Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Next generation of builders and carers set to rebuild Britain, published on 27 May 2025, whether Technical Excellence Colleges will be able to provide Level 7 apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is introducing technical excellence colleges (TECs) to specialise in training the skilled workforces which industry needs in priority sectors. This starts with the launch of 10 construction TECs from September 2025. TECs will provide the critical skills employers need across all qualification levels, including via apprenticeships. TECs will be able to deliver apprenticeships training at all levels where they are listed as an apprenticeships training provider on the department’s apprenticeship provider and assessment register.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered opening new specialist SEND schools, in the context of trends in the number of education, health and care plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
We recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities. The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.
This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND. It is intended to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through Resourced Provision and special educational needs units.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to make a further announcement on the future of the Bedford Free School.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The review of mainstream free schools has focused on ensuring that government funding is targeted where it is most needed.
We understand that trusts and local authorities want to have certainty about their projects as soon as possible. We will provide an update on next steps to trusts and local authorities in due course.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most common causes of school absences were in the 2024-25 academic year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department publishes figures on pupil attendance using daily data submitted by state-funded schools. The latest data for the 2024/25 academic year to date is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools/2025-week-24.
According to the absence codes recorded by schools, the most commonly used code is ‘authorised illness absence’, followed by ‘unauthorised other absence’. A full breakdown of absence codes used is available at the aforementioned link.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with NHS Employers on planned changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people, whose rate of apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% over the last decade.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including NHS employers.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on costs to the public purse in each of the next five years.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
From January 2026, we will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable government funding to be rebalanced towards young people and training at lower levels.
Apprenticeship spend is dependent on employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and learners choosing to take them.
The department does not publish information on projected apprenticeship spend.
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 number of people working for state schools who possess a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification.
Answered by Janet Daby
The requested information is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled, Teachers to benefit from pay boost, if she will make an estimate of the cost to schools of funding the first 1% of the pay award.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.
The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.
Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.
The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.
Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, what estimate she has made of the increase in employers’ National Insurance costs for schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.
The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.
Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.
The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.
Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, if she will make an estimate of the change in the (a) employers’ National Insurance and (b) salary costs for schools in Bedfordshire constituency between (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.
The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.
Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.
The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.
Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.