Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on securing funding for repair and maintenance works on the early years building at The Brigg Infant School in South Normanton.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.
The department is investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
As part of this, the Embark Multi Academy Trust, which The Brigg Infant School joined in May, received an annual School Condition Allocation of £1,690,088 for the 2025/26 financial year. The department expects to set out allocations for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring. The school should speak to the Trust about any issues with its buildings, so the Trust can consider them when prioritising investment to improve the condition of its schools.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on the automatic registration of eligible children for free school meal entitlements.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty.
The department is also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many overseas investors have been involved in the additional needs sector in each year since 2020.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Based on publicly available information, we understand that, of the fifteen private equity funds who own independent special schools (ISS), five are based outside the UK (Jersey, Guernsey, USA, Qatar and Abu Dhabi), together owning 170 units (19%) with nine thousand pupils (27%). We cannot say how many individual investors these five funds represent, nor can we say how many overseas investors have invested in the remaining ten UK-based private equity funds who own ISS units.
Asked by: Sharon Hodgson (Labour - Washington and Gateshead South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to schools following the inquest into the death of Benedict Blythe.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department has not issued any guidance to schools following the inquest into the tragic death of Benedict Blythe.
The department encourages schools, colleges and settings to use resources such as those published in the allergy guidance for schools as part of their work to fulfil their statutory duties to manage allergy risks. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-food-standards-resources-for-schools/allergy-guidance-for-schools.
The government has committed to reviewing the statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions at school (2015), and we intend to consult on revised guidance. The current guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.
Our aim is to ensure that schools are better equipped to support all pupils with medical conditions as part of our wider ambition to create more inclusive schools through the forthcoming Schools White Paper.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget was for the (a) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and (b) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in each year since 2005.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual budget was for the (a) Care Quality Commission, (b) UK Health Security Agency and (c) the Food Standards Agency in each year since 2005.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The table attached shows the annual budget and the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees for the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the Care Quality Commission, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, each year from 2005/06 to 2024/25. The number of people employed by each arm's-length body has been recorded as FTE (payroll). The annual budget comprises both the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit and the Capital Departmental Expenditure Limit to give the total Departmental Expenditure Limit budget.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 93135, to provide a list of meetings between Departmental officials and each (a) trust chief (b) stakeholder group, (c) representative body, and (d) union regarding RISE advisors.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s report Scientific procedures on living animals, Great Britain: 2024, published on 23 October 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the increase in procedures involving sheep each year since 2021.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Home Office regulates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with the robust protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Licences to test on animals are only granted where applicants comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement. Animals can only be used where there is no non-animal alternative, numbers are minimised, and where the most refined methods of testing are used to minimise harms.
The majority of procedures involving sheep each year are conducted for basic research purposes. The trends in the number of animals and types of procedures carried out each year are influenced by a range of extraneous factors, for example requirements for research and testing which include products being brought to market.
The Government has published the strategy, "Replacing animals in science, a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods". The strategy seeks to accelerate the development and validation of alternatives to animals in science in all but exceptional circumstances The strategy is available here:
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the primary assessment system on pupil wellbeing, including for pupils with SEND.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to alternative models of primary assessment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel published their final report last month, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
The report made some recommendations to improve the system, including revising the key stage 2 writing assessments and teacher frameworks to support fluent writing. The report also recommended exploring options for increasing inclusivity in assessments where they may not be as accessible for certain groups of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, particularly for the phonics screening checks and the multiplication tables check. The government has accepted these recommendations and the Standards and Testing Agency is now working on their implementation.