Written questions by Snowden.

What steps she is taking to provide training opportunities for people to upskill in the use of artificial intelligence.

​Through our Industrial Strategy, published in June 2025, this government will ensure the skills system and employment support align with strategic economic priorities, including the needs of priority sectors and transformative opportunities like artificial intelligence (AI).The government’s commitment to realising the benefits of AI was also illustrated in January, when we agreed to take forward all 50 recommendations from Matt Clifford’s AI Opportunities Action Plan.New short courses in areas such as digital, AI, and engineering will be introduced in England, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, to support Industrial Strategy sectors like Creative Industries and Advanced Manufacturing from April 2026.From January 2027, the department will launch the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, enabling individuals to learn, upskill and retrain across their working lives. The first modular courses for approval will support progression into Industrial Strategy priority sectors.The government recently announced a joint commitment with leading technology companies to provide 7.5 million workers with essential AI skills by 2030, around 20% of the UK workforce. Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Accenture have committed to making high quality training materials widely available to workers in businesses, large and small, across the country free of charge over the next five years.

When she plans to publish details of the Growth and Skills levy for businesses.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.From August 2025, the department will be introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. These flexibilities will help more people learn new, high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country.From April 2026, the department will also be introducing short courses in areas such as digital, artificial intelligence and engineering as part of the growth and skills offer.The department will set out more detail on the growth and skills offer in due course.

What steps her Department is taking to help improve educational outcomes for young people educated at home.

All children deserve an education that allows them to achieve and thrive, whether they are educated at school or otherwise.The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes a package of measures to support children not in school, including those who are home educated. Mandatory Children Not in School registers in every local authority in England and Wales, will help improve outcomes for home educated children by supporting local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas. Measures to make the School Attendance Order process more efficient will minimise the length of time that any child may spend receiving an unsuitable education, thus improving outcomes for children where home education is not working.The Bill also introduces the first ever duty on local authorities to provide support for home educating families on their registers, upon request ensuring those families have access to reliable advice and information on their child’s education.

What recent progress she has made in recruiting 6500 new teachers.

The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.We have made significant progress on this pledge. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full time employed staff in secondary and special schools between 2023/24 and 2024/25 and our future school teacher pipeline is also growing. As of June 2025, there are 12% more trainees who have accepted offers to train as secondary teachers, and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, acceptances are up 25% compared to last year.The recent spending review will further support delivery of this key pledge, providing an above-inflation increase to our core schools budget of £4.2 billion additional funding by 2028/29, and a substantial investment in skills, with over £1 billion of additional funding by 2028/29.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the teaching of CPR in schools.

All state-funded schools in England are required to teach first aid as part of statutory health education, which is taught as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). It includes basic first aid and dealing with common injuries, such as head injuries. Pupils in secondary schools are taught further first aid, for example how to administer CPR and the purpose of defibrillators. Schools can teach topics beyond those covered in the statutory guidance and have flexibility to respond to local issues.We are currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum, which includes considering whether any additional content is needed, and will be publishing revised guidance shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2024 to Question 12182 on Schools: Fylde, what recent estimate she has made of the potential impact of the introduction of VAT on independent school fees on the number of children who (a) have enrolled in state sector schools since 1 September 2024 and (b) are expected to enrol in state sector schools in the 2025-26 academic year.

His Majesty’s Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note on applying VAT to independent school fees, which includes the government’s estimations of the number of pupils expected to enter the state sector as a result of this policy. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost of hiring new teachers due to changes in employer National Insurance contributions for schools in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.

The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs was taken into account when calculating the additional funding the department is providing to support schools with the 2025 pay awards in the financial year 2025/26. Schools in Lancashire will be receiving £16.6 million to support them with their NICs costs and the department will publish allocations for the pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of NICs costs will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.

How many of the 3,000 (a) new and (b) expanded school-based nurseries will be in Fylde.

At the Spending Review, the department announced almost £370 million of further funding to create tens of thousands of places in new and expanded school-based nurseries to ensure more children can access the high-quality early education they deserve and get the best start in life.The department is currently planning the next phases of the programme, and we will be announcing the next steps shortly. We encourage eligible schools in Fylde to engage with their local authority and explore opportunities to participate in future rounds of funding.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of funding for SEND provision in mainstream schools.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What steps her Department is taking to increase the number of places at schools equipped to accommodate special educational needs.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What support is available to local authorities to meet demand for SEND provision.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities.The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lancashire County Council has been allocated £19.6 million.This funding can be used to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

What guidance she has issued to schools to deal with extreme weather warnings.

The department has an Education Hub, which is a site for parents, pupils, education professionals and the media, that captures everything they need to know about the education system. On 16 June 2025, the Education Hub published an article offering guidance for schools and educational settings on hot weather and heatwaves. This guidance is available here: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2025/06/hot-weather-and-heatwaves-guidance-for-schools-and-other-education-settings/.The department also publishes guidance on emergency planning and response for education, childcare and children’s social care settings. This includes a section on severe weather, including extreme heat, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/emergency-planning-and-response-for-education-childcare-and-childrens-social-care-settings.The UK Health Security Agency also publishes guidance for teachers and other educational professionals about looking after children and those in early years settings before and during hot weather, covering health risks from heat and how to protect children when at school. This guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/looking-after-children-and-those-in-early-years-settings-before-and-during-hot-weather-teachers-and-other-educational-professionals.

What support is available to ensure that children with Down syndrome receive (a) inclusive and (b) appropriate education in mainstream schools in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.

Improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools is a key part of our ambition to ensure that all children and young people receive the support they need, in the most appropriate setting.High-quality teaching is central to ensuring that all pupils, including those with Down’s Syndrome or other types of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), are given the best possible opportunity to achieve. To support all teachers, the department is implementing a range of teacher training reforms to ensure teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed.On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in mainstream schools. The qualification will play a key role in improving outcomes for pupils with SEND, including Down’s Syndrome, by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training on how best to support children with SEND.We are also strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings. We have commissioned evidence reviews from Newcastle University and University College London. These will help to drive inclusive practices by highlighting what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people with different types of needs.

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of financial education in schools in Fylde constituency.

I refer the hon. Member for Fylde to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.

What steps her Department is taking with local authorities to ensure (a) early and (b) consistent identification of dyslexia in primary schools in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire.

We recognise that the early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia, and measures have been introduced to support the effective teaching of reading. This includes the English Hubs programme, the publication of the reading framework and an updated list of high quality systematic synthetic phonics programmes for schools.The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. As part of the continuous professional development provided by the English Hubs, the Reading Ambition for All programme has been launched to improve outcomes for children who need additional support with reading, including those with SEND.​ Fylde's nearest English Hub is St John Vianney English Hub.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 58330 on Poverty: Children, how the (a) rollout of free breakfast clubs and (b) extension of free school meals will be (i) implemented and (ii) monitored in (A) rural and (B) coastal constituencies.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. In order to test and learn about how best to support schools in implementing new free universal breakfast clubs, we have selected over 750 early adopter schools who began delivering from the start of the 2025 summer term, ahead of national roll out to all schools with primary-aged children.Schools have been selected to ensure a representative sample, to ensure the early adopter scheme learns from a variety of schools in a range of locations, including schools in rural and costal constituencies.​By taking this approach, we will be able to gain insights into any challenges and barriers schools may face, in order to develop solutions ahead of breakfast clubs national roll out.We have now announced that we are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. It will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57447 on Local History: Education, how (a) local historians, (b) museums and (c) heritage organisations can contribute to (i) curriculum development and (ii) enrichment in local history education.

Schools determine which organisations they work with to support the teaching of local history. This can include local historians, museums and heritage organisations.The Curriculum and Assessment Review carried out extensive engagement with the education sector, including teachers, lecturers, leaders, civil society organisations, students and parents, through its Call for Evidence and roundtable events. This provided an opportunity for bodies and individuals with an interest in local history to contribute to the Review.

What steps she is taking to ensure bachelors degree courses represent value for money.

Students and the taxpayer rightly expect a good return on their significant investment in higher education (HE). However, the Student Academic Experience Survey report 2025, published this month by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Advance HE, shows that only 37% of students think they are getting ‘good’ or ‘very good’ value for money.Value for money is also about ensuring graduates contribute to the economy and society through the skills they acquire, and we know from the September 2024 report from Skills England, ‘Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’, that many of England’s businesses are dependent on graduate skills. Yet the latest release of the Graduate Labour Market Statistics shows that only 67.9% of working age graduates are in high skilled employment.This government is determined to change this and to ensure that our HE system delivers value for money. Sir David Behan’s Independent Review of the Office for Students (OfS) recommended that the OfS refocus its work on four key priorities: the quality of HE, the financial sustainability of HE providers, acting in the student interest, and protecting how public money is spent. The government has accepted the Review’s recommendations and will continue to work with the OfS to hold providers to account for the quality of students’ experiences and the outcomes they achieve.

What steps her Department is taking to provide support in (a) schools and (b) colleges for young carers to help them balance educational responsibilities with caring duties.

The impact of caring responsibilities on a young person’s education has been hidden for too long. The department is using school census data to shine a light on young carer’s attendance, suspensions and exclusions, and is aiming to publish data on their educational progress and attainment this autumn.This data will support our work to break down barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage, ensuring our reforms to both education and to children’s social care work for young carers.

If she will make an estimate of the number of students in state schools who have transferred from the private sector in the last year in Fylde.

The number of state school pupils in Lancashire decreased by more than 1,000 between January 2024 and January 2025. This suggests that any transfers from the private sector within the relevant local authority have been easily absorbed, alongside other pressures.