Topical Questions 2025-10-20

2025-10-20

TAGS
Response quality

Questions & Answers

Q1 Partial Answer
Manuela Perteghella LD
Stratford-on-Avon
Context
A constituent of the MP has paid nearly £500 for a French visa, excluding many disadvantaged students from valuable international opportunities.
One of my constituents has already paid nearly £500 for their French visa, just to be able to undertake their year abroad as part of their degree. These costs will exclude students from disadvantaged backgrounds from vital international opportunities. Will the Secretary of State meet me to discuss the excessive visa costs faced by British students undertaking international placements?
If the hon. Lady would be so kind as to provide me with some information and more details, I will happily ensure that she gets a proper response.
Assessment & feedback
Will Be Provided A Proper Response After Receiving More Information
Response accuracy
Q2 Partial Answer
Jim Dickson Lab
Dartford
Context
North Kent college is designated as a technical excellence college and seeks to expand due to high demand. The college needs crucial capital funding.
We recently had brilliant news in Dartford for young people in the constituency and across the region, with North Kent college designated as a technical excellence college, with a focus on transforming construction training. That is perfect for the lower Thames crossing just coming on stream. The college, however, is full to the brim and wants to expand. Will the Minister look at how colleges such as North Kent can gain access to crucial capital to enable them to expand?
I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the fantastic team at North Kent college on all their hard work, and congratulate him on his championing of great vocational and technical routes for our young people. The Government have committed £80 million of capital funding to construction technical excellence colleges. We will also be investing a further £375 million over four years to provide additional places for 16 to 19-year-olds. I will be saying more on that shortly, and I am happy to discuss it further with my hon. Friend.
Assessment & feedback
Government Has Committed Funding But Details Are Yet To Be Announced
Response accuracy
Q3 Partial Answer
Catherine Atkinson Lab
Derby North
Context
The greenest school in Derby was visited by the Education Secretary, highlighting the importance of connecting children with nature.
I was delighted to welcome the Education Secretary to St Mary’s Catholic primary school in Derby, the greenest school in the country, where every classroom looks out on to green spaces. We are also lucky to have the stunning River Derwent flowing through our city, which children can paddle, walk and row along. What assessments have been made of the benefits to children of having access to nature as part of their education?
That sounds idyllic, and I hope I can follow the Secretary of State on a visit to that beautiful school. Improving connection to nature helps to address key priorities in the opportunity mission, and we are supporting the University of Oxford’s assessment of the impact of nature-based programmes in secondary schools.
Assessment & feedback
University Of Oxford Is Conducting An Assessment
Response accuracy
Q4 Partial Answer
Sarah Coombes Lab
West Bromwich
Context
Five primary schools in Sandwell now have free breakfast clubs, and the Secretary of State announced that 2,000 more primary schools would benefit next year.
Five primary schools in Sandwell now have free breakfast clubs, including St Mary Magdalene, which I visited earlier this year, and I was delighted to hear the Secretary of State announce that 2,000 more primary schools would benefit next year. Can the Minister say more about how the free breakfast clubs in primary schools that Labour has introduced are helping children and families across our country?
Breakfast clubs give children a great start to the day. They drive improvements in behaviour, attendance and attainment, and they can save families up to £450 a year. I congratulate my hon. Friend and the schools in her constituency on their efforts, and I look forward to more and more children benefiting as we continue our roll-out.
Assessment & feedback
Breakfast Clubs Drive Improvements But No Further Details Provided
Response accuracy
Q5 Direct Answer
Andrew George LD
St Ives
Context
Cornwall faces a steep demand for education, health, and care plans and has one of the greatest SEND needs and lowest levels of high-needs funding.
I acknowledge that the Government have inherited local government finance and SEND requirements in what is probably their worst crisis in history. However, Cornwall has faced one of the steepest—indeed, the steepest—demands for education, health and care plans in recent years, and one of the greatest SEND needs, as well as one of the lowest levels of high-needs funding. Would the Schools Minister be prepared to meet me, along with fellow MPs from Cornwall and representatives of the local education department, in order to avoid further crises?
The Government have put £1 billion into the high-needs block to support children with special educational needs, but I want to hear from Members from around the country about their ideas for reforms, and I am happy to meet the hon. Member and colleagues.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q6 Direct Answer
Peter Swallow Lab
Bracknell
Context
Young people need essential skills such as financial, digital and media literacy, creative problem-solving, communication and collaboration.
Let me first declare that I chair the all-party parliamentary group for schools, learning and assessment and the APPG on social mobility. Businesses, schools and young people in Bracknell Forest all tell me that essential skills such as financial, digital and media literacy, creative problem-solving, communication and collaboration are more important than ever, but are not formally recognised or measured. How can we help young people to succeed by developing and recognising those essential skills?
I look forward to working with the APPG. We agree that we need to equip young people with key knowledge and skills to adapt to a rapidly changing world, and the curriculum and assessment review will say more about the wider curriculum.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q7 Direct Answer
Clive Jones LD
Wokingham
Context
According to a survey, just 40% of respondents believed that the previous £5,000 fair access limit was sufficient to meet their children’s needs.
Following its reduction to £3,000, 71% reported a reduction in the number of therapy sessions. What will the Minister do, as a matter of urgency, to address the detrimental impacts of the changes to the ASGSF?
I thank the hon. Member for that important question. This is National Adoption Week, which I am sure Members across the House will want to celebrate, recognising the importance of adoption and the need to fill the adoption gap—about 1,500 adoptive parents for children are being waited for at the moment. We are looking at the future of the adoption and special guardianship support fund, which provides essential support, and we have tried to ensure that the scheme is accessible to as many families as possible.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q8 Direct Answer
Liam Conlon Lab
Beckenham and Penge
Context
Dedicated parents from the constituency raised questions about duties on parents and providers to report details of their children’s education and recreational activities.
Could the Minister reaffirm his support for home-education families and meet me, so that we can provide clarity for these parents?
England is an international outlier by not requiring the registration of electively home-educated children, and we are remedying that with the Bill’s measures. Information on non-educational activities will not be required for inclusion in the registers. I will happily meet my hon. Friend to discuss this further.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q9 Direct Answer
Luke Akehurst Lab
North Durham
Context
Sacriston academy, a primary school in the constituency, has ceilings held up by scaffolding joists due to water penetration.
Can the Minister say when the funding might be available to repair the school, after 14 years of Tory neglect?
I thank my hon. Friend for his advocacy for his constituents and for the school concerned. A number of schemes are available that may be able to support the school with the situation it faces, and I would be happy to speak to him further about that.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q10 Direct Answer
Jessica Toale Lab
Bournemouth West
Context
Oak academy’s new building is a net zero, solar-powered environment.
Can the Secretary of State tell me what her Department is doing to improve the environmental performance of our schools?
My hon. Friend has been a very effective champion for Bournemouth on these matters. St Joseph’s school in her constituency is benefiting already from solar and other measures, thanks to the partnership with Great British Energy. It is projected to save the school £8,000 a year, which could be spent on extra support for pupils and teachers.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q11 Direct Answer
Shockat Adam Ind
Leicester South
Context
Over 50% of parents of children with special educational needs have admitted to neglecting their own health.
What is the Minister doing to ensure that parents’ health and mental wellbeing are being prioritised in this very adversarial process?
I, too, have heard from too many parents who have had to give up their jobs or fall behind on their health, as the hon. Member has set out, because they are having to fight in a very adversarial system. We are determined to reform the system so that support is available at the earliest opportunity for young people, so that parents can collaborate with schools and are supported, and we are rebuilding the support around families.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q12 Direct Answer
Aphra Brandreth Con
Chester South and Eddisbury
Context
Esther Ghey, following the tragic murder of her daughter Brianna, is campaigning for a statutory ban on smartphones in schools to make them safer. She is hosting an event at Parliament calling for this change.
Following the tragic murder of her daughter Brianna, Esther Ghey has dedicated herself to making our schools safer by calling for a statutory ban on smartphones in classrooms. Will the Minister for Children and Families, the hon. Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), make time to attend today’s event and make it clear whether he supports a statutory phone-free education for all children?
I am absolutely happy to pop into the event this afternoon, and I applaud Esther Ghey for her fantastic campaigning work. The Government are completely clear that mobile phones should not be used in school, and the Government guidance says as much.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q13 Direct Answer
Brian Leishman Ind
Alloa and Grangemouth
Context
The funding model for colleges in Scotland is described as fundamentally broken due to SNP cuts, affecting the Alloa campus in Clackmannanshire and the wider Forth valley.
Colleges are the backbone of working-class communities such as mine in Clackmannanshire, but the funding model for colleges in Scotland is fundamentally broken because of SNP cuts. Will the Secretary of State write to her counterpart in the Scottish Government and highlight the importance of Alloa campus to the people of Clackmannanshire and the wider Forth valley, and stress that all Scottish colleges need to receive proper funding?
I am very grateful for that question. Here in England, we are investing more in brilliant further education colleges. It is such a shame that in Scotland the SNP Government are cutting that support. I have heard directly from my Scottish Labour counterpart, Pam Duncan-Glancy, about the devastating impact that is having on young people across Scotland.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q14 Direct Answer
Jayne Kirkham Lab/Co-op
Truro and Falmouth
Context
Mainstream schools in the constituency are taking steps to provide inclusive, in-house special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, such as setting up a forest school or creating area resource base units.
Mainstream schools in my constituency are taking steps to provide their own inclusive, in-house SEND provision. Penair secondary school has been creating a forest school on its land, and some of my heads have expressed their desire to create area resource base units in their schools. Does the Minister agree that such types of mainstream, inclusive provision could provide a way forward, and will she come down to Cornwall, maybe when she meets us, to see it?
I have seen amazing examples of how this kind of provision can bring children back into mainstream classrooms and cause them to start to enjoy school and achieve again. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and visit the school that has been set up.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q15 Direct Answer
Ian Roome LD
North Devon
Context
Many schools in North Devon are facing the dilemma of whether to fund essential maintenance or lay off teaching assistants due to inadequate funding.
I have visited many schools in North Devon, and many are facing the dilemma of whether to fund essential maintenance or to lay off teaching assistants. What is the Minister doing to ensure that adequate funding reaches rural schools so that they do not have to cut teaching staff in order to balance the books?
I am happy to correspond with the hon. Member about the situation facing that school. In relation to school buildings, a number of schemes are available to provide support.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q16 Direct Answer
Lewis Cocking Con
Broxbourne
Context
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has said that the Secretary of State needs to speed up publication of guidance on single-sex spaces used by transgender individuals in educational settings.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has said that the Secretary of State needs to speed up publication of the guidance on single-sex spaces used by trans people in schools, so can the Secretary of State confirm that the guidance will be published before the conclusion of Labour’s deputy leadership contest, or will she continue to forsake female-only spaces for her own political ambitions?
I will happily answer the hon. Gentleman’s question directly, but he is a little confused about the question he is asking. The code of practice from the EHRC is about adults; it is not about schools. On the particular question of the code of practice from the EHRC, we received it at the start of September. It is a 300-page-plus document. We are considering it carefully. I required further material from the EHRC, which was provided only last week. It is utterly baseless to suggest that there is any going slow on what is a sensitive and important area that we must get right.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q17 Direct Answer
Helen Morgan LD
North Shropshire
Context
A serious fire at St Martin’s school in the constituency has left most secondary children without face-to-face education for nearly four weeks.
A serious fire at St Martin’s school in my constituency has left most of its secondary children without face-to-face education for nearly four weeks now. Will the Minister meet me to determine how we can ensure that the buildings are brought back into use as quickly as possible, and how the children can be brought back up to speed, so that they are not disadvantaged?
I would be very happy to have a discussion with the hon. Lady about the arrangements, to ensure that we can get students back into proper classrooms as soon as possible.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q18 Direct Answer
Alex Mayer Lab
Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
Context
A new school has been promised in Bidwell West for almost a decade, with places available from September 2027. Now there is backtracking on this promise.
A new school has been in the offing in Bidwell West for almost a decade now. The independent council promised me that places would be available from September 2027, but now appears to be backtracking. Is the Minister willing to meet me to discuss the obvious concerns of parents, many of whom moved into the new build estate because of the promise of a brand-new school?
I would be very happy to find out more about the situation my hon. Friend describes, and to offer any help or support that we can.
Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy