Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 87556, how long the pause on the introduction of new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes in the public sector will last; and if she will publish the planned timetable for the cross‑government review of those schemes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The review and decision on new electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes for academy trusts is being led by HM Treasury. The department remains in contact with HM Treasury on this issue and will inform academy trusts when a decision has been made.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current levels of funding for music education in schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the national curriculum schools are expected to fund the delivery of music teaching from their schools budget. The government has committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life, with school funding increasing by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.
The government also invests £76 million per year through the Music Hubs grant, including this academic year. This supports 43 Music Hub partnerships across England to offer a range of services to schools, including musical instrument tuition and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology.
We intend to establish the National Centre for Arts and Music Education by September 2026, and the funding will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding is planned for National Centre for Arts and Music Education beyond March 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the national curriculum schools are expected to fund the delivery of music teaching from their schools budget. The government has committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life, with school funding increasing by £3.7 billion in financial year 2025/26, meaning that core school budgets will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25.
The government also invests £76 million per year through the Music Hubs grant, including this academic year. This supports 43 Music Hub partnerships across England to offer a range of services to schools, including musical instrument tuition and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access, the government is also investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology.
We intend to establish the National Centre for Arts and Music Education by September 2026, and the funding will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, to what extent young people with long-term health conditions such as epilepsy have been included in the Department’s co-creation process for the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government understands the impact of epilepsy and other long-term medical conditions on the way pupils feel included and supported in school life. The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. They can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate. The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance, and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions, including those with epilepsy, as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the role of Individual Healthcare Plans in supporting the safety and inclusion of pupils with long-term health conditions, such as epilepsy, at school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government understands the impact of epilepsy and other long-term medical conditions on the way pupils feel included and supported in school life. The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice. They can help schools support pupils with medical conditions, providing clarity about what needs to be done, when and by whom. The school, healthcare professionals and parents should agree, based on evidence, when a healthcare plan would be appropriate. The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance, and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions, including those with epilepsy, as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Education and Skills Funding Agency plans to publish updated guidance on the conditions under which academy trusts may operate electric vehicle salary-sacrifice schemes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
New electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes in the public sector are currently paused whilst a cross-government review on these schemes is undertaken. The department will inform academy trusts when a decision has been made, and the academy trust handbookwill be updated accordingly.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department has made of the adequacy of provision of school uniform for children with physical disabilities.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Decisions regarding school uniform policies are the responsibility of school governing boards and they should consider the needs of all pupils when developing their policies on school uniform. To support schools, the department has published non-statutory guidance on developing and implementing their school uniform policy, which includes advice on meeting their equality obligations. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform/school-uniforms.
The guidance states that a school uniform should be inclusive, and we expect schools to be considerate when implementing their policy so that their uniform can be worn by all pupils.
The guidance also states that schools should be willing to allow for some individual variations to their uniform policy, where necessary, to avoid indirect discrimination. For instance, reasonable adjustments must be made, as appropriate, for pupils with a disability.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve community (a) understanding and (b) acceptance of (i) residential and (ii) support services for vulnerable children (A) in the community and (B) in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Children’s Social Care National Framework acknowledges that receiving help from children’s social care can be a stigmatising experience and encourages practitioners from first interactions to tackle stigma, build strong relationships with children, young people and families, and communicate clearly and effectively.
Through the Families First Partnership Programme, we are giving children and families access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families to stay safely together. Our reforms to Family Help will embed targeted support in the heart of communities, providing a non-stigmatising access point to a range of services to address the needs of the whole family.
We are determined to address the stigma and discrimination faced by children in care and care leavers and ensure they are supported. We are prioritising extending corporate parenting responsibilities to all government departments and relevant public bodies, through measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This will ensure that policies and services take account of the challenges they face, and remove barriers and provide opportunities for them to achieve and thrive.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will launch a public awareness campaign to support the integration of children’s social care services into local communities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Through the Families First Partnership (FFP) Programme, the department is giving children and families access to better local support services to break the cycle of late intervention and help more children and families stay safely together. We recognise the crucial role that universal services and community-based early help play in identifying emerging problems and providing early and ongoing support at an early stage.
The department’s reforms to Family Help will embed targeted support in the heart of communities, providing a non-stigmatising access point to a range of services to address the needs of the whole family. The FFP programme guide is clear that local areas should build on the strengths of their universal and community-based early help models when implementing Family Help, and we continue to share learning from the Families First for Children Pathfinder areas to support this.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number and proportion of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training in (a) Cornwall and (b) Camborne and Redruth constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England, however, these estimates are not available at lower-level geographies due to limitations with sample sizes. Therefore, NEET rates for young people aged 16 to 24 in Cornwall and Camborne and Redruth constituency are not available. Statistics for England can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/neet-statistics-annual-brief/2024.
Data showing the number of young people aged 16 and 17 years old who were known to Cornwall local authority and the number and proportion of those NEET or activity not known is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5dbec461-d6ee-4ee3-19fd-08dde95206d2. These statistics are published as transparency data so some caution should be taken when using these figures.
Additionally, 16 to 18 destination measures are published, showing the percentage of pupils not continuing to a sustained education, apprenticeship or employment destination in the year after completing 16 to 18 study, that is six months of continual activity. The latest publication includes destinations in 2022/23 by parliamentary constituency boundaries at that time, and data for Cornwall local authority and Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5994cbf5-1e91-4af3-19ff-08dde95206d2.