Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure the provision of non-dairy milk products in (a) schools and (b) other early-years learning environments.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government’s School Food Standards (SFS) regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and other times of the school day. Although schools are required to make milk available, the SFS (Schedule 1) also enables schools to provide a variety of other drinks including plain soya, rice or oat drinks enriched with calcium and combination, and flavoured variations of these drinks to suit particular medical, dietary and cultural needs. School food policies work best when schools discuss them with parents and pupils, so that parents can raise pupils’ particular dietary needs.
There is a requirement within the early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework that all registered early years settings must ensure that: ‘where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious’. The EYFS also states that before a child is admitted to the setting the provider must also obtain information about any special dietary requirements, preferences and food allergies that the child has, and any special health requirements.
The department believes that schools and early year settings are best placed to make decisions about their food policies, taking into account local circumstances and the needs of their children. In doing so, the department expects settings to make reasonable adjustments for children with particular requirements, for example to reflect dietary and cultural needs.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support school bus services; and what steps she is taking with stakeholders to protect existing school bus routes from cutbacks.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s school transport policy aims to ensure that no pupil is unable to attend school because of a lack of transport. Local Authorities must arrange free travel to school for pupils aged 5 to 16 who attend their nearest school and cannot walk there due to distance, route safety, or as a result of special educational needs, disability or mobility problems. There are additional rights to free transport for low income families, aimed at helping them exercise school choice.
The majority of central Government funding for home to school transport is made available to Local Authorities through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), administered by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. The Department for Education provides grant funding to Local Authorities as a contribution towards the cost of extended rights transport. This is £45.8 million in the 2023/24 financial year.
The Department recognises that Local Authorities are delivering services in a challenging environment. The Department is working with other Government departments and with the sector to understand the challenges they are facing.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the next allocation of School Rebuilding Programme funding will take place.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department intends to confirm the next schools prioritised for the School Rebuilding Programme shortly. Details will be published on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Honiton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to utilise new technology to support people's physical and mental wellbeing in educational settings.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Schools, colleges, and universities have the flexibility to decide what provision is appropriate for their students’ mental and physical wellbeing. This may include the use of technology, such as apps and fitness trackers, but it is for individual educational establishments to decide whether and how technology is appropriate to their educational contexts and circumstances.