Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Association of Colleges' report entitled From treatment to prevention: how colleges can build a healthier society, published in December 2025, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting further education colleges to deliver programmes for young people not in education, employment or training due to health reasons.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department consults with Cabinet colleagues on a range of policies, and we are determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all young people, including those with specific needs.
We have introduced the Youth Guarantee to tackle the number of those who are not in education, employment or training and improve access to opportunities.
Colleges are responsible for ensuring that their provision is designed, delivered, and continuously improved to meet the needs of all students and are subject to statutory duties and responsibilities in the area of special educational needs and disabilities. This underpins our commitment to providing all young people with learning difficulties and disabilities with the opportunities they need.
The department also continues to work closely with the further education (FE) sector to promote and support providers to develop mental health and wellbeing approaches. This is supported by the FE student support champion, Polly Harrow, who is improving colleges' ability to give learners the full opportunity to succeed and progress.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department will resume approvals for applications made by schools to attain purchasing power agreements for the installation of solar panels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
A temporary pause in Summer 2025 was quickly lifted and the programme is continuing as normal. Schools wishing to take forward solar projects via a Power Purchase Agreement should apply in the usual way following available guidance.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Association of Colleges' report entitled From treatment to prevention: how colleges can build a healthier society, published in December 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of access to further education colleges' adult community learning programmes on supporting public health outcomes for local people, including on the level of demand for primary care services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The primary purpose of Tailored Learning, which includes what used to be called Community Learning, is to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning, in line with the overall purpose of the Adult Skills Fund.
It plays a vital role within adult learning provision of supporting those furthest from the workplace and in improving wider outcomes, such as the health and well-being of learners and equipping parents/carers to support their child’s learning.
It is an important stepping stone for learners, including disadvantaged learners, who are not ready for formal accredited learning or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.
In the 2024/25 academic year, 62,390 learners participated in learning to improve their health and well-being.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools seeking to attain purchasing power agreements for solar panels.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Autumn Budget 2025 indicated that departments could consider private sources of finance, including Public Private Partnerships, to decarbonise the public sector estate. The department is exploring how this could be applied to schools, including the potential use of Power Purchase Agreements for solar installations. Based on research to date there is an estimated capacity on the school estate in its current roof condition to generate up to 1.9 gigawatts of electricity.
The Great British Energy Solar Partnership for Schools is already investing £100 million to install solar and other energy efficiency interventions on 250 schools and colleges. The department ‘s sustainability website also provides support for all schools on reducing their emissions, including some low-cost approaches.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to publish data on school swimming attainment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is processing the information gathered on school swimming attainment, which was received through the physical education and sport premium digital expenditure reporting return. We will publish a summary of quality assured data in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of Exchequer on adopting a stepped repayment system for student loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly engages with my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a range of matters, including higher education (HE) finance and funding. We are aiming to publish our plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy White paper soon. As part of this, we will need to ensure that the student finance system is financially sustainable and works for students, taxpayers and the HE sector.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on supporting new solar power installations for state schools via Power Purchase Agreements.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to helping schools decarbonise and reduce energy costs through sustainable solutions like solar. Rooftop solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) can deliver public sector savings and wider social benefits through partnerships with community energy groups. Ministers at the department, and HM Treasury, are clear on the potential here and continue to explore ways to increase renewable energy across the education estate
The government remains focused on supporting schools in adopting renewables to cut emissions and energy bills. The department is already partnering with Great British Energy on an £80 million initiative to install solar panels and other decarbonisation technologies in up to 200 schools and colleges in 2025/26. This programme aims to deliver long-term savings and contribute to net zero goals. We continue to work across government to ensure schools have access to sustainable tools and funding.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 18684 on Students: Loans, what progress she has made in developing a longer-term plan for higher education reform.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is determined that the higher education (HE) system should deliver for our economy, for providers and for students. Whilst we have already taken action to help move the sector towards a more stable financial footing, we recognise that a real change of approach is needed, both from the government and from the sector itself, to support our broader plans for HE. That is why we will publish our plans for HE reform soon as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) foster carers, (b) kinship carers and (c) adoptive parents.
Answered by Janet Daby
The Transformation Fund, announced in the spring, builds on the £15 million investment for foster care in the Budget. The department will provide an additional £25 million over two years, beginning in the 2026/27 financial year.
Foster carers receive the national minimum allowance to cover the costs of looking after children in their care, uplifted each year in line with inflation and earnings. Our investment includes the rollout of the Mockingbird Family model, which offers peer support to foster carers and children. We also continue to fund Fosterline, a free helpline for current and prospective foster carers.
To support kinship carers, the government announced £40 million to pilot the Kinship Allowance in some local authorities, supporting eligible kinship carers with the additional costs of taking parental responsibility for a kinship child. The pilot will launch in late autumn and support approximately 5,000 kinship children until March 2029. In addition, the department funds training and peer support groups for kinship carers.
In April, the department announced £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve adoption services and support regional adoption agencies to respond more effectively to adoptive families in crisis. The £50 million adoption and special guardianship support fund will continue to enable families to access a significant package of therapeutic support.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support (a) dyscalculic learners and(b) learners with maths learning difficulties.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including dyscalculia, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
The department funds the Maths Hubs programme, a school-led network aimed at improving the teaching of mathematics for all pupils in publicly funded schools. The programme covers primary, secondary and special schools and uses a mastery-based teaching approach, which aims to secure understanding of key concepts. This includes training for teachers on techniques such as avoiding cognitive overload by breaking the learning down into small manageable steps, using representations to expose mathematical structure, and ensuring that learning is sequenced in a coherent manner so it makes sense to pupils.
Professionals can access online training to develop their understanding how the curriculum support learners. This includes approaches to support learners who face barriers to understanding of maths, such as those with SEND or dyscalculia.