theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister must approve updates to guidance referenced within the Ministerial Code. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Ministerial Code refers to a range of duties, obligations and guidance. The Code is the Prime Minister’s document and he is responsible for deciding which duties, obligations and guidance it refers to.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the publication entitled Data on responses to correspondence from MPs and Peers, updated in May 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing this data quarterly. \p Ms Abena Oppong-Asare: The Cabinet Office currently publishes performance data on departmental timeliness in responding to Parliamentarians only.

While the report on responding to MPs and Peers is published annually, the data is broken down in the report on a quarterly basis.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing legal aid for people who entered the UK illegally. \p Sarah Sackman: Determinations of eligibility for legal aid are made in accordance with the provisions of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and regulations made under that Act, passed under the previous government.

Under the current regime, the UK has specific obligations under the UN Refugee Convention to provide access to justice for those seeking asylum. In addition, provision of legal aid for those seeking protection is important to maintain an effective asylum system, helping the Government to deliver commitments on reducing the asylum backlog and ending hotel use. In light of that, there are no current plans to abolish legal aid for those who may have entered the country illegally. In all cases, the application for legal aid would be subject to a means and, crucially, a merits test.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time taken is to conclude appeals brought by migrants who have entered the UK illegally against deportation orders. \p Sarah Sackman: The information requested is not held centrally. Data on the arrival status of people who go on to appeal Home Office decisions is recorded by the Home Office not the First tier Tribunal.

General information on the average clearance time for an immigration appeal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (IAC) is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what percentage of immigration appeals have been pending for more than 12 months. \p Sarah Sackman: The percentage of open appeals pending before the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) for more than 12 months, as at 31 December 2024 can be found in the table below:

No. of cases pending more than 12 months

Overall Open Caseload

% of Overall Open Caseload

14,554

74,969

19%

This government inherited a broken justice system with record and rising court backlogs. The Lord Chancellor recently announced that for 2025-26, the Ministry of Justice will provide a total budget of £2,538 million. For the Immigration and Asylum Chamber this will mean funding to support 14,400 sitting days. We expect to be able to increase this substantially with additional funding from the Home Office, taking it to near maximum capacity and helping to speed up asylum claims. This builds on the Government’s work to restore order to the immigration system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operates efficiently.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court hours have been spent on immigration-related cases involving people with no legal right to remain in the UK in the last 12 months. \p Sarah Sackman: The information requested is not held centrally by HMCTS. The Home Office collect and categorise data on the numbers of people with no legal right to remain in the UK.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid firms there were in Cornwall in each year for which data is available. \p Sarah Sackman: The information requested can be found in the below table:

2010

68

2011

68

2012

85

2013

84

2014

78

2015

84

2016

86

2017

84

2018

77

2019

81

2020

81

2021

82

2022

76

2023

70

2024

75

2025

73

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. The LAA monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

For civil contracts, the LAA aims to ensure supply across designated procurement areas, as opposed to specific towns or counties. The LAA aims to ensure each procurement area in each category of law has at least the minimum amount of contracts to ensure adequate provision. The commissioning standard for the Southwest, which encompasses Cornwall, is currently met across all categories.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the estimated annual cost is of operating the immigration tribunal system, by (a) legal aid, (b) judges and (c) administrative support. \p Sarah Sackman: The final budgets relating to the work of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) tribunals in the 2024/25 financial year were:
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of tribunal appeals that are submitted by people with previous failed asylum or deportation claims. \p Sarah Sackman: The First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber hears all appeals made against refusal decisions made by the Home Office on the basis of the application made to them. An asylum seeker or human rights claimant who has already appealed cannot appeal again unless they make further submissions which have not previously been considered and amount to a ‘fresh claim’.

The Tribunal does not collate data on historic failed claims that do not form the basis of the appeal before it. Accordingly, the information requested is not centrally held.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what is the current backlog of outstanding cases before the First-tier Tribunal Immigration and Asylum Chamber. \p Sarah Sackman: The number of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) that have not been determined and remain outstanding, as at December 2024, is 75,000.

Published statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2024.

This Government inherited a broken justice system with record and rising court backlogs. The Lord Chancellor recently announced that for 2025-26, the Ministry of Justice will provide a total budget of £2,538 million. For the Immigration and Asylum Chamber this will mean funding to support 14,400 sitting days. We expect to be able to increase this substantially with additional funding from the Home Office, taking it to near maximum capacity and helping to speed up asylum claims. This builds on the Government’s work to restore order to the immigration system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operates efficiently.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recipients of legal aid in immigration cases have been convicted of criminal offences. \p Sarah Sackman: The requested information is not centrally held.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many qualified legal representatives are there by (a) solicitor and (b) barrister for which the latest data is available. \p Sarah Sackman: According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the number of solicitors on the roll was 209,200 in February 2025, an increase from 202,524 at the end of July 2024. More information can be found via the SRA’s website: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/regulated-community-statistics/data/population_solicitors.

The most recent figures from the Bar Standards Board from 2024 suggest that there were 18,141 practising barristers in England and Wales. More information on the number of practicing barristers in the UK can be accessed via their website: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/search-a-barristers-record/the-barristers-register.html.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to review legislation on (a) aiding and (b) abetting suicide through the (i) online promotion and (ii) sale of lethal substances. \p Alex Davies-Jones: It is already an offence to do an act capable of encouraging or assisting suicide under section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 where that act is intended to encourage or assist suicide or attempted suicide.

The Government has no plans to review that offence. There are also a number of criminal offences relating to the supply of regulated poisons to the public under the Poisons Act 1972. In addition, the Online Safety Act 2023 requires in-scope services to have proportionate systems and processes in place to prevent users from encountering illegal content via their service. This includes the online sale and promotion of lethal substances and illegal suicide and self-harm content.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on taking legislative steps to create a domestic abuse aggravated offence. \p Alex Davies-Jones: This Government was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade, and tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission. We will use every lever within our power and work with key partners across Government to deliver against this ambition.

As discussed during the Adjournment Debate on Domestic Abuse Offences on 17 March 2025, the Government is actively considering how we can better identify domestic abuse offenders. I have been working closely with my counterparts across Government on this.

We recognise the importance of ensuring that the harm caused by offences typically committed against women and girls is appropriately and proportionally reflected in the sentencing framework. The Sentencing Review, chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke, is currently examining the sentencing of offences primarily committed against women and girls. We are committed to engaging with the review to ensure the best outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of updating the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to reflect that rape can be committed by either sex. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The offence of rape under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 is committed whenever there is penile penetration without consent or reasonable belief in consent. Non-penile penetration without consent or reasonable belief in consent is criminalised by the offence of assault by penetration under Section 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The law in this area is rightly robust, well-understood and working effectively. We therefore have no plans to amend the legal definition of rape.
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family law cases were (a) adjourned and (b) delayed due to no qualified legal representative being available in the most recent 12 month period for which data is available. \p Alex Davies-Jones: Data on the number of family law cases involving cross-examination by litigants in person where there were allegations of abuse is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Data is not held on the number of qualified legal representatives required by individual court.

The Legal Aid Agency publishes data on the number of Qualified Legal Representatives who submit a claim for payment under the QLR Scheme. This information is published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the following link. The relevant data can be found in Table 10.1 at column M. Claims for payment are submitted and paid in arrears so the claim may not necessarily be reflective of the period in which work was undertaken.

Data is not held on the number of family law cases which were (a) adjourned and (b) delayed due to no qualified legal representative being available in the most recent 12 month period.
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Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children are detained on remand awaiting trial (a) in total and (b) by (i) age and (ii) duration of time since placed in custody. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The latest information on the number of young people held on remand is provided at Table 3.3 at the following link: Youth_Custody_Population_Report_-_Feb_-_25.ods.

It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to disaggregate these data to show how many of the young people were awaiting trial.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 41244 on Special Educational Needs: Schools, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of local authorities not complying with that advice. \p Catherine McKinnell: The ‘Special educational needs and disabilities code of practice’ is statutory guidance issued by the department.

Where a local authority does not comply with a statutory duty, such as reviewing a child or young person’s education, health and care (EHC) plan at least every 12 months, parents can complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) after following the local authority’s formal complaints procedure. The LGSCO is able to look at how the local authority has carried out its statutory duties in relation to EHC plans.

The department holds local authorities to account for delivery of their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services through joint inspections by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. These inspections place a greater emphasis on the outcomes being achieved for children and young people. They are the primary tool to maintain a focus on high standards in the SEND system across all partners.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have been served with redundancy by (a) local authority area, (b) multi academy trust and (c) local authority in the last three months. \p Catherine McKinnell: Supporting our expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child, as the within-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcomes is high-quality teaching. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers.

Schools have the autonomy to make staffing and employment decisions as headteachers and school leaders are best placed to make workforce decisions that take into account local context and the needs of their pupils. As such, the department does not hold data on teacher redundancy.

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers entering and leaving service in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
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Marsha De Cordova:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage children to read for pleasure. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Battersea, to the answer of 11 March 2025 to Question 35717.
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Marsha De Cordova:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of state primary schools with an onsite library. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Battersea, to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 27959.
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Dame Caroline Dinenage:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the provisions of the updated initial teacher training and early career framework which relate to pupils with SEND have been (a) co-produced, (b) designed, (c) developed, (d) evaluated and (e) delivered with (i) autistic people and (ii) people with a learning disability. \p Catherine McKinnell: During 2023, the department reviewed the initial teacher training core content framework (CCF) and the early career framework (ECF) to ensure they remained based on the most up-to-date evidence. This review paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and early career teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

As part of the review process, the department analysed evaluation data and feedback, which included discussions with lead providers, senior school leaders, induction tutors, and mentors and ECTs. The department also worked closely and met regularly with groups of influential educational stakeholders. These were representative groups who acted in an advisory capacity and included SEND educational specialists.

As a result of this review, the updated initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), which will underpin training for trainee and ECTs from September 2025, contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND and the department has enhanced the requirement on lead providers of ECT training to develop SEND training materials.

As the updated ITTECF will not be implemented until September 2025, the department has not yet evaluated its impact, however we recognise that continuous improvement is essential in order to transform the training and support for all new teachers, and to review the experiences and needs of ECT as well as trainees. This is why we are committing to a full review of the programme in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs. We know that it is crucial that ECTs feel supported teaching pupils with SEND and will review our approach to SEND and the support we provide ECTs in teaching pupils with SEND. We will work with stakeholders to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible support for pupils with SEND.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce inequalities in SEND funding between local authorities. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Hertfordshire County Council is being allocated over £207 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £17.6 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF).

The structure of the NFF is largely unchanged for 2025/26, as the government takes the time needed to consider what changes are necessary, both to make sure that we establish an equitable education funding system that directs funding to where it is needed, and to enable improved support for children with SEND.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans for the rules on school uniform contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to be adjustable by secondary legislation. \p Catherine McKinnell: For too many families, the cost of uniform remains a financial burden. ​This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities.

The department believes a clear and transparent limit, set out in primary legislation, is the most effective way to make schools remove unnecessary and expensive branded items and bring down costs for parents.

There are no plans for this measure contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to be adjustable by secondary legislation.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of 18-year-olds have taken (a) three and (b) more than three A-levels in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire in each of the last five academic years. \p Catherine McKinnell: The requested data can be found in the attached table.

Data is based on students attending schools and colleges located in each geography who have reached the end of 16 to 18 study.

A Level data South Holland and the Deepings const. (xlsx, 28.5KB)
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Mark Sewards:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to (a) continue to fund the Music and Dance Scheme and (b) ensure that all Centres for Advanced Training continue to operate. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department will inform Music and Dance Scheme providers about funding for the 2025/26 academic year following the conclusion of the spending review in the spring.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will provide (a) evidence and (b) testimony on educational resources in schools on (i) exploitation, (ii) grooming and (iii) community sensitivity to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth's private inquiry into grooming gangs. \p Catherine McKinnell: Through relationships, sex and health education (RSHE), pupils are taught the concepts of, and laws relating to, sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, coercion, harassment, rape, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation.

Schools are responsible for ensuring lessons, materials and speakers are suitable, appropriate to the age and maturity of their pupils and sensitive to their needs. The department does not advise schools on which resources or external speakers and organisations to use and we do not endorse or promote third-party resources to schools other than those produced by government departments.

​Schools are required to share information concerning their curriculum with parents, including for RSHE.

Schools are also required to consult parents in advance on their relationships and sex education policies. The statutory guidance is clear that this should include sharing examples of the materials they plan to use.

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.
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Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the branded school uniform cap on families from less affluent backgrounds. \p Catherine McKinnell: For too many families, the cost of school uniform remains a financial burden. ​This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.​​

Departmental research has found the average expenditure on uniform reduced as the range of outlets from which parents could purchase items increased. Average spend was significantly lower where all items could be purchased from anywhere (£227.29), than where all had to be purchased from a designated shop or from a school (£283.90).

For some items, the survey found that parents buying from a designated shop or from school had paid twice that of parents able to buy from anywhere. The data also show that 8% of parents had, at some point in the past, been discouraged from applying to enter their child into a particular school due to the cost of uniform, rising to 26% among parents who had experienced financial hardship as a result of purchasing school uniform items. This research is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms-survey-2023.

Whilst savings to families from less affluent backgrounds will vary depending on schools' current practices, we estimate that requiring fewer branded items from designated suppliers could save some parents over £50 per child during the back-to-school shop from September 2026.
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Dr Ben Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve (a) training provisions and (b) support for speech and language development professionals. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department is continuing to improve access to speech and language therapy by funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project, in partnership with NHS England. This programme aims to improve capacity and knowledge in the workforce who support children in early years and school settings with mild to moderate speech, language and communication needs, by utilising therapy support assistants.

The department is also funding evidence based early-language interventions in primary schools. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is a programme for children needing extra support with their speech and language development. In July 2024, we announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered would continue for 2024/25 academic year. Since September 2020, over 35,000 individual practitioners from NELI schools have registered for one or more training course, of which more than 28,000 have completed one or more courses.

Finally, the department is continuing to build the pipeline of speech and language therapists. The speech and language degree apprenticeship is now in its third year and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
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Peter Prinsley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to allocate further funding to the Support for Families with Disabled Children programme. \p Catherine McKinnell: Each year, the support for families with disabled children (SFDC) programme provides individual grants to approximately 60,000 low-income families raising a disabled or seriously ill child. The department is pleased to support the SFDC programme, and we expect applications to the scheme to re-open shortly.

Future funding decisions beyond this financial year are subject to the ongoing spending review.
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Alex Brewer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for the provision of SEND services by Hampshire Council. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The Hampshire local area partnership was last inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) under the previous SEND inspection framework in March 2020. The inspection found that leaders in Hampshire were highly ambitious for children and young people with SEND, and while the inspection did identify areas for improvement, it did not identify any areas of significant weakness. As with all local areas, the department has continued to work with Hampshire since its last inspection through a regional case lead, who seeks regular assurances on the adequacy of SEND provision and provides support and challenge. All local authorities will be assessed under the new CQC Area SEND Inspection Framework by the end of 2027. Following their inspection, the department will work closely with Hampshire as they respond to the findings.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. Total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND is over £12 billion in the 2025/26 financial year. Of that total, Hampshire County Council is being allocated over £224 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £17.7 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.5% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to accredited online schools for pupils with (a) special educational needs and (b) mental health conditions who are unable to attend mainstream education. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for South Cotswolds to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43288.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has considered the merits of introducing a statutory requirement for schools to screen children for dyslexia before the age of 7. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40829.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Olivia Blake:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend the funding for the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund beyond this spending period. \p Janet Daby: All funding after March 2026 is subject to the next spending review. This is no different from other grants and contracts. However, we recognise and value the positive impact of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund in supporting families and its importance to many. Therefore, we will be discussing further with key stakeholders the best approach to the management of funds in future years. We will announce next steps as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_211

Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase post-18 opportunities for young people. \p Janet Daby: Our new Youth Guarantee will provide tailored support to young people aged 18 to 21 to help them access high-quality education, training and employment opportunities. £45 million has been allocated to test the Youth Guarantee in eight locations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_212

Greg Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill on academies. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s mission is clear: to break down barriers to opportunity by driving high and rising standards delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning that hold too many children back. All underpinned by strong and clear accountability.

This is why we introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to give every family the certainty that they will be able to access a good local school for their child, where they can achieve and thrive, regardless of where they live.

Through this Bill, we are creating a floor for all schools but placing no ceiling on what they can achieve, enabling healthy competition and innovation beyond a core framework to improve all schools.

The department published updated impact assessments on the Bill’s measures on 21 March on GOV.UK. These include assessments of the impact on all types of school, including academies. It is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.

Where measures are in scope, assessments follow the Better Regulation Framework, and we have received a ‘Green’ rating from the Regulatory Policy Committee.

The department will continue to develop the Impact Assessments throughout the passage of the bill and undertake post-implementation reviews.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_213

Lloyd Hatton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support school-based nurseries. \p Stephen Morgan: School-based nurseries are a key part of this government’s opportunity mission, delivering on our Plan for Change by expanding high-quality early education across our brilliant early years market in England. 300 schools have been awarded up to £150,000 to repurpose their unused space to open or expand a school-based nursery, totalling £37 million. This funding will create up to 6,000 new childcare places, most of which are expected to be available from September 2025. This is a first step to making more childcare places available and accessible so parents can take-up the funded childcare they are entitled to. These new and expanded nurseries will help boost access to quality childcare and early years education.

The department has published guidance for schools on setting up a high-quality early years learning environment and are exploring what further support can be provided to successful schools who may be new to early years provision. The department is also delivering programmes to support the sector to attract talented staff and childminders by creating conditions for improved recruitment, alongside programmes to better utilise the skills of the existing workforce. We are working closely with the early years sector and local authorities to develop the next steps to achieving this manifesto commitment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_215

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in levels of (a) suspensions and (b) exclusions among pupils with SEND. \p Stephen Morgan: The department publishes data from the school census on suspensions and permanent exclusions from state-funded schools in England. The most recent full release, for the 2022/23 academic year, is available at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/suspensions-and-permanent-exclusions-in-england/2022-23.

Published data include numbers and rates of suspensions and permanent exclusions by school phase and characteristics, including special educational needs provision, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/bc94278b-70fa-4ebb-7d62-08dd7ece5be0.

Schools can use sanctions as a measure to improve behaviour and, in the most serious cases, exclusion may be necessary to protect other pupils from disruption and restore a safe environment. The ‘Suspension and permanent exclusion’ statutory guidance is clear that, in all cases, school leaders should consider early intervention strategies to address the underlying causes or contributing factors of a pupil’s disruptive behaviour, including unmet needs and special educational needs and disabilities before issuing an exclusion.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching staff in registered nurseries there are by gender in each region. \p Stephen Morgan: The department collects information on the overall size of the workforce through its regular Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers, which can be accessed at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2024. The latest data from this survey was published in December 2024 and showed the total number of paid childcare staff was 368,100 in 2024. Of these, 277,900 are group-based provider staff and 59,800 are school-based provider staff.

The survey shows that the vast majority of paid childcare staff are female, making up 98% of paid group-based provider staff, and 97% of paid school-based provider staff.

Additionally, Table 4 - 2 in the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2024, shows the total number of paid staff by region, but does not break down by gender and region.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_217

Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many registered childminders there are by gender in each region. \p Stephen Morgan: Ofsted publish official statistics twice a year and management information twice a year on providers and inspections. Data for childminders on Ofsted registers can be broken down to a regional level.

The latest data show that as at 31 December 2024 there were 25,556 Ofsted-registered childminders across all Ofsted registers, together with 1,520 childminders on the role of childminder agencies. This information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/childcare-providers-and-inspections-management-information.

The department collects information on the gender of Ofsted-registered childminders through its annual survey of childcare and early years providers. The latest data shows that 97% of childminders were female in 2024. This data is not held at a regional level. This information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2024.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_218

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of school children receive free school meals in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Stephen Morgan: The department publishes data annually on pupils who are eligible for free school meals in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistics. This includes a school level underlying data file which indicates Parliamentary constituency. The data is available at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24.

Please note that data on Parliamentary constituencies use boundaries as they were when the statistics were published. Constituency boundaries will be updated to the most recent ones in the next ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication in June 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-28)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-28 conversation_219

Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to improve transparency in (a) fee structures and (b) pricing practices in private nurseries. \p Stephen Morgan: It is the government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

This working parent entitlement aims to support parents to return to work or to work more hours if they wish. To be eligible, parents must expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage (£195 per week/£10,158 per year in 2025/26), and less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.

The government needs to use public funds in a way that provides value for money and considers it reasonable to target this funding at those individuals earning under £100,000 adjusted net income. Only a small proportion of parents (estimated to be 3.8% of parents of 3 and 4-year-olds in 2023/24) earn over the £100,000 adjusted net income maximum threshold. Further information can be found at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5/2024.

Parents who earn over maximum income threshold can still claim the universal 15 hours for 3 and 4-year-olds in England.

The department has taken action to improve transparency and protect parents from additional charges on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible for parents. We updated our statutory guidance on 21 February 2025, reconfirming that there must be no mandatory additional charges associated with entitlement hours. The guidance also sets out the expectation that local authorities ensure providers have set out additional charges clearly and upfront on websites and invoices by January 2026.