Every parliamentary written question tabled by Luke Evans this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 61–77 of 77 · Department for Education
How many private schools she has visited since 5 July 2024; and which schools.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools. The Secretary of State for Education prioritises visits to our state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England.
With reference to her plans for over £600 million of funding over four years to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, announced on 23 March 2025, how much of that funding she plans to allocate to (a) the East Midlands and (b) Leicestershire.
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £625 million of funding to support construction skills training, with the detail set out in Spring Statement 2025. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers this Parliament. The measures will support the expansion of existing skills programmes including Skills Bootcamps and apprenticeships, as well as helping deliver new initiatives such as establishing 10 technical excellence colleges specialising in construction across every region in England. Additional information regarding allocations at regional and provider level will be shared in due course.
What progress she has made on producing a plan for musical education.
On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course, including on engagement with music education partners.To support the delivery of music education, the government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, inclusive of the 2024/25 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.The government is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over a four year period from the 2024/25 to 2027/28 academic years, backed by a further £3.85 million funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music. This pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country and aims to help disadvantaged children and young people, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities, to learn how to play an instrument of their choice or learn to sing to a high standard.The government believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves.
What (a) statutory and (b) non-statutory bodies her Department is consulting on her plans for musical education.
On 18 March 2025, the department announced its intention to launch a National Centre for Arts and Music Education to promote opportunities for children and young people to pursue their artistic and creative interests in school, including through the government’s network of Music Hubs. Our intention is to launch in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details will be released in due course, including on engagement with music education partners.To support the delivery of music education, the government has committed £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, inclusive of the 2024/25 academic year. The 43 Music Hubs partnerships across England offer a range of services, including musical instrument tuition, instrument loaning and whole-class ensemble teaching. To widen access to musical instruments, the government is investing £25 million in capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology from the 2024/25 academic year. This funding enables Music Hubs partnerships to better cater to the needs of the children and young people they work with.The government is also investing £2 million to support the Music Opportunities Pilot over a four year period from the 2024/25 to 2027/28 academic years, backed by a further £3.85 million funding from Arts Council England and Youth Music. This pilot is delivered by Young Sounds UK in 12 areas of the country and aims to help disadvantaged children and young people, as well as those with special educational needs and disabilities, to learn how to play an instrument of their choice or learn to sing to a high standard.The government believes creative subjects like music, art and drama are important elements of the rounded and enriching education every child deserves.
What assessment she has made of the level of (a) importance of the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund to families with adopted children and (b) funding provided to families out of the Fund in the last reported financial year.
As part of spending review discussions, there are regular conversations between the department and His Majesty’s Treasury. We will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate the department’s budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions.The ASGSF has provided valuable support to both adoptive and special guardianship families during 2024/25, helping them to thrive and enabling children and young people to make the best start in life. In 2023/24, the last full financial year, the Fund supported a total of 19,495 children and families with funding of £49,191,908.
What discussions she is having with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund.
As part of spending review discussions, there are regular conversations between the department and His Majesty’s Treasury. We will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate the department’s budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions.The ASGSF has provided valuable support to both adoptive and special guardianship families during 2024/25, helping them to thrive and enabling children and young people to make the best start in life. In 2023/24, the last full financial year, the Fund supported a total of 19,495 children and families with funding of £49,191,908.
Whether she is taking steps to ensure the continuance of the funding for the Adoption and Special Guardian Support Fund after March 2025.
As part of spending review discussions, there are regular conversations between the department and His Majesty’s Treasury. We will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how we will allocate the department’s budget for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions.The ASGSF has provided valuable support to both adoptive and special guardianship families during 2024/25, helping them to thrive and enabling children and young people to make the best start in life. In 2023/24, the last full financial year, the Fund supported a total of 19,495 children and families with funding of £49,191,908.
Pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22689 on Carers: Social Security Benefits, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Kinship Allowance Trial on investment in kinship care; and when she plans to announce details on the process for selecting local authorities for that trial.
As previously mentioned, the government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance. The pilot will begin in 2025, and the department will evaluate the pilot to build an evidence base on how best to deliver financial support for kinship families.The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.The department’s ambition is that all kinship carers will get the support they need to care for their children. It is important that we first build the evidence base to find out how best to deliver financial support for kinship families. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.
What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) level of support and (b) opportunities to access long-term education for people with cerebral palsy with no cognitive impairment.
I refer the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth to the answer of 14 January 2025 to Question 22163.
What progress her Department has made on the kinship allowance trial; how many kinship carers will be able to join the trial; what date she plans to launch the trial; and whether the findings of the trial be published.
The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role of local authorities to support them.The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. The pilot will begin in 2025.This government’s ambition is that all kinship carers will get the support they need to care for their children. It is important that we first build the evidence base to find out how best to deliver financial support for kinship families, therefore we will be evaluating this pilot. Decisions about future national rollout will be informed by the findings of the evaluation.The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.
What plans her Department has to (a) support foster placements and (b) develop regional recruitment hubs in the East Midlands.
This government is committed to working in partnership with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This currently includes delivering 10 regional fostering recruitment and retention hubs, covering 64% of local authorities in England. The hubs will transform the way people who are interested in fostering are supported, and rollout of a retention programme which offers peer-support to foster carers and the children in their care. An additional £15 million was announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 to move towards national roll out in the 2025/26 financial year.Foster For East Midlands Recruitment Hub launched in March 2024 and comprises of four neighbouring local authorities, Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, and Derby City Council. The department would welcome discussions with other local authorities in the East Midlands region about national roll out plans.
What assessment she has made of the challenges of (a) recruiting and (b) retaining educational psychologists to ensure the effective processing of education, health and care plans.
This department’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Educational psychologists play a critical role in supporting children and young people, providing statutory input into education, health and care assessments and advising the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND.As the employers of educational psychology services, it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that their services are adequately staffed. The department is taking measures to support local authorities by investing in building the pipeline.The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from this year. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.To support retention, following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this requirement has increased to three years.
What steps she is taking to increase the number of educational psychologists.
This department’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Educational psychologists play a critical role in supporting children and young people, providing statutory input into education, health and care assessments and advising the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND.As the employers of educational psychology services, it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that their services are adequately staffed. The department is taking measures to support local authorities by investing in building the pipeline.The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from this year. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.To support retention, following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this requirement has increased to three years.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) increasing levels of pay and (b) reviewing conditions for teaching assistants.
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and the smooth running of schools. They are crucial to ensuring children are given the best possible life chances.In the survey ‘Use of teaching assistants in schools’, carried out by the department in 2023, 75% of school leaders reported they found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was difficult for 29% of leaders. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). The SSSNB will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education and drive high and rising standards, so that every child has the best life chances.
What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of retention of teaching assistants; and what steps her Department is taking to support recruitment of teaching assistants.
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and the smooth running of schools. They are crucial to ensuring children are given the best possible life chances.In the survey ‘Use of teaching assistants in schools’, carried out by the department in 2023, 75% of school leaders reported they found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was difficult for 29% of leaders. The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB). The SSSNB will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education and drive high and rising standards, so that every child has the best life chances.
If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of charging VAT on independent school fees on local authority costings to support displaced former private school children with special education needs.
This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time. The right time to discuss any funding for state funded schools is at the Spending Review.Children with Education, Health and Care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.The IFS report also projects that transfers from the private to the state-sector will be low at equivalent to less than 1% of state funded places.The department regularly speaks to local authorities about all local pupil place planning pressures.
What recent discussions she has had with local educational authorities on the potential costs of supporting displaced former private school children with special educational needs.
This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time. The right time to discuss any funding for state funded schools is at the Spending Review.Children with Education, Health and Care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.The IFS report also projects that transfers from the private to the state-sector will be low at equivalent to less than 1% of state funded places.The department regularly speaks to local authorities about all local pupil place planning pressures.