Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of preserving full funding for Level Seven apprenticeships for (a) people from disadvantaged backgrounds, (b) career changers and (c) people returning to work after career breaks.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, or those aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s analysis found that level 7 apprenticeships have a higher proportion of older learners than other apprenticeships, a higher proportion of learners who already hold higher level qualifications, and a significant proportion are less likely to be deprived than those in apprenticeships at lower levels. It also suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding.
We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. There are alternative training options available to employers at level 7, including non-apprenticeship routes.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
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 removing funding for Level Seven apprenticeships for people aged 22 and above on (a) gender equality and (b) social mobility.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. That is why we are moving funding away from level 7 apprenticeships for learners aged 22 and over, to ensure that funding is prioritised for learners at lower levels, who need the skills and training to progress in their careers.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s evidence suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding, and alternative routes are well supplied. A significant proportion of level 7 apprentices are from non-deprived backgrounds and are significantly less likely to be deprived than apprentices at lower levels.
Women are slightly less likely to be represented in the 16 to 21-year-old cohort of level 7 apprenticeships starts than those aged 22 and over. This is likely to be due to the recruitment norms in the standards that have a higher proportion of starts in the 16-21 age group, such as accountancy. The department will monitor trends over time and consider how this gap could be narrowed.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of planned changes to international student recruitment on the financial sustainability of universities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government’s position on international students has been clear. We are committed to a United Kingdom that is outward looking and welcomes international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole.
The government expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has a world class HE sector with 4 universities in the top 10 and 15 in the top 100 worldwide, according to the latest QS World University Rankings, alongside a wide array of high-quality institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.
In order to put the sector on a firmer financial footing, Professor Edward Peck has been appointed as substantive Chair of the Office for Students to continue its focus on financial sustainability and increasing opportunities in HE. We have also taken the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1% in the 2025/26 academic year, in line with inflation.
The department will publish its plans for HE reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to improve training for disabled children’s social care professionals in local authorities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Every day, children’s social care professionals provide a vital service to children in need of support, including disabled children. Whilst it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that their social care workforces are well-equipped for the roles they perform, the department is focused on supporting continued improvements in practice. All qualified children’s social workers must register with the professional regulator Social Work England and meet the professional standards. These include practising in line with the requirements of the Equality Act, which includes disability as a protected characteristic.
The department sets the professional standards that new children’s social workers should attain through the post-qualifying standards. The department is currently consulting on a new set of standards which include a greater focus on disability. Subject to the spending review, the department plans to introduce a new two-year social worker induction programme based on the new standards, to strengthen support for new children’s social workers.
In addition, the Law Commission are currently undertaking an independent review of social care legislation relating to disabled children. They are due to report their final recommendations to government in summer 2025, at which point the department will consider proposals for reforms to the disabled children’s social care system.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce regional differences in social care provision for disabled children.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
On Thursday 20 March I announced the launch of the national Families First Partnership programme, backed by over £500 million in grant funding to support rollout. This includes the publication of the Families First Programme guide, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/families-first-partnership-programme.
The department’s goal for this programme is to improve access to support for families, including families with disabled children, right across the country. The aim is to rebalance the system of support away from crisis intervention and towards earlier help, delivering on the government’s mission to provide children with the best start in life, keep children safe and break down barriers to opportunity.
The department recognises there is geographical variation for a range of reasons. Through the rollout of this programme, local areas will co-design services with partners and families to better understand local need and services, to inform future delivery. We will work to support local authorities throughout the transformation period.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to assessments for Special Educational Needs in (a) Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, high quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.
Through a graduated approach, teachers are responsible for monitoring the progress of all pupils and putting support in place where needed. Where a child who has SEND needs more support than their school can usually provide, schools, parents or carers can ask the local authority to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.
The department recognises the critical role of educational psychologists within the SEND system, including their statutory contribution to EHC assessments. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024, building on the £10 million currently being invested in a cohort of over 200 trainees who began their training in 2023. Trainees will join the workforce to support the capacity of local authority educational psychology services, including in delivering assessments.
The department provides support and challenge to the Hertfordshire local area partnership by monitoring progress against its priority action plan and improvement plan and by providing advice and guidance via a SEND expert advisor. The partnership has also established a SEND Improvement Board, independently chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, to oversee progress and provide appropriate challenge.
The department expects all local authorities to meet their statutory duties and we will continue to monitor and challenge Hertfordshire County Council’s EHC plan 20 week timeliness.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the mental health of (a) teachers and (b) support staff.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the biggest in-school factor that makes a difference to a child’s education. Being taught by a good teacher can add almost half a GCSE grade per subject to a given pupil’s results. That is why, as well as working to recruit additional teachers, the department is working hard to retain our experienced teachers.
The department is working in partnership with the sector and mental health experts to improve staff mental health and wellbeing. Steps taken include continued promotion of the education staff wellbeing charter, which sets out shared commitments to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff in schools and colleges. More than 4,000 schools and colleges have signed up to the charter so far, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.
The department has also funded mental health and wellbeing support for school and college leaders, which includes professional supervision and counselling. More than 2,600 leaders have benefitted from this support so far. This support can be accessed at: https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/get-help/help-for-your-staff/wellbeing-services/professional-supervision/.
Furthermore, a range of resources have been made available to help schools prioritise staff wellbeing. For example, the department’s ‘Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff’ service, developed alongside school leaders, provides tools to support schools to identify opportunities to cut excessive workload and improve staff wellbeing. This service can be accessed at: https://improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff.education.gov.uk/.
Finally, guidance is available to support school leaders and staff to help manage behaviour in schools, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what eligibility criteria her Department is using to choose successful schools for Great British Energy's rooftop solar panels project.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department recently announced, in partnership with Great British (GB) Energy, an £80 million (£40 million from the department and £40 million from GB Energy) initiative to install solar and other technologies such as electric vehicle chargers in 200 schools and colleges, prioritising those in areas of deprivation, to start in 2025/26.
This programme is targeting 200 schools and colleges in this first year 2025/26, so the department is not proposing a bidding round to select the schools and colleges to avoid burden on the system.
There will be a cluster of about 45 schools in each of the North West, North East and West Midlands, selected based on deprivation levels and other factors such as roof capacity. These schools have not yet been selected. Each cluster will also include a further education college which will work with the contractors appointed to promote careers in renewables to support growth in the construction and clean energy workforce. There will also be a minimum of 10 schools in each of the 9 government office regions to ensure regional spread.
Once we have appointed delivery partners, they will work through a department-supplied list of possible schools. The list will be based on specific criteria including deprivation, roof condition and location and this data set, combined with local data sets, will ultimately determine a long list of possible projects. Only once feasibility studies have been undertaken on each of the possible schools, will we be able to confirm which schools have been selected and what interventions have been determined as appropriate.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to social care provision for disabled children in all areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Harpenden and Berkhamsted to the answer of 30 April 2025 to Question 45293.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure disabled children can access social care support.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is taking forward significant reform of children’s social care, with the aim to rebalance the system towards earlier intervention and ensure that all children and families can access the right help at the point of need, rather than needing to meet a particular threshold. This is particularly the case for children with disabilities, whose need is potentially different from others who may require help and support from children’s social care. Disabled children may require support for the entirety of their childhood and sit across children’s social care, education and health, and their support offer should be adjusted to reflect this.
To that end, on Thursday 20 March, I announced the launch of the national Families First Partnership Programme, including the publication of the Families First Programme guide. The guide has been produced to support safeguarding partnerships across England implement Family Help and multi-agency child protection reforms and make greater use of Family Group Decision Making. The guide can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/families-first-partnership-programme.
The programme is backed by over £500 million of investment in the 2025/26 financial year, made available through England’s final local government finance settlement (LGFS) for the 2025/26 financial year. This doubles direct investment into preventative support, ensuring access to support at the earliest opportunity, which over time, we expect to safely reduce the number of looked after children, keeping more families together. More information on the LGFS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2025-to-2026.
Programmes delivered by local government over many years have paved the way for these reforms, including evidence from the Supporting Families, and Strengthening Families, Protecting Children programmes. We will also take forward lessons so far from the ten local areas part of the Families First for Children Pathfinder. Best practice for improving the support provided to disabled children includes appointing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialist lead practitioners to lead work with families and recruiting SEND expertise into local authorities’ ‘front doors’ to ensure timely and effective decision making and promote access to services at the earliest opportunity.