Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of primary school pupils have Education, Health and Care Plans in (a) Stockton West constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on pupils in schools who have education, health and care (EHC) plans is published as part of the statistical release ‘Special educational needs in England’, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2024-25.
An extract showing the requested information for primary and secondary schools in England and Stockton West constituency is shown below:
| Number of pupils with an EHC plan | Percentage of pupils with an EHC plan |
England |
|
|
State funded Primary schools | 157,716 | 3.5% |
State funded secondary schools | 113,452 | 3.1% |
Stockton West Constituency |
|
|
State funded Primary schools | 244 | 2.7% |
State funded secondary schools | 310 | 3.1% |
1. Source: School Census | ||
Information on the number of young people with an EHC plan who attend further education colleges within the Stockton West constituency, and for England, is not currently available.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans are educated in (a) specialist state schools, (b) ARP units within mainstream state schools (c) independent/third sector placements paid for by the state (d) further education colleges and (e) other settings in Stockton West constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on education, health and care (EHC) plans maintained by local authorities and the settings attended is published as part of the statistical release ‘Education, health and care plans, Reporting year 2025’, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025.
Information on the educational settings attended by children and young people whose EHC plan is maintained by Stockton on Tees local authority is shown in the permanent data table ‘Number of education, health and care plans (EHC) plans as at January each year’, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c1dfe3cb-28bd-44a1-f89d-08de0724494a.
Information at constituency level is not available.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote hospitality careers to young people through (a) schools and (b) colleges.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Our ambition is for everyone to have access to impartial careers information, advice and guidance throughout their lives, to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth.
We fund the Careers and Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges to deliver high quality careers programmes and increase young people’s exposure to different sectors, including hospitality.
96% (4,942) of schools and colleges in England are part of our national network of careers hubs. These hubs connect educators to employers, local authorities and sector bodies, including the Food and Drink Consortium and UK Hospitality. They provide insight into roles and pathways into all sectors, resources developed by employers to support careers learning in education, help to identify work experience opportunities and tailor careers advice to local need.
Our Skills for Careers website has a dedicated page for young people to explore careers across sectors, including hospitality, and can be accessed here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/common/career-ideas.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of teacher recruitment and retention incentives on teacher recruitment and retention in areas of high deprivation in the (a) North East and (b) England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of our Plan for Change, the government is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges, over the course of this parliament.
Delivery is already under way. We agreed a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25 and a 4% pay award for 2025/26, meaning teachers and leaders will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. In 2024/25, we drove forward teacher recruitment and retention, backed by an investment of around £700 million across schools and further education, including targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax to teachers teaching in the most disadvantaged schools.
We are already seeing positive signs our investment is delivering. The workforce has grown by 82 full-time employed (FTE) in the North East and 2,346 in England between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has a budget for retraining programmes for adult workers transitioning from oil and gas to renewable energy.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Green skills are essential to driving economic growth and achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050. Clean energy and advanced manufacturing have been identified as priority sectors in the Industrial Strategy.
To support this, the government will invest an additional £1.2 billion annually in skills by 2028/29, expanding opportunities across high-growth industries. As part of this, over £100 million will be directed toward engineering skills development through education, apprenticeships, and the establishment of Technical Excellence Colleges in key sectors like advanced manufacturing.
The government will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund in the 2025/26 academic year. This includes funding the Free Courses for Jobs offer, which gives eligible adults the chance to access a high value level 3 qualification for free, helping support them to gain higher wages or a better job in key sectors, for example in heat pump installation.
The government will also support adult learners through our technical education offer, including through a range of apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of young people classed as NEET in Teesside.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Stockton West to the answer of 1 September 2025 to Question 69622.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support skills development aligned with advanced manufacturing industries in Teesside.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government is evolving apprenticeships into a new growth and skills offer to provide greater flexibility for employers and learners, aligned with the Industrial Strategy. In response to business needs, the offer will boost skills in the manufacturing sector through key initiatives such as:
The Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, published in June, is addressing skills gaps through a range of targeted programmes, such as the Upskilling and Reskilling Programme, which is being co-developed with industry to ensure training provision aligns with sector needs. The Department of Business and Trade is working closely with Skills England on the development of these programmes to ensure alignment with national skills priorities.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on expanding T-level course availability in colleges in the Tees Valley.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is investing in the future of T Levels, boosting their expansion through £28 million of capital funding in 2025 so that students have access to industry-standard equipment. We are increasing industry placement provision with a targeted Employer Support Fund and changes to delivery approaches to unlock opportunities for students and employers.
Nationally over 25,500 students started a T Level in the 2024/25 academic year, a significant increase of nearly 60% from the previous year, and 21 T Levels are now available. A new T Level in marketing launches this September.
Further education colleges across Tees Valley, including those in Middlesbrough, Darlington and Hartlepool, are now delivering T Levels in a range of subjects, from construction to health and engineering and manufacturing to accounting.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve post-16 education pathways for students not choosing higher education.
Answered by Janet Daby
As announced in the spending review, the department is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29. This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages across the country. This includes:
The department has also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to support apprenticeships in green industries in the Tees Valley.
Answered by Janet Daby
Upskilling the country’s workforce is vital to meet the government’s clean energy by 2030 mission, with apprenticeships playing a key role in supporting employers to develop the skills they need.
Employers across England, including Tees Valley, can benefit from over 40 apprenticeships that directly relate to delivering the government’s clean energy mission. This includes the level 3 low carbon heating technician and the level 4 corporate responsibilities and sustainability practitioner apprenticeships. We are also reducing the apprenticeship minimum duration to eight months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August 2025. This includes the level 2 dual fuel smart meter installers apprenticeship, which can be completed in eight months, enabling learners to achieve occupational competence more quickly.
In addition, Skills England continues to work with employers to ensure that new and existing apprenticeships reflect green skills.