Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Giving every child the best start in life, updated on 12 September 2025, whether the review of early years funding will include an assessment of food costs within the funding formula.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
To make sure that the early years (EY) funding system properly supports those children and parts of the country that have higher levels of additional need, the department will review EY funding, including the EY national funding formulae, consulting on a set of changes and publishing full details by Summer 2026.
Within EY, free school meals (FSM) applies to school-based nurseries (SBNs) for children who attend both before and after lunch. As part of the expansion of FSM, the department has announced that children in SBNs whose household is in receipt of Universal Credit, will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.
Beyond the provision of FSM, the statutory guidance makes clear that funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals, so providers can ask parents to pay, provided they are not mandatory or a condition of accessing an entitlements place. As such, the cost of consumables will not fall within the scope of the planned review of EY funding.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual cost is of providing student loan financing to students who are not UK citizens; and whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact of restricting student loan eligibility to British citizens on costs to her Department.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Higher education student finance is targeted on those persons with a lawful and substantial residential connection to the UK. To qualify, most persons must be ‘settled’ in the UK. There are limited exceptions to this, such as for individuals granted international protection by the Home Office, for example persons with refugee status, who may be eligible for support without meeting the standard residency and settlement criteria.
In the 2024/25 academic year, the Student Loans Company (SLC) made payments totalling £3,794 million for Fee and Maintenance Loans (full-time and part-time) to undergraduate students domiciled in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the EU who declared they were non-UK nationals.
Previous PQs have reported figures based on nationality as declared when creating a student finance account, rather than the verified status at loan approval. The SLC has robust procedures in place to check eligibility for student finance, including data-sharing with the Home Office and HM Passport Office. Eligibility is dependent on a successful identity check, immigration status and residency history. No funding is approved without complete, verified, and eligible nationality, status and residence history.
The department has not made any estimate of costs on the potential impact of restricting student loan eligibility to British citizens.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of removing interest charges from student loans for UK nationals on costs to the public purse.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and this response outlines the information for England only.
The government keeps the student finance system under continuous review to ensure that it delivers good value for both students and taxpayers.
Student loans are subject to interest to ensure 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 do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not on interest rates or the amount borrowed. Outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled 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 under Plan 5 was produced and published in February 2022, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the net zero targets for their Department and its arm’s-length bodies are; and what guidance has been issued to those bodies on adopting net zero targets earlier than 2050.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Greening Government Commitments set out the actions that government departments and their agencies will take to reduce their impacts on the environment. The targets are set by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the latest available guidance is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2021-to-2025/greening-government-commitments-2021-to-2025. It includes the target of working towards net zero by 2050.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings her Department have had with Sheffield Hallam University following recent reports of alleged academic intimidation at the university.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department met with the university in October 2024 to understand more about the issues and offer support. Alleged foreign interference can present sensitive issues for institutions to navigate and there remain active enquiries into this matter, so it would not be appropriate to comment further on the specifics. We are clear that any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate or coerce universities will not be tolerated, and the government made this clear to Chinese officials after learning of this case.
The department is working with the regulator to set clearer expectations around international risk management, as well as raising awareness and developing good practice on managing foreign interference risks. This includes a closed event we will be holding with Vice Chancellors to discuss the risks posed by foreign interference and signpost our plans to further increase the sector’s resilience.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will legislate to require all private tutors working with children to hold enhanced DBS clearance and be subject to formal safeguarding regulation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to safeguarding children across all education settings, including out-of-school settings, such as private tuition.
All out-of-school settings, including tutors, have a legal duty of care to keep children safe and protect them from harm. To support this, the department has published guidance and free e-learning for providers, outlining the safeguarding standards we expect them to meet. We also offer guidance for parents and carers to help them make informed decisions when choosing providers.
Whilst the department believes most out-of-School Settings offer enriching education in a safe environment, we want this to be true for all. That’s why the government held a Call for Evidence regarding sector safeguarding practices and invited views on approaches for further strengthening safeguarding, including potential regulation. This closed on 21 September and analysis is ongoing. We will respond in due course.
The government has also just laid legislation, due to come into effect in January, which will enable self-employed people, including private tutors, to access enhanced DBS checks.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) their Department and (b) its arm’s length bodies have spent on (i) installing electric vehicle charging facilities and (ii) purchasing electric vehicles since 4 July 2024; and what estimate their Department has made of the difference in capital cost between (A) the electric vehicles purchased by their Department and (B) comparable (1) petrol and (2) diesel models.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department and its arm’s length bodies have not incurred any expenditure on the installation of electric vehicle charging facilities or purchased any electric vehicles since 4 July 2024.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the reforms to penalty notices for unauthorised school absences made in August 2024 on levels of unauthorised absence; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to help reduce term-time absences.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Tackling absence is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Thanks to the efforts of schools and local authorities, attendance is moving in the right direction. Children attended over 5.3 million additional days in the 2024/25 school year compared to the 2022/23 school year, with over 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent.
The ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets out a support-first approach, ensuring that penalty notices are used only when appropriate. The national framework for penalty notices, which was introduced in August 2024 following national consultation, is designed to improve consistency and fairness across the country. It states that penalty notices must be considered on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules. Schools or local councils may choose to issue a ‘notice to improve’ instead of a penalty notice. This is a further offer of support before a penalty notice is issued.
The department is monitoring the impact of these reforms alongside wider attendance measures, including regional improvement for standards and excellence Attendance and Behaviour Hubs and Attendance Mentors, which are helping to drive improvements.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to local authorities in England on the impact of changes to VAT on independent schools on school places.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees, which includes the government’s estimations of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. The TIIN is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
Latest published figures confirm that there is additional capacity in the system. The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 60215 on Universities: Finance, whether the Office for Students has (a) agreed emergency funding not yet received to any (i) university, (ii) higher education and (iii) further education provider and (b) provided a (A) guarantee and (B) other beneficial financial package to support any university since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Janet Daby
The Office for Students has not agreed any emergency funding that is yet to be received for any university, higher education provider, or further education provider, nor has it provided any guarantee or other beneficial financial package to support any university since 4 July 2024.