer the hon. Member for Solihull East to the answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 104812.

I refer the hon. Member for Solihull East to the answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 104812.

I refer the hon. Member for Solihull East to the answer of 21 April 2026 to Question 104812.

Spend data for academies is reported at academy trust level. Allocating trust expenditure by phase remains challenging due to both the continuing increase in the number of academies combined with a decreasing number of academy trusts and the ability of academy trusts to incur spend on their schools’ behalf. Many academy trusts with multiple academies amalgamate funding for its academies to form one central fund. This practice can enhance a trust’s ability to allocate resources in line with improvement priorities and running costs across the trust’s constituent academies but makes apportionment of that spending by phase more challenging.

The department is exploring whether a spending apportionment using pupil numbers would provide more reliable and relevant information. If this methodology meets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value required of accredited official statistics, we will seek to implement this for the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2027.

The deadline for applying for the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) for institutions intending to participate in the 2027 funding call was 24 March 2026. The ECHE is awarded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Applications are submitted directly to the EACEA via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.

The guidance for higher education institutions on applying for the ECHE is published by the European Commission and is publicly available on its Erasmus+ webpages.

The department continually monitors early years provision across England ensuring that all guidance and reforms are implemented.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England, about provision, specifically regarding the sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.

The key measure of sufficiency is whether the supply of available places is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents and children.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ‘Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.

Where a local authority reports any sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues, and where needed, support them with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.

The government is committed to ensuring all young people across England can access a variety of enrichment opportunities at school and college as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity.

To support delivery of the enrichment entitlement set out in the government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and the 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ schools White Paper, we are developing a new Enrichment Framework for publication this academic year. Developed with the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and experts across education, youth, sports and the arts, the framework will set out benchmarks to help schools and colleges plan high-quality enrichment more intentionally and strategically and will include case studies and signposting to tools and resources.

We recognise schools and colleges cannot do this on their own and are putting in place support for wider provision including Music Hubs, and the £22.5 million programme developed with DCMS to support the enrichment offer of up to 400 schools in disadvantaged communities.

We are investing £4 billion in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform programmes over the next three years to strengthen inclusive provision. This includes £1.6 billion to help expand readily available support in schools, early years settings, and colleges so that needs are met earlier and more effectively. This is in addition to £1.8 billion to increase access to specialist expertise, and over £200 million to train the education workforce. We will develop National Inclusion Standards that set out evidence-informed tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with additional needs.

We are also investing at least £3.7 billion in high needs capital between 2025/26 and 2029/30 to support local authorities to provide suitable places for children and young people with SEND, or those requiring alternative provision. Gloucestershire County Council was allocated just under £6.9 million and just over £9.4 million in 2025/26 and 2026/27, respectively. This funding can be used to improve SEND provision across the county, including in Tewkesbury, by expanding inclusion bases, improving accessibility in mainstream settings, or creating additional special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Edmonton and Winchmore Hill, to the answer of 27 March 2026 to Question 112385.

The department is consulting on proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, and you can access the consultation here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/. We are considering the impact of the proposed reforms on specific programmes including supported internships.

We are already piloting supported internships for young people with SEND who do not have education, health and care plans. We have seen positive outcomes from the pilot and have recently announced that we are investing £9 million to continue this for a further year. The pilot is being evaluated and this learning will inform future policy development.

Supported Internships remain a proven pathway to employment for young people furthest from the labour market, with thousands of high-quality opportunities now available across the country with a range of employers, following significant investment.

We are consulting on proposed updates to the school food standards in England to ensure that all food served at school, including at breakfast and lunch, better reflects current nutritional guidance and supports children’s health, wellbeing and learning. The consultation will run for nine weeks, closing on 12 June 2026. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework.

We have worked with the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health and Social Care and consulted health and academic experts on the issue of ultra-processed foods, to ensure all changes are evidence-based. We know that many products classified as ultra-processed foods are often high in free sugars, saturated fats and/or salt, and it is levels of these which we are trying to reduce, including processed meats, confectionery and savoury snacks.

High needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is continuing at an increased level of over £12 billion in the 2026/27 financial year, following an increase of 11% in 2025/26. Of that total, Nottingham City Council is being allocated over £70 million.

The Schools white paper set out additional funding for both schools and local authorities to drive forward reform of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, with £4 billion over the next three years, including an inclusive mainstream fund of £1.6 million and £1.8 million for Experts at Hand to provide specialist support to mainstream settings. This will reverse the trend of late intervention and escalation in needs.

It remains important that every local authority meets its statutory SEND duties while ensuring robust controls as they, other local partners and the department work together to reform the SEND system. We will support authorities in this work through their Local SEND Reform Plans.

This is a matter for the Children’s Commissioner. Given her independence, my hon. Friend, the Member for South Shields will need to contact her directly.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Development Group was launched as part of the period of co-creation, which was announced in December 2025. The group is an informal engagement group led by myself, as Minister for Schools, to bring together a wider group of SEND stakeholders.

The group’s objectives are:

• To input into the co-creation process by reviewing the department’s evidence and policy questions in line with SEND principles for reform.

• To provide feedback, policy ideas, and suggestions from a wide range of stakeholders.

• To ensure diverse perspectives, including those of parents, practitioners, campaign organisations, and strategic partners, are considered in SEND policy development.

The group is attended by myself and our expert advisors Dame Christine Lenehan and Tom Rees. External attendees include representatives from the Council for Disabled Children (CDC), the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP), the National Network of Parents Carers Forums (NNPCF), the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN), The Difference, Dingley’s Promise, The Athelstan Trust, Let Us Learn Too, The Global Black Maternal Health Institute, Aylsham Learning Federation, and the SEND Sanctuary. The group has recently been expanded to include the following.

SEND representative stakeholders:

• CDC
• NASEN

Local authorities:

• Haringey

Alternative Provision:

• Olive Academies

Early Years:

• Dingley’s Promise

Post-16:

• Heart of Worcestershire College

Individual voices from teacher workforce:

• Athelstan Trust
• Eden Academy Trust
• Aylsham High School

Parent and carer groups:

• DCP
• Let Us Learn Too
• Global Child and Maternal Health
• The Difference
• Changing Realities
• NNPCF
• Parentkind

Departmental advisors such as Christine Lenehan and Andrew O'Neil are also invited to this group, as are representatives from the Independent Panel.

Alongside the Development Group, I have set up the Complex Needs Group to expand stakeholder conversations in the department. This group consists of the following.

Parent voices:

• Parent carer representatives (NNPCF)
• Cause Communications

Departmental SEN advisers:

• Tom Rees
• Christine Lenehan

National disability charities:

• The Children’s Trust
• The SEND Sanctuary
• Ambitious About Autism
• Speak and Language UK
• Sense
• WellChild
• Contact
• Mencap
• Syndrome Association
• Together for Short Lives
• Challenging Behaviour Foundation
• Kids
• CDC

Teacher workforce:

• West Kirby Educational Trust
• Children’s Hospital School
• Natspec
• Sunningdale School

Local authorities:

• Leicestershire
• Rochdale

Health:

• National Health Service England

Academic:

• Autism Studies at University of Birmingham

Departmental advisors such as Tom Rees, Christine Lenehan and Andrew O’Neil are invited to this group.

The members of these groups all have independent positions outside of their contributions to the group and engage separately outside.

Both of these groups will meet monthly during the consultation period.

The National Conversation on SEND reached over 8,000 people to help shape the future of support for children and young people. The dates of the meetings are available in the published quarterly returns on Ministerial meetings: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Development Group was launched as part of the period of co-creation, which was announced in December 2025. The group is an informal engagement group led by myself, as Minister for Schools, to bring together a wider group of SEND stakeholders.

The group’s objectives are:

• To input into the co-creation process by reviewing the department’s evidence and policy questions in line with SEND principles for reform.

• To provide feedback, policy ideas, and suggestions from a wide range of stakeholders.

• To ensure diverse perspectives, including those of parents, practitioners, campaign organisations, and strategic partners, are considered in SEND policy development.

The group is attended by myself and our expert advisors Dame Christine Lenehan and Tom Rees. External attendees include representatives from the Council for Disabled Children (CDC), the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP), the National Network of Parents Carers Forums (NNPCF), the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN), The Difference, Dingley’s Promise, The Athelstan Trust, Let Us Learn Too, The Global Black Maternal Health Institute, Aylsham Learning Federation, and the SEND Sanctuary. The group has recently been expanded to include the following.

SEND representative stakeholders:

• CDC
• NASEN

Local authorities:

• Haringey

Alternative Provision:

• Olive Academies

Early Years:

• Dingley’s Promise

Post-16:

• Heart of Worcestershire College

Individual voices from teacher workforce:

• Athelstan Trust
• Eden Academy Trust
• Aylsham High School

Parent and carer groups:

• DCP
• Let Us Learn Too
• Global Child and Maternal Health
• The Difference
• Changing Realities
• NNPCF
• Parentkind

Departmental advisors such as Christine Lenehan and Andrew O'Neil are also invited to this group, as are representatives from the Independent Panel.

Alongside the Development Group, I have set up the Complex Needs Group to expand stakeholder conversations in the department. This group consists of the following.

Parent voices:

• Parent carer representatives (NNPCF)
• Cause Communications

Departmental SEN advisers:

• Tom Rees
• Christine Lenehan

National disability charities:

• The Children’s Trust
• The SEND Sanctuary
• Ambitious About Autism
• Speak and Language UK
• Sense
• WellChild
• Contact
• Mencap
• Syndrome Association
• Together for Short Lives
• Challenging Behaviour Foundation
• Kids
• CDC

Teacher workforce:

• West Kirby Educational Trust
• Children’s Hospital School
• Natspec
• Sunningdale School

Local authorities:

• Leicestershire
• Rochdale

Health:

• National Health Service England

Academic:

• Autism Studies at University of Birmingham

Departmental advisors such as Tom Rees, Christine Lenehan and Andrew O’Neil are invited to this group.

The members of these groups all have independent positions outside of their contributions to the group and engage separately outside.

Both of these groups will meet monthly during the consultation period.

The National Conversation on SEND reached over 8,000 people to help shape the future of support for children and young people. The dates of the meetings are available in the published quarterly returns on Ministerial meetings: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns.

We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England. Healthier food does not have to mean higher cost. We tested proposals to check affordability and are working closely with the sector.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

Kinship care plays a vital role in keeping children safe within their wider family networks, helping to provide stability and loving homes while reducing the need for statutory care.

The department has launched the kinship allowance pilot in seven local authority areas, known as Kinship Zones, with £126 million of funding confirmed for the first two years. This level of funding reflects the investment required to test the provision of an allowance paid at the Fostering National Minimum Allowance rate and to support a robust evaluation at scale.

The pilot areas were selected to reflect a mix of geographies and service models so that findings are informative nationally. Those local authorities that are not currently Kinship Zones either did not apply to participate or were unsuccessful.

The pilot has been designed as a test‑and‑learn programme to understand what support works best for kinship families and to build strong evidence on impact, implementation and value for money of the pilot, including whether it improves outcomes for children, supports stable placements and reduces pressure on the care system and other public services. This will inform future policy decisions, including for areas outside the pilot such as Bedford. No decisions have been taken on national rollout.

While the pilot is underway, all kinship carers can continue to access support through their local authority and department funded national provision, including advice, training and peer support. We encourage local authorities to review their local offer and learn from best practice across the country.

It is our ambition that families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child, and the work choices for every parent. The evidence is clear that high quality early education and childcare boosts child development, especially for the most disadvantaged children, and makes it easier for parents to work. Through our best start in life strategy, we are ensuring that families across the country can access affordable early education and childcare that supports them to achieve and thrive.

As the government builds a stronger economy with sustainable public finances, it is continuing to invest in the early years sector, supporting the successful delivery of the entitlements. In 2026/27, we are expecting to provide over £9.5 billion for the early years entitlements, more than doubling annual public investment in the early years sector compared to 2023/24. The successful expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents is saving eligible families using their full entitlement an average of £8,000 per year.

National average funding rate increases continue to reflect forecast cost pressures on the early years sector, including the National Living Wage announced at Autumn Budget 2025, and go further, taking into account the wider workforce pressures felt by the sector since April 2025.

We want to look at how we can make government support simpler for providers and parents, improve access and increase the overall impact for children and families. We will work across government to look at how early education and childcare support provided by government works for families and children. We will be driving take up of the 15-hour entitlements to ensure that disadvantaged children are benefiting, holding local authorities to account for their take up through the Local Government Outcomes Framework to ensure those children and households that stand to benefit the most do so.

I refer the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East to the answer of 20 April 2026 to Question 120023.

We set out our plans to reform the system of support for children with special educational needs in the Schools White Paper and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document and will continue to invest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention and an extension of the Early Language Support for Every Child programme. This includes £1.8 billion for the new Experts at Hand offer, £15 million to establish new speech and language therapy advanced practitioners, and £200 million to train staff in mainstream settings to better support pupils with SEND, including speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Nationally, in 2024/25, 72.5% of those with no primary special educational need achieved grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs, compared to 28.6% of those with SLCN as a primary need. In Nottinghamshire these figures were 73.7% and 34.3% respectively. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2024-25.

Nationally, for 2022/23 academic year study leavers, 68.0% of those who had completed 16 to 18 study with SLCN as a primary need were in sustained education, apprenticeships or employment in the following academic year, compared to 80.7% of those with no identified need. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/16-18-destination-measures/2023-24.

We set out our plans to reform the system of support for children with special educational needs in the Schools White Paper and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation document and will continue to invest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention and an extension of the Early Language Support for Every Child programme. This includes £1.8 billion for the new Experts at Hand offer, £15 million to establish new speech and language therapy advanced practitioners, and £200 million to train staff in mainstream settings to better support pupils with SEND, including speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Nationally, in 2024/25, 72.5% of those with no primary special educational need achieved grades 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs, compared to 28.6% of those with SLCN as a primary need. In Nottinghamshire these figures were 73.7% and 34.3% respectively. This data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/key-stage-4-performance/2024-25.

Nationally, for 2022/23 academic year study leavers, 68.0% of those who had completed 16 to 18 study with SLCN as a primary need were in sustained education, apprenticeships or employment in the following academic year, compared to 80.7% of those with no identified need. The data is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/16-18-destination-measures/2023-24.

Mainstream schools are currently expected to meet the costs of supporting their pupils with special educational needs (SEN), up to £6,000 per pupil per annum. When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed that £6,000 threshold, the local authority should allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This funding comes from the authority’s high needs budget. This may follow a statutory assessment producing an education, health and care (EHC) plan, though local authorities have the discretion to provide high needs funding to schools for pupils without an EHC plan, including those whose EHC needs assessment has been delayed.

Following the publication of the Schools White Paper, we are consulting on a range of reforms to enable mainstream schools to be inclusive of children with SEN, and are providing £4 billion over the next three years to prioritise early intervention and drive forward the reforms.