theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Ayoub Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for Family Hubs after the 2025-26 financial year; and whether her Department plans to provide a multi-year pledge to fund the Family Hubs and Start for Life program beyond this period. \p Janet Daby: The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give every child the best start in life. Progress on this commitment will be measured by assessing whether 75% of five-year-olds are reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage assessment, which looks at children’s development across areas such as language, personal, social and emotional development, and mathematics and literacy, by 2028.

Delivering this will require strengthening and co-ordinating family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes.

75 local authorities with some of the highest levels of deprivation have received funding and there are now more than 400 Family Hubs open across those local authorities. The department is investing a further £126 million in the 2025/26 financial year to give every child the best start in life and deliver on the Plan for Change. Future funding decisions are subject to the multi-year spending review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Perran Moon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to increase funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant to areas with (a) below average allocations and (b) deficits. \p Catherine McKinnell: The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes core funding for 5-16 year old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. The NFF allocates funding based on schools’ and pupils’ characteristics. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is allocated based on pupil numbers and characteristics.

It is not the purpose of the NFF to give every school the same level of per-pupil funding. It is right that schools with lots of pupils with additional needs – such as those indicated by measures of deprivation, low prior attainment, or English as an additional language – receive extra funding to help them meet the needs of all their pupils. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.

The department does not fund schools based on their reserves or deficits. Schools who do find themselves in financial difficulty should contact their local authority if they are a maintained school and the department if they are an academy to see what additional support might be available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to incorporate soil health education into the National Curriculum. \p Catherine McKinnell: The national curriculum provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own curricula. Soil health can be taught within both the geography and science curricula.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review wants to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review Group published an interim report on 18 March, and the final report with recommendations will be published in the autumn.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to schools of translating materials for parents with limited English in the last 12 months. \p Catherine McKinnell: Each year, schools receive core funding from the department to cover their expenditures, which includes teacher salaries, support staff, school resources and other expenses.

The funding schools receive is not ringfenced for any specific form of expenditure and it is for each school to determine how this money will be best used to support their individual circumstances.

We do not hold any data on the cost of translation materials for parents.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of adding defence as a subject in the national curriculum. \p Catherine McKinnell: The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review wants to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The interim report was published on 18 March and sets out the particular areas of focus for the next stage of the Review. The report can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report. This considers questions that have been raised across different subjects about the specificity, relevance, volume and diversity of content, and seeks to ensure that the national curriculum allows space for schools to support mastery of core concepts, effective transitions, and progression through each key stage. The Review’s final report with recommendations will be published in the autumn.

The national curriculum currently provides a broad framework which gives schools flexibility to organise the content and delivery of the curriculum to meet the needs of their pupils. Defence is not included as a subject in the national curriculum, as subjects are based around broad disciplines such as geography and history. However, schools can choose to teach about defence, for example, within secondary citizenship content covering democracy, the rule of law, the roles played by public institutions in society and the United Kingdom’s relations with the wider world.

As the Review said in its interim report that the current shape of the curriculum at key stages 1-4 provides students with good exposure to a wide range of subjects, and that they intend to recommend retaining the current curriculum architecture, we therefore expect that defence will not be added as a subject but that schools and teachers will continue to have the flexibility to adapt the curriculum to best meet the needs of their pupils.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill on academies in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department published impact assessments on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill measures on GOV.UK. These include assessments of the impact on all types of school across the country.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on launching a new National Music Education Network. \p Catherine McKinnell: On 18 March, the department announced its intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.

We intend to appoint the delivery partner for the Centre through an open, competitive procurement. We will engage with sector stakeholders to refine the details of the Centre ahead of the commercial process later this year. We will set out further detail shortly.

The National Centre will deliver on the manifesto commitment to deliver a Music Education Network. The department’s intention is to launch the National Centre in September 2026.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will undertake a review of the potential impact of increases in National Insurance contributions on the availability of SEND home-to-school transport provision. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help teach children about active travel to school. \p Catherine McKinnell: Local authorities have a duty to promote the use of sustainable travel on journeys to and from places of education in their area. This includes children who are not eligible for free school travel provided by the local authority. Local authorities must publish a sustainable modes of travel strategy which sets out their vision for improving the infrastructure for sustainable travel and promoting sustainable travel to places of education. It should aim to provide health benefits for children and their families through active journeys and environmental improvements through reduced congestion and improved air quality. Further information is available in the department's statutory guidance for local authorities, which can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-to-school-travel-and-transport-guidance.

Active Travel England is the government’s executive agency responsible for promoting walking, wheeling and cycling as the preferred choice of travel in England. They support local authorities with grant funding for the development and construction of walking, wheeling and cycling facilities and schemes and are responsible for a number of schemes which promote active travel to school. Further information can be found at: https://www.activetravelengland.gov.uk/.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Will Stone:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason she has made changes to the levels of payments made out of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund; if she will publish a risk assessment for this funding change; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the funding change on future numbers and proportions of looked-after children being diverted into (a) adoptive families and (b) other types of care. \p Janet Daby: The changes made to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were made so that funding can be accessed by the maximum number of children and families. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will still allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support.

The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children and reviews the risks of any policy changes.

The ASGSF is an important package of support, which is why we have continued to fund it. However, it is not the only support available to adoptive and kinship families. The department is funding Adoption England with £8.8 million this year to improve adopter recruitment and support, including innovative approaches to matching and the establishment of Centres of Excellence. We are also continuing to improve the support available to kinship families, including a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance to support family members and friends who take in children.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many child asylum seekers have entered the education system since 5 July 2024. \p Janet Daby: Information about the nationality, country of birth or immigration status of children in schools in England is not collected by the department. Therefore, we are unable to provide the information requested.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37398 on Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, if she will hold discussions with Adoption UK on funding for the adoption and special guardianship support fund. \p Janet Daby: I meet regularly with key adoption stakeholders including Adoption UK and will continue to do so to discuss a wider variety of adoption issues, including the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund. Departmental officials also have regular meetings with Adoption UK to discuss issues relating to adoption.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a long term funding model for (a) adopted and (b) special guardianship children previously in care. \p Janet Daby: All funding after March 2026 is subject to the next spending review. However, we recognise and value the positive impact of the adoption and special guardianship support fund in supporting adoptive and kinship families and its importance to many. Therefore, we will be discussing the best approach to the management of funds in future years with key stakeholders. We will announce next steps as soon as possible.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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David Simmonds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what type of public body the child protection authority will be; what powers it will have; how it will be funded; whether it will subsume existing (a) public bodies and (b) regulators; and what powers it will have over local government. \p Janet Daby: The government has committed to consulting on a roadmap to establish a Child Protection Authority for England. The design and delivery of this Authority requires consultation, including with child protection experts and victim groups to ensure it has the right constitution and powers to make a tangible difference to child protection practice.
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Jayne Kirkham:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the qualifying earnings threshold for free school meals on levels of child poverty in (a) Truro and Falmouth constituency, (b) the south west and (c) England. \p Stephen Morgan: The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start in life. To support this, a new Ministerial taskforce has been set up to begin work on a Child Poverty Strategy, co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

The continued provision of free school meals (FSM) to disadvantaged children also plays an important role in this. In total, this government spends around £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school-age pupils under benefits-based FSM, and a further 1.3 million infant pupils under the universal infant free school meal scheme to ensure they receive a nutritious lunch. This includes 16,781 eligible pupils in Truro and Falmouth and 158,794 pupils in the South West.
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Charlotte Cane:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental health and well-being of school students. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

That is why the government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Mental Health Support Teams continue to roll out in schools and colleges across the country and are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils this year.

The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.

To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, such as a resources hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to decarbonise schools in South Suffolk constituency. \p Stephen Morgan: I refer the hon. Member for South Suffolk to the answer of 22 April 2025 to Question 45368.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his planned timetable is for the conclusion of a review of the final cost information to develop a new STEM building at Hinckley School. \p Stephen Morgan: Officials are currently working through costs, and I will provide an update to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth in due course.
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Sir Ashley Fox:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the funding model for 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. This is key to the government’s Plan for Change, which starts with reaching the milestone of a record number of children being ready for school. That also means ensuring the sector is financially sustainable and confident as it continues to deliver entitlements and high-quality early years provision going forward.

That is why, despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, the government is continuing to prioritise and invest, supporting early education and childcare providers with the costs they face.

In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. We have also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.

On top of this we are providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector as they prepare to deliver the final phase of expanded childcare entitlements from September 2025, recognising the significant level of expansion needed and the effort and planning this will require. We are also providing £25 million of funding to support public sector employers with increased national insurance contributions (NICs) through the early years NICs grant.

As we continue to roll out the new entitlements, we will keep the funding process under review to ensure that early years funding is distributed fairly and efficiently.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-30)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, who the members are of the Race Equality Engagement Group; and how they were appointed. \p Seema Malhotra: On 18 March, I announced our plans to establish a Race Equality Engagement Group to help us develop measures to tackle race inequality. The Group will be chaired by Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon.

We are in the process of appointing the other members of the Group. Members are being recruited to bring a range of expertise from across the public, private and voluntary sectors and from across the country. These are informal ministerial appointments, by invitation, and are not within the scope of the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-13)

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Preet Kaur Gill:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing specific (a) Sikh and (b) Jewish options for a person’s ethnic group in data collection conducted by his Department. \p Georgia Gould: Public bodies usually collect ethnicity data in line with the ethnicity harmonised standard, which is developed by the independent Office for National Statistics. The Cabinet Office also uses these standards to collect diversity data.

The current harmonised standard is based on the 2011 Census questions used across the UK; those questions were updated for the 2021 and 2022 Censuses. The current standard does not include specific “Sikh” and “Jewish” categories for a person’s ethnic group. The ONS is reviewing the harmonised standard to ensure this remains appropriate and meets the needs of both data users and respondents. This will include a public consultation later this year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-08-13)

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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 54826 on Senior Civil Servants: Training, whether external venues have been booked for away days since 6 April 2025. \p Georgia Gould: On 4 April, guidance was issued on restrictions to booking external venues. Departments were asked to put appropriate approval mechanisms in place. The guidance was clear that external venues for awaydays and events should only be used when space in government buildings is unavailable. When it is absolutely necessary to use an external venue, they should be procured through established procurement routes where available.

The Cabinet Office issued instructions on its intranet on 30 April 2025 that prior to booking any external venues approval must be obtained from the relevant Budget Holder and Finance Business Partner. Prior to this period, bookings may have been made which would have proved more costly to cancel, therefore some pre-booked events may still take place. However, this guidance is now live across the Department and is being implemented accordingly.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 1.24 of the Review Body on Senior Salaries publication Forty-seventh annual report on senior salaries published in May 2025, what steps the Government is taking to reduce excessive (a) bureaucracy and (b) process in the Civil Service. \p Georgia Gould: This Government is committed to creating a productive and agile state. This includes reducing bureaucracy and simplifying processes through adoption of digital technology and AI tools, improving Ministerial oversight and accountability in arms-length bodies, streamlining approval processes, creating a cost-conscious culture that relentlessly roots out waste, drives efficiency, and protects taxpayers’ money, and establishing a more productive, higher-skilled civil service with stronger accountability for performance.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the consumption of high caffeine energy drinks on (a) schools and (b) educational outcomes. \p Olivia Bailey: The government has committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever to provide them with a better and more prosperous future. That is why the government’s manifesto committed to a ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16 in England, and we are consulting on bringing this into effect. We know they can have a detrimental impact on educational outcomes by lowering educational wellbeing and negatively impacting school attendance and academic achievement.

Energy drinks are not permitted within the school food standards. School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including on food and drinks brought in from home. We encourage schools to have a whole-school approach to healthy eating, and some schools already ban energy drinks brought in from home.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 54102 on Schools: Flood Control, whether her Department has had discussions with Kimberley College in Stewartby on flood protections. \p Olivia Bailey: To date no correspondence has been received from the college on this matter, therefore my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education can confirm the department’s Schools Water Strategy has not held discussions with Kimberley College on flood protections.

The department has invested in measures to reduce risk to flooding at over 600 schools to the end of 2024/25 and through the Schools Water Strategy, we continue to invest in flood prevention in schools at risk of flooding in line with our published Sustainability and Climate Change strategy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

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Tom Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what learnings she has made from existing best practice in the design of the new programme of Best Start Family Hubs. \p Olivia Bailey: Drawing on existing best practice, we are delivering Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority from April 2026, backed by stronger national infrastructure, new digital services, and a defined core offer.

The government is setting national direction for family services with clearer expectations, stronger local leadership, and better data. Every local authority will receive funding to enhance and integrate local support, including evidence-based parental support for early development and language, targeted outreach, engagement programmes, and robust digital services.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how her Department allocated the extra money returned to the Government by local authorities from fines for taking children out of school in each of the last three financial years. \p Olivia Bailey: Over the past three financial years, the department has not received revenue from penalty notices issued for school absences. This reflects the system’s design. It is not intended to generate profit, and local authorities must not set income targets. All revenue must be ring-fenced for attendance-related purposes.

Funds should first cover penalty notice administration and prosecution costs. Any surplus must support attendance initiatives that do not involve issuing penalty notices or prosecutions, in line with the statutory attendance guidance.

This revenue must not be absorbed into wider budgets or used for core attendance duties or legal services. It must remain dedicated to attendance functions.

While any surplus at year end must be returned to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in line with expectation, no surpluses have been returned during the period in question.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has provided (a) funding and (b) advice to City of Sanctuary UK since 4 July 2024. \p Olivia Bailey: Ministers and advisors have not met, nor has the department provided funding to, City of Sanctuary UK or Schools of Sanctuary.

Three meetings have taken place between officials and Schools of Sanctuary since July 2024 to discuss issues such as school admissions.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that (a) nurseries in Mid Leicestershire and (b) other early years providers receive adequate levels of support to access childcare entitlements due to be implemented in September 2025; and what steps she is taking to support providers with (i) staffing, (ii) SEND provision and (iii) capital funding to meet increased demand. \p Olivia Bailey: It is the department’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. In 2025/26, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, an additional £2 billion (over 30% increase) in comparison to 2024/25 as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. The department continues to help people discover rewarding early years careers through the ‘Do something Big’ national recruitment campaign, building on our pilot of delivering financial incentives in 38 local authorities this year. With regards to special educational needs and disabilities, inclusion funding will fund extra resources for providers to better support inclusion and early intervention.

We have awarded £37 million of capital funding in the first phase to 300 primary schools which we expect will deliver up to 6,000 nursery places, with over 4,000 available from September 2025 to support the childcare expansion.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long pastoral support is available to young people after leaving state schools. \p Georgia Gould: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is co-producing a National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people and cross-sector experts to set out a new long term vision for young people, which will cover young people aged 10 to 21 (up to 25 for young people with special educational needs and disabilities). This will include plans for the introduction of Young Futures Hubs. These will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.

High quality careers advice is an essential part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth. The National Careers Service offers advice to support young people (and their parents/carers) to understand their career options. Youth Hubs provide vital links in the community, bringing together employment support from a Jobcentre Plus work coach and place-based support from local partnerships to help young people into work when they leave school.

We recognise that care leavers have poorer outcomes than their peers across all aspects of their lives and are taking action to address this. All care leavers up to the age of 25 are entitled to support from a Personal Adviser to help them prepare for and cope with the challenges of living independently.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to ensure the Highway Code is taught in schools. \p Georgia Gould: The revised relationships, sex and health education guidance was published on 15 July and includes a new personal safety section. Curriculum content includes how to identify risk and manage personal safety in increasingly independent situations, including around roads, railways, including level crossings, and water.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Becky Francis CBE.

The Review aims to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review Group published its Interim Report in March 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.

The group will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn.​
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Tom Morrison:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of requests for an Education Health and Care Plan assessment are decided within the 6 week deadline in (a) each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester and (b) England; and how many and what proportion of these requests are approved. \p Georgia Gould: The total number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment which were decided within six weeks can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025. This has been available since 26 June 2025.

A further breakdown of these figures showing the outcome of requests for an EHC needs assessment, which were decided within six weeks, is shown in the attached table.

EHC Assessment Decisions (xlsx, 25.0KB)
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Fred Thomas:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the challenges faced by military families when applying for school places (a) during school holiday periods and (b) other times outside of the normal admissions cycle. \p Georgia Gould: The department is committed to supporting the education of service children. Families of UK service personnel can be subject to frequent moves, often requiring them to apply for school places outside the normal admissions round.

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities to allocate school places in advance of a service family moving into the area, where certain conditions are met.

Children eligible for the Service Pupil Premium can be prioritised in oversubscription criteria, and service pupils can be admitted as exceptions to the infant class size limit, outside the normal admissions round. Publicly-funded boarding schools must give second highest priority to service children who qualify for Ministry of Defence assistance with boarding fees.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, we are taking further steps to support children having difficulty securing school places in-year by giving local authorities improved levers to secure places for children quickly and efficiently.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_11

Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of teacher recruitment and retention incentives on teacher recruitment and retention in areas of high deprivation in the (a) North East and (b) England. \p Georgia Gould: As part of our Plan for Change, the government is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and our colleges, over the course of this parliament.

Delivery is already under way. We agreed a 5.5% pay award for 2024/25 and a 4% pay award for 2025/26, meaning teachers and leaders will see an increase in their pay of almost 10% over two years. In 2024/25, we drove forward teacher recruitment and retention, backed by an investment of around £700 million across schools and further education, including targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 after tax to teachers teaching in the most disadvantaged schools.

We are already seeing positive signs our investment is delivering. The workforce has grown by 82 full-time employed (FTE) in the North East and 2,346 in England between 2023/24 and 2024/25, in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_12

Josh Babarinde:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve recruitment and retention of SEND teachers. \p Georgia Gould: High quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this parliament. We are making good progress. The workforce has grown in secondary and special schools. There were 1,435 more secondary school teachers and 911 more special and pupil referral unit teachers in 2024/25 compared to the previous year, in the schools where they are needed the most.

The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND, and this is embedded in teacher training. From September 2025, all new teachers will benefit from three years of evidence-based training through the revised initial teacher training and early career framework, which has significantly more content related to supporting pupils with SEND, including content adapted from the new National Professional Qualification for special educational needs coordinators.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_13

Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed abolition of NHS England on the provision of central estates. \p Karin Smyth: The future Department will be smaller, more agile, and more efficient, thereby delivering value for money for the public and empowering our health system to improve health and care for patients.

Work is progressing at pace to develop the design and operating model for the new integrated organisation, as well as the plan for the smooth transfer of people, functions, and responsibilities.

A long-term estates strategy will be implemented when the final shape of the organisation matures. We are committed to a regional structure, with the Places for Growth programme and Leeds remaining as the Department’s second headquarters. We will review our estates portfolio to ensure that it delivers value for money for the taxpayer.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_14

Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Patient Safety Commissioner's report entitled The Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published on 7 February 2024, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of families affected, (b) the total cost of interim payments and (c) the projected cost of a main payment and care plan as outlined in that report; and if he will publish his Department’s analysis of those figures. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her Report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different government departments. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s Report.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_15

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to p.81 of the 10 Year Health Plan, published on 3 July 2025, what steps he is taking to ensure the accuracy of triage using AI on the NHS App for each patient. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: We are currently developing our plans in response to the 10-Year Health Plan commitments to support artificial intelligence (AI) assisted triage. We will do so following stringent clinical safety standards as outlined in the NHS Service Standard, as well as rigorous evaluations of health outcomes and operational impact.

When developed, AI triage within the NHS App will use artificial intelligence to assess symptoms and guide patients to the most appropriate care, whether it's self-care, booking an appointment, or seeking other help.

The NHS operates within a comprehensive regulatory framework for AI, underpinned by rigorous standards established by bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Health Research Authority, and Care Quality Commission. These agencies ensure that AI technologies are deployed safely and effectively within healthcare settings. Additionally, continuous monitoring after deployment is essential to ensure long-term safety of AI solutions, so we are working closely with regulators to identify new measures for mitigating risk and providing assurance. We are also leading on shaping a regulatory landscape that ensures AI technologies are safe, transparent and work for everyone.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_16

Vikki Slade:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to change the age at which people become eligible for free (a) prescriptions and (b) optical care. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Free National Health Service prescriptions and NHS-funded sight tests are available for many. This includes children under the age of 16 years old and those under the age of 19 years old in full time education, people on a low income, and adults aged 60 years old and over. NHS optical vouchers to help with the cost of glasses are also available for children.

There are no plans to change the eligibility for free NHS prescriptions, NHS-funded sight tests or optical vouchers, including eligibility based on age.

Further information about help with optical costs is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/free-nhs-eye-tests-and-optical-vouchers/

Further information about help with prescription costs is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/help-nhs-prescription-costs/free-nhs-prescriptions
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_17

Dr Caroline Johnson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) women of child bearing age, (b) girls, (c) boys and (d) men are receiving prescriptions for sodium valproate as of 11 September 2025. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Prescription data is collected by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

The NHSBSA bases prescription data on processed prescription data for each three-month period. This is a commonly used method for presenting prescription data for prescriptions given for chronic conditions that can last longer than one month.

The latest available prescription data is from the period between April and June 2025.

The following information is extracted from the NHSBSA ePACT2 database, using British National Formulary chemical substance sodium valproate (0408010W0) and valproic acid (0402030Q0, xx-xxxx-xxxx), prescribed in England. The following numbers of patients were prescribed one or more item between April 2025 and June 2025:

(a) 16,400 females aged 18-54

(b) 2,400 females aged 0-17

(c) 6,000 males aged 0-17

(d) 91,800 males aged 18 or over
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_18

James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of illegally traded medicines intercepted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Criminal Enforcement Unit. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), acting on behalf of my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is responsible for the regulation of medicines intended for human use in the United Kingdom. This includes applying the legal controls on the retail sale, supply and advertising of medicines which are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) works hard to identify those involved in the illegal trade in medicines and takes robust enforcement action where necessary. The Agency also works closely with overseas health regulators, customs authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private sector partners.

Since 1 January 2025, the MHRA and its partners have seized over 8.5 million doses of unauthorised or falsified medicines at the United Kingdom border, together with another 3.9 million doses seized as a result of direct operational activity conducted by the CEU.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-10-08 conversation_19

Layla Moran:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve (a) early diagnosis and (b) treatment of genetic haemochromatosis. \p Dr Zubir Ahmed: Genomic testing in the National Health Service in England is provided through the NHS Genomic Medicine Service (GMS) and directed by the National Genomic Test Directory which sets out the eligibility criteria for patients to access testing as well as the genomic targets to be tested.

Genomic testing for haemochromatosis is available through the NHS GMS for people who show unexplained iron overload suggestive of hereditary haemochromatosis. Testing is available for all eligible patients across England and any healthcare professional who suspects their patient may have haemochromatosis can refer their patient for testing via their local NHS Clinical Genomic Service.

Treatment for genetic haemochromatosis is commissioned by local integrated care boards, including venesection, also known as phlebotomy, to remove some blood to reduce blood iron levels. In a small number of cases where regular phlebotomies are not possible, a chelation therapy may be used.