Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much their Department spent on hotel accommodation for (a) staff and (b) Ministers broken down by (i) UK stays and (ii) overseas stays in the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department’s hotel accommodation expenditure for 2024/25 is set out below:
Traveller category | UK stays (£) | Overseas stays (£) | Total (£) |
Staff | 888,782.41 | 36,520.65 | 925,303.06 |
Ministers | 1,051.99 | 1,461.71 | 2,513.70 |
Total | 889,834.40 | 37,982.36 | 927,816.76 |
The figures are drawn from central booking records using hotel check-in dates and reflect expenditure after refunds have been applied.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that reforms to student finance, including the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and maintenance support, support skills development for the creative industries.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university.
The department has committed to increasing maintenance loans every year and made care leavers automatically eligible for maximum levels of maintenance loans. These changes support students studying any subject, including those relevant to the creative industries.
The government is taking a carefully phased approach to modular provision under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). The subjects in scope for modular funding from January 2027 align to priority sectors, informed by the work of Skills England.
Creative arts are not a degree subject area eligible for modular funding at the launch of the LLE. However, the Creative and Design Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) technical route is eligible. If an institution previously offered or planned to offer provision from an approved HTQ in this route, they may apply for modular funding under that designation.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made in appointing a delivery partner for the PE and School Sport Partnerships Network; and whether her Department plans to provide funding for the School Games Organisers Network after the 2025-26 academic year.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has carried out market engagement with the sector, and we are using feedback from this to inform our invitation to tender. We will launch procurement for a national delivery partner to run the Partnerships Network shortly.
The government has confirmed funding for the School Games organisers until the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to combat antisemitism (a) in secondary schools, (b) in colleges, and (c) on university campuses.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We must tackle antisemitism in every form to root this hatred out of our society. Education is critical to this.
The department has committed £7 million to fund projects and programmes to improve confidence and resilience in tackling antisemitism in schools, colleges and universities.
Universities should have robust processes in place to deal with acts of harassment and abuse on campus. We have called on universities to use every tool available to protect Jewish students from antisemitism.
The department is providing £2 million to the Holocaust Educational Trust to deliver the ‘Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching’ programme. Teaching about antisemitism is integral to teaching this event.
The department supports teachers through our Educate Against Hate website, which provides teachers with a range of free, quality-assured resources, including on building resilience to antisemitism, teaching about tolerance and rejecting discrimination.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with state schools which exclusively offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) on her decision to stop funding for the IB from September 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup to the answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 83028.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure a continuity of provision of education at state schools which exclusively offer the International Baccalaureate from September 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup to the answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 83028.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has made to (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) the Secretary of State for Education on (i) uprating the level of funding for the Music and Dance Scheme in line with inflation, and (ii) providing a multi-year settlement for the Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup to the answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 82566.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to (a) uprate the level of funding for the Music and Dance Scheme by at least the rate of inflation each financial year and (b) provide a multi-year funding settlement for the Music and Dance Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup to the answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 82566.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with local authorities on the publication of safeguarding data; and if he will make it his policy to require all local authorities publish their safeguarding data annually.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local Authorities currently submit annual data to the department on all ‘children in need’ and ‘children looked after’ in their authorities. This includes information on Section 47 enquiries, initial child protection conferences and children with child protection plans and is published on the department’s ‘Explore Education Statistics’ website. This contains statistics on serious incidents involving children that local authorities have notified to the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. Safeguarding partners also complete annual reports which focus on multi-agency priorities, learning, impact, evidence, and improvement. These are subsequently sent to the department and National Panel and published in the public domain.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to early years providers in the private sector to mitigate the impact of increases to employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver the entitlements and high quality early years provision going forward.
That is why, despite tough decisions to get public finances back on track, the government is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face.
In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. We have also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.
On top of this, the department is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as it prepares to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require. An additional £25 million is also being provided to public sector employers through the early years National Insurance contributions grant for 2025/26.
Early years childcare providers may also benefit from the Employment Allowance. 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 the department expects the vast majority will be eligible to do so.