Written questions by Anderson.

What guidance her Department has issued to schools in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency on minimum attendance improvement targets.

Tackling absence is central to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Children attended over 5.3 million additional days in the 2024/25 school year compared to the 2023/23 school year, with over 140,000 fewer pupils persistently absent. Our statutory ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets clear expectations for schools to take a support-first approach, using data to identify patterns and intervene early. To support this, our attendance baseline improvement expectations (ABIEs) set out the minimum improvement expected over an academic year, based on each school’s context and previous year’s attendance. Schools’ progress against their ABIEs informs the type of support offered. ABIEs are a starting point, not a limit. Schools are encouraged to work, towards pre-pandemic attendance levels or better. Indicative ABIEs are available now, with full introduction in 2026/27. Alongside ABIEs, schools receive ‘similar schools’ reports which name higher-performing schools with comparable characteristics and provide advice on how to contact them to share strategies. Schools can also access an updated attendance improvement toolkit for practical advice on attendance improvement. For schools facing the greatest challenges, we are rolling out up to 90 Attendance and Behaviour Hubs, to deliver structured peer support and bespoke improvement plans.

How much funding under the reading initiative has been allocated for teacher training in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire.

The government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading in the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools, delivered through the 34 English Hubs, to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school; and new support and training for secondary schools to support reading at key stage 3.Milton Keynes is served by Whiteknights English Hub. The department does not provide specific funding to local authorities under the English Hubs programme.

With reference to the press notice entitled World-leading UK higher education sector expands in India and bolsters growth at home, published on 9 October 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the expansion of higher education partnerships in India on the economy.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is pleased that 14 university Vice Chancellors and representatives joined my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, in his recent trip to India in recognition of the increased demand for higher education (HE) in India, which has created an opportunity for UK universities seeking new funding streams. HE is one of the UK’s greatest exports, and international education was worth £32 billion in export revenue in 2022. The UK’s HE sector is set to bring in a £50 million boost over the next five years to the economy as part of a major expansion of British universities in India.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the average annual training cost per apprentice borne by small businesses in the personal services sector.

The department does not hold a breakdown of apprenticeships data for the personal services sector.The government offers a range of financial support to support small businesses across all sectors to take on apprentices. The government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16-21, and for apprentices aged 22-24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been, or are, in local authority care, when they under-take apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers.For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs.The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHC plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.

How many small businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors have accessed apprenticeship support schemes in the last three years in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The department’s Apprenticeships by Industry Characteristics publication contains apprenticeship starts figures, including by sector, constituency, and size of businesses. This data has been available since 29 May 2025 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-in-england-by-industry-characteristics/2022-23.Apprenticeship starts by constituency are available in the apprenticeships statistics publication. This data has been available since 17 July 2025 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25.

What steps she is taking to ensure that Early Years Pupil Premium funding is aligned with the Government’s quality improvement objectives in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

The government is taking coordinated steps to ensure that early years pupil premium (EYPP) aligns with broader quality improvement objectives in early years education.Through the department’s Best Start in Life strategy, we are ensuring families across the country can access affordable, high-quality early education and family support services that support them to thrive.In April 2025, we increased funding for EYPP by an unprecedented 45%, to a maximum of £570 per year per child in all local authorities across England.The government’s new early years strategy, ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’, explicitly links EYPP with its wider goals of reducing inequalities early in life, improving early years provision, strengthening transitions into primary school and enhancing workforce development through training and professional recognition. This includes additional EYPP funding targeted at high-need areas and the creation of published guidance to drive quality of spend.From 2026, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education wants to provide additional funding to extend EYPP in areas most in need, and test different approaches to using this funding to understand how best to maximise its impact, ensuring that the children most at risk of falling behind receive high-quality evidence-informed support.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the development of solar skills training programmes delivered through further education institutions based in Buckinghamshire.

The government is committed to the UK becoming a clean energy superpower, achieving clean power by 2030 and net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Skills have a crucial role to play in achieving this mission. The department is working to ensure the English skills system supports learners, workers, and employers to prepare for jobs in renewable energy.The department has provided over £500,000 to support the development of a brand-new Green Skills Energy Hub at the Aylesbury campus of the Buckinghamshire College Group. This facility will increase the number of people entering the construction sector and develop the skills of the workforce, closing the green skills gap within Buckinghamshire. The project includes capital funding for specialist, industry standard equipment, supporting training in renewables including solar power, electric vehicle chargers and heat pump engineering.

What assessment she has made of the capacity of childcare providers in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes to meet demand for free childcare from September 2025.

Local authorities are legally responsible for securing sufficient childcare to meet the needs of parents in their area, under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006. The Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance (Part B) further requires them to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and to make these reports accessible to parents.The department provides local authorities with a range of tools and data to complement local assessments and help them plan strategically for sufficiency. This includes:National-level modelling of childcare usage and workforce needs, using data from Ofsted-registered providers and national surveys.Estimates of future demand, including the impact of population growth and housing development.Indicative forecasts of the number of places and staff required to meet the expanded entitlements rolling out through to September 2025.There are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements than last year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018. This comes alongside an 18,000 increase in the number of staff delivering the entitlements in private, voluntary and independent providers. This is backed by significant government investment totalling over £8 billion for early years entitlements in 2025/26.

What plans her Department has to (a) pilot and (b) test Best Start digital services in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes.

The department will launch a new Best Start in Life campaign in autumn which will guide parents, from pregnancy through their child's journey to starting school and beyond. It will be followed by a new Best Start digital parenting hub. Discussions around design and timelines for launch are ongoing. We are committed to ensuring it meets parents' needs and will share further updates as the work progresses.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. Through local commissioning, we will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, childminders and colleges, ensuring support for young children’s health and development is available and accessible in communities.

What mechanisms are in place to ensure the alignment of Best Start Family Hubs with the rollout of Neighbourhood Health Services in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

The department will launch a new Best Start in Life campaign in autumn which will guide parents, from pregnancy through their child's journey to starting school and beyond. It will be followed by a new Best Start digital parenting hub. Discussions around design and timelines for launch are ongoing. We are committed to ensuring it meets parents' needs and will share further updates as the work progresses.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the specific needs of local populations. Through local commissioning, we will ensure that Neighbourhood Health Services work in partnership with family hubs, schools, nurseries, childminders and colleges, ensuring support for young children’s health and development is available and accessible in communities.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the availability of childcare places for children under two years of age in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

Local authorities are legally responsible for securing sufficient childcare to meet the needs of parents in their area, under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006. The Early Education and Childcare Statutory Guidance (Part B) further requires them to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting this duty and to make these reports accessible to parents.The department provides local authorities with a range of tools and data to complement local assessments and help them plan strategically for sufficiency. This includes:National-level modelling of childcare usage and workforce needs, using data from Ofsted-registered providers and national surveys.Estimates of future demand, including the impact of population growth and housing development.Indicative forecasts of the number of places and staff required to meet the expanded entitlements rolling out through to September 2025.There are over 5,800 more providers delivering childcare entitlements than last year, the first increase in five years, and the biggest increase since data became available in 2018. This comes alongside an 18,000 increase in the number of staff delivering the entitlements in private, voluntary and independent providers. This is backed by significant government investment totalling over £8 billion for early years entitlements in 2025/26.

What recent discussions her Department has had with (a) Buckinghamshire Council and (b) Milton Keynes City Council on the use of data sharing improvements set out in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The department has not held formal bilateral discussions with Buckinghamshire Council or Milton Keynes City Council specifically on the data sharing provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. However, all local authorities as well as multi-agency practitioners, were invited to national webinars held in June and July this year which engaged over 400 practitioners. The department will continue to engage with the sector throughout the implementation of these measures to ensure local perspectives are reflected.

What support her Department is providing to help ensure early years providers are included in the Stronger Practice Hubs expansion programme in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes.

As part of the ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ strategy, the department is doubling the number of Stronger Practice Hubs from 18 to 36, securing their future for a further three years, and funding partnerships between nurseries and schools to share evidence-based practice and strengthen links across settings, helping more children have a smooth transition into reception. Nearly 10,000 settings are part of Hub networks as of March 2025, including 72 settings in Buckinghamshire and 13 in Milton Keynes. Support for this region is provided by the Thames Valley and South Central Early Years Stronger Practice Hub based at Blagdon Nursery School, Reading. Contextual information based on geography, provider type and deprivation ranking were considered to ensure an even spread of Stronger Practice Hubs across the country of different provider types and location. We anticipate similar factors to be considered in the expansion of the Stronger Practice Hub programme across all regions, including the South East region, which Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes sit within.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of early years settings in (i) Buckinghamshire and (ii) Milton Keynes currently employing at least one early years teacher.

The early years census workforce data provides responses from private, voluntary and independent early years providers delivering funded entitlements to children aged 2 to 4 years of age. Staff holding Early Years Teacher Status, Early Years Professional Status and Qualified Teacher Status are amalgamated as accredited graduate staff members in this dataset. The department does not hold data on the proportion of early years teachers in these areas in other types of early years settings such as school-based nurseries and childminders.In 2024, 109 providers in Buckinghamshire (29%) and 7 providers in Milton Keynes (4%), delivering 15-hour entitlement, employed at least one accredited graduate staff member.In 2024, 97 providers in Buckinghamshire (28%) and 6 providers in Milton Keynes (4%), delivering 30-hour entitlement, employed at least one accredited graduate staff member.

How many and what proportion of families are unable to access family support services in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency.

The department does not currently hold data to determine the proportion of families who are unable to access family support services at constituency level. However, a 2024 survey by UNICEF UK and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children found that one in four families with children under five cannot access local children’s centres or Family Hubs, rising to one in three low-income families.On 7 July 2025, the government published ‘Giving every child the Best Start in Life’. This outlines our commitment to deliver a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority. Local authorities not currently receiving funding for the programme this year will receive a development grant to support their preparations, ahead of national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs from April 2026.

What mechanisms are in place to share safeguarding intelligence between local authorities and law enforcement in cases involving suspected exploitative children’s homes.

Although current legislation permits information sharing to safeguard and protect the wellbeing of children, practitioners have told the department that they often only feel confident sharing where there are serious child protection concerns.As outlined in ‘Keeping children safe, helping families thrive’, the department is taking two important legislative steps to improve how services share information to support children and families more effectively.Firstly, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill introduces provision in law, paving the way for a consistent identifier to be specified and the organisations required to use it, at a later date, via regulations.Secondly, the Bill also seeks to put an end to misconceptions about the legal barriers to sharing information, introducing a clear legal basis for sharing information for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.Ofsted inspect children’s homes once a year and take immediate action where there are safeguarding concerns, working with local authorities to protect children. The department is strengthening Ofsted’s powers via the Bill, introducing provider oversight to complement the existing regulatory regime, enabling Ofsted to act at scale and pace by requiring provider groups to improve quality where Ofsted identify concerns, and take action for non-compliance. The relevant local authorities will be informed.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that children’s home providers in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire meet national staff training requirements on trauma-informed care.

The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and associated statutory guidance ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, make it a requirement for children’s homes providers and managers of children’s homes to ensure staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children and provide high-quality care. This includes ensuring staff have or are working towards mandatory qualifications and have access to on-going professional development and training, including training on understanding and addressing trauma in children.Ofsted inspects children’s homes on a regular basis, at least once a year, and reports on the effectiveness of leaders and managers in ensuring staff are qualified, have access to regular training and support, and are competent in their roles.The government has committed to reviewing qualifications, standards and access to training for the children’s homes workforce, to ensure they are able to meet the needs of children in care.

What data the Department holds on the number of children placed in out-of-area care in unregistered settings in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes since 2020.

The department does not centrally hold information on the number of children looked after in unregistered settings.The department collects data on children looked after by placement type, such as foster care, children’s home, supported accommodation and those in unregistered accommodation. However, unregistered accommodation placements are reported by local authorities within the category ‘Other’ so cannot be identified separately.The latest information on children looked after placements, relating to the year ending 31 March 2024 was published on 14 November 2024 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’. This can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024.

What steps her Department is planning to take to monitor training uptake among early years staff for delivery of the revised phonics-based framework.

The writing framework builds on the success of the government’s reading framework and its focus on phonics teaching, which has seen 100,000 more children every year build strong foundations in reading.The writing framework is the department’s first step in a longer-term strategy to support schools to improve writing teaching and attainment. Given the department’s commitment to a record 75% of children reaching a good level of development at the end of reception by 2028, we encourage schools to prioritise reception year, particularly early literacy skills such as writing.The writing framework emphasises the important role that reception year plays in building the foundations for writing which supports children throughout primary school and underpins their success at the end of key stage 2. The department has advised that during the 2025/26 academic year, schools should read the writing framework and use the audits to evaluate their current provision and plan improvements.English Hubs will conduct webinars throughout the 2025/26 academic year, aimed at teachers and subject leads, focusing on the key messages and section summaries of the framework.

What recent discussions her Department has had with early years providers on the implementation of the new phonics-inspired framework.

The writing framework builds on the success of the government’s reading framework and its focus on phonics teaching, which has seen 100,000 more children every year build strong foundations in reading.The writing framework is the department’s first step in a longer-term strategy to support schools to improve writing teaching and attainment. Given the department’s commitment to a record 75% of children reaching a good level of development at the end of reception by 2028, we encourage schools to prioritise reception year, particularly early literacy skills such as writing.The writing framework emphasises the important role that reception year plays in building the foundations for writing which supports children throughout primary school and underpins their success at the end of key stage 2. The department has advised that during the 2025/26 academic year, schools should read the writing framework and use the audits to evaluate their current provision and plan improvements.English Hubs will conduct webinars throughout the 2025/26 academic year, aimed at teachers and subject leads, focusing on the key messages and section summaries of the framework.