Written questions by Stephenson.

Whether she has made an assessment of the value for money to students of each UK university.

The department recognises the vital role universities play in driving economic growth, producing world-leading research, and delivering value for money to students. Frameworks like the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) help ensure accountability for public research funding and demonstrate the quality and value of the research and knowledge exchange delivered by UK universities.For each £1 of publicly funded research income, the UK higher education (HE) sector’s research and knowledge exchange activities generate approximately £9.9 in economic impact across the UK (2021/22). For every £1 of public funding for its teaching activities, the UK HE sector generates approximately £13 in economic impact from these activities across the UK (2021/22).For students, the Office for Students (OfS) monitors outcomes including continuation, completion, progression and graduate earnings, helping ensure that public investment in HE delivers high quality outcomes for both individuals and society.The department continues to work closely with the OfS and other bodies to support universities in delivering positive impacts for students and the wider economy.

If she will make an assessment of the value for money of the (a) economic growth contribution and (b) research output provided by each university.

The department recognises the vital role universities play in driving economic growth, producing world-leading research, and delivering value for money to students. Frameworks like the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF) help ensure accountability for public research funding and demonstrate the quality and value of the research and knowledge exchange delivered by UK universities.For each £1 of publicly funded research income, the UK higher education (HE) sector’s research and knowledge exchange activities generate approximately £9.9 in economic impact across the UK (2021/22). For every £1 of public funding for its teaching activities, the UK HE sector generates approximately £13 in economic impact from these activities across the UK (2021/22).For students, the Office for Students (OfS) monitors outcomes including continuation, completion, progression and graduate earnings, helping ensure that public investment in HE delivers high quality outcomes for both individuals and society.The department continues to work closely with the OfS and other bodies to support universities in delivering positive impacts for students and the wider economy.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of teaching assistants on the provision of SEND support within schools.

Teaching assistants (TAs) play a vital role in children’s education, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).A departmental survey in 2023, ‘The use of teaching assistants in schools’, found that TAs across all school settings most commonly support pupils with SEND, including those with education, health and care (EHC) plans. Half (50%) spent most of their time delivering interventions for pupils with additional needs.The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has highlighted that research suggests evidence based, structured interventions, delivered by TAs, can have a positive impact on pupil outcomes. The EEF’s guidance report, ‘Deployment of Teaching Assistants’, makes a number of recommendations to help schools make decisions about how to deploy their TAs to ensure they are used effectively.This government also recognises that the availability of training and career progression opportunities for TAs helps ensure schools have the skilled staff they need to deliver high-quality education.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled Thousands of children with SEND to benefit from assistive tech, published on 27 June 2025, which local authorities will receive that funding.

Digital assistive technology (AT) is an umbrella term that includes any device, software or system used to support individuals with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). When used effectively, AT can play a vital role in supporting pupils with SEND to achieve and thrive in mainstream education.That is why we are investing over £1.6 million to pilot assistive technology lending libraries through the SEND and alternative provision Change Programme. In participating areas, this will allow up to 3,800 mainstream schools to borrow and trial technology on a temporary basis, to identify the right products to support their pupils.The local authorities that will be participating in the trial of assistive technology lending libraries are:BedfordBradfordBrighton and HoveCalderdaleCentral BedfordshireCounty DurhamEast SussexEnfieldGatesheadGloucestershireHartlepoolCounty of HerefordshireIslingtonLeedsLeicesterLeicestershireLutonManchesterOldhamPortsmouthRochdaleRutlandShropshireStockton-on-TeesSwindonTelford and WrekinTraffordWakefieldWest SussexWorcestershire

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2025 to Question 63763 on Technical Excellence Colleges: Apprentices, if she will provide funding for Level 7 apprenticeships undertaken by people over 22 at Technical Excellence Colleges.

I refer the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57098.

Whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on reducing funding for Level 7 apprenticeships.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people, whose rate of apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% over the last decade.This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including analysis by Skills England of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including other government departments such as the Department of Health and Social Care.

What steps she is taking to help improve adult literacy.

The government recognises the importance of adult literacy skills. That is why the department supports participation in English through our ‘essential skills’ entitlements funded through the adult skills fund (ASF). This provides the opportunity for fully funded study up to and including level 2 for eligible adults aged 19+ who do not have essential literacy skills.Furthermore, the department supports adults aged 19+ in England who speak English as a second or additional language to access English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision, funded through the ASF, subject to the eligibility requirements laid out in the ASF and local rules on the provision of adult education.As part of the ASF, Tailored Learning funding can also be used to support learners to improve their essential skills if they are not ready to study for a qualification or would benefit from learning in a more informal way.

If she will make an assessment of the reasons for changes to the number of private school pupils between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic year.

The latest school census data, as at January 2025, reveals pupil numbers remain firmly within historical patterns seen for over 20 years. This information can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.

With reference to the press release entitled Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs, published on 30 May 2025, whether any schools in Bedfordshire will be included.

This government has increased investment for improving school buildings to £2.1 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, almost £300 million more than last year. As part of that, close to £470 million has been made available to eligible schools and sixth-form colleges through the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF).The department has published details of successful projects and applicants to the CIF for the 2025/26 financial year, including the local authority, and constituency. We can confirm that 11 schools in the county of Bedfordshire were successful.

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 54102 on Schools: Flood Control, whether her Department has had discussions with Kimberley College in Stewartby on flood protections.

To date no correspondence has been received from the college on this matter, therefore my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education can confirm the department’s Schools Water Strategy has not held discussions with Kimberley College on flood protections.The department has invested in measures to reduce risk to flooding at over 600 schools to the end of 2024/25 and through the Schools Water Strategy, we continue to invest in flood prevention in schools at risk of flooding in line with our published Sustainability and Climate Change strategy.

Whether she has had recent discussions with NHS Employers on planned changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.From January 2026, the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people, whose rate of apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% over the last decade.This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including NHS employers.

What the most common causes of school absences were in the 2024-25 academic year.

The department publishes figures on pupil attendance using daily data submitted by state-funded schools. The latest data for the 2024/25 academic year to date is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools/2025-week-24.According to the absence codes recorded by schools, the most commonly used code is ‘authorised illness absence’, followed by ‘unauthorised other absence’. A full breakdown of absence codes used is available at the aforementioned link.

When she plans to make a further announcement on the future of the Bedford Free School.

The review of mainstream free schools has focused on ensuring that government funding is targeted where it is most needed.We understand that trusts and local authorities want to have certainty about their projects as soon as possible. We will provide an update on next steps to trusts and local authorities in due course.

If she will make an estimate of the number of people working for state schools who possess a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification.

The requested information is not collected centrally.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on costs to the public purse in each of the next five years.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.From January 2026, we will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable government funding to be rebalanced towards young people and training at lower levels.Apprenticeship spend is dependent on employers choosing to offer apprenticeships and learners choosing to take them.The department does not publish information on projected apprenticeship spend.

Whether she has considered opening new specialist SEND schools, in the context of trends in the number of education, health and care plans.

We recognise the vital role that special schools play catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) 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.This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND. It is intended 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.We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through Resourced Provision and special educational needs units.

With reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, if she will make an estimate of the change in the (a) employers’ National Insurance and (b) salary costs for schools in Bedfordshire constituency between (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26.

Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.

With reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled, Teachers to benefit from pay boost, if she will make an estimate of the cost to schools of funding the first 1% of the pay award.

Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.

With reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, what estimate she has made of the increase in employers’ National Insurance costs for schools.

Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.

With reference to her Department's press release published on 22 May 2025 entitled Teachers to benefit from pay boost, what guidance she has issued to schools on steps to make savings through increased productivity.

Schools are receiving £615 million to support them with the costs of the 2025 pay awards, over and above the funding already being provided to schools in financial year 2025/26. The increase in National Insurance Contributions (NICs) costs were considered when calculating this additional funding.The department has asked that schools fund, on average, the first 1% of the 2025 pay awards. The impact of this will vary for individual schools based on their circumstances, as they have autonomy over how they use their funding, including any decisions on staffing.Schools in Central Bedfordshire are receiving £4 million to support them with their NICs costs; we will publish allocations for the 2025 pay grant in the autumn. From 2026/27, funding in respect of both NICs costs, and the 2025 pay awards, will be incorporated into schools’ core budgets through the national funding formula.The department provides a suite of free tools, guidance and support, developed in partnership with the sector, to help schools better manage their spending. Schools are already making savings and bringing core operating costs down: for example, the 400 schools who participated in the department’s new energy for schools pilot will save 36% on average compared to their previous contracts, which will free up vital funding to deliver for children and young people. We are also making plans to secure better banking solutions for schools, getting them better returns on their cash balances.Additionally, all schools can access services such as the get help buying for schools service to get best value when procuring goods and our teaching vacancies service to save recruitment costs. Since, workforce deployment is the biggest component of school budgets, we will support schools to benefit fully from the tools we offer to benchmark and integrate resourcing and curriculum planning, such as the financial benchmarking and insights tool. We will also introduce a new toolkit to support schools to adopt evidence-based deployment models. This will focus on data that helps schools identify areas for improvement and support to learn from best practice peers who are delivering strong outcomes for pupils with an efficient deployment model.