Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
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 launching a comprehensive review of student loan interest rates.
Answered by Janet Daby
Student loans are subject to interest so that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. To consider both students and taxpayers and ensure the real value of the loans over the repayment term, interest rates are linked to inflation.
Interest rates on student loans do not affect monthly repayments made by borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower.
A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published under the previous government in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support councils with home to school transport costs for SEND children.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62198.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to set out her planned timetable for the urgent review of the 2014 Reforms to the SEND Code of Practice.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
I refer the hon. Member for East Grinstead and Uckfield to the answer of 9 July 2025 to Question 64225.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that the proposed reforms of the student finance system include (a) refinancing and (b) reform options for historic student loan repayments.
Answered by Janet Daby
The government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university.
The student finance system removes upfront financial barriers so that everyone with the ability and desire to enter higher education (HE) can do so. Student loan debt is not like other debt, as monthly repayments depend on earnings, not on interest rates or the amount borrowed. No-one who earns under the student loan repayment threshold is required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, is be written off. This write-off is a deliberate investment in our people and the economy. No commercial loan offers this level of protection.
The department aims to publish our plans for HE reform soon as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White paper.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the SEND funding allocation system for children in West Sussex.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to over £12 billion. Of this, West Sussex Council is being allocated over £140 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of over £11 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block.
The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review. The department's aim is to establish a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, taking account of the different levels of need in different parts of the country, and to enable improved support for children and young people with SEND in line with the reforms that we intend to set out in a White Paper in the autumn.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to help reduce regional differences in SEND funding.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to over £12 billion. Of this, West Sussex Council is being allocated over £140 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of over £11 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block.
The operation of the high needs funding system is currently under review. The department's aim is to establish a fair education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, taking account of the different levels of need in different parts of the country, and to enable improved support for children and young people with SEND in line with the reforms that we intend to set out in a White Paper in the autumn.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to allow local authorities to influence inclusivity guidelines for schools under their jurisdiction.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.
This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.
To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether local authorities will be responsible for providing inclusivity training to schools within their jurisdiction.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.
This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.
To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to allow schools to set their own inclusivity guidelines.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.
This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.
To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to issue statutory guidance on improving (a) inclusivity and (b) expertise in mainstream schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving expertise and enabling high-quality and inclusive practice in mainstream schools. This work forms part of the government’s Opportunity Mission, which will break the unfair link between background and opportunity, starting with giving every child, including those with SEND, the best start in life.
This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an expert advisory group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consist of experts across the SEND sector. This group will advise Ministers on how to drive inclusive practice across the whole system and improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND. Members of the group will use their collective expertise to ensure children and young people are effectively supported to achieve and thrive.
To support the department's ambition to strengthen the evidence base on inclusive practice, we have commissioned evidence reviews to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
The department will also work with Ofsted to strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage local authorities and schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.