Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the reforms announced in her Department's press release entitled Schools to cut bills with Great British Energy solar panels, published on 17 November 2025, will schools be required to bear any maintenance costs for the solar panels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has used a delivery model which sees schools supported throughout the scheme, so whilst schools will be required to bear any maintenance costs for solar photovoltaics installed on their roofs, this is expected to be affordable from savings generated.
Solar installs are already producing significant savings for schools with estimates suggesting that on average, a typical school could save up to £25,000 per year if they have solar panels with complementary technologies installed.
The programme is on track with new installations at additional schools and colleges each month. Some contracts are still in procurement and, owing to the commercial sensitivity of this, it would not be appropriate to disclose evolving spend to date at this stage.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of no-fault evictions on school stability, attendance and attainment for affected children.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department understands that insecure housing can affect a pupil’s engagement with education. Our statutory attendance guidance sets out how partners should work together to understand barriers to attendance, which includes housing support where relevant. Where a pupil is temporarily accommodated in a different local authority, the guidance is also clear that both local authorities should work together to ensure continuity of education. The statutory attendance guidance is available in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.
The Renters’ Rights Act delivers our manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions from 1 May 2026. It will give renters much greater security and stability so that they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities and avoid the risk of homelessness.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training in (a) the North West and (b) Fylde constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes official statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.
Since 2021, the number of 16 to 24 year-olds estimated to be NEET in the North West has been increasing with the latest estimate at end 2024 being 121,400. The lowest number in the series was in 2021, estimated to be 74,200. The data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cc3fd0f9-292c-47fa-d20e-08de2129b4fd.
In recent years, the Office for National Statistics has faced challenges around the falling number of responses to the LFS, which has led to increased sampling variability. This is particularly notable at regional level and caution is advised when interpreting short-term changes. All estimates should be viewed alongside associated confidence intervals.
These estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET estimates in Fylde constituency are not available.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of local careers advice and guidance services in preventing young people from becoming not in employment, education or training in Lancashire.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department funds a network of careers hubs across England to drive up standards of careers provision for young people. Lancashire Careers Hub works with 162 secondary schools and colleges to connect careers provision to regional skills needs, aligned with the Lancashire Skills and Employment Strategic Framework.
Through the Boosting Skills Pathway Fund, the careers hub works with local small and medium enterprises to break down barriers and connect young people to diverse pathways including T Levels.
In the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, the department committed to prevent young people becoming not in education, employment or training through more effective use of data by local partners and by ensuring that those without a post-16 study plan are automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects teaching of the British Sign Language GCSE to commence in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The development of a British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE is an important step toward fostering greater recognition of BSL as a language, and we are committed to developing a qualification that benefits both students and the wider deaf community.
The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023 and Ofqual’s final qualification rules were published on 13 November this year. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.
Decisions on whether to develop qualification specifications are for exam boards, and any specifications developed by exam boards will need to be accredited by Ofqual before they are available to schools.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken in the (a) processing and (b) payment of pension lump sums for teachers retiring at the end of the academic year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Capita, as the Teachers’ Pension Scheme administrator, has confirmed that payments were completed on 1 September 2025, for those teachers who met the 18 August 2025 deadline for submitting their 2024/25 academic year retirement application.
Applications received after the 18 August deadline are being processed as quickly as possible by Capita and should be paid within 10 working days of receiving the application, provided that all information is available to process.
The department has contractual Service Level Agreements for the processing of these payments and continually monitors Capita’s performance to ensure that members’ pension lump sums are paid on time.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the Department’s target date is for ensuring that all schools and colleges in England are free from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has set out its plans to permanently remove reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) from schools and colleges.
By the end of this Parliament, every school and college in England that is not being fully or substantially rebuilt will be RAAC-free.
Alongside this, every school needing to be rebuilt through the School Rebuilding Programme, will be in delivery, with half having started already.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the proportion of pupils in Fylde constituency who are eligible for free school meals but do not take them.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.
The department does not hold information on the proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for FSM but do not take them. However, we collect data on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for FSM and the number and proportion of pupils who had taken lunch recorded as taking a FSM on census day.
To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in Lancashire were eligible for free school meals in each of the last five years.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in our annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data was published on 5 June, and the next publication is planned for summer 2026.
The department does not hold information on the proportion of pupils who are known to be eligible for FSM but do not take them. However, we collect data on the proportion of pupils who are eligible for FSM and the number and proportion of pupils who had taken lunch recorded as taking a FSM on census day.
To access data from previous academic years, visit the 'Releases in this series' section on the publication website. Then, locate the 'School level underlying data' file under 'Additional supporting files'.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the income thresholds for eligibility for free school meals.
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, that is why the department is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals. This ensures that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This change will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back into families’ pockets.