Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people with autism they estimate have found work in the past 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the number of disabled people with autism who have found work in the past 12 months is published by the Department at: The employment of disabled people - GOV.UK.
There were an estimated 90,000 people with Autism who moved into employment between 2023 and 2024 (the latest data available).
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they accepted the recommendation in the Buckland Review of Autism Employment to set up a task group to review progress on expanding employment opportunities for people with autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), we committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity (including autism) in the workplace.
In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This is building on the work of the Buckland Review, which was published under the previous Government, and focused more narrowly on autism employment. The evidence review concluded in late summer 2025 and the panel will be reporting their findings and recommendations shortly.
Although this Government has not made a formal response to the Buckland Review, the Ministers for Employment and Social Security and Disability met Sir Robert Buckland in October 2024 to talk about his findings and key drivers for change in the workplace. In addition, Professor Amanda Kirby, Chair of the Academic Panel, has subsequently met Sir Robert to discuss the panel's terms of reference, scope, and timelines, and in June they jointly gave evidence to this House’s Autism Act 2009 Committee.
The Government will decide next steps in the light of the panel’s recommendations, and other relevant reviews such as Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with Sir Robert Buckland concerning his review on employing people with autism.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In the plan to Make Work Pay (October 2024), we committed to raising awareness of all forms of neurodiversity (including autism) in the workplace.
In January 2025, DWP launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This is building on the work of the Buckland Review, which was published under the previous Government, and focused more narrowly on autism employment. The evidence review concluded in late summer 2025 and the panel will be reporting their findings and recommendations shortly.
Although this Government has not made a formal response to the Buckland Review, the Ministers for Employment and Social Security and Disability met Sir Robert Buckland in October 2024 to talk about his findings and key drivers for change in the workplace. In addition, Professor Amanda Kirby, Chair of the Academic Panel, has subsequently met Sir Robert to discuss the panel's terms of reference, scope, and timelines, and in June they jointly gave evidence to this House’s Autism Act 2009 Committee.
The Government will decide next steps in the light of the panel’s recommendations, and other relevant reviews such as Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working Review.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - 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 30 May (HL7545), whether they will meet pupils of Meath School in Ottershaw in respect of UNICEF UK's "Rights Respecting Schools Award"; and whether they plan to provide funding for the scheme in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is committed to upholding the principles of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and safeguarding the rights of children, as we continue to do through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.
We know that some schools choose to follow the UNICEF scheme ‘Rights Respecting Schools Award’, which puts children’s rights at the heart of school policy and practice, and we welcome that commitment to promoting the rights of children. However, there are no plans to provide funding for the ‘Rights Respecting Schools Award’ scheme in England.
All schools in England have specific duties to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils and prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life.
Schools in England are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs. Citizenship education is an effective way of doing this, and we expect teachers to reinforce these values as well as to support pupils’ SMSC development.
Ministers welcome the opportunity to meet children and would be grateful for requests to be sent to the office of my hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the campaign by pupils of Meath School in Ottershaw, Surrey, to ensure that UNICEF UK's "Rights Respecting Schools Award" scheme is available to all schools in England; and whether they will provide funding along similar lines to the provision in Scotland.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Education plays a vital role in promoting integration and ensuring children and young people are prepared for life, including learning about the values that underpin and unite our society. All schools in England have a duty to promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of their pupils and to prepare them for the opportunities and responsibilities of adult life. It is up to schools to decide whether to join UNICEF’s Rights Respecting School programme.
Citizenship education provides a framework for pupils to develop the knowledge, skills and values that will prepare them to take their place in society as responsible citizens. Citizenship forms a core part of the statutory national curriculum at key stages 3 and 4 and primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at key stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support people with Down's syndrome get into mainstream schools and further education colleges.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and colleges, as well as ensuring special settings cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need. This includes strengthening accountability for inclusivity, including through Ofsted, and encouraging schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs (SEN) units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that all pupils, including those with Down’s Syndrome or other types of SEND, are given the best possible opportunity to achieve. The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers over the course of this parliament. To support all teachers, the department is also implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed, including those with SEND.
On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level qualification for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) in mainstream schools. The qualification will play a key role in improving outcomes for pupils with SEND, including Down’s Syndrome, by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training on how best to support children with SEND.
High needs funding will also increase by almost £1 billion in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25. The department has also announced £740 million of capital funding to create more specialist places including in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to resuming recruitment for a task group to implement the recommendations of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, published on 28 February.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our plan to Make Work Pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.
Our forthcoming employment White Paper considers how to improve employment outcomes and experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. We are exploring how we can build on the earlier, independent, Buckland Review which was focused more narrowly on autism and employment, to improve understanding and support for all neurodivergent people at work.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to expanding the recommendations of the Buckland Review of Autism Employment, published on 28 February, across neurodiversity more widely.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In our plan to Make Work Pay, we committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace.
Our forthcoming employment White Paper considers how to improve employment outcomes and experiences for disabled people and people with health conditions. We are exploring how we can build on the earlier, independent, Buckland Review which was focused more narrowly on autism and employment, to improve understanding and support for all neurodivergent people at work.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many schools registered to deliver language intervention programmes in (1) 2021, (2) 2022, and (3) 2023, and how many completed the full work programme in each of those years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department works with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support building the evidence base for early language interventions. In July 2024, the department announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme (two thirds of English state primary schools) would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is the most robustly evidenced early language programme in the UK, helping children who need extra support with their speech and language development to make four months of additional progress and seven months for those on free school meals.
To support early language skills, the department has invested over £20 million in NELI. The department does not hold the exact number of children who have completed NELI since 2020, but an estimate is based on the data included in EEF’s 'NELI Scale-up: Evaluation Report - Year 2', as attached. The programme has screened more than 650,000 children in the last four years and supported more than 210,000 four and five-year-olds since the pandemic. Broken down by academic year, this is:
2020/21: 35,000
2021/22: 59,000
2022/23: 58,000
2023/24: 59,000
The Stronger Practice Hubs, which provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, have also collaborated with the EEF to fund and make places available on several early language programmes. This is helping to strengthen and add to the evidence base of early years professional development programmes. The department does not hold data on the number of children who have benefitted from these programmes.
The number of new schools who registered to deliver NELI in each academic year since 2020 are as follows:
2020/21: 6,668
2021/22: 4,418
2022/23: 26
2023/24: no new school registration undertaken
For registered schools, the government has continued to fund the intervention so that schools can deliver the programme to new cohorts of reception children, where they are identified with below or well-below average language levels. We do not hold figures on how many of these schools completed the full work programme in each of those years.
Asked by: Lord Touhig (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children have completed language intervention programmes each year since such programmes were first funded by the Government in 2021.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department works with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to support building the evidence base for early language interventions. In July 2024, the department announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme (two thirds of English state primary schools) would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is the most robustly evidenced early language programme in the UK, helping children who need extra support with their speech and language development to make four months of additional progress and seven months for those on free school meals.
To support early language skills, the department has invested over £20 million in NELI. The department does not hold the exact number of children who have completed NELI since 2020, but an estimate is based on the data included in EEF’s 'NELI Scale-up: Evaluation Report - Year 2', as attached. The programme has screened more than 650,000 children in the last four years and supported more than 210,000 four and five-year-olds since the pandemic. Broken down by academic year, this is:
2020/21: 35,000
2021/22: 59,000
2022/23: 58,000
2023/24: 59,000
The Stronger Practice Hubs, which provide advice, share good practice and offer evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, have also collaborated with the EEF to fund and make places available on several early language programmes. This is helping to strengthen and add to the evidence base of early years professional development programmes. The department does not hold data on the number of children who have benefitted from these programmes.
The number of new schools who registered to deliver NELI in each academic year since 2020 are as follows:
2020/21: 6,668
2021/22: 4,418
2022/23: 26
2023/24: no new school registration undertaken
For registered schools, the government has continued to fund the intervention so that schools can deliver the programme to new cohorts of reception children, where they are identified with below or well-below average language levels. We do not hold figures on how many of these schools completed the full work programme in each of those years.