Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provides for the provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in the West Midlands Combined Authority area.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work. The ASF supports a range of courses, including English for speakers of other languages (ESOL).
Currently, 62% of the ASF is devolved to 9 Mayoral Strategic Authorities, including West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers.
WMCA devolved ASF budget for the 2024/25 academic year was £133.7 million. WMCA decide what to spend their ASF budget on and this includes ESOL. By honouring the department’s commitments to combine and further devolve adult skills funding, we give those with local knowledge the power they need to make decisions that are best for their areas.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure awarding bodies for hair and beauty qualifications update their (a) guidance and (b) training to promote inclusivity for all (i) hair and (ii) skin types.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This is a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the member for Dudley directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure young people are supported in choosing from the range of (a) technical and (b) vocational options available to them after the end of the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge contract in summer 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Enabling access to apprenticeships and technical education remains a key part of this government’s education policy. There is a range of support available to schools, colleges, parents, careers and young people to support careers education and the promotion of apprenticeship and technical education options.
Young people, parents and carers, as well as schools and colleges seeking support to raise awareness of apprenticeships and technical education can continue to access:
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a national outcomes framework for family hubs.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme.
Asked by: Steve Darling (Liberal Democrat - Torbay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the (a) length and (b) frequency of gaps in education for children in care that are the result of placement moves.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recognises the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experience of children and young people during periods of change.
A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and scoping ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time. This year the department has published new statistics on stability measures for children looked after, providing further insight on school, placement and social worker stability for these children, here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/stability-measures-for-children-looked-after-in-england/2024.
Existing statutory data is collected for children missing education, school attendance, and children in care. However, it is not yet possible to accurately link these datasets to obtain the information requested, as the children missing education data is collected at a local authority level, while data for children looked after, and school attendance is collected at a child level. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care will be a long-term endeavour due to the need to agree data standards and definitions, as well as redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that all local authorities provide family hubs in their community.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that all local authorities provide family hubs in their communities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that integrated family hubs are available in all communities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On 11 June, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.
This builds upon my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change, published in December 2024, which outlined the ambition to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood.
We are working within the department and alongside the Department for Health and Social Care to share further information about what the Spending Review settlement means for the continuation and expansion of the programme. We recognise the importance of providing local authorities with certainty of future funding across the whole programme and we will share further information when we are able to.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 5 June (HLWS681), what plans they have, if any, to increase the household maximum income thresholds for free school meal eligibility for children with no recourse to public funds conditions.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
The department has permanently extended FSM eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF), subject to maximum income thresholds.
In addition, families with NRPF may also be eligible to access the Healthy Start scheme, details of which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/healthy-start.
As with all programmes, we will continue to keep eligibility for FSM, including for families with NRPF, under review.