Written questions by Cooper.

Whether the contract for the National school breakfast club programme prohibits the use of ultra-processed cereals and breads; and if she will set out the nutritional and processing specification of that contract.

The National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP) is an inherited scheme from the previous government and the contract will end in July 2026. The contract with the supplier Family Action stipulates that all food available for schools to purchase must meet the School Food Standards, which already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low-quality reformed or reconstituted foods. To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are revising the School Food Standards and are engaging with experts across the sector.This government is committed to delivering a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. All NSBP schools with primary-aged pupils will have the opportunity to transition onto the free breakfast clubs programme from September 2026. NSBP secondary schools will be provided with continued support at an equivalent value to what they receive on the NSBP for the 2026/7 academic year. Further details for secondary schools will follow shortly.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a maximum five per cent threshold for ultra-processed foods (Nova Group 4) in the updated School Food Standards.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has considered the impact of processed foods on health in 2023 and 2025, and recommends that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt and free sugars and low in fibre.The School Food Standards already restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low-quality reformed or reconstituted foods, but to ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, we are revising the School Food Standards. We are engaging experts across the sector, such as nutritionists, and are developing our plans to consult on the changes.

What steps her Department is taking ensure education on gambling harm is provided by organisations independent of the gambling industry; and whether targeted interventions are planned to educate children on gambling harms.

The updated Relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education (RSHE) guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught about the risks associated with gambling, including the accumulation of debt. This guidance can be read in full here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.Content is taught at both primary and secondary education and in reviewing the guidance, the department worked with ‘Gambling With Lives’ as part of the stakeholder engagement process.Schools have flexibility over how they teach issues and the materials they use, however the guidance is clear that schools should check that external resources are accurate and unbiased.As part of the statutory gambling levy prevention programme, the Gambling Harms Prevention Grant Fund was launched this month. This may include education programmes and interventions for children and young people, and competing organisations will be required to sign up to demonstrate their commitment to moving towards a new public health approach, independent of industry funding.

What guidance her Department provides to schools on gambling-like features in video games, including loot boxes and in-game spending, as part of online safety education.

Statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) supports children and young people to manage risk and make informed decisions in relation to their mental wellbeing and online behaviour. The updated RSHE statutory guidance is clear that children and young people should be taught the risks relating to online gaming, video game monetisation, scams, fraud and other financial harms, and that gaming can become addictive. Curriculum content also includes the risks related to online gambling and gambling-like content within gaming, including the accumulation of debt. The departments online safety guidance covers how to teach about all aspects of internet safety and includes content on gaming and gambling, and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools. As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver important topics and use their autonomy and local community knowledge to do this.

How she plans to ensure consistency in pay and conditions for supply teachers when participation in the new Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework is on an opt-in basis.

The new iteration of the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework will remove excessive agency mark-ups through a cap on agency fees.It will not affect pay for supply teachers employed through agencies. This will continue to be set by agencies in the first 12 weeks of an assignment, and supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances. The Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments exceeding 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

What steps she is taking to mitigate variations in pay and employment conditions arising from individual school negotiations with agencies under the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework.

The new iteration of the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework will remove excessive agency mark-ups through a cap on agency fees.It will not affect pay for supply teachers employed through agencies. This will continue to be set by agencies in the first 12 weeks of an assignment, and supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances. The Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments exceeding 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

Whether she made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework to require supply teachers to be paid in line with the national teacher pay scale.

The new iteration of the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework will remove excessive agency mark-ups through a cap on agency fees.It will not affect pay for supply teachers employed through agencies. This will continue to be set by agencies in the first 12 weeks of an assignment, and supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances. The Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments exceeding 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

What assessment she has made of the impact on supply teacher recruitment and retention of not requiring agencies operating under the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework to pay in accordance with the national teacher pay scale.

The new iteration of the Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework will remove excessive agency mark-ups through a cap on agency fees.It will not affect pay for supply teachers employed through agencies. This will continue to be set by agencies in the first 12 weeks of an assignment, and supply teachers are free to register with multiple agencies to find the best pay and conditions to meet their own circumstances. The Agency Worker Regulations provides that all workers on assignments exceeding 12 weeks are paid on equal terms as permanent staff after the 12th week.

For what reason the new Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework makes no provision for ensuring that supply teachers can access the teachers’ pension scheme.

The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the teachers’ pension scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer. These are local authorities, academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the scheme employer.Where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme.Supply teachers employed by agencies will continue to have access to alternative workplace pensions.

What steps she is taking to improve supply teachers’ access to the teachers’ pension scheme under the new Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework.

The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the teachers’ pension scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer. These are local authorities, academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the scheme employer.Where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme.Supply teachers employed by agencies will continue to have access to alternative workplace pensions.

What mechanisms she is putting in place to ensure that proposed agency fee caps under the new Supply Teachers and Temporary Staffing framework are effectively monitored and enforced.

The responsibility for monitoring adherence to the agency fee caps, and all requirements of the framework agreement, sits with Crown Commercial Service (CCS). As part of the framework terms and conditions, agencies must provide data reporting, with potential consequences of non-compliance resulting in removal from the framework agreement.To support CCS, the department will review spend across the sector, comparing it with the management information reported by suppliers to CCS through the framework.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of different rates of change in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage between 2023 and 2024 compared to changes in the student loan repayment threshold on people who have graduated in the last five years.

Changes to student loan repayment thresholds are not linked to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Borrowers are liable to repay a fixed percentage of earnings only when earning above the applicable student loan repayment threshold. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower. A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

What processes are in place to ensure accountability and transparency when GCSE examination scripts are lost by exam boards.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

How many incidents of lost exam scripts have been reported to the Department and Ofqual in each of the last two academic years.

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to my hon. Friend, the Member for Worthing West and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Whether she has considered allowing local education authorities to open new maintained schools.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, the government is removing the legal presumption that all new schools are opened as academies, allowing local authorities to welcome proposals for all types of school, and to put forward their own proposals where they choose to do so.These changes will better align local authorities’ responsibility to secure sufficient school places with their ability to open new schools.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing schools currently managed by multi-academy trusts to return to local education authority control.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that there are no immediate plans to develop options that will enable academy schools to convert to local authority-maintained status.The department’s priority is to ensure that all children receive the best possible education. Where the existing leadership of a school does not have the capacity to improve an underperforming school we will continue to intervene structurally. We are also strengthening our tools for school improvement through regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, who will provide mandatory, targeted intervention to drive improvements for schools.

When he plans to publish the revised School Food Standards; and what steps he is taking to consult (a) schools, (b) public health experts and (c) other stakeholders in the process.

To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance. We are currently engaging with a range of stakeholders to help us understand the challenges around school food.We intend to consult on these revisions and further details will be available in due course. We understand the importance of hearing from schools as part of this work and will ensure there are appropriate opportunities for their engagement.

How revised school food standards will align with (a) wider Government strategies on health and (b) the 10-Year Plan for Health.

The government is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever and it is important that schools follow the latest nutritional guidance. We are working with experts on revising the School Food Standards, to ensure they support on strategies around health. The current School Food Standards already state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day and at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the amount of health-related content in the national curriculum.

Health education has been compulsory in all state-funded schools in England since 2020, as part of statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).The RSHE curriculum, which is currently being reviewed, includes a wide range of health-related topics, including healthy eating, physical fitness, mental wellbeing and first aid, as well as the risks of smoking, drugs and alcohol.Separately, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will consider how RSHE fits into the wider curriculum.

What steps she is taking to help support local authorities to reduce the waiting times for education, health and care plans to be processed.

For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve.The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.The department publishes annual data from the SEN2 survey in relation to the processes associated with EHC plans, including the timeliness of assessments and, where agreed, the issuing of an EHC plan. The department also closely monitors the information from the annual SEN2 data release and uses it to inform discussions with local areas.Local authorities identified as having issues with EHC plan timeliness are subject to additional monitoring by the department, who work with the specific local authority. Where there are concerns about the local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, the department can secure specialist SEND Adviser support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.The department knows that local authorities have been impacted by increased demand for EHC plans and workforce capacity to meet this demand, so more efficient and effective service delivery, alongside communication with schools and families, is central to the recovery.When inspections indicate that there are significant concerns with local authority performance, the department will intervene directly. This may mean issuing an improvement notice, statutory direction and/or appointing a commissioner, the deployment of which is considered on a case-by-case basis. We also provide support and challenge, for example from SEND Improvement Advisers and Sector-Led Improvement Partners to address the challenges local authorities face and improve services for children.