Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to amend the British Schools Overseas standards to prohibit accredited schools from using non-disclosure agreements to prevent disclosure of harassment or discrimination; and whether the approved inspectorates will be required to assess compliance.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
British Schools Overseas schools must abide by the local laws of the host country. There are no current plans to amend the British Schools Overseas Standards.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider providing funding to support nurseries in upgrading older buildings to make them safer during hot weather.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.
Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.
There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.
The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of cooling and heat-management systems in nurseries and early years settings during periods of extreme heat.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.
Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.
There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.
The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue guidance on the indoor temperatures at which nurseries and early years settings become not safe for young children.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.
Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.
There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.
The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider introducing a maximum safe indoor temperature standard for nurseries and early years settings.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published guidance to support education and early years settings during hot weather which is available at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/. This draws on guidance from the UK Health Security Agency.
Early years providers are responsible for managing the needs of very young children during periods of hot weather and for implementing mitigations such as cooling systems and other measures to maintain safe indoor temperatures.
There is no maximum temperature standard set for nurseries and early years settings. Early years providers are responsible for assessing risks and taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety, wellbeing and comfort of children and staff. This may include investing in building upgrades where appropriate.
The department supports maintained nursery schools and other school provision as part of our investment of almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that young people are fully informed about student loan repayment terms.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government continuously reviews student finance to ensure it remains fair, sustainable, and supportive of students from all backgrounds.
Interest accrues on loan balances from the first day the loan is paid to the learning provider, and/or to the student, until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest rates are linked to the Retail Price Index to maintain the real value of the loan over a long loan term but do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Prospective students have access to information across a range of platforms before submitting their loan application. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans. Students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them.
Repayments are calculated solely on earnings, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest applied. Any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will commit to a review of the student loan interest rate system.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government continuously reviews student finance to ensure it remains fair, sustainable, and supportive of students from all backgrounds.
Interest accrues on loan balances from the first day the loan is paid to the learning provider, and/or to the student, until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest rates are linked to the Retail Price Index to maintain the real value of the loan over a long loan term but do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Prospective students have access to information across a range of platforms before submitting their loan application. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans. Students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them.
Repayments are calculated solely on earnings, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest applied. Any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of student loan interest rates and repayment threshold freezes on (a) women, (b) disabled graduates and (c) graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.
Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI) (currently 3.2%) meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, or when out of the labour market, such as with caring responsibilities, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.
Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.
For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all 16 to 18-year-olds receive political education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.
Asked by: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.
The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.
Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.