Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be reprioritised away from (a) journalism, (b) media studies, (c) publishing and (d) information services courses in the most recent Strategic Priorities Grant; and to which subject areas that funding has been reallocated.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Easington to the answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 67279.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant to (a) journalism, (b) media studies, (c) publishing and (d) information services courses in each of the last three years.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Easington to the answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 67279.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with the (a) National Council for the Training of Journalists and (b) National Union of Journalists on the Strategic Priorities Grant funding changes for journalism education.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Easington to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to high-cost subject funding on student access to (a) journalism and (b) publishing courses.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Easington to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 Strategic Priorities Grant funding changes on long-term skills provision in (a) journalism and (b) publishing.
Answered by Janet Daby
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Easington to the answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63373.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the eligibility criteria for local authorities to qualify to be a pilot area for a financial allowance for kinship carers.
Answered by Janet Daby
All local authorities are eligible to apply for the Kinship Allowance Pilot, except for those which have received a section 114 notice and/or already offer a regular financial allowance that matches the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) to kinship carers with legal orders.
Local authorities remain eligible to apply if they pay a financial allowance that matches the NMA, but one of the following applies:
Local authorities will be ineligible to apply for the kinship allowance pilot if all the following conditions are met:
Further information can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-become-a-kinship-allowance-pilot-provider.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions in the level of funding for the Adult Skills Fund to mayoral combined authorities on (a) Courses for Jobs and (b) tailored learning; and whether her Department has completed a related equality impact assessment.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is currently facing a challenging fiscal context. Fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control and ensure that we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. In this challenging context, the government carefully considers the impacts of its decisions, including public sector equality duty.
The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
As of August 2025, the department will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities, who are now responsible for adult skills provision in their areas. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding and are responsible for the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for allocating the remaining ASF budget in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas, our allocation methodology for the 2025/26 academic year recognises priority courses, as well as providers with a strong track record of delivering above their allocations and providing for more learners. As a result, there will be a significant number of providers who will see their allocations increase in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in the Education and Skills Funding Agency Adult Skills Fund on (a) Courses for Jobs and (b) tailored learning.
Answered by Janet Daby
This government is currently facing a challenging fiscal context. Fixing the foundations of the economy will take time, and tough decisions are needed across the public sector to get our finances back under control and ensure that we deliver on our priorities through our Plan for Change. In this challenging context, the government carefully considers the impacts of its decisions, including public sector equality duty.
The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.
As of August 2025, the department will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities, who are now responsible for adult skills provision in their areas. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding and are responsible for the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for allocating the remaining ASF budget in non-devolved areas.
In non-devolved areas, our allocation methodology for the 2025/26 academic year recognises priority courses, as well as providers with a strong track record of delivering above their allocations and providing for more learners. As a result, there will be a significant number of providers who will see their allocations increase in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department consulted with its (a) kinship carer and (b) adopter reference groups before the decision to change the funding arrangements for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support fund in the 2025-26 financial year was made.
Answered by Janet Daby
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable the funding to be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. This level of funding will still allow eligible adoptive and kinship children to access a significant package of therapeutic support to help prevent placement breakdowns. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
We have been working closely with our delivery partners to implement operational changes which will make it easier for local authorities and regional adoption agencies to submit applications, and we will continue to review what further steps we can take. The department’s delivery partners are working as quickly as possible to review and approve applications so that children and families can access therapy without delay.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in the 2025-26 financial year on (a) kinship and (b) adoptive families.
Answered by Janet Daby
The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund will enable the funding to be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. This level of funding will still allow eligible adoptive and kinship children to access a significant package of therapeutic support to help prevent placement breakdowns. The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children.
We have been working closely with our delivery partners to implement operational changes which will make it easier for local authorities and regional adoption agencies to submit applications, and we will continue to review what further steps we can take. The department’s delivery partners are working as quickly as possible to review and approve applications so that children and families can access therapy without delay.