Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the document entitled School level underlying data 2025, published on 5 June 2025, what assessment she has conducted on the reasons why 625 pupils in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency who are eligible for free school meals are not accessing them.
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 which is why we are introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals ensuring all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives of as part of the Child Poverty Strategy published on 5 December. Under the expansion, over half a million additional pupils will become eligible for free school meals.
The department has not made a formal assessment of the situation in Ely, however, specific factors such as lack of knowledge, stigma, and language barriers may impact take-up of free school meals.
The department wants to make sure as many eligible pupils as possible are claiming their free school meals. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of universal credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals.
To support take-up, we are also rolling out improvements to the checking system that is available to all local authorities to help verify eligibility for free meals.
We welcome local authorities taking action to ensure government support reaches families, subject to them meeting legal and data protection requirements.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her Department's policy to create a single childcare register to replace the current registration processes.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is the department’s 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.
There are currently two registers, the early years register and the general childcare register. We are in regular dialogue with Ofsted about the registers and, as with all our systems, we continue to monitor their operational effectiveness. There are no current plans to alter the structure of the registers.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the suitability of the examination system for dyslexic pupils.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofqual, as independent regulator of qualifications, is responsible for ensuring the exams system is fair and accessible for all students. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations are required to make reasonable adjustments where a disabled person would be at a substantial disadvantage in undertaking exams and assessments. A range of access arrangements are also available for all national curriculum tests, and guidance is provided by the Standards and Testing Agency.
In line with the recommendations made by the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, we will work with Ofqual and awarding organisations to ensure that accessibility implications are fully considered for all young people throughout the qualification development process, including for those with special educational needs and disabilities, such as dyslexia.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commission data on the number of school-age pupils with dyslexia.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia. The SEND code of practice makes it clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed.
Currently, the department commissions data on the number of school-age pupils whose primary SEN is Specific Learning Disabilities, which includes dyslexia.
There are several assessments in place which measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy. These include the Phonics Screening Check and end of KS1 non-statutory and KS2 statutory assessments.
The department will introduce a mandatory reading test for all pupils in Year 8 so we can ensure children who are struggling do not fall through the cracks, or that those doing well at the end of primary maintain their standard.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of children that have required access to free school meals in each of the last five years in Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in its annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, 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.
To access FSM data for the Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency for the 2024/25 academic year, refer to the file titled 'School level underlying data 2025 (CSV, 22 MB)', located in the 'Additional supporting files' section.
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: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support specialist schools in improving the transition for neurodivergent pupils into the workplace.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Supporting neurodivergent pupils into the workplace is important for all schools, including specialist schools.
As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be prepared for adulthood (PfA). This means being prepared in the following four areas:
For those with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the annual review of the plan from year 9 onwards must include a focus on PfA.
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework for delivering high quality careers guidance in schools and colleges. For SEND learners, the benchmarks apply equally, but with adaptations to meet individual needs. Where a learner has an active EHC plan, careers guidance is provided up to age 25.
The department has supported the Department for Work and Pensions in developing the use of Adjustment Planners for higher education (HE) students. An Adjustments Planner provides a useful tool to support learners to progress in HE, take up work during term time or move into employment by enabling them to plan for the future. The department is considering how the use of the planner can be widened for more learners.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support businesses to invest in skills and training.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department’s Industrial Strategy sets out the interventions we will make to help tackle barriers to employer engagement with the skills system. This includes introducing shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in priority sectors, the introduction of short courses in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy from April 2026, and skills packages targeted at skills needed in multiple Industrial Strategy sectors, such as digital, engineering, and the defence sector, in addition to the £625 million construction skills package to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers across this Parliament.
This investment will be underpinned by deeper employer partnerships, including launching Technical Excellence Colleges to develop pipelines of skilled workers for local businesses.
The Chair of Skills England, in partnership with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, will explore how employers, individuals and local and central government work together to address national skills needs, to support jobs of the future in the growth-driving sectors, and in particular opportunities for further business engagement and investment into the skills pipeline.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support routes into vocational education pathways for people over the age of 22.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government supports learners through technical education, including apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps. We are transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.
From August, the department is reducing the apprenticeship minimum duration to eight months. This will enable learners to achieve occupational competence more quickly.
We have confirmed £136 million for Skills Bootcamps across a range of priority sectors in 2025/26 to fund training for over 40,000 learners.
In the 2025/26 academic year, the government will invest around £1.4 billion in the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), including the Free Courses for Jobs Offer. This provides eligible adults with access to high value level 3 qualifications to improve job prospects and earnings.
Currently 62% of the ASF is devolved to nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority who can decide how to make best use of the ASF to meet their local needs.
From September 2026, learners can apply for funding from the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), a new student finance system for courses and modules starting from January 2027. The LLE will help adults upskill or retrain, at a time that is right for them, such as those returning from career breaks.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that Skills England is subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Answered by Janet Daby
As an Executive Agency, Skills England will be subject to clear requirements on governance, transparency and accountability as set out by the Cabinet Office and applying across government.
A sponsor Minister within the department will be accountable to Parliament on all matters concerning Skills England, including the policy framework within which it operates, ensuring it meets its strategic objectives and, in doing so, delivers value for money.
Skills England will be led by a Chief Executive, who will be directly accountable to a relevant departmental sponsor Minister for delivery and day to day activities. They will also be accountable to the sponsor department’s Permanent Secretary for responsible use of public funds, via formal designation as Accounting Officer for the agency.
A framework document will be agreed between the department and Skills England, which will be approved by HM Treasury. This will set out the governance and accountability framework within which Skills England and the department will operate and will be publicly available.
In line with other Executive Agencies, and as set out in the Public Bodies Handbook, Skills England will regularly publish information on the execution of its functions. This will include an annual report, which sponsor ministers are required to publish to ensure Parliament is kept informed of Skills England’s activities.
The IfATE (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill also requires my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, to publish and lay before Parliament, within six months after the closure of IfATE, a report setting out which of the functions in this Bill are being exercised by Skills England and the impact of this on apprenticeships and technical education in England.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve recruitment in the early years sector.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. The department is determined to create change in the approach to early years, focusing on high-quality early education, celebrating early years careers and embedding the sector into the wider education system. Later this year, we will publish a strategy to reform early years education, including the workforce.
The government is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment and new routes into the workforce. Our national recruitment campaign is encouraging the public to ‘Do something BIG’ and start a career working with small children, and a dedicated campaign website is helping people to find out more about gaining qualifications and to search existing job vacancies. We are also piloting whether £1,000 financial incentives will boost recruitment in early years and have been running a childminder start-up grant scheme. Finally, we have introduced new routes into the workforce including Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible, employer-led courses that lead to accelerated apprenticeships.
Retaining and maximising the staff already in the workforce is also of vital importance. Through the experience-based route, providers will be able to maximise the potential of their staff who have the right skills and experience but do not hold an approved qualification. We have also taken steps to increase the graduate workforce via the early years teacher degree apprenticeship, providing a new undergraduate route to gaining early years teacher status.