Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled School level underlying data 2025, published on 5 June 2025, what assessment she has conducted on the reasons why 625 pupils in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency who are eligible for free school meals are not accessing them.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty which is why we are introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals ensuring all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible 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 of as part of the Child Poverty Strategy published on 5 December. Under the expansion, over half a million additional pupils will become eligible for free school meals.
The department has not made a formal assessment of the situation in Ely, however, specific factors such as lack of knowledge, stigma, and language barriers may impact take-up of free school meals.
The department wants to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals.
To support take-up, we are also rolling out improvements to the checking system that is available to all local authorities to help verify eligibility for free meals.
We welcome local authorities taking action to ensure government support reaches families, subject to them meeting legal and data protection requirements.
Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming Schools White Paper will address the inclusion of children with long-term conditions such as epilepsy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government understands the impact of epilepsy and other long-term medical conditions on the way pupils feel included and supported in school life. The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school’, and we intend to consult on the revised guidance. The current guidance is available attached.
Our aim is to ensure that all schools are confidently able to meet the needs of pupils with medical conditions, including those with epilepsy, as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Baroness O'Neill of Bexley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to deal with historic dedicated schools grant debt.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government recognises that the rising costs of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision is putting a strain on local government finances. The government will work with local authorities to manage their SEND system, including deficits, alongside an extension to the dedicated schools grant statutory override until the end of 2027/28. The government will set out further details on its plans to support local authorities with historic and accruing deficits and conditions for accessing such support through the upcoming local government finance settlement.
Asked by: Samantha Niblett (Labour - South Derbyshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to include education on suicide and suicide prevention as a mandatory topic within the national curriculum.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory guidance relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education already applies to all schools, including academies and independent schools. The updated guidance, published on 15 July 2025, will be implemented in schools from September 2026. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
The guidance strengthens content on mental health and wellbeing, and requires that all secondary schools should consider how to safely teach about suicide prevention.
We have been clear that schools should consult mental health professionals and put in place high quality, evidence-based staff training before addressing suicide directly with secondary aged pupils, to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to do it safely.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of questions from Members of Parliament. Between April and December 2025, the department has received 100% more written parliamentary questions (WPQs) versus the same period last year.
The below table provides the proportion of (a) named day and (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions answered with the required timescales for the months requested.
| Named Day questions answered on time (%) | Ordinary questions answered on time (%) |
May-25 | 35.6 | 67.3 |
Jun-25 | 56.9 | 77.0 |
Jul-25 | 48.5 | 70.9 |
Aug-25 | - | - |
Sep-25 | 45.1 | 42.9 |
Oct-25 | 38.8 | 52.1 |
Nov-25 | 47.6 | 58.0 |
Notes on the data:
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate about how much a) income tax, b) National Insurance and c) student loan repayment she expects the average person turning 30 in 2025/26 with a Plan 2 Student Loan to pay by 2029/30.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The average Plan 2 loan borrower turning 30 years of age in the2025/26 financial year and making student loan repayments through PAYE is expected to pay £29,100 in income tax, £11,600 in employee National Insurance contributions and £5,600 in Plan 2 student loan repayments between the 2025/26 and 2029/30 financial years (figures rounded to the nearest £100).
Plan 2 borrowers turning 30 in 2025/26 are likely to be in the early stages of their careers, and many may not be earning enough to be making student loan repayment. These borrowers are not included in our average. Plan 2 borrowers may re-borrow or have borrowed on other plans. These student loan repayments have not been considered. Only PAYE student loan repayments have been considered. Note some Plan 2 borrowers will be making voluntary repayments direct to the Student Loans Company, making repayments from overseas or be on self-assessment.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools without libraries in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton to the answer of 22 October 2025 to question 81502.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on increasing skills via apprenticeships, technical colleges and regional training programmes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is transforming apprenticeships into a new growth and skills offer, providing greater flexibility for employers and learners while supporting the industrial strategy. In August, new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors and shorter-duration options were introduced to help more people gain high-quality skills and drive business innovation.
The government has also launched 10 construction technical excellence colleges (TECs) and will expand the programme to clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and defence. Selection for these TECs begins by the end of 2025, with delivery from April 2026.
Providers nationwide are funded to develop training aligned with local needs. In 2025/26, 67% of the £1.44 billion adult skills fund was devolved to 13 strategic authorities for locally tailored provision.
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) unite employers, educators, and leaders to match local skills provision to demand. The Business West Chamber of Commerce leads the West of England and North Somerset LSIP.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of local authorities' ability to deal with increased levels of demand for therapy above the Adoption Support and Special Guardianship Support Fund fair access limit.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department continues to monitor and assess the impact of the changes to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) and is engaging with stakeholders.
In the current financial year, the department has invested £50 million in the ASGSF, ensuring that adopted and kinship children may have access to therapeutic services designed to stabilise placements and address complex needs.
The government has launched the Families First Partnership programme, providing an additional £547 million, and bringing total funding to £2.4 billion over the next three years. We are also investing nearly £1.5 billion to strengthen family services and early years education, including £500 million for Best Start Family Hubs between 2026 and 2029.
Local authorities are responsible for determining how best to deploy these resources to meet increased demand for therapeutic support beyond the fair access limit.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the links between child poverty and school absence due to ill health or other circumstances.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that disadvantaged pupils face barriers to engagement with education. A recent report from the Child Poverty Action Group found that more than 1 in 4 pupils aged 11 to 18 eligible for free school meals in the UK say they have missed school at least once because they did not have something they needed to attend. Absence data reinforces this with the rate of overall absence for pupils eligible for free school meals continuing to be almost twice that of pupils not eligible.
The government’s landmark decision to remove the two-child limit will lift almost half a million children out of poverty; this comes alongside our actions to tackle the cost of the school day, through expanding free school meals, cutting the cost of uniform and delivering free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which will all remove barriers to school attendance and attainment. Mental health support teams are also providing earlier support in school for young people.
Our real-time attendance data and toolkits for schools enable early identification of pupils at risk of persistent absence and include a self-assessment tool that explicitly asks schools how they track and respond to the absence of pupils entitled to free school meals. Schools can also use Pupil Premium funding to provide attendance support for disadvantaged students.