Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of SEND tribunal waiting times on the ability of families to hold local authorities to account for non-provision of SEND support.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The volume of appeals to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Tribunal means that some families face a year-long wait for a hearing, lengthening the time it takes for children and young people to get the support they need. We are working with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure appeals are heard faster, including through the recruitment of 70 new judges, more cases being resolved ‘on paper’, hearings being held in school holidays, and the prioritisation of appeals for those who are moving between education phases.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of delays in issuing Remediable Service Statements on teachers' retirement planning and financial wellbeing.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 6 November 2025, the total number of Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) issued is 70,616. As of the same date, the total that remain outstanding is 71,955.
Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process. For those members retiring, these cases are relatively straightforward, as no benefits are already in payment. For retired members, additional complications around tax, interest rules and system functionality required extensive consultation.
Capita, as the scheme administrator, keeps affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to Tata Consultancy Services as the new scheme administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in Summer 2026, the department is working with Tata to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to all affected scheme members.
This is a high priority for the department, and officials continues to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not disadvantaged.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her current estimated timetable is for the completion of all Remediable Service Statements for members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme affected by the McCloud judgment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 6 November 2025, the total number of Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) issued is 70,616. As of the same date, the total that remain outstanding is 71,955.
Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process. For those members retiring, these cases are relatively straightforward, as no benefits are already in payment. For retired members, additional complications around tax, interest rules and system functionality required extensive consultation.
Capita, as the scheme administrator, keeps affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to Tata Consultancy Services as the new scheme administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in Summer 2026, the department is working with Tata to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to all affected scheme members.
This is a high priority for the department, and officials continues to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not disadvantaged.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Remediable Service Statements have been issued by Teachers’ Pensions to date; and how many remain outstanding further to the McCloud judgment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As of 6 November 2025, the total number of Remediable Service Statements (RSSs) issued is 70,616. As of the same date, the total that remain outstanding is 71,955.
Recalculating benefits for retired members is a complex process. For those members retiring, these cases are relatively straightforward, as no benefits are already in payment. For retired members, additional complications around tax, interest rules and system functionality required extensive consultation.
Capita, as the scheme administrator, keeps affected members informed of revised timelines through established channels, including My Pension Online and its website. The latest update is available here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/news/public-news/2025/11/timeline-for-sending-out-remediable-service-statements-rss.aspx. As responsibility for this work transitions to Tata Consultancy Services as the new scheme administrator of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in Summer 2026, the department is working with Tata to finalise the timeline for issuing all RSSs. Once the timeline is confirmed, it will be communicated to all affected scheme members.
This is a high priority for the department, and officials continues to closely monitor progress and work with Capita to streamline processes and introduce automation where possible. Any pension adjustments arising from members’ choices will be backdated with interest to ensure members are not disadvantaged.
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 measures she is taking to improve access in schools to music, sport, art and drama for all children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that high quality arts, music and physical education is not for the privileged few but an entitlement for all. We will ensure that the reformed national curriculum will support access to art and design, music and physical education, as well as access to drama within English. We will also ensure GCSEs in arts subjects and physical education are inclusive and fit for purpose.
Next year, we will launch the procurement of a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education and a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network to support excellent teaching, strengthen partnerships between schools and national and local organisations, and promote arts and sporting opportunities for children and young people. In addition, the government has already committed £76 million for the Music Hubs grant this academic year, with future funding to be announced in due course.
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 measures she is taking to ensure the national curriculum equips children with the skills they will need with the increasing influence of AI.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, we have accepted the recommendations for computing and will go further by including artificial intelligence (AI) within the curriculum. We are also exploring a potential level 3 qualification in data science and AI. This will empower students to harness the opportunities of AI, whilst navigating its risks responsibly.
We will work with subject experts to embed AI and issues like bias in technology within the refreshed computing curriculum in an age-appropriate way. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.
To support the teaching of AI now, the department-funded National Centre for Computing Education offers free online courses for teachers on machine learning, ethics and generative AI. In July, the government also published updated relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance introducing new content on AI which will be mandatory from 1 September 2026.
Asked by: Lord Hampton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of swimming and water safety attainment results provided by schools as part of the physical educations and sport premium expenditure reporting return, and whether they will publish that data.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is processing the information received through the Digital Expenditure Reporting Return and will publish a summary of quality assured data in the New Year.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years settings is in helping to identify and support the needs of SEND children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The government recognises the important role the early years sector plays in early intervention to ensure the right support is put in place for children as soon as possible
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow. It stipulates that providers must have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and that all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard for the SEND code of practice.
On 7 July, we published our commitment to giving every child the best start in life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support.
We have already invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, as well as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.
We are looking at wider SEND reforms and interventions to give children and young people the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary schools in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire do not have a school library.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81502.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided towards supplying schools with (a) tablets, (b) laptops and (c) other electronic devices to children since 2015, broken down by (i) local authority area and (ii) year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Schools, trusts and local authorities can use their budgets at their discretion to purchase technology for their pupils. The department does not mandate a specific device to pupil ratio or recommend how much funding should be allocated for devices.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the department delivered over 1.95 million laptops and tablets to schools, academy trusts and local authorities in England through the ‘Get Help With Technology’ programme, launched in March 2020, which supported remote learning for disadvantaged children. The last devices were delivered by March 2022 and the service closed in June 2022.
The programme represented an investment of approximately £400 million, covering procurement and distribution of devices, alongside connectivity support for families without internet access.
Data on dispatched devices is published in statistical releases via the Explore Education Statistics portal here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2022-april.
The department monitors pupil access to devices via the Technology in Schools Survey here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technology-in-schools-survey-report-2022-to-2023.