theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance he has issued to sexual assault survivors on the utility of self-swab rape kits in the criminal justice process. \p Alex Davies-Jones: Victims of sexual violence are encouraged to attend a Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), where trained professionals can provide holistic care and collect forensic evidence in line with established standards. SARCs operate within the framework of the criminal justice system and are equipped to support victims in preserving evidence and accessing justice.

The Ministry of Justice is aware that self-swab kits are being marketed to the public as a means of collecting DNA following sexual violence. These kits are in no way associated with any government department or criminal justice agency, and there is no government guidance about their usage.

We are aware of concerns raised about the promotion of self-swab kits, including those outlined in position statements by the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine and Rape Crisis England & Wales. Support is available for victims of rape through SARCs and the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line.

We remain committed to tackling sexual violence and achieving the best outcomes for victims, in line with our goal to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders are serving life sentences. \p Jake Richards: Details of sentences being served by foreign national offenders are published as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly. The information requested can be found at Table 1_A_24 in the Annual Prison Population tables at the following link: prison-population-30-June-2025.ods.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the number of RASSO trained judges and advocates in the West Mercia region. \p Sarah Sackman: We commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to propose bold and ambitious measures to deliver swifter justice for victims, including for victims of sexual violence, in his Independent Review of Criminal Courts. This Review will make recommendations to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the courts to address the record Crown Court caseload, which this Government inherited, across all case types - including rape and other sexual offences. Work on Part 2 of the report, which is looking at how the criminal courts can operate as efficiently as possible, is underway. We expect it to be finalised this year.

Statutory responsibility for judicial training in the courts is held by the Lady Chief Justice. This responsibility is fulfilled by the Judicial College. All judges authorised to hear serious sexual offence (SSO) cases must complete the relevant induction training course before starting to sit and regular continuation training every three years. Presiding judges undertake an annual assessment of the business need for authorised SSO ticketed judges within their respective circuits and new approvals are decided by the senior judiciary.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Advocate Panel is a time limited list of quality assured advocates to undertake criminal prosecution advocacy for CPS. Positive changes made by the CPS to the application process in May 2024 have seen rape and serious sexual offence (RASSO) advocate Panel membership increase by 51%. This includes a 38% increase in advocates prosecuting on the Midlands Circuit. These advocates have received CPS accredited RASSO training within the last 3 years and can demonstrate the experience and ability to undertake RASSO cases.
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James Wild:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy that offenders to be deported under Clause 32 in the Sentencing Bill would be required to serve any custodial sentence in their home country. \p Jake Richards: The Sentencing Bill will amend the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) to allow eligible Foreign National Offenders (FNO) serving determinate sentences to be removed from prison for the purposes of immediate deportation any time after sentencing. FNOs removed under ERS are not subject to further imprisonment after they are removed from the UK but are barred from ever returning to the UK. If they return unlawfully, they will be liable to serve the rest of their sentence from the point they were deported.

Those serving life and other indeterminate sentences are not eligible for removal under ERS. Offenders serving a terrorism or terrorism-connected offence are also excluded from removal. ERS can be refused by HMPPS in certain circumstances for example if there is serious evidence an offender is planning a further crime.

Prisoner Transfer Agreements, where prisoners continue to serve their sentence in their home countries, will still be used in certain circumstances where we have an agreement in place and there is cooperation with the receiving country. Enhancing our prisoner transfer capability with partner countries remains important to the Ministry of Justice.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with his Northern Irish counterpart on increasing capacity in the prison estate. \p Jake Richards: The Secretary of State for Justice has not yet had discussions with his Northern Irish counterpart on increasing capacity in the prison estate.

However, the UK Government is in regular dialogue with the Northern Ireland Executive on prison capacity challenges at ministerial level through the Inter-Ministerial Group for Justice, and at official level through the Five Nations Forum on Prison Capacity, as well as bilaterally. Lord Timpson will shortly be visiting Northern Ireland to meet the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, where they will discuss a range of justice related issues, including prison capacity.

The UK Government has already taken action to progress towards a sustainable solution to the prison capacity crisis in England and Wales. On 22 May, David Gauke’s Sentencing Review was published, and on 2 September we introduced legislation to take forward most of the recommendations made by the review. Our landmark sentencing reforms will ensure we never run out of prison places again.

To ensure we have sufficient capacity in the lead up to implementation of the Sentencing Bill, the previous Lord Chancellor also announced further measures to manage the prison population, such as extending the Home Detention Curfew, and expanding the Early Removal Scheme, enabling the earlier removal of foreign national offenders.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 on the efficiency of deportations. \p Jake Richards: The Human Rights Act is an important part of our constitutional arrangements and fundamental to human rights protections in the UK. It will remain part of our law.

As set out in our Immigration White Paper, we will legislate to reform our approach to the application of Article 8 ECHR in the immigration system, and we are also reviewing the application of Article 3 in immigration and extradition cases. This will ensure the correct balance is struck between individual rights and the wider public interest in controlling migration.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted for (a) knowing or suspecting and (b) having reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaging in money laundering and failing to make a disclosure as soon as practicable to the bank’s nominated officer in each of the last 15 years. \p Jake Richards: The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on those convicted of “knowing or suspecting” or “having reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaging in money laundering and failing to make a disclosure as soon as practicable”.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions each year for offences as listed in the Offence Group Classification - this includes those related to money laundering.  This information is available in the "Outcomes by offence" tool which is available here: Criminal justice statistics quarterly - GOV.UK". This link also contains the Offence Group Classification.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year. \p Jake Richards: As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024-2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.

Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition.

Going Forward into Employment (GFiE) accredits life chance recruitment pathways across government. GFiE pathways recruit people from a wide range of backgrounds into the Civil Service, including people from low socio-economic backgrounds, prison leavers, veterans, carers and care leavers.

People recruited by GFiE develop skills, gain experience and build a career, contributing to the Opportunity Mission and to the wider economy.

Over the past year, the Ministry of Justice has delivered targeted recruitment initiatives to support underrepresented groups through our Life Chance Pathways. These schemes are:

Going Forward into Employment scheme and the Probation Employment Pathway, which provide opportunities for prison leavers and individuals with convictions;

Going Forward into Employment Care Leavers pathway, designed for care-experienced individuals; and

Advance into Justice programme, which supports service leavers and veterans.

These pathways provide tailored support and fair access to employment opportunities across the Department for individuals who face barriers to work.

In addition, the Ministry of Justice participates in the Civil Service Care Leaver Internship Scheme (‘Launch’), a cross-Government initiative led by the Department for Education. This scheme provides 18-month Administrative Officer (AO) or Executive Officer (EO) internships to help young care-experienced individuals gain valuable work experience and progress into employment.
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Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to respond to the Freedom of Information request dated 13 August 2025 submitted by the Hon. Member for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge. \p Jake Richards: The Ministry of Justice answered this request for information on 17 October 2025.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2025 to Question 73115 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Data Protection, whether her Department will commission an independent review to verify that there has been no impact on case outcomes to date. \p Sarah Sackman: His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has expanded its checks using new digital tools to analyse the full period affected – covering around 700,000 cases – to determine whether any were impacted and to what extent. Based on the first phase of this additional assurance work, which reviewed a sample of 455 potentially affected cases, one has been found to be missing a document where the judge has confirmed it could have affected the case outcome. The parties involved have been contacted directly and offered the opportunity to request that the decision be set aside and the case reheard. As the assurance work continues, HMCTS will contact any additional parties whose case outcomes may have been affected.

The CEO of HMCTS will write to the Justice Select Committee once the assurance process concludes, setting out the total number of affected cases, parties contacted, and outcome of any follow-up action.

The Department remains committed to transparency and to safeguarding the integrity of judicial decision-making. Since the response provided on 22 September 2025, the Ministry of Justice has been conducting an internal assessment of the HMCTS Core Case Data issue.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to improve the employment tribunal process. \p Sarah Sackman: We recognise that there remain significant challenges for the performance of the Employment Tribunals. We are working with the judiciary and across Government with

His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), Acas and the Department of Business and Trade on actions to improve performance in the Employment Tribunals.

HMCTS continues to invest in improving Employment Tribunal processes through the recruitment of additional judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology. A ‘Virtual Region’ of judges has delivered over 1,500 extra sitting days. We are encouraging the uptake of mediation to help individuals resolve their employment issues at the earliest opportunity.

Following recruitment, in 2024 we had 21 more salaried judges in the Employment Tribunals than in 2023, and further recruitment for up to 36 salaried Employment Judges commenced in March 2025. 50 fee paid employment judges were appointed in 2024 and recruitment will commence for another 50 in early 2026. As a result, the Lord Chancellor was able to announce on 5 March a sitting day allocation for the Employment Tribunals of 33,900 in 2025/26, the maximum allocation they are able to sit.

The Government is clear that everyone should have access to Employment Tribunals, to challenge unfair behaviour at work. We recently reiterated this commitment, by announcing that bringing forward a case to an Employment Tribunal will remain free, to ensure that everyone can stand up for their rights at work, no matter their means.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to bring the financial threshold for electing for trial by jury for theft in line with that for charges of criminal damage. \p Sarah Sackman: In Part I of the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, published July 9, Sir Brian Leveson recommends reclassifying certain triable either-way offences, including theft offences. We will set out our response to this and other aspects of his report in due course.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that reforms to judicial review do not adversely impact access to justice for local communities challenging Government decisions on infrastructure projects. \p Sarah Sackman: The ability to challenge the lawfulness of Government decisions and those of other public bodies is fundamental to the rule of law. The Government remains committed to this principle.

Under the changes being taken forward in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) judicial reviews, only claimants whose cases are deemed ‘totally without merit’ at the oral permission stage in the High Court will be prevented from appealing to the Court of Appeal. In other cases, the claimant can appeal the refusal of permission.

The Government is also working with the judiciary to take forward a number of other procedural changes to speed up the process for NSIP judicial reviews, such as target timescales, to ensure such cases are dealt with promptly. This can benefit all parties, including claimants.

These reforms are about ensuring cases move through the courts more quickly and efficiently, not about limiting the ability for the public to challenge decisions.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of people convicted of causing death by dangerous driving who have been charged with subsequent motoring offences. \p Jake Richards: The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including death by dangerous driving in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2024 - GOV.UK.

It is not possible to identify those convicted of dangerous driving who go on to be charged with a subsequent motoring offence without exceeding the disproportionate cost limit. This is because we would need to examine the court records for all those convicted of dangerous driving.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in living costs on children's levels of access to (a) extracurricular activities, (b) school trips and (c) enrichment programmes. \p Georgia Gould: The department has recently announced the extension of the holiday activities and food programme (HAF) with over £600 million for the next three financial years. This means nutritious meals and exciting activities for more than half a million children across the country every year, helping them to thrive during the school holidays.

The department will also be publishing a new Enrichment Framework by the end of this year, supporting schools to create a broad and accessible enrichment offer for all pupils.

The department recognises the impact the cost of living may have on children’s participation in a variety of enrichment activities and is working to ensure that all children have access to beneficial opportunities of this sort. We continue to collect data on pupil participation in enrichment through our omnibus surveys.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing specific funding for Hinchingbrooke School to maintain Hinchingbrooke House. \p Josh MacAlister: The government has given a long-term commitment for capital investment through to the 2034/35 financial year to improve the condition of schools and colleges across England. We are investing almost £3 billion per year by the 2034/35 financial year in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

The Aces Academies Trust, the responsible body for Hinchingbrooke School, has been allocated £761,926 in capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to decide how to invest across its schools, based on their own prioritisation of need. Future allocations will be confirmed in due course.

The government has also announced almost £20 billion of investment for the School Rebuilding Programme through to the 2034/35 financial year, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years. We plan to set out further details about the process for selecting additional schools later this year.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of schools awaiting essential building repairs. \p Josh MacAlister: Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.

This government has given a long-term commitment through to the 2034/35 financial year to improve the condition of our schools and colleges across England. The department is investing almost £3 billion per year by the 2034/35 financial year in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.

The department is also investing almost £20 billion in the School Rebuilding Programme through to the 2034/35 financial year, delivering rebuilding projects at over 500 schools across England within the existing programme and expanding rebuilding, with a further 250 schools to be selected within the next two years.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the costs to her Department of climate-related extreme weather since 1 January 2020. \p Josh MacAlister: The department does not hold data on the historical costs of climate-related extreme weather. Education settings are not required to report such incidents, and responsible bodies are responsible for the repair and maintenance of their estates through the normal funding channels provided by the department, such as the Schools Condition Allocation and Condition Improvement Fund.
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Andy MacNae:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential benefit to children of having access to (a) green spaces, (b) blue spaces and (c) other types of nature as part of their education. \p Josh MacAlister: The department knows that a connection with nature is vital for young people, not only for their mental and physical health but in developing a deeper understanding of the important role nature plays in the protection of our planet.

There is a growing body of evidence showing a link between greener school settings and a range of benefits for children, including improved learning outcomes, behaviour, concentration, and engagement (Public Health England, 2020). Officials work closely with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Natural England to gain insight into children’s access to nature. The department has been working with the University of Oxford on research to assess the impact of nature-based programmes delivered through secondary schools.

The National Education Nature Park, a key initiative of the department’s Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, empowers children and young people across England to benefit from connecting with nature regardless of their background or where they live. It brings learning to life and develops essential skills for the future.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding she has provided to Sutton Bonington Primary School for rebuilding in the last 12 months. \p Josh MacAlister: The School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) is a centrally delivered programme. Therefore, no funding is allocated or distributed directly to schools.

Details of all contracts awarded over £10,000 are published on the ‘Contracts Finder’ website, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder. Payments made to the contractor are in line with agreed milestones for the project.

In addition to the SRP, the department is investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26. As part of that, Equals Trust, which is responsible for Sutton Bonington Primary, was allocated just under £1.1 million in capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to decide how to invest across its schools.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve collaboration between (a) schools, (b) local authorities and (c) police forces to ensure that intelligence that could help to prevent security breaches on school grounds is shared. \p Josh MacAlister: Responsibility for the school estate lies with responsible bodies such as local authorities, academy trusts, or charitable trustees.

The department’s 'Good estate management for schools' guidance, alongside more detailed 'Site security' guidance, outlines best practice for perimeter security and access control.

Capital funding for school buildings will rise to £2.1 billion in 2025/26, increasing to around £2.3 billion by 2029/30. Essex County Council received £9.3 million for its maintained schools, with other responsible bodies also allocated funding. Smaller trusts and colleges may bid into the Condition Improvement Fund.

The department’s ‘Protective security and preparedness for education settings’ and ‘School and college security’ guidance supports settings to assess vulnerabilities and ensure safe environments.

Ofsted expects compliance with safeguarding but does not inspect site security specifically.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to help protect the data of home educated children, in the context of provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. \p Josh MacAlister: The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains provisions requiring local authorities to maintain registers of children who are not in school. These registers are intended to aid local authorities in identifying children who are missing education and support them.

The department is aware of the importance of protecting personal data. Existing laws, including the Data Protection Act and UK-GDPR, will apply to all data that is processed as part of the duty to maintain registers. These laws put in place robust restrictions on data collection, storage and sharing as well as respecting the rights of the individuals to access, rectification and erasure. However, there are circumstances where data sharing is essential, particularly when it concerns a child’s safety or wellbeing. The Bill provides a restricted list of individuals and agencies with whom data may be shared, solely for the purposes of safeguarding a child’s education or welfare. Any breach of these protections by a local authority could be subject to penalties or regulatory action by the Information Commissioner.

We will outline in statutory guidance how local authorities must balance the need to share data for safeguarding and educational support purposes with individuals’ right to privacy.
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Jim McMahon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on considering the application for the proposed new Eton State sixth form college in Oldham. \p Josh MacAlister: The department recognises the need for trusts, local authorities and Members of Parliament to have certainty about projects as soon as possible, and we will provide them with an update on next steps in due course.

We have engaged with trusts, local authorities and other stakeholders in relation to individual projects in scope of the review, including gathering evidence on the local need for places, value for money, and the distinctiveness of the educational offer compared to what is already available locally.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Surrey County Council on improving early intervention services for families in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Josh MacAlister: The department will fund Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most can access it. Local authorities not currently funded through government Family Hubs programmes, which includes Surrey, will receive a development grant in 2025/26 to plan and begin setting up services to ensure national rollout from April 2026 when full funding is awarded. The role of local authorities will include identifying family hub sites. Services will vary depending on local needs. Surrey received £351,991 in October 2025.

In addition, last year the national rollout of Family Help, multi-agency child protection and family group decision making reforms through the Families First Partnership programme was confirmed. In 2025/26 the reforms are backed nationally by £541 million. Surrey received around £2.5 million in additional funding. The programme team have received and reviewed Surrey’s draft delivery plan and will be discussing shortly.

Surrey has already established a strong Early Help Partnership Board to analyse the needs of their communities and the Surrey Safeguarding Children Partnership executive has endorsed plans to form a partnership project team to lead community engagement, develop shared data insights, and coordinate reform implementation. This team will feed into the Board.
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Claire Young:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase funding for the recruitment of specialist SEND teachers. \p Georgia Gould: 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.

There is significant work underway to ensure there is an appropriate training offer in place to support teachers and school leaders to create an inclusive school environment. We have recently reviewed the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework which includes significantly more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.

A review of our National Professional Qualifications is also underway, which includes a key focus on including further best practice for teaching pupils with SEND.

This core offer is supplemented by further SEND-specific training that is easy to access at any point in your career through the Universal SEND Services contract. This programme aims to support the school and further education workforce, particularly in mainstream settings, to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, earlier and more effectively.

While school leaders have the autonomy and authority to make recruitment decisions, as they are best placed to understand their own context and pupils’ needs, the government is supporting them by increasing the core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning it will total £65.3 billion, compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25.

This additional funding provides an above real-terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget, taking per-pupil funding to its highest ever level, enabling us to transform the SEND system.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has promoted the Schools of Sanctuary initiative with (a) local education authorities (b) maintained schools, and (c) academy trusts and sponsors. \p Georgia Gould: The department has not promoted the work of Schools of Sanctuary to any local authority or educational setting.
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Kerry McCarthy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Curriculum and assessment review will include measures to support play-based learning for primary school aged children. \p Georgia Gould: The Curriculum and Assessment Review will be informed by evidence, data and input from experts, stakeholders and the public, including over 7,000 responses to the call for evidence, and a range of research and polling.

The Review’s interim report demonstrates a continued support for a high quality, knowledge-rich curriculum that drives excellence in education across a broad range of subjects and pathways.

The Review set out that it would consider whether there is sufficient coverage of knowledge and skills that are essential to prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world.

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

The government is working with education experts, teachers, and parents to ensure the very best for children.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that British Sign Language is taught in schools. \p Georgia Gould: The government is committed to promoting inclusive education and welcomes the teaching of British Sign Language (BSL) in schools. Schools may choose to offer BSL as part of their school curriculum, or as an extracurricular activity.

Following the British Sign Language Act 2022, BSL was formally recognised as a language. In line with this, the department has worked closely with stakeholders to develop a GCSE in BSL. The final subject content was published on GOV.UK in December 2023. As is the usual process for introducing a qualification, Ofqual conducted a public consultation on its proposed assessment arrangements in spring 2025. Ofqual expects to confirm its decisions on the qualification rules this autumn. Exam boards will then be able to develop detailed specifications which will form the basis of course content to be taught in schools and colleges.

To support delivery, the department recognises the importance of a skilled teaching workforce. We are engaging stakeholders, including school leaders and BSL organisations, to consider how to support workforce development.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of the availability of modern language A-level entry at (a) state schools and (b) colleges in (i) Stockport Borough and (ii) Greater Manchester. \p Georgia Gould: The government is committed to ensuring that all pupils, regardless of location, have access to a high quality language education. This includes increasing the number of students studying languages at GCSE and ensuring that those who wish to continue to A level are able to do so.

The department is continuing to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE) to deliver a new model of support for schools. The programme offers free continuous professional development via Language Educators Online (LEO), supported by 14 Strategic Learning Networks and locally responsive National Priority Projects. It is research-informed, helping teachers collaborate and tackle key challenges in language education. Language teachers can join the NCLE Language Network in their area and sign up to LEO to keep up to date with current and evolving teaching practice in language education.

To further support languages education, the government is offering a £20,000 tax-free bursary for trainee language teachers starting courses in 2026, or alternatively, a £22,000 tax-free scholarship for those training to teach French, German, or Spanish.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_371

Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to funding levels on the language hubs programme. \p Georgia Gould: The government is continuing to fund the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE). NCLE is delivering a new model of support for schools that can potentially reach a greater number of schools nationally. The new programme, which replaces Language Hubs, has national reach as it is not constrained by geography or limited by the number of schools it can support.

NCLE launched Language Educators Online (LEO) on 16 September 2025. LEO provides free continuous professional development to all language teachers in England. This is supported by 14 Strategic Learning Networks and locally responsive National Priority Projects. It is research-informed, helping teachers collaborate and tackle key challenges in language education. Language teachers can join the NCLE Language Network in their area and sign up to LEO to keep up to date with current and evolving teaching practice in language education.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_372

Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children living with alcohol dependent parents. \p Josh MacAlister: In 2023/24, there were 72,410 child in need episodes where ‘alcohol misuse: concerns about parent’ were recorded.

Our statutory guidance, “Working together to safeguard children”, sets out that practitioners should be alert to the need for early help for a child who is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for them, such as alcohol misuse. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.

Our Families First Partnership programme, backed by over £500 million investment per year over the next three years from 2025/26, is rolling out reforms to family help and multi-agency child protection. Funding will be increased by at least £300 million between 2026/27 and 2027/28, as part of the £555 million investment from the transformation fund.

These reforms will produce a fundamental shift in the way we respond to children and families who need help, including supporting those living with alcohol dependent parents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_373

Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to better identify pupils' range of additional needs outside of the classroom. \p Georgia Gould: 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.

Schools, further education colleges, sixth form colleges, and 16 to 19 academies are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their ‘best endeavours’ to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need.

All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the ‘SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years’, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing and reviewing the support regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils. The code of practice can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25.

To support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. For example, evidence reviews from University College London have recently been published. These will help to drive inclusive practices as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_374

Luke Myer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to review (a) the age-65 write-off rule and (b) other terms of pre-2006 Plan 1 student loans to create consistency with later cohorts of borrowers whose loans are written off after 25 years. \p Josh MacAlister: Where a new plan type is introduced, the terms, including the length of the loan, are considered as a whole. The new terms are not applied retrospectively to borrowers who have signed up to previous plans in existence at the time of their study. They are then set in legislation to apply to that specific loan type.

Although both pre-2006 and post-2006 Plan 1 loans retained the Plan 1 title, these are different plan types.

Plan 1 post-2006 included a shorter loan term of 25 years, however, tuition fee increases resulted in higher loan balances on course completion than for pre-2006 borrowers. Pre-2006 borrowers, whose loan term ends aged 65, benefitted from lower tuition fee loans and a lower loan balance on completion of their course.

There are no plans to review pre-2006 Plan 1 terms and conditions, including the age 65 write-off term.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_375

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of inclusive (a) sports days and (b) competitions on (i) participation, (ii) motivation and (iii) confidence among secondary school girls; and what steps she is taking to ensure that sporting activities in schools promote (A) engagement and (B) equal opportunities for pupils. \p Georgia Gould: The government recognises the challenges girls face participating in PE and sport and is committed to ensuring they can access equal opportunities to be physically active and experience the many known benefits of sports.

In June, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister launched a new approach to PE and school sport. A new partnerships model will be created, supported by the new Enrichment Framework, to ensure all children and young people, including girls, have equal access to high-quality extra-curricular activities.

The partnerships will:

Following the announcement, the department, along with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care, has held design meetings with over 25 stakeholders, including schools, NGBs, SGOs, and sector bodies, to identify and build on effective practice from current and past programmes.

Additionally, the School Games Mark, funded by the government and managed by the Youth Sport Trust, introduced mandatory equality criteria for PE, school sport and physical activity participation. Schools can review their provision as part of their planning and delivery. Best practice from the School Games Mark will be shared with all schools to enhance equal access to sport.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_376

Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of funding for local authorities to deliver timely and effective SEND provision. \p Georgia Gould: 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 department is providing total high needs funding of over £12 billion in 2025/26 for children and young people with complex SEND in England. Warrington Borough Council is being allocated over £36 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant.

The department is considering the funding required for future years and how it is to be allocated, following the conclusion of the recent spending review. Our objective is that future funding for SEND supports our plans for reforming the SEND system, which will be set out in further detail in an upcoming White Paper.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-21)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-21 conversation_377

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of numbers of international students on the availability of university places for UK students. \p Josh MacAlister: I refer the hon. Member for South Basildon and East Thurrock to the answer of 28 February 2025 to Question 31700.