Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of pupils who have moved from independent schools to state schools since the introduction of VAT on independent school fees.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
School closure information is available via the register of schools, which is accessible at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
The latest school census data, as at June 2026, reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over the last 20 years. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2025-26.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of independent schools in England that have closed since the introduction of VAT on school fees.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
School closure information is available via the register of schools, which is accessible at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
The latest school census data, as at June 2026, reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over the last 20 years. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2025-26.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to ensure children with Developmental Language Disorder are adequately supported following upcoming reforms to the SEND system.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are ensuring every child gets the right support at the right time. This includes all of those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We regularly engage with organisations who represent children with SLCN, including DLD, such as Speech and Language UK who are a member of our Complex Needs Group.
Speech and language therapists (SaLTs) break down communication barriers, but too often, children and young people with SEND wait too long for this support.
As part of our new £1.8 billion investment, schools will be able to access support from professionals such as SaLTs through the Experts at Hand offer. They will work directly with school staff to equip them with skills and strategies to better meet need.
We are also investing £15 million to establish new SaLT advanced practitioners in every integrated care board area to support more SaLTs to work with educational settings, upskill speech and language support workers, and promote the SaLT apprenticeship route.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether children with Developmental Language Disorder were considered when writing the policy paper entitled SEND reform: putting children and young people first.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are ensuring every child gets the right support at the right time. This includes all of those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). We regularly engage with organisations who represent children with SLCN, including DLD, such as Speech and Language UK who are a member of our Complex Needs Group.
Speech and language therapists (SaLTs) break down communication barriers, but too often, children and young people with SEND wait too long for this support.
As part of our new £1.8 billion investment, schools will be able to access support from professionals such as SaLTs through the Experts at Hand offer. They will work directly with school staff to equip them with skills and strategies to better meet need.
We are also investing £15 million to establish new SaLT advanced practitioners in every integrated care board area to support more SaLTs to work with educational settings, upskill speech and language support workers, and promote the SaLT apprenticeship route.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the level of funding required to improve school food standards.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
We are consulting on proposed updates to the School Food Standards in England. Healthier food does not have to mean higher cost. We tested proposals to check affordability and are working closely with the sector.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing a national rollout of parenting programmes, such as Triple P and Incredible Years, on levels of stigma associated with seeking parenting support.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The government is committed to expanding access to high-quality, evidence‑based parenting and home learning support as part of the Best Start in Life Strategy, delivered through the national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs.
Local authorities are expected to commission from departmental menus of programmes with the strongest evidence base, which include both in-person and digital options.
Delivering these programmes through open-access models within Best Start Family Hubs, aims to normalise parenting support by making it widely available and integrated within a broader system of help for families. This approach is intended to broaden access, ensure families can seek support in a non‑judgemental, accessible environment and reduce barriers, including stigma.
The department will continue to evaluate the impact of Best Start Family Hubs to ensure they are delivering positive outcomes for children and families and informing future policy development.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using parenting programmes such as that implemented in Australia to support parents in managing their children’s screen time.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department is monitoring policies put in place in other countries, including Australia, and we are working with counterparts there to share learnings and best practice. Ministers at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will also be visiting Australia to understand the approach taken.
Last month, the government announced a package of measures to improve children’s relationship with mobile phones and social media, including a commitment to produce evidence-based screen time guidance for parents of children aged 5 to 16. This builds on ongoing work to develop screen time guidance for parents 0 to 5 year-olds.
The government also announced that we will be launching a consultation and national conversation on further measures to ensure technology is enriching children’s lives. The consultation will include exploring the option of banning social media for children below a certain age, alongside a range of other measures.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEND is taken into account in school attendance policies.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
As set out in the department’s 2024 guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, every pupil has a right to a full-time education, and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils.
A school’s attendance policy should account for the specific needs of each pupil and provide these pupils with the necessary support. This includes pupils with specific barriers to attendance, such as those with mental or physical ill health and/or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
To support pupils with SEND, schools should understand the individual needs of the pupil and family, work in partnership with the pupil and family to put in-school support in place, as well as with the local authority and other agencies where external support is needed, and regularly review and update support to ensure it continues to meet individual needs.
Schools should ensure attendance data is regularly monitored for pupils with long-term illnesses and/or SEND, including alongside the local authority, so that additional support from other partners can be accessed where necessary.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June 2025 to Question 56493 on Teachers' Pensions, what progress she has made on resolving outstanding Cash Equivalent Transfer Value cases.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As at 4 September 2025, the number of unresolved Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) cases has been reduced to 433 from 3,062 at the end of October 2024. This includes recent CETV applications and as such there will always be a number of outstanding CETV cases at any given time.
The scheme administrator is now working through the most complex cases for members who have retired. These cases can currently only be processed clerically and the estimated calculation times are between 20 and 65 hours per case. The department is funding IT changes for the scheme administrator that are expected to significantly reduce calculation times.
This issue remains a top priority for the department and the scheme administrator, and the above actions are currently expected to result in the delayed CETVs being fully cleared by spring 2026.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the postgraduate loan repayment threshold to be in line with the National Minimum Wage.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure it remains fair, sustainable and delivers value for students, universities and the wider economy.
The postgraduate loans schemes were introduced to help remove the financial barrier faced by those wishing to step up to achieve a postgraduate level qualification. They are part of the long-term commitment to make the UK more globally competitive by increasing the number of those with high level skills and knowledge. As part of our ongoing work, we always consider a range of factors which can affect repayment thresholds and recognise the importance of ensuring that the system remains fair for borrowers, as well as being financially sustainable.