Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when draft updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions will be published.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to support pupils with medical conditions effectively and inclusively. The current statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions,’ will be updated to reflect best practice and recent developments.
We intend to consult later this year on revised guidance. This consultation will seek views from schools, parents, health professionals, and other stakeholders on proposals to strengthen how schools meet their duties, including improvements to allergy safety and broader medical condition management.
Our aim is to ensure that every child can access education safely and confidently, regardless of their health needs.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children's homes that are privately owned and operated.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As at 31 March 2025, 84% (3,360) of all children’s homes were privately owned and operated.
Ofsted publish annual data on children’s social care in England. This includes data on the number of homes and the different types of social care providers. The latest data is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2025.
The government is taking forward work to reshape the children’s social care placement’s market, including increasing the number of foster carers so that more children can be looked after in family-based environments and encouraging more non-profit, local authority, and social investment backed providers to enter the market.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the automatic registration of eligible children for free school meal entitlements.
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. 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. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
The department is also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the proportion of school supply spending that is retained by private agencies rather than paid to teachers; and what assessment she has made of the impact on school budgets.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold data on the proportion of supply spending retained by agencies.
According to school financial returns, in the 2023/24 financial year, local authority maintained schools spent approximately £522 million on agency supply teaching staff whilst, in the 2023/24 academic year, academies spent approximately £898 million. The total school budget was £58 billion for the 2023/24 financial year.
The department’s 2024 ‘Use of supply teachers in schools’ research found that on average a secondary supply agency teacher cost a school £291 per day, whilst the daily take-home pay for a secondary supply teacher was £150. This suggests that agencies retain around 48% of the spend for secondary supply on average, which covers profit, on-costs and operational costs.
We continue to explore ways to support schools to obtain value for money when hiring supply staff.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating that supply staff (a) are paid according to national pay scales and (b) have access to (i) the Teachers' Pension Scheme and (ii) other relevant pension funds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
A supply teacher’s pay and pension depends on how the supply teacher is employed.
Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay.
The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer, including local authorities, academies and further education colleges.
Where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme. However, eligible supply teachers working via agencies are entitled to workplace pensions.
The department does not have plans at this time to assess the potential benefits of mandating pay or pensions for supply teachers.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of commercial agencies in the supply teaching sector; and whether she plans to provide funding for non-commercial operators in that sector.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers and are best placed to make decisions on this.
The supply market in England is large and diverse. It includes supply pools, direct recruitment and commercial agencies. Although the department does not hold data on the precise number of commercial agencies operating, agencies account for the majority of supply provision to schools.
The department is aware of the concern around agency fees and is working with the Crown Commercial Service on their agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which will be transparent with schools about the rates they charge.
There are currently no plans to provide funding for non-commercial operators in the sector. The department does, however, continue to conduct policy research into the supply market.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure the sustainability of early years providers.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We want 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by the end of reception by 2028. By focusing on child development rather than just childcare, the government aims to ensure that children are better prepared for school and future learning.
In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements. This is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements.
As announced at the Spending Review, the government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents. Employment Allowance is being increased to protect businesses by providing relief of up to £10,500 per annum on their employer Class 1 National Insurance Contributions liabilities from 6 April 2025. Early years childcare providers are entitled to claim the Employment Allowance if they are private businesses or charities, and we expect the vast majority will be eligible to do so.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has assessed the potential merits of enabling local authorities to expand eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activities and Food programme to ensure that children who are (a) living in poverty and (b) do not qualify for free school meals can access the programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.
The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.
Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
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 enabling Holiday Activities and Food programme providers to make their programmes open access if they are located in areas of high deprivation.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.
The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.
Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is her Department's policy on the renewal of the holiday activities food programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.
The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.
Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.