Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will hold discussions with his Welsh counterpart on the merits of including LGBTQI+ inclusive sex and relationships education in schools in England.

The Government expects all schools to ensure that the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is inclusive of the needs of all pupils, whatever their developing sexuality or identity, and is delivered in an age-appropriate way. All schools are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010.

Following provisions in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Government is making Relationships Education at primary school and RSE at secondary school mandatory through regulations. To support decisions on the content of these subjects the Department recently conducted an engagement exercise with a wide range of expert stakeholders, including LGBT groups, as well as a public call for evidence. As part of this exercise, officials also met their counterparts from the Welsh Government.

Using the evidence gathered during this process, the Government is developing the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these subjects. They will then be subject to public consultation followed by a debate on the regulations in Parliament.