Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Welsh Government about the continuation of the Taith programme in conjunction with the return of the UK to the Erasmus+ scheme.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Any decision on the continuation of the Taith programme following the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027 rests with the Welsh Government.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Collins of Highbury on 16 March (HL Deb col 668), how they will improve the oversight of compliance with the Prevent Duty as a measure to tackle extremism on college and university campuses in the light of the recommendation to reform the Prevent Strategy in Report of the Independent Commission on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice, published November 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for Students is updating its Prevent monitoring framework in line with the 2023 Prevent statutory guidance. It will publish a new framework and guidance in September, which will come into force at the start of 2027, where they will make greater use of Prevent review meetings to target areas of concern and gather more detailed evidence where necessary.
The department will, where required, use its enforcement powers under section 30 of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015, including issuing directions enforceable by court order, to secure full compliance with the Prevent duty.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial stability of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, including debt levels; and what assessment they have made of whether the (1) budget, (2) contents, or (3) availability, of free school meals has been reduced at schools in that trust.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department continues to work with the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust. Where financial non-compliance or governance concerns are identified, the department will intervene in a way that is proportionate to the risk and preserves education and free school meal provision.
The Education Act 1996 as amended places a duty upon academies to provide free school meals to pupils of all ages that meet the criteria.
The government is delivering on its manifesto commitment by legislating to introduce Ofsted inspection of academy trusts and related intervention powers for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. Trust inspection will help drive better outcomes for children and provide greater confidence for parents.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comparative levels of loss of experienced upper pay range teachers in academy and local authority-controlled schools; and what assessment they have made of the (1) extent, and (2) impact, of the use of settlement agreements and confidentiality clauses when such teachers leave employment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not collect or publish teacher leaving rates broken down by teacher pay band. We publish the number and rate of qualified teachers who join and leave the state-funded sector each year in the ‘School workforce in England’ publication. The latest data was published 5 June 2025 and is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england. In 2023/24, 40,813 fulltime equivalent (FTE) qualified teachers left the state-funded sector, compared with 42,554 in 2022/23. This equates to 9% of all qualified teachers, one of lowest leaver rates outside the pandemic years.
The department is not the employer of school staff and does not collect data on the use of settlement agreements or confidentiality clauses by academy trusts or local authorities.
Settlement agreements should be entirely voluntary for all involved and schools, as employers, are required to comply with all aspects of employment law. Additionally, academy trusts must also comply with the Academies Financial Handbook, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-financial-handbook.
Where a settlement agreement includes a confidentiality clause, existing law means such clauses cannot be used to prevent someone from making a protected disclosure such as whistleblowing. Further information about whistle blowing for employees is provided here: https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the proposal to increase student fee caps in line with forecast inflation in academic years 2026–27 and 2027–28, what estimate they have made of the level of average student debt when students become liable to repay tuition fee loans; and what percentage of those students they expect to pay off those loans in full.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
For students starting in the 2024/25 academic year, the department estimates the average loan balance at the point of repayment to be £45,600, including interest accrued during study. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25.
Under Plan 5 loan terms, 56% of these borrowers are expected to repay their loans in full and had assumed inflationary fee increases. Figures include balance associated with both maintenance and fee loans.
Borrowers will be liable to repay at a fixed percentage of earnings only when earning above the applicable student loan repayment threshold. Repayments are linked to the earnings, and not the rate of interest or the amount borrowed. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing. Where a borrower does not repay their loan in full by the end of the loan term, the remaining balance is cancelled, with no detriment to the borrower.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 25 September 2024 (HL781), what steps they have taken to help those affected by historical forced adoptions; whether they plan to give an apology to affected individuals; and what assessment they have made of the approach of devolved administrations to this issue.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This abhorrent practice should never have taken place, and our deepest sympathies are with all those affected.
The department continues to follow up on the 2022 Joint Committee on Human Rights report, including improving access to adoption records, enhancing intermediary services and preserving historical records. Regulations have been amended to make it easier for adults to access adoption support, and local authorities have been encouraged to retain records for at least 100 years.
The department is also working with Adoption England, which recently published new guidance to support consistent and legally compliant practice across adoption services. Adoption England continues to fund the pilot initiative Family Connect, a national advice line designed to provide support to adopted adults, birth parents, relatives and professionals. Officials remain in contact with the Scottish and Welsh governments to understand and learn from their approaches.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to identify and act on trusts holding excessive quantities of reserves that are depriving pupils of resources for which public funds have been provided, following the Academy trust reserves guidance, published by the Department for Education on 2 June.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Academy trusts hold reserves, as part of good financial management, for a range of reasons. This will include:
Academy trusts must be accountable and transparent on how they manage their reserves. The Academy Trust Handbook requires trusts to have a reserves policy in place, explain their policy in their published annual report and include a clear plan for managing the reserves they hold.
The department engages with academy trusts on their reserves to ensure they have plans in place to use their funds to deliver outcomes that benefit pupils, effectively mitigate against unforeseen issues, and invest in their current and future pupils’ education.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that reproductive health issues, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, fertility and menopause symptoms, are covered in relationships and sex education in schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statutory guidance on the current relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum, published on GOV.UK states that by the end of secondary education, pupils should know the facts about reproductive health, including fertility, and the potential impact of lifestyle on fertility for men and women and menopause. This guidance is attached and is also available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education. While endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome are not mentioned specifically in the statutory guidance, it is open to schools to include it as part of this education.
To support schools further, in 2020 the department developed teacher training modules which are freely available to download from GOV.UK and are attached and is also available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. This included working with Endometriosis UK when developing the ‘changing adolescent body’ module, which references endometriosis. In addition, the ‘intimate and sexual relationships, including sexual health’ module refers to endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, fertility and menopause.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools and as such we will talk to stakeholders, analyse consultation responses and consider relevant evidence before setting out next steps. This will include assessing whether amended content on reproductive health issues is needed.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the campaign to introduce a "nature premium", modelled on the existing sports premium, to support school children’s access to nature.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department recognises that access to green space has been shown to have a positive impact on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of young people, but children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to spend time regularly outside than those from more affluent backgrounds. That is why we are inviting all nurseries, schools and colleges to register with the National Education Nature Park and offering grants to support participation from eligible settings.
Participating in Nature Park activities will support and encourage all children, and young people will benefit from spending time in nature. It will also support teachers to build confidence to deliver effective outdoor learning.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve ventilation and air filtration in early years and school settings, in the light of a recent study which suggests that COVID-19 infection can cause cognitive impairment in children up to 12 months post-infection.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department supports and works with a wide range of academics to understand research relating to the impact of air quality on school users.
Between January 2022 and April 2023, the department provided over 9,000 air cleaning units to over 1,300 settings that had been identified with poor ventilation. The department has published guidance on how to use CO2 monitors and air cleaning units, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
The department also publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor and outdoor air quality in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), which can be found in the attached document and also accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The responsible body, relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body are responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils when in their care.