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1717487

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	School Meals: Processed Food
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the proportion of ultra-processed foods in school meals.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	25843
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>There is no universally agreed definition of ultra-processed foods. The term defines foods by how much processing they have been through rather than their nutritional composition.</p><p>The standards for school food are set out in The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014. These regulations are designed to ensure that schools provide pupils with healthy food and drink options and to make sure that pupils have the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day.</p><p>The ‘School Food Standards’ define the foods and drinks that must be provided, those which are restricted and those which must never be provided. The standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, including crisps, confectionery and high-sugar drinks, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods. They also ensure that the right foods are available for children every day. For example, one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits every week.</p><p>Compliance with the standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies and free schools. School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.</p><p>The department believes that the standards provide a robust yet flexible framework for school food provision. The government continues to keep the standards under review.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 16/05/2024 15:26:41 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1717755

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will lower the threshold for free school meals qualification.
	tabling member constituency	Nottingham East
	tabling member printed	Nadia Whittome
	uin	26015
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The department has extended free school meal (FSM) support several times and to more groups of children than any other government over the past half a century. As a result, the greatest ever proportion of children are now receiving free lunches. Over one third of children are now eligible for FSM, compared to one in six in 2010.</p><p>However, a threshold must be set somewhere. The department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low-income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the correct decision.</p><p>The department will continue to keep FSM eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 16/05/2024 15:24:45 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4869 label Biography information for Nadia Whittome

1717096

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Loans
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the value of tuition fee repayments that were written off due to lower graduate salary levels between 2020 and 2023.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	25637
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>As education is a devolved issue, the following answer concerns the student finance system in England only. The student finance systems of the devolved administrations differ from that of England.</p><p> </p><p>The department makes regular assessments of the expected write-off amount of student loans issued in each financial year. These forecasts are published on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>The headline statistic Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge is the percentage of the loans (both tuition and maintenance) outlaid to students in a given financial year, that the government expects to subsidise, i.e. write-off.</p><p> </p><p>Repayments are calculated based on income, not on the amount borrowed. Borrowers earning less than the repayment threshold repay nothing at all, and loans are cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. The Student Loans Company will also cancel a borrower’s liability to repay a loan if the borrower dies or receives an eligible disability-related benefit and because of the disability is permanently unfit for work. It is not possible to disaggregate the pure impact of salary levels of borrowers (graduates and non-graduates) on loan write-offs.</p><p> </p><p>The latest publication of the student loan forecasts for England was published in June 2023, and will be updated at the end of June 2024. The RAB charge for full-time undergraduate higher education (plan 2) loans issued in the 2022/23 financial year was forecast to be 28%.</p><p> </p><p>Student loan repayments volumes are sensitive to the wider economic environment. Earnings of borrowers (both graduates and non-graduates), interest rates, inflation rates, repayment threshold freezes, policy changes and modelling improvements, all influence the RAB charge forecasts. For these reasons RAB forecasts from the past are not directly comparable year-on-year.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 15/05/2024 16:36:43 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1717121

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Further Education and T-levels
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, Education, how many and what proportion of students are studying for a level 3 qualification; and whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of students that will begin (a) a foundation T Level and (b) any T Level course for each academic year between 2024 and 2030.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	25719
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>In 2022, there were 599,000 students aged 16 in education in England. 440,000 students, or 73%, were studying qualifications at Level 3. More information can be found in the ‘Participation in education, training and employment age 16 to 18’ publication on GOV.UK.</p><p> </p><p>The department does not publish estimates for the number of students that will begin a T Level or T Level Foundation year (TLFY) in each academic year. Over 30,000 students have started a T Level since 2020, and over 16,000 students have started on the TLFY over the first four years. The recently published T Level Action Plan sets out the steps the department is taking to continue to increase uptake over the coming years.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 16/05/2024 10:09:32 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1716835

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Anti-semitism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	25406
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>As of 10 May 2024, 245 higher education (HE) providers in England, including all but six universities, have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.</p><p> </p><p>​While the decision to adopt the definition rests with individual HE providers, the government will continue to encourage all to adopt the definition. Adopting this widely recognised educative tool is a signal that providers take these issues seriously.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 14/05/2024 16:14:58 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1716842

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Schools: Libraries
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools in have a dedicated (a) library and (b) librarian in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	25407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>The department believes that all pupils deserve to be taught a knowledge-rich curriculum that promotes the extensive reading of books and other texts, both in and out of school. School libraries complement public libraries in allowing pupils to do this.</p><p> </p><p>It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Overall school funding is increasing by more than £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 academic year compared to the 2023/24 academic year, taking the total to £60.7 billion, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. Many headteachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided. School libraries can take many forms, with some schools preferring to make books a focus in other ways, including housing them within classrooms.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s Reading Framework, updated in July 2023, offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including helpful guidance for schools on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers. Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on the number of school libraries.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 25303 25304 25305 25306 question first answered 15/05/2024 12:46:23 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1716870

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Faith Schools: Admissions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of ending the cap on faith school admissions.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds North East
	tabling member printed	Fabian Hamilton
	uin	25436
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>My Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced on 1 May 2024 that the department are consulting on faith designation reforms for new and existing free schools and special academies. This is available on Hansard at: <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-01/hcws437" target="_blank">https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-05-01/hcws437</a>.</p><p>​​The consultation will run for seven weeks, closing on 20 June 2024. The department will then carefully consider all responses to the consultation and use them to inform the department’s recommendations for better meeting the policy objectives of faith schools.</p><p>​The government’s response will be published on the GOV.UK website within twelve weeks following closure of the consultation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 14/05/2024 14:24:59 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	415 label Biography information for Fabian Hamilton

1716938

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the teacher recruitment and retention schemes that have received notice that funding will be (a) reduced and (b) ended since 1 January 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Twickenham
	tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
	uin	25589
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>England currently has the highest number of teachers on record. At the last count there were over 468,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>To make sure the department’s teacher recruitment and retention efforts are focussed on where they are needed most and providing best value for taxpayers’ money, the department has made some changes to funding allocations. Since January 2024, notice of changes to funding has been sent to the following teacher recruitment and retention partners:</p><p> </p><ul><li>All providers of Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses and initial teacher training (ITT) providers. The department are continuing to offer funded SKE in subjects with the greatest sufficiency challenges, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, computing, and languages and are continuing to offer a £175 per week tax-free bursary for eligible candidates to support them on their SKE training course.</li><li>Providers of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) informing them of changes to scholarship eligibility. The department is offering full scholarship funding in all NPQ subjects to teachers and leaders working in schools, and other settings, in the most challenging circumstances and serving more deprived communities. In addition, four NPQ subjects will continue to receive scholarship funding for all teachers and leaders employed at state-funded organisations. These include the NPQ in Headship, the early headship coaching offer, the NPQ in leading primary mathematics and the NPQ for special educational needs coordinators.</li><li>Providers and teacher training applicants informing them of changes to the eligibility criteria for the UK's international relocation payments. These payments will be available to international teachers who teach physics and languages in England.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Since January 2024, notice of non-renewal of funding has been sent to:</p><p> </p><ul><li>Now Teach informing them that the department will not be renewing their contract when it ends. The career changers programme has, and continues to, support career changers to enter teaching. The department remains committed to continuing to recruit and support career changers into ITT and are now carrying out a review to understand how to best meet the needs of a wider range of career changers.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries that are worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships that are £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. The ITT financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 15/05/2024 12:59:27 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

1716442

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices and Training: Disadvantaged
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help disadvantaged children access (a) traineeships and (b) apprenticeships.
	tabling member constituency	North West Leicestershire
	tabling member printed	Andrew Bridgen
	uin	25235
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>Apprenticeships offer great opportunities for young people who are starting out in their careers, and the department is committed to supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to access these opportunities more easily.</p><p> </p><p>The Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme, funded at £3.2 million per year, provides schools and further education colleges across England with a free, bespoke package of comprehensive information and supports young people from all backgrounds and areas to access apprenticeships. The department is expanding the ASK Development Schools project in the 2023/24 academic year from 40 to 60 schools, including those in disadvantaged areas. This provides bespoke support for students in years 10 and 11 at levels one and below, who have the potential to progress into an apprenticeship but who are facing significant personal barriers such as learning difficulties, disabilities, or emotional, behavioural development issues.</p><p> </p><p>The department has also tripled the care leavers’ bursary for apprentices under the age of 25 from £1000 to £3000, helping even more young people to access and complete their apprenticeships, and continues to pay an additional £1,000 to employers and providers to support apprentices aged 16-18, care leavers and those with an Education, Health and Care plan aged 24 and under. The department is also supporting young people to undertake apprenticeships by fully funding training costs for new apprentices aged 16-21 in non-levy paying employers, who tend to be small and medium-sized enterprises, from April 2024.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the government’s commitment to provide a comprehensive and clear skills offer for employers and individuals, in August 2023 the traineeships programme was integrated into the 16-19 study programme and adult education provision. All the elements of the traineeship programme, English and mathematics, work experience, employability, and occupational skills and qualifications will continue to be funded for 16-19 year olds as part of the national 16-19 study programme. Providers with access to funding can continue to offer traineeship type programmes for young people who need support to get into work, apprenticeships, or further learning.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall question first answered 14/05/2024 16:08:41 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4133 label Biography information for Andrew Bridgen

1716453

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Coastal Areas
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the retention rate of teachers in coastal communities.
	tabling member constituency	Eastbourne
	tabling member printed	Caroline Ansell
	uin	25293
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>The department currently has the highest number of teachers on record, with over 468,000 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England. This represents an increase of 27,000 (6%) since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.</p><p> </p><p>The department knows there is further to go to improve recruitment in some subjects. That is why the department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. For language subjects, the department is offering bursaries worth £25,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £27,000 tax-free in French, German and Spanish. The department is also continuing to offer bursaries and scholarships to all non-UK national trainees in physics and languages. The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, which is a £15 million increase on the last cycle.</p><p> </p><p>For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. As of 2023, 69% of secondary or special schools in coastal towns are eligible for the Levelling Up Premium, compared to 59% of schools elsewhere in the country. This will support both recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.</p><p> </p><p>Coastal communities are also well served by the department’s network of Teaching School Hubs (TSHs), which are school-led centres of excellence in professional development, delivering training and support to teachers and school leaders at every stage of their career. The 87 TSHs cover all of England, with 31 hubs currently serving 146 coastal areas across England.</p><p> </p><p>Regarding recruitment targets, simply looking at post-graduate Initial Teacher Training (PGITT) recruitment as an indicator of broader teacher recruitment is misleading as it is not the only route into teaching, nor does it represent the available number of teachers in the workforce. The PGITT target is calculated using the Teacher Workforce Model, which considers a broad range of factors including, but not limited to, projected pupil numbers, historical recruitment performance, teacher retention forecasts, economic factors, and recruitment from other non-ITT related routes such as returners and those teachers that are new to the state-funded schools sector.</p><p> </p><p>Therefore, the PGITT target is not based on the total number of entrants schools’ need, but rather on the forecast residual need after accounting for other non-PGITT inflows, such as undergraduate ITT and returners. The department calculates targets on an annual basis, and if retention and entrants from other routes are higher than expected during the time that trainees are applying for and completing their course, this can offset the need to meet the PGITT targets in full.</p><p> </p><p>The department will continue to monitor PGITT and other routes into teaching and have provided targeted support to ensure it recruits and retains sufficient numbers of teachers in all key subjects, including physics and languages.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds grouped question UIN 25297 25298 question first answered 15/05/2024 12:29:37 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4512 label Biography information for Caroline Ansell