Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the availability of post-16 provision in Liverpool Walton.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is working closely with Liverpool City Council and local general further education (FE) colleges to ensure there is sufficient post-16 provision in Liverpool Walton and the wider city region.
In October 2025, we published the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, setting out our reforms to the skills system in England, which will develop the skilled workforce our economy needs.
Reforms include the introduction of V Levels to sit alongside A and T Levels, the Further Study pathway, designed to support students to progress onto V, T or A levels and also the Occupational pathway which will support students to develop the skills needed to progress into employment or an apprenticeship.
Liverpool Walton students will continue to access high quality post-16 education through school sixth forms, specialised alternative providers and outstanding FE colleges and universities within the city region.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what capital funding is available to education providers in Liverpool Walton seeking to increase post-16 education and training capacity.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In December 2025, the government announced that almost half of the £375 million Post‑16 Capacity Fund would be devolved to strategic authorities to support further education colleges, sixth‑form colleges and 16 to 19 academies in expanding estate capacity to meet the demographic increase in learners. Devolved areas have broad scope to design their post-16 capacity programmes to meet local needs and best deliver the increase in capacity.
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) has received a share of this devolved funding. It will be for LCRCA to determine which projects best deliver the increased 16 to 19 capacity in their area. They will have until 2029/30 to deploy this funding and deliver the additional places.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specialist support is available to adoptive parents of children with experience of trauma.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This financial year, the department has invested £50 million in the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, giving adopted and kinship children access to therapeutic services that stabilise placements and offer specialist support to both adoptive children and parents.
The department has approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments.
In addition, the department is providing £3 million this year to Adoption England to develop more multidisciplinary teams in Regional Adoption Agencies. These joint teams, working with local health partners, enable families to receive holistic and high quality support.
Adoption England is also working with Adoption Support and Local Authority Children’s ‘front door services’ to develop a much more joined-up approach to how services engage with families. The aim is to agree a protocol on collaboration so that families receive a far stronger range of support.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
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 the decision to reduce the therapy limit for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on children using that fund.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government made the difficult decision to cut the fair access limit in April to ensure that the fund remained financially sustainable and available to help as many children and their families as possible. As a result, this year the department has helped 14,000 children. This financial year we have invested £50 million into the adoption and special guardianship support fund. We have approved applications for nearly 14,000 children since April, for both therapy and specialist assessments. We continue to review the impact of the changes to funding made in April 2025.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 66249 on Pupil Exclusions, whether parents will retain their ability to hold local authorities and schools to account through the EHCP procedure and its safeguards.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to ensure they are supported throughout their education and into adult life.
As we have set out, the department intends to retain the SEND tribunal. Any changes we make will improve support for children and parents, stop parents from having to fight for support, and protect provision currently in place.
As part of our Plan for Change, we will restore the confidence of families up and down the country and deliver the improvement they are crying out for so every child can achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2025 to Question 66249 on Pupil Exclusions, what her planned timetable is for her Department's changes to data collection to be made.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The proposed changes to the data collection, aimed at strengthening the oversight and monitoring of all exclusion through the school census, will require legislative amendments. As such they are subject to parliamentary procedure and are expected to come into effect for the 2026/27 academic year.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of disabled children not reinstated in school when an independent review panel has quashed a permanent exclusion.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department does not collect the pupil characteristics data for reinstated when an Independent Review Panel (IRP) has quashed a permanent exclusion.
The department is taking action to strengthen the oversight and monitoring of all exclusion data collected through the school census, particularly for pupils who may be disproportionately affected by exclusion. This includes strengthening the monitoring of IRP decisions, with a stronger focus on the reinstatement of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to make changes to the collection of data in relation to (a) suspensions and (b) permanent exclusions in England.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department does not collect the pupil characteristics data for reinstated when an Independent Review Panel (IRP) has quashed a permanent exclusion.
The department is taking action to strengthen the oversight and monitoring of all exclusion data collected through the school census, particularly for pupils who may be disproportionately affected by exclusion. This includes strengthening the monitoring of IRP decisions, with a stronger focus on the reinstatement of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to renew the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool Walton to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase the number of children and young people reading for pleasure.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool Walton to the answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29850.