Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) training and (b) support will be given to (i) teachers and (ii) education staff to support the delivery of stronger literacy in schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.
We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new training from January 2026. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.
Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will also introduce new frameworks on primary oracy and combined secondary oracy, reading and writing.
Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people, and adults.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) training and (b) support will be given to (i) teachers and (ii) education staff to support the delivery of stronger literacy in schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.
We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new training from January 2026. This training should reach 75% of secondary schools this academic year.
Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will also introduce new frameworks on primary oracy and combined secondary oracy, reading and writing.
Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people, and adults.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of including issues about (a) personal taxation and (b) tax codes in the financial education syllabus arising from the outcomes of the Curriculum Review.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England.
As part of the response to the Review’s report the government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. From budgeting to understanding credit, through our revised curriculum all children will learn about the fundamentals of money, ensuring every pupil develops the skills needed to succeed in the modern world.
The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will undertake a further consultation on the material for the financial education curriculum in advance of the publishing of the revised curriculum in 2027.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England.
As part of the response to the Review’s report the government has made a commitment to strengthen pupils’ foundational understanding of financial education in mathematics and citizenship, with digital resources to support teaching. From budgeting to understanding credit, through our revised curriculum all children will learn about the fundamentals of money, ensuring every pupil develops the skills needed to succeed in the modern world.
The department will engage with sector experts and young people in working out how best to reflect this in the updated curriculum. There will be public consultation on the updated curriculum programmes of study, to seek views on the content before they are finalised.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with local authorities on the (a) services and (b) level of financial support provided to kinship carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities have powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to help children and families. They are best placed to decide what support is needed and any payments should follow their assessment models. The government does not set a minimum or maximum allowance for kinship carers, but statutory guidance makes clear that children and young people should receive the support they need to safeguard and promote their welfare.
We recognise the financial pressures on local authorities and are committed to improving support for kinship families. To that end, we will soon launch a Kinship Allowance Pilot in selected local authorities in England to help eligible kinship carers with the costs of raising a child.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing free bus travel for care leavers in England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government knows how important affordable bus services are in enabling young people to get to education, work and access vital services.
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as expanding the eligibility criteria to include care leavers, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
As part of the Autumn 2024 Budget, the Government confirmed over £1 billion to support and improve bus services in 2025/26. This includes £712 million for local authorities, which can be used to expand services and improve reliability, which are currently massive obstacles for too many people. Greater Manchester Combined Authority has been allocated £66.4 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to deliver better bus services can be used in whichever way they wish to improve services for passengers, which could include introducing new fares initiatives to reduce the cost of bus travel for care leavers.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to support the delivery of additional youth services in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, local authorities have a statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people.
This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential. We are co-producing a new National Youth Strategy to set out a new long-term vision for young people and an action plan for delivering this. The National Youth Strategy will be published later this year.
This financial year, we are investing over £145 million in youth programmes to provide stability to the sector and ensure young people can continue to access opportunities.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) training and (b) support will be provided to (i) teachers and (ii) other education staff as part of the new curriculum to support the delivery of increased levels of literacy in schools.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.
Following the recommendations of the Curriculum and Assessment Review published on 5 November 2025, we will revise the English curriculum to ensure that there is more emphasis on speaking, listening and drama, alongside creating a new primary oracy framework and a new combined secondary oracy, reading and writing framework to support its implementation.
The government has also committed £27.7 million this financial year to support and drive high and rising standards in reading. This includes supporting the teaching of phonics, early language and reading for pleasure via the English Hubs programme.
We will also build secondary schools' capacity to support students with reading needs by providing new reading training from January 2026.
Additionally, on 7 July 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced that 2026 will be the National Year of Reading. The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. More information is available at www.goallin.org.uk.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Holiday Activities and Food programme on levels of (a) food insecurity and (b) support for families during school holidays.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The holiday activities and food programme (HAF) ensures that children who are eligible for free school meals can access enriching activities and healthy meals during school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. On 28 August, the department announced that over £600 million has been confirmed for the programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27.
This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.
Almost five million HAF days were provided across the Christmas, Easter and summer holidays this year, reaching over half a million children. During summer 2024, over 628,000 children attended the HAF programme.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve support for families over the school holidays in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, the department confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.
This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens up work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.
The programme is delivered by all 153 local authorities in England, providing over 500,000 children per year with healthy meals and enriching activities in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.
In Easter 2025, the latest data available, there were a total of 20,282 HAF funded attendees across the North East. We do not publish figures for individual local authorities.