Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled Schools to save millions as Government launches agency profit cap, published on 4 December 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of that policy on the availability of agency staff for schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Supply teachers and supply staff perform a valuable role, and the department is grateful for their important contribution to schools across the country.
Schools, academies and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply staff, which includes deciding whether to use private supply agencies to fill temporary posts or cover teacher absence.
The measure will cap profits of private agencies and does not affect supply teacher pay. Therefore, we should not see any negative impact on the availability and number of supply teachers as a direct result of this policy.
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 of the annual cost to the public purse of putting a child through secondary state school education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Annually, the department publishes the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which includes information on the amount of core schools funding allocated by the department nationally as well as to each local authority. This includes the amount of funding allocated in respect of secondary pupils in mainstream schools, the ‘secondary schools unit of funding’. The DSG for financial year 2026/27 has now been published and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2026-to-2027.
In addition to the funding from the DSG, schools also receive additional school funding annually, for example through the Pupil Premium grant (in respect of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years), and capital funding.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding SEND provision from within her Department’s existing RDEL core budget of £69 billion in 2028-29 on provision of existing Educational resources.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has set out its position on page 105 of the budget document, confirming that special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pressure will be absorbed within the overall government departmental expenditure limits (DEL) budget from the financial year 2028/29 onwards such that we would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 85962 on Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making support for families available from birth.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is committed to ensuring that all children, including deaf and hard of hearing children, have the best possible start in life. The NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme aims to identify permanent moderate, severe, and profound deafness and hearing impairment in newborn babies. Screening is offered to all babies in England.
Funding is available to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including deaf and hard of hearing children, to access early education and childcare. This includes special educational needs inclusion funding and disability access funding.
Further, in December 2025, the department announced access to early SEND support across the country through Best Start Family Hubs. In every local authority next year, councils are being tasked with recruiting a dedicated SEND practitioner for every hub to provide direct, family-facing support. The new offer will help parents identify emerging needs sooner, and support vital join-up between early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams, including for young children with hearing impairments.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of library provision in schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme, to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81502.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make adoption records available to adults who were adopted.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. member for Sleaford and North Hykeham to the answer of 14 October 2025 to question 77488.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The European Union is the UK’s largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is, among other issues, central to the government’s work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support for Ukraine. In order to obtain an answer, the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston may therefore wish to be more specific about the aspects of the UK’s relationship with Europe that he has in mind.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to support the provision of (a) apprenticeships, (b) higher education courses and (c) other educational courses to assist recruitment to the logistics industry.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government offers a range of education and training which can be used to support the logistics sector. This includes apprenticeships, such as the Urban Driver and Large Goods Vehicle driver C + E standards, Skills Bootcamps, sector-based work academy programmes and a range of funded qualifications including 26 in logistics and 30 in warehousing and distribution.
The Adult Skills Fund also funds a range of courses to support entry into or progression in the logistics industry. In addition to the costs of training provision, learners can be funded to complete the medical and attain the licence required to become an heavy goods vehicle driver. In areas where the fund has been devolved, to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority, they are responsible for the provision of adult education in their areas.
Higher education institutions are autonomous and responsible for determining the provision they deliver.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary schools do not have a library.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81502.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the planned closure of the University of Essex's Southend Campus, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on education provision in (a) Essex, (b) Thurrock and (c) Southend.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator of the English higher education (HE) sector, is working with the University of Essex to ensure plans are in place to protect students and maintain learning continuity following the Southend campus closure. There is further work to be done by the OfS and the University to support students less able to move to other campuses. The department is monitoring the situation and is aware of concerns about local students’ access to HE provision.
HE providers are responsible for managing their own finances and we expect them to take appropriate and necessary decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. As we stated in the Post-16 education and skills white paper, we expect to see more consolidation and formal collaboration in the sector. This will help institutions be stronger and more financially sustainable, and provision might expand in areas currently under-served.
As HE providers are independent, the government is not involved in workforce matters in the same way that it is in other education sectors. While the government understands that HE providers must make difficult business decisions to safeguard their financial sustainability, we encourage providers to work with their staff and with trade unions to develop sustainable models that retain talent and expertise and provide stability for the workforce and the institution. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country.
The government welcomes international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. Indeed, UK HE providers received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students as well as research and development.
However, the OfS has identified reliance on international student fee income as a risk to HE providers’ sustainability. It has been clear that some providers may need to change their business models to protect their financial health, as a response to this risk and others.