Written questions by Perteghella.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of recent changes to National Insurance contributions on small manufacturing businesses.

The Chancellor has decided to protect the smallest businesses, including in the manufacturing sector, by increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,500, and removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, meaning all eligible employers benefit. This means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package.

What steps her Department is taking to increase (a) teaching capacity and (b) student places in further education colleges.

To ensure that further education colleges can meet student demand, the department is spending approximately £87 million in the 2024/25 academic year to support in-year growth costs. This recognises the very large increase in students this year, which has led to the need for an unprecedented amount of in-year growth.The department will be investing over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year to respond to the significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. We are making approximately £50 million of this funding available to colleges for April to July 2025 to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention. In addition, eligible early career teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and priority technical subjects can receive up to £6,000 after tax annually, on top of their normal pay.In the 2025/26 financial year, the department is providing £10 million of capital funding to Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leeds City Council to support capacity for rising numbers of 16 to 19-year-olds, increasing opportunities in these places with the greatest pressures.

What steps her Department is taking to improve (a) pay and (b) working conditions in further education colleges.

Further education (FE) colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges and for the working conditions of their staff.FE Colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff. Unlike maintained schools, colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers, but are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances.The department will be investing over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure enough funding is available to respond to the significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. We are making approximately £50 million of this funding available to colleges for April to July 2025 to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention.The Plan to Make Work Pay sets out an ambitious agenda to deliver our Plan for Change by ensuring employment rights are fit for a modern economy, empowering working people and contributing to economic growth. Once implemented, it will represent the biggest upgrade of workers’ rights in a generation, including for those in the FE sector.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of students that will be entering further education colleges in the 2025-26 academic year.

The information requested is not held centrally.For capital funding, the department uses information from a number of sources, including the Office for National Statistics, to understand future demand so that there is sufficient capacity in the system.For revenue funding for 16 to 19-year-olds, allocations to colleges are based on the previous year’s numbers, with growth funding available where there is exceptional growth. The most recently published 16 to 19 student numbers relate to the 2023/24 academic year and can be found in the funding allocations for the 2024/25 academic year at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/16-to-19-education-and-skills-funding#published-allocations.

With reference to the Spring Statement of 26 March 2025, how the £625 million for construction skills will be allocated; and when providers will receive (a) funding allocations and (b) bidding information.

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 the 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 help to deliver new initiatives, such as establishing ten Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction in every region in England.Additional information regarding allocations and bidding information at regional and provider level will be shared in due course.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a statutory power for local flood authorities to (a) adopt and (b) maintain sustainable urban drainage systems.

The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. We will consider whether further changes are required to manage sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further reform. National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to help ensure that local authorities have adequate (a) powers and (b) resources to (i) adopt and (ii) manage sustainable drainage systems.

The government is committed to securing the delivery of high-quality sustainable drainage systems to help manage flood risk and adapt to the effects of climate change. The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 amended an existing paragraph regarding incorporating sustainable drainage systems in new development to make clear that developments of all sizes are expected to make use of sustainable drainage techniques where the development could have drainage impacts. These systems should be appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposed development. We will consider whether further changes are required to manage sustainable drainage systems provision through the planning system when we consult on further reform. National Planning Guidance is clear that local authorities should be satisfied that all Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems have clear maintenance and adoption arrangements in place for the lifetime of a development.

What steps his Department is taking to review the proposed fixed recoverable costs scheme for clinical negligence claims.

Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on fixed recoverable costs and we will announce our position in due course.

Whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of fixed recoverable costs on (a) birth injury cases, (b) mental health-related negligence claims and (c) claims involving elderly care.

Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on fixed recoverable costs and we will announce our position in due course.

Whether he plans to consult stakeholders on the potential impact of fixed recoverable costs on access to justice for vulnerable patients impacted by clinical negligence.

Currently, the Government is considering the way forward on fixed recoverable costs and we will announce our position in due course.

Whether music education will be one of the metrics assessed in the Ofsted report card announced for schools in England.

Ofsted is currently consulting on a revised education inspection framework and inspection report card. This is therefore a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing targeted support to universities at risk of closing their music departments.

The government is committed to supporting higher education arts courses. We recognise the vital role these institutions play in nurturing talent and contributing to the UK's cultural and economic landscape.For the 2024/25 academic year, the department has allocated around £12.9 million to creative and performing arts courses. Additionally, we have allocated £58 million in Strategic Priorities Grant funding to world-leading small and specialist providers, including 12 creative and performing arts institutions. This funding supports the provision of these courses and promotes opportunities for students.

What steps her Department plans to take to increase the number of apprenticeships in the creative sector.

The government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across England. This will create routes into skilled jobs in growing industries, such as the creative industries, for people of all ages and backgrounds.This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships in targeted sectors. The department is reducing the minimum duration of an apprenticeship to eight months, so employers have the flexibility to train people up more quickly where that makes sense, for example, because an apprentice has high a level of prior experience, or that sector does not work in 12-month training cycles. Apprentices in Film/TV production will be some of the many who are set to benefit from this approach.Employers in the creative sector have developed 74 apprenticeships, including the level 3 Creative Industries Production Technician, to help them develop their workforce.To support employers to access apprenticeships the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people, adults and employers through the ‘Skills for Life’ campaign.

Innovation and Technology, which of the recommendations from the 2019 Online Harms White Paper his Department has implemented.

The Online Harms White Paper set out a vision for a new regulatory framework for online services to tackle online harm, which would be overseen by an independent regulator with a suite of enforcement powers.The Online Safety Act realises this vision. On 17 March 2025, illegal harms codes of practice came into effect, enabling Ofcom to take robust enforcement action against platforms failing to protect users from illegal content. Services are also required to conduct risk assessments for content harmful to children later this month, with the child safety duties expected to be enforceable by Summer 2025.

Whether her Department plans to deliver a Music and Arts Pupil Premium to schools.

Schools are expected to fund the delivery of music and arts teaching from their core budget. The government has committed to putting education back at the forefront of national life, with a further £3.2 billion going into schools’ budgets, with £1 billion for children and young people with high needs. Overall core revenue funding for schools totalled almost £61.6 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. Over and above core school funding, the government is investing £79 million per year for the Music Hubs programme, which includes 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. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced last month our 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. One of the responsibilities of the National Centre will be to lead the Music Hubs programme. Future funding for music and arts education is subject to the ongoing spending review and more details will be published in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to increase recruitment of music teachers.

High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor in determining a child’s educational outcomes. Recruiting and retaining additional numbers of qualified, expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances of every child. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new, expert teachers. To deliver this pledge we are resetting the relationship with the sector to ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession and one that existing teachers want to remain in, former teachers want to return to and new graduates wish to join. The 2024/25 initial teacher training census reported 331 trainees had begun courses in music, up from 216 trainees in the 2023/24 academic year. We reintroduced a £10,000 music bursary for the 2024/25 academic year and are continuing to offer this for courses starting in 2025/26. A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and the department wants to ensure teachers of all subjects and phases stay and thrive in the profession. We agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers this academic year, 2024/25, and have taken steps to improve teachers’ workloads and wellbeing and enable greater flexible working, to support retention and help re-establish teaching as an attractive profession.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the non-recognition of unmarried partnerships in family law on economic abuse.

The financial difficulties which cohabitants can face when their cohabiting relationships come to an end is a matter of concern. The Government committed in its manifesto to strengthening the rights and protections for women in cohabiting couples within its broader commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.As part of our work on cohabitation reform, we are carefully considering issues relating to cohabitation and domestic abuse, including economic abuse. We will launch a public consultation later this year to build public consensus on what cohabitation reform should look like.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service does not allow economic abuse through missed payments by the paying parent.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic and economic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need. The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) possess robust enforcement powers and use them effectively in the collection of arrears. CMS has also implemented significant improvements to speed up action when payments break down, targeting enforcement actions more effectively. A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included proposals to remove the Direct Pay service. These measures will allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster as monitoring all payments would enable the CMS to immediately identify any missed, late or partial payments and take swift enforcement action.The consultation was extended by this Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. We are currently analysing the responses we have received, and the Government will publish a response in due course.

If she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce legal protections for cohabiting couples to ensure equitable distribution of assets on separation.

The financial difficulties which cohabitants can face when their cohabiting relationships come to an end is a matter of concern. The Government committed in its manifesto to strengthening the rights and protections for women in cohabiting couples within its broader commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.As part of our work on cohabitation reform, we are carefully considering issues relating to cohabitation and domestic abuse, including economic abuse. We will launch a public consultation later this year to build public consensus on what cohabitation reform should look like.

What steps she is taking to improve enforcement against paying parents who repeatedly miss Child Maintenance Service payments.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring separated parents support their children financially, taking robust enforcement action against those who do not. The CMS has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children including deducting directly from earnings, bank accounts and forcing the sale of a property. The Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 proposed regulations to support the introduction of administrative liability orders (ALOs), removing the requirement to obtain a court issued liability order. Introducing this process should enable the Child Maintenance Service to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and get money to children more quickly. We are working with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service and the Scottish Government to establish a process for implementing ALOs and plan to introduce regulations to Parliament by the end of this year.