theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church has taken to encourage more people under 40 to attend Sunday services in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Marsha De Cordova: Nationally, the Church of England has committed to three priorities: to develop and grow more disciples, to develop a mixed ecology of churches and to grow a younger and more diverse congregation. More information about the national work is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/vision-and-strategy A key priority for the Diocese of Lichfield in its Diocesan Strategic Framework is to reduce the age profile of congregation members. Various work strands are being developed to achieve this, including building on already strong relationships between churches and schools. Across some parishes good work is taking place ecumenically on initiatives that support younger people in their explorations of faith and build their confidence within the church.

In 2024, the Diocese of Lichfield was awarded £837,608 grant funding from the National Church Institutions Strategic Mission and Ministry Board (SMMIB). The Diocese has recently been awarded further SMMIB funding for new work beyond 2025, specifically operating in Stoke to establish new worshipping communities focused on those aged under 40

For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what the age profile is of members of the clergy in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Marsha De Cordova: The Diocese of Lichfield has licensed clergy ranging in age from 32 to 72 years. The most recent Ministry Statistics held by the National Church Institutions were published in 2024 and cover the years 2022-23. See: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/data-services/resources-publications-and-data#na The information can be found on sheet M in columns BA and BB of the 2022 data.

This data indicates that the Diocese of Lichfield has a total of 244 clergy in active ministry, including bishops, clergy, curates and non-parochial clergy. 17% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, with 50% being 40-59 and 33% being aged 60+. This is roughly comparable to the national landscape where 16% of stipendiary clergy are under 40, 55% are between 40-55 years old and 29% are aged 60+. It is not possible to say what age bracket the self-supporting clergy are, as this information is not held centrally.  For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to fill vacancies left by members of the clergy at parish churches in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Marsha De Cordova: The National Church Institutions are supporting the dioceses of the Church of England with a variety of initiatives to assess vocations and recommend people for training. More information about this work can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/diocesan-resources/ministry-development/vocations

The Diocese of Lichfield has received £5,980,655 funding between 2022-2025 from the National Church Institutions via its Lowest Income Communities Fund, to support ministry in parishes which would otherwise not be able to maintain it. This is further to the Diocese of Lichfield being awarded £6,230,837 during 2020-2023, and £6,590,111 during 2017-2019

The Diocese recognises that, along with many dioceses across the Church of England, it is facing challenges recruiting clergy to vacant parishes. This has been exacerbated by a recent spike in retirements occurring at the same time as a reduction in the number of new ordinations.  The Diocese is taking action to address this by proactively taking steps to increase the number of those coming forward for licensed ministries, both lay and ordained. They are working hard with individual parishes through the recruitment process to help them assess vocations and attract the right candidates. For some parishes, finance is an issue. Where this is the case, the Diocese works with them to find the best way forward for both missional and financial sustainability. More details about the strategy of the Diocese of Lichfield are available here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/shaping-for-mission/#:~:text=From%202024%20to%202030%2C%20Lichfield%20diocese%20will%20be,overwhelmingly%20at%20the%20Diocesan%20Synod%20of%20March%202024

For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent progress the Church of England has made on the appointment of the next Archbishop of Canterbury. \p Marsha De Cordova: Following an extensive public consultation, which gathered input from over 11,000 individuals, the Church of England has made significant progress in the process of appointing the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The full membership of the Crown Nomination Commission (CNC), including the local and global representatives, has now been published here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/governance/archbishops/canterbury-crown-nominations-commission/members-canterbury-crown-nominations-commission and will soon hold its first meeting, with further meetings in July and September 2025.

The CNC members will first establish a ‘Role Profile’ and ‘Person Specification’ for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. They will also review a longlist of candidates, determine a shortlist and conduct interviews, before voting to submit a name to the Prime Minister and the Crown in the usual manner. The committee is expected to be in a position to make this recommendation to the Prime Minister in the autumn of this year.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what discussions the Church of England has had with the leaders of other faith groups on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. \p Marsha De Cordova: The Church of England General Synod voted on this issue in 2012 and 2022 and on both occasions there was near-unanimous opposition to a change in the law. The position of the Church has always been grounded in a concern for the welfare of the most vulnerable and the theological principles set out in scripture to care for those in need, the widow, orphan and stranger. The precarious funding of palliative and end of life care means not everyone has full and equal access to the care that they need, which is one of the reasons why it is wrong to legislate for assisted suicide. Most recently, the Rt Revd Lord Bishop of London gave written evidence to the Bill Committee on behalf of the Church of England. This evidence can be found here: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cmpublic/TerminallyIllAdults/memo/TIAB28.htm

The House of Bishops and National Church Institutions are in regular dialogue with other churches and faiths in the UK. Leaders from a variety of faith traditions, including the Church of England, issued a joint statement in November 2024 against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill and expressed their shared concerns with the legislation. You can read their letter here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/press-releases/faith-leaders-join-oppose-bill-legalise-assisted-suicide In April 2025 the Bishops of London, Gloucester, Bristol, Dover, Stepney, Croydon and Aston issued a joint letter with 105 other senior women of faith to highlight the impact of the Terminally Ill Adults Bill on vulnerable women

https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/in-the-news/2025/04/04/open-letter-from-women-of-faith-on-assisted-dying
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Adam Jogee:To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to help tackle poverty in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire. \p Marsha De Cordova: Many churches across the Diocese of Lichfield are involved in initiatives to help those in poverty, including offering Warm Welcome Spaces, foodbanks, and school uniform banks. Such initiatives are developed according to locally identified needs and available resources in parishes.

St Thomas’ Church in Kidsgrove, St Luke’s Church in Clayton, and All Saints Church in Madeley are three of the six local distribution points for the Newcastle-Staffs Foodbank. These churches work with other denominations in Chesterton, Silverdale and Newcastle town centre to provide this service to the local community in Newcastle under Lyme. On the 22nd May, the Foodbank published data to show that in one year, it had provided 8,720 emergency food parcels to people in need. 3,018 of these parcels went to children across Newcastle under Lyme. More information is available here: https://newcastlestaffs.foodbank.org.uk/2025/05/22/end-of-year-stats-2/

The Diocese of Lichfield Strengthening Communities team works with communities and individuals, churches and other faiths across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, the Black Country and north Shropshire, to support community building and improve lives. More information about the work of the diocese can be found here: https://www.lichfield.anglican.org/about-us/strengthening-communities/ For further information do please contact the Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Revd Michael Ipgrave, or the Archdeacon of Stoke, the Venerable Megan Smith. Contact details are available on the Diocese of Lichfield website.
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Bambos Charalambous:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 10 of Young Lives vs Cancer’s report entitled The cost of waiting, published in March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of average time from diagnosis to first payment of disability benefits; what steps is she taking to reduce processing times for disability benefits' applications from young people with cancer; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of reducing the three month period from diagnosis before young people with cancer can apply for disability benefits. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAc) under 16 and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for young people from age 16 are assessed based on the additional care/daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term disability or health condition, rather than a diagnosis of a condition or disability itself.

We are committed to ensuring children and young people can access financial support in a timely manner and have increased the number of staff to respond to the increase in claim volumes.

Individual needs and circumstances vary, so the 3-month qualifying period helps establish the resulting care/daily living and mobility needs are of a long-standing nature. It provides a division between short term disability and long-term disability. The qualifying period commences from the point that additional needs start, rather than when a condition is diagnosed. A diagnosis is not required before a young person or their carer can apply for benefit, therefore the department has no information on when a diagnosis is made.

Applications under the special rules for end of life, where life expectancy is 12 months or less, do not have to satisfy the three-month qualifying period. The claim is fast tracked, and the person is eligible for the higher-rate care/daily living component from the date of claim.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people not able to work due to primary caring responsibilities. \p Alison McGovern: As announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, we are launching a new Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18-21 in England to ensure that they can access quality training opportunities, an apprenticeship or help to find work.

Young people (16-24) who have full-time caring responsibilities may be eligible for Universal Credit which provides additional financial support for primary carers of children and those who provide unpaid care for a person who is receiving an eligible disability benefit. They are not required to work but can ask for employment support if they want to combine caring with work. If they are in Work Focused Interview or Work Preparation groups, they can voluntarily access the Youth Offer. DWP offers an extensive range of support through jobcentres and local partners. Childcare support is available for those with childcare responsibilities to enable them to work as well as care for their children.
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Bambos Charalambous:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's report entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people under 25 years of age with cancer; and whether people under 25 years of age with cancer and currently in receipt in Personal Independence Payment will continue to be eligible under the proposed reforms. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).  Age will not be a factor in this.

We will always protect the most vulnerable. The PIP assessment considers the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. Therefore, the impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).

There will be no change for a person claiming PIP under “Special Rules for End of Life” (SREL). They will not require a consultation and will automatically be awarded the enhanced rate of daily living as is the current process.

Most people receiving PIP now will still receive it after these reforms. In the Green Paper, we are consulting on how best to support those who do lose entitlement, including how to make sure health and care needs are met.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that autism is considered in delivery plans for the Get Britain Working White Paper, published on 26 November 2024. \p Alison McGovern: A range of stakeholders have provided input and expertise to support policy development and delivery of the reforms outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper.

Our aim is to create an inclusive labour market in which everybody – including neurodivergent people – can participate and progress in work. We will do this by developing a new Jobs and Careers service, which will be accessible and inclusive for all users, and will provide personalised and tailored support to those looking to find or progress in work. It will also work in partnership with other local services, helping people to access the employment, health and skills support they need in their community.

Additionally, the Keep Britain Working review is exploring how employers can support healthy and inclusive workplaces. Findings from the initial discovery phase were published in March, and now the review Chair and team are engaging with a range of stakeholders to discuss the problems and how they can be addressed.

Finally, we have launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise us on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. Many of the panel are diagnosed or identify as neurodivergent and/or have familial experience alongside their professional experience and expertise. Recommendations are expected to include employer actions that can support the inclusion of neurodivergent people, including in recruitment and day to day workplace practices.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she expects the Child Poverty Strategy to be published. \p Alison McGovern: The Child Poverty Taskforce is developing an ambitious cross-government strategy focused on long-term change and improving children’s life chances. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience, and better local support especially in the early years.

We will bring forward the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as we are able.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to consult with young people with autism during the development of the Youth Employment Strategy. \p Alison McGovern: We know that young people with autism can face significant barriers to seeking and remaining in employment.

We have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers as set out in the Get Britain Working white paper and Pathways to Work green paper.

The government is committed to consulting with stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and those who are neurodivergent. We will run a series of collaboration committees with a wide range of stakeholders.

We are also in the process of establishing the Disability Advisory Panel to connect the Department to more voices and perspectives and improve how we collaborate with disabled people. The Disability Advisory Panel will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of up to 12 disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions, supporting on longer-term strategic aims and specific policy design. We will finalise the workplan together with the Chair and Panel.

The Youth Advisory Guarantee Panel as part of the Youth Guarantee is being shaped and informed by the voices and lived experiences of young people, including autistic and neurodiverse young people, building on the Youth Voice Forum, established in collaboration with the Department for Education, Youth Futures Foundation and Youth Employment UK.

In addition, in January 2025, we launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise employers and government on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This will build on the work of the independently led Buckland Review which focused more specifically on autism employment. The panel will report in the summer.
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Kate Osamor:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled A Clean Start in Life, published by In Kind Direct on 2 May 2025. \p Alison McGovern: Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce is continuing its urgent work and is exploring all available levers, including considering social security reforms, to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.

The Strategy will tackle overall child poverty as well as going beyond that to focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials, and what is needed to give every child the best start in life. We are focused on reducing and alleviating the effects of child poverty to improve children’s lives and life chances now and tackle the root causes of child poverty in the long term.

The Strategy will look at four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour to boost the pay of three million workers.

To further support struggling households, we have provided funding of £742 million to extend the Household Support Fund from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 in England, plus additional funding for the Devolved Governments.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many unpaid carers concurrently on Personal Independence Payments and Carers Allowance are awarded less than four points in all daily living activities. \p Sir Stephen Timms: In August 2024 for England and Wales, there were 95,000 working aged claimants receiving both the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - to help with extra living costs as a result of having a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition - and Carer's Allowance (including entitlement only) because they care for another person for at least 35 hours a week, that received fewer than 4 points across all daily living descriptors in their last PIP assessment. Their eligibility for Carer’s Allowance is dependent on the condition/needs of the individual for whom they are caring, rather than their own PIP award.

Notes:
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in response to the question from the hon. Member for Wokingham of 12 February 2025, Official Report, column 176WH, when further information in writing will be provided. \p Torsten Bell: It is not currently possible to accurately identify all pensioner households who may be entitled to Pension Credit from Council or DWP data. This is because eligibility for Pension Credit depends on a household’s specific financial and personal circumstances – information which the Department does not usually hold but requires from the customer.

However, there are significant opportunities for DWP and Councils to work together, not least on the overlap between Pensions Credit and Housing Benefit. As part of our Pension Credit campaign, the Department wrote to 120,000 pensioner households in receipt of Housing Benefit inviting them to claim Pension Credit. Using existing Housing Benefit data, which local authorities also have access to, enabled the Department to make an assessment of potential Pension Credit eligibility and target those households directly. Since February, we have been targeting all new Housing Benefit claimants who we identify as potentially eligible for Pension Credit in this way.

More generally, the Department shares extensive data with local authorities for a variety of purposes. Despite what is sometimes claimed, local authorities are allowed to re-use that data under the terms of a data sharing Memorandum of Understanding, subject to them seeking their own legal advice, and subject to them notifying the Department of their intent. This data reuse process can include reusing data originating from DWP to help identify people eligible for Pension Credit.
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Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive plans to create a dedicated department within the Energy Division of the Hazardous Industries Directorate to take responsibility for battery energy storage system safety. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) deploys its resources to deliver risk based proportionate regulation of workplaces, including battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities. This approach is set out in HSE’s Regulatory approach – (Regulation of health and safety at work) and in HSE's Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS) (Enforcement Policy Statement) . There are no current plans to establish a dedicated department to take responsibility for BESS, however a cross HSE group of inspectors, scientists and policy makers continue to monitor developments in relation to batteries and other new and emerging technologies.

The Health and Safety at Work Act places legal duties on employers to manage risks to employees and anyone else who may be affected. There is a robust regulatory regime in place which addresses the risks associated with battery energy storage systems.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to develop a cross-Government strategy for reducing the numbers of missing children. \p Janet Daby: This government champions the need for an effective multi-agency response that reduces the number of children going missing, whether this is from a family home or from the care of the local authority.

The department’s long-standing statutory guidance on safeguarding children at risk of going missing is already clear on the expectation that local authorities and safeguarding partners need to work together to reduce missing episodes, and to respond effectively when children do go missing.

In addition, the government’s statutory guidance ‘Working together to safeguard children’ promotes robust information-sharing across safeguarding partners, which we know is essential for identifying local contexts and disrupting local patterns of behaviours that can raise the risk of children in and outside the care system going missing, including being missing from education.

Children in care can be especially vulnerable to going missing. That is why the department, working with the Home Office, has supported the National Police Chiefs' Council to develop a ‘Missing Children from Care' framework. This good practice framework can be adopted by local areas when designing their multi-agency protocols for strategic and operational responses to missing episodes, ensuring that the appropriate safeguarding partner responds in the best interest of the missing person.

Since April, the government is providing £500 million to local authorities nationally, to roll out family help and multi-agency child protection support. We have set up the Families First Partnership programme to support the delivery of these reforms, with local areas beginning transformation from April 2025.
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Sarah Gibson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the regional differences in the potential impact of reductions to the adoption and special guardian support fund; and what steps she is taking to help tackle any identified disparities. \p Janet Daby: The criteria for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access funding, including in Wiltshire. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. This includes reviewing the equalities impact assessment, which will be made available in the Libraries of both Houses in due course.

Since December 2023, ASGSF applications have required the use of outcomes measurement tools to monitor the impact of ASGSF-funded therapies. Over time, these tools will enable the department and local areas to monitor the long-term impacts of the ASGSF.

The department expects the ASGSF to remain an important source of support for adoptive families across the country, with no regional differences. However, it is not the only source of support. We are funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year, including to improve adoption support. This includes the establishment of Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams in various regions to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families. We are also making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. This will nearly double direct investment in preventative services.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the final report of the Curriculum and Assessment Review will be published; how she plans to implement recommendations from that review; and how she plans to protect the mental health of children and young people in future reforms. \p Catherine McKinnell: The interim report sets out the Review’s interim findings and confirms the key areas for future work, but there is more to do before publication of the final report. The Review is now carrying out a further investigation into specific policy and subject issues, working closely with the sector and building on the body of evidence gathered so far.

The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.

The Review takes place in the context of an education system facing considerable challenges and staff shortages. The Review recognises the inevitable trade-offs that will be faced in delivering high standards and a broad and balanced curriculum within this context.

The department will give schools, colleges and teachers sufficient time to plan and prepare for changes, particularly where they are significant.

We will also consider how to best support schools to access the resources, training and networking they need. For example, we will consider the role of Oak National Academy, subject associations or the new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) history, (b) geography, (c) religious education and (d) English secondary school teachers who began initial teacher training in the 2019–20 academic year and remained in the teaching profession in each of the academic years (i) 2020–21, (ii) 2021–22, (iii) 2022–23 and (iv) 2023–24 had undertaken a subject knowledge enhancement course as a condition of entry to their initial teacher training. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department publishes statistics on the proportion of initial teacher training (ITT) trainees with course outcomes each academic year who go on to be employed in the state-funded sector in England within 16 months of the end of the academic year. However, information on the retention in the workforce of individuals completing subject knowledge enhancement courses and ITT in the specified subjects is not readily available.

The department has provided a breakdown of the proportion of ITT trainees with course outcomes in academic year 2019/20 who went on to be employed in the state-funded sector in England within 16 months of the end of the academic year.

Proportion teaching in a state-funded school within 16 months of the end of the academic year (%)

English

75

Geography

71

History

68

Religious Education

77

Further information on ITT performance profiles can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles/2022-23.
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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will establish a cross-Departmental ministerial taskforce with the Department for Health and Social Care to support workforce planning between the higher education sector and health service. \p Janet Daby: The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education on a wide range of matters to ensure cross-departmental collaboration on workforce planning in higher education and the healthcare service.

The government is preparing the 10 Year Health Plan which will set out a bold agenda to reform and repair the NHS. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places and with the right skills, will be central to this vision.

The department continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on the 10 Year Health Plan.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department. \p Janet Daby: We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-government level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, the ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’, will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

The department also offers over 40 apprenticeship standards, from level 2 to level 7, as a development opportunity to all existing employees. Furthermore, most externally recruited entry grade vacancies are advertised as an apprenticeship. This ensures that we are also offering apprenticeships to external candidates, across most of our locations, as a route into the Civil Service.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_43
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_43

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers there are by gender in each region. \p Janet Daby: Information on child and family social workers, including breakdowns by worker characteristics, is published annually in the Children’s Social Work Workforce Official Statistics release. This can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-s-social-work-workforce/2024. The number of full-time equivalent and headcount child and family social workers at 30 September 2024 by region and sex can be accessed at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/de240ca3-343f-4d8c-1fa1-08dd8e2f6934.

Note that since 2024, data has been collected on the sex of workers, whereas previously data was collected on gender.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_44
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_44

Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to continue funding Level 3 vocational qualifications in music and the arts beyond 2026; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing these qualifications on access to creative careers for students who do not follow A-Level routes. \p Janet Daby: On 12 December 2024, the government published the review of level 3 qualifications reform which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-level-3-qualifications-reform-provisional-outcomes. The review aimed to ensure that qualifications reform supports the government’s missions of spreading opportunity and delivering economic growth, and considered all qualifications that were due to have funding removed in either 2024 or 2025.

The routes in scope of this review were:

Qualifications at level 3 in other subjects, such as music and the arts, will continue to be funded as before. No decisions have been made to defund these qualifications. When we published the results of this review, we were clear this provided certainty on which qualifications will remain funded up to 2027.

We will consider the future of level 3 qualifications following the recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review, due later in 2025.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_45
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_45

Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) potential merits of implementing a national kinship care identity card. \p Janet Daby: In October 2024, the department published the kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities, which outlines the framework for the provision of support for kinship children and kinship families.

Measures included in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill also seek to mandate local authorities to publish a kinship local offer, which sets out the information and support in a local authority's area for children living in kinship care and kinship carers, and defines what kinship care is for the purpose of the kinship care local offer. These measures will make it clear for local authorities, schools and other statutory services what support is available to those involved in a kinship arrangement.

The department recognises that some families have reported challenges around the recognition of kinship care in their interactions with schools, hospitals, and children's services. We have not carried out a formal assessment of the feasibility or potential merits of implementing a national kinship identification card, but will continue to monitor and review the needs of kinship carers and children living in kinship care and discuss the issues raised with other governmental departments and with local authorities to ensure they receive the support they deserve.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_46
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_46

Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce numbers of people not in education, employment or training in Cornwall. \p Janet Daby: The government is determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all young people and transform their life chances, including those in rural areas and the wider area of Cornwall.

Young people are entitled to participate in education and training up to age 18. Local authorities have statutory duties to support young people into education and training, including identifying and helping those who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET). The department has published guidance to help local authorities identify young people at an increased risk of becoming NEET, based on characteristics such as a learning difficulty or disability, or poor school attendance, so they can be given extra support.

The government will establish a Youth Guarantee of support to access training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work for all 18 to 21-year-olds, to prevent them becoming excluded from the world of work at a young age. £45 million has been allocated to eight Mayoral Strategic Authority Trailblazers to develop the Youth Guarantee. The department will work with local areas on future expansion.

The government recognises that transport can be an issue for some young people, particularly in rural areas. The 16 to 19 Bursary Funding is allocated directly to schools and colleges to support financially disadvantaged young people who need additional support to help them with costs such as transport. Post-16 transport guidance requires local authorities to make the necessary transport arrangements or provide financial support to ensure young people can participate in education or training.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_47
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_47

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from schools on the adequacy of funding for the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme. \p Stephen Morgan: The department had over 3,000 schools apply to be part of the early adopter scheme, so as expected there has been some movement in the schools taking part as we finalised the 750 running from April, but that has been minimal.

The list of schools taking part in the breakfast clubs early adopter scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/breakfast-clubs-early-adopters-schools-in-the-scheme.

The department has used existing programmes and costs to determine the funding rates, and this has been tested and refined with a range of schools. We are confident that the total funding will enable schools to meet the minimum expectations, which is a 30-minute club with breakfast meeting the school food standards, based on existing provision operating in schools.

One function of the early adopters is to test how schools utilise the funding, and the department has a robust strategy to capture and analyse this data. Decisions about the overall budget envelope for breakfast clubs national rollout is subject to the next spending review.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_48
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_48

Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department is providing to early years providers to help meet increases in staffing costs. \p Stephen Morgan: I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 23 April 2025 to Question 42009.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_49

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the roll out of free breakfast clubs in Northern Ireland. \p Stephen Morgan: Education is a devolved matter and any decision to require breakfast clubs in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Executive.

I have met with Paul Givan, Minister of Education for Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards meets with the devolved nations through the Child Poverty Taskforce, which she co-chairs with my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Employment. Officials from across the devolved nations also meet regularly regarding school food, including breakfast clubs.
wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_50
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-28 conversation_50

Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness of the risks of social media in schools. \p Stephen Morgan: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

For schools in England, pupils are taught about online safety as part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools. Further information can respectively be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary and here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary. This includes being taught about the implications of sharing private or personal data (including images) online, harmful content and contact, cyberbullying, and the risks associated with over-reliance on social media.

The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum for primary and secondary pupils, and is analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence before setting out next steps.