Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria will be used to select education providers eligible for international expansion support.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through the UK’s International Education Strategy, we are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home.
Sector stakeholders will be central to the successful delivery of the new International Education Strategy. The reformed Education Sector Action Group (ESAG), chaired by Ministers, will bring together industry, government, and representative bodies from across the education sector to tackle key concerns and identify opportunities for partnerships. Each representative will lead on an action plan, published within the first 100 days of appointment to ESAG, outlining how their members will support delivery of the strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that education exports support institutions in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new UK’s International Education Strategy sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
We are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home.
By expanding overseas, our universities, colleges and education providers from all regions can diversify income, strengthen global partnerships and give millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home.
The new strategy urges UK providers to take advantage of the UK’s unique position and meet rising global demand for high-quality education.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
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 international education programmes on local employment.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new UK’s International Education Strategy sets a clear ambition to grow the value of education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
We are backing UK providers, at all levels, to deliver British education overseas in new and expanding markets, while driving growth at home.
By expanding overseas, our universities, colleges and education providers from all regions can diversify income, strengthen global partnerships and give millions more students access to a world-class UK education on their doorstep, all whilst boosting growth at home.
The new strategy urges UK providers to take advantage of the UK’s unique position and meet rising global demand for high-quality education.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what reporting requirements UK providers will have for international education initiatives.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Sector stakeholders will be central to the successful delivery of the new International Education Strategy. The reformed Education Sector Action Group (ESAG), chaired by Ministers, will bring together industry, government, and representative bodies from across the education sector to tackle key concerns and identify opportunities for partnerships. Each representative will lead on an action plan, published within the first 100 days of appointment to ESAG, outlining how their members will support delivery of the strategy.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of schools in the Buckingham and Bletchley constituency that will require capital adjustments to deliver expanded breakfast provision under the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department has so far successfully delivered 5 million meals through 750 early adopter free breakfast clubs and schools have told us about the many benefits these clubs provide including improved attendance, behaviour and attainment.
We have seen our early adopters successfully manage space constrains and we continue to encourage local authorities, responsible bodies, academy trusts, schools and providers to work together to solve problems collaboratively, ensuring the needs of parents and children are met.
Schools have flexibility to decide where to deliver their provision, in accordance with the minimum expectations. They are expected to consider all space available onsite, including classrooms. Alternatively, they can opt to offer the provision offsite at a nearby venue. Schools will receive a £1000 start-up grant to spend on any equipment, materials, training and infrastructure and systems needed to deliver.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of the indicative early years funding allocations on workforce recruitment and retention in early years settings.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024 and 2025, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers and is the biggest increase we have seen since the data became available in 2018, likely driven by the expanded entitlements.
We know from listening to the sector and our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Our funding rates are set to reflect this with government funding rates for younger children remaining significantly higher than typical parent-paid fees.
For 2026/27, the national average funding rate is £12.04 for under twos, £8.90 for two-year-olds, and £6.42 for three to four-year-olds, compared to average parent-paid fees from last year of £7.18, £7.09, and £6.78 respectively. Combined with the increase in hours through the expansion, these higher funding rates for younger children mean substantially more investment is flowing into the early years sector with an expected £9.5 billion being provide for the early years in 2026-27.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what analysis her Department has undertaken on the relationship between early years entitlement funding rates and levels of parental fees charged above entitlement hours.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. Our Best Start in Life strategy sets out how we are improving the quality of early education by investing in training and qualifications, increasing understanding of high quality practice and providing more access to proven, evidence-based early years programmes. The latest early years census data reports a 7.2% increase in the number of workers between 2024 and 2025, to 272,500 staff. This represents an increase of 18,200 workers and is the biggest increase we have seen since the data became available in 2018, likely driven by the expanded entitlements.
We know from listening to the sector and our own regular research, that the cost of delivery is highest for younger children due to tighter staffing ratios and, consequently, higher staff costs, as staffing makes up the most significant proportion of provider costs. Our funding rates are set to reflect this with government funding rates for younger children remaining significantly higher than typical parent-paid fees.
For 2026/27, the national average funding rate is £12.04 for under twos, £8.90 for two-year-olds, and £6.42 for three to four-year-olds, compared to average parent-paid fees from last year of £7.18, £7.09, and £6.78 respectively. Combined with the increase in hours through the expansion, these higher funding rates for younger children mean substantially more investment is flowing into the early years sector with an expected £9.5 billion being provide for the early years in 2026-27.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children taking up early years entitlements in 2026-27 in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency are projected to be from households in the bottom two deciles of income distribution.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The latest January 2025 statistics on Funded early education and childcare were published in July here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025.
Figures on the number of children registered for government funded entitlements in Buckinghamshire can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8be865c0-9f87-475e-9475-08de4155ee12.
Statistics from households in the bottom two deciles of income distribution are not readily available, nor are figures at parliamentary constituency level. Statistics for January 2026 have a provisional release date on GOV.UK of July 2026.
Asked by: Callum Anderson (Labour - Buckingham and Bletchley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on expected changes in childcare demand in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency associated with childcare measures in the Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is our ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.
The government’s landmark Child Poverty Strategy sets out how we intend to monitor and evaluate the impacts of the strategy, including understanding how this varies across the UK and for different groups. From next year, parents claiming Universal Credit who are starting or returning to work (including after parental leave) will be able to have their childcare costs paid before they pay them - removing the need to front the money and claim it back later. Previously, Universal Credit covered childcare costs for up to two children. Under the new policy, families with more than two children will receive support for all their childcare costs.
Although we do not hold this data on a constituency level, there are no reported issues in the South East region.