Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps Skills England will take to encourage (a) SMEs and (b) other employers to offer more apprenticeships for people under 25.
Answered by Janet Daby
Skills England will support young people to develop the skills they need.
The rate of young people’s apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% since 2015/16. We want to rebalance the programme back towards young people.
This government, supported by Skills England, is focused on establishing a coherent skills system with more flexible training options that support employers to fill skills gaps whilst driving growth and spreading opportunity.
Supported by Skills England, we are introducing foundation apprenticeships to get young people into work-based training and employment, as well as delivering shorter duration apprenticeships to provide flexibility for employers and learners.
Employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.
We recognise the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with National Insurance contributions liabilities either gain or see no change next year.
We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Office for Students uses to determine emergency financial support for universities; and if she will publish those criteria.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.
Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.
The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.
While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.
The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities are classified by the Office for Students as being at material risk of financial failure.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.
Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.
The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.
While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.
The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities in England have received emergency financial support from (a) her Department and (b) the Office for Students since July 2024; and what the value of that support was.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.
Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.
The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.
While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.
The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
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 providing funding to incentivise collaboration between universities, colleges and schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of participation in tertiary education.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department allocated £20 million in 2025/2026 to the Office for Students through the Strategic Priorities Grant for the Uni Connect programme.
Uni Connect brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to offer activities, advice and information to help young and adult learners from underrepresented groups to make informed choices about their higher education options.
An independent evaluation of Uni Connect’s impact, conducted by Public First, can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/uni-connect-a-review-of-collaborative-support-in-access-to-higher-education/.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how Skills England will work with (a) the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Combined Authority and (b) local employers to increase skills levels in Cambridgeshire.
Answered by Janet Daby
Part of Skills England’s role is to ensure that skills sit at the heart of joined-up decision making across government. This includes working closely with Strategic Authorities, to ensure that regional skills needs are met and there is alignment with national priorities.
Skills England also oversees Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), which provide an ongoing mechanism through which local employers, Strategic Authorities, further education and higher education providers and other stakeholders can come together locally to identify and resolve skills needs and issues.
The English Devolution White Paper, published December 2024, sets out the intention to strengthen the role Strategic Authorities will play in the LSIPs, through joint ownership of the LSIP model alongside employer representative bodies (ERBs). These changes will come into force in Autumn 2025, to align with the next round of LSIP development.
In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the Mayoral Combined Authority will be expected to set out its sector skills priorities to the designated ERB, the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce. These will inform the development of the LSIP for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and provide the framework within which it exists, alongside the Local Growth Plan, the Industrial Strategy, the views of local employers and providers and Skills England’s assessment of skills needs.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
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 (a) errors in (i) GCSE and (ii) A-level braille exam papers from examination boards and (b) the lack of past papers available to pupils studying for those exams on affected students.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release entitled More girls to study maths under plans to improve pathway into AI careers, published on 6 May 2025, how much funding will be allocated in (a) 2025 and (b) subsequent years; and how that funding will be allocated between students and teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The Advanced Maths Support programme funding for April 2025 to March 2026 will be £8,200,000. Funding from April 2026 will be subject to the spending review.
There is no direct split between funding for students and teachers.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what changes her Department has made to the Advanced Maths Support Programme.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
From September 2025, the focus of the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) will be tilted towards the following areas: supporting schools with low girls’ progression to level 3 mathematics to implement evidence-driven strategies to encourage more girls into post-16 mathematics, supporting high-attaining KS2 disadvantaged students to progress to higher grades at GCSE and into level 3 mathematics, and courses to improve knowledge and skills on the key mathematical concepts and skills needed for artificial intelligence advancement and machine learning.
The AMSP will continue to deliver teacher professional development in level 3 mathematics (core maths, A level Maths and A level Further Maths) and higher-level problem solving and university entrance tests, and deliver online student tuition in A level Further Maths for 16-19 students in institutions that cannot offer the qualification.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the potential impact of changes to the level of funding for the Adult Skills Fund in (i) devolved and (ii) non-devolved areas in the 2025-26 (a) financial and (b) academic years.
Answered by Janet Daby
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 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 managing non-devolved ASF.
In non-devolved areas, adults earning less than £25,000 annual gross salary are eligible for full funding through the ASF. This directly supports social mobility by enabling those moving from unemployment to progress in work. The ASF also funds Learner Support and Learning Support which enables learning providers to help learners facing specific financial hardship, learning difficulties and/or disabilities to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning.
The department’s 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.
The department considered the impact of all its funding decisions and, as part of managing the ASF in non-devolved areas, the department considers the impacts of any previous changes when making policy decisions.