Written questions by Dinenage.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the removal of the wear and tear allowance for childminders within Making Tax Digital on the number of childminders in Gosport.

The expansion of the early years entitlements is set to benefit childminders. The national average three and four-year-old hourly funding rate for local authorities is increasing by 4.1%, the two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.3%, and the nine months to two-year-old hourly funding rate is increasing by 3.4%. Childminders may also benefit from the expected increase in demand for places.We will work in partnership with the sector to raise the value of the profession, promote continuing professional development and give early years educators the recognition they deserve, making sure childminders are valued and supported with fair reward and recognition and more support from day one.Maxing Tax Digital standardises the way that sole traders record and claim business expenses. It should benefit childminders, as it means that any business expenses related to childminding will be included in their tax calculations. We are, however, aware of the strength of feeling amongst childminders and those who work with them. We have been talking regularly to Coram PACEY, a professional association dedicated to supporting home-based childcare professionals, HMRC and others to understand the issue, the effect that it is having on the childminding sector and to make sure that the concerns of childminders are clearly understood.

What steps she has taken to help ensure that the enrichment entitlement is received by young people in Gosport.

The government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people across England can access a variety of enrichment opportunities at school as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity.To support delivery of the core enrichment offer set out in the government’s response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we are developing a new Enrichment Framework for publication in early 2026. Developed with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), alongside a sector working group, the framework will set out benchmarks to help schools and colleges plan high-quality enrichment more intentionally and strategically and will include case studies and signpost to tools and resources.Alongside this, we are working with DCMS on the design of a £22.5 million programme to create a tailored enrichment offer in up to 400 schools over three years. We are also working closely with the Ministry of Defence to support cadet opportunities, including their commitment to expand cadet forces across schools and communities by 30% by 2030, supported by £70 million of new funding.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the use of smart phones in schools on levels of disruption in classrooms.

Mobile phones have no place in our schools.Calm, consistent, distraction-free classroom environments benefit all children.This government is closely monitoring the problem of phones in schools, working closely with the sector.We will always take the right action to make sure all schools are mobile phone-free environments.The department’s guidance on mobile phones in schools, published in February 2024, is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.The department expects all schools to take steps in line with this guidance to ensure mobile phones do not disrupt pupils’ learning.

What steps she is taking to ensure that children from non-privileged backgrounds have access to music and dance schools.

Funding of approximately £36.5 million is committed for the 2025/26 academic year for the Music and Dance Scheme, which provides income assessed bursaries to enable exceptionally talented children, regardless of their personal and financial circumstances, to attend specialist music and dance institutions.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of a reduction in Adoption and Special Guardianship Support funding on the mental health outcomes of children in adoptive and kinship placements in Gosport.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children across the country. This includes reviewing the Equalities Impact Assessment, which will be deposited in the House Libraries in due course.The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will still enable children in Gosport, as throughout our country, to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. In 2024/25, there was only one match-funding application to the ASGSF from Hampshire local authority. Where needed, local authorities can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. The ASGSF is an important part of this, but other sources of support are available to adopted and kinship children. This year, we are making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help and Child Protection nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and opening new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the reduction in Adoption and Special Guardianship Support funding on (a) the policy mission entitled Break Down Barriers to Opportunity and (b) children's start in life.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children across the country. This includes reviewing the Equalities Impact Assessment, which will be deposited in the House Libraries in due course.The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will still enable children in Gosport, as throughout our country, to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. In 2024/25, there was only one match-funding application to the ASGSF from Hampshire local authority. Where needed, local authorities can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. The ASGSF is an important part of this, but other sources of support are available to adopted and kinship children. This year, we are making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help and Child Protection nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and opening new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of a reduction in Adoption and Special Guardianship Support funding on the number of kinship children able to access therapeutic support services in Gosport.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children across the country. This includes reviewing the Equalities Impact Assessment, which will be deposited in the House Libraries in due course.The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will still enable children in Gosport, as throughout our country, to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. In 2024/25, there was only one match-funding application to the ASGSF from Hampshire local authority. Where needed, local authorities can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. The ASGSF is an important part of this, but other sources of support are available to adopted and kinship children. This year, we are making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help and Child Protection nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and opening new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.

If she will make an estimate of the average reduction in Adoption and Special Guardianship Support funding for kinship carers who can no longer access match-funding in exceptional cases in Gosport constituency.

The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children across the country. This includes reviewing the Equalities Impact Assessment, which will be deposited in the House Libraries in due course.The funding available through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) will still enable children in Gosport, as throughout our country, to access a significant package of support, tailored to meet their individual needs. In 2024/25, there was only one match-funding application to the ASGSF from Hampshire local authority. Where needed, local authorities can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. The ASGSF is an important part of this, but other sources of support are available to adopted and kinship children. This year, we are making £500 million available to local authorities to roll out Family Help and Child Protection nationally to transform services and transition towards earlier intervention. We are also recruiting an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and opening new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.

How young people will be able to use the National Centre for Arts and Music Education.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.The National Centre will support the delivery of high-quality arts education in schools, including through online training, local partnership and better information for teachers, parents and young people.By widening access to a high-quality arts education, the National Centre will aid schools and others in teaching a rich and broad arts education to all children. It will also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.Our plan is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details, including funding, will be released in due course.The new National Centre will also take over the management of the existing Music Hubs programme.

What the (a) duties and (b) responsibilities of the delivery lead for the National Centre for Arts and Music Education will be; and what assets they will (i) manage and (ii) own.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.The National Centre will support the delivery of high-quality arts education in schools, including through online training, local partnership and better information for teachers, parents and young people.By widening access to a high-quality arts education, the National Centre will aid schools and others in teaching a rich and broad arts education to all children. It will also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.Our plan is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details, including funding, will be released in due course.The new National Centre will also take over the management of the existing Music Hubs programme.

What funding she has allocated to the National Centre for Arts and Music Education.

On 18 March, the department announced our intention to launch a new National Centre for Arts and Music Education.The National Centre will support the delivery of high-quality arts education in schools, including through online training, local partnership and better information for teachers, parents and young people.By widening access to a high-quality arts education, the National Centre will aid schools and others in teaching a rich and broad arts education to all children. It will also support a globally respected creative economy by opening up career paths to a new generation of musicians, artists, film-makers and creatives.Our plan is to launch the National Centre in September 2026, with a delivery lead appointed through an open procurement. Further details, including funding, will be released in due course.The new National Centre will also take over the management of the existing Music Hubs programme.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of the number of apprenticeships delivered by the hair and beauty sector.

The number of ‘hair and beauty’ related apprenticeship starts in England is published in the Apprenticeship accredited official statistics publication, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/66bd1260-5cd4-4769-1f8e-08dd8e2f6934. These were last published in March 2025. They include full year figures from 2019/20 to 2023/24, and year to date figures for 2024/25 (August 2024 to January 2025).

Whether the provisions of the updated initial teacher training and early career framework which relate to pupils with SEND have been (a) co-produced, (b) designed, (c) developed, (d) evaluated and (e) delivered with (i) autistic people and (ii) people with a learning disability.

During 2023, the department reviewed the initial teacher training core content framework (CCF) and the early career framework (ECF) to ensure they remained based on the most up-to-date evidence. This review paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and early career teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).As part of the review process, the department analysed evaluation data and feedback, which included discussions with lead providers, senior school leaders, induction tutors, and mentors and ECTs. The department also worked closely and met regularly with groups of influential educational stakeholders. These were representative groups who acted in an advisory capacity and included SEND educational specialists.As a result of this review, the updated initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF), which will underpin training for trainee and ECTs from September 2025, contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND and the department has enhanced the requirement on lead providers of ECT training to develop SEND training materials.As the updated ITTECF will not be implemented until September 2025, the department has not yet evaluated its impact, however we recognise that continuous improvement is essential in order to transform the training and support for all new teachers, and to review the experiences and needs of ECT as well as trainees. This is why we are committing to a full review of the programme in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs. We know that it is crucial that ECTs feel supported teaching pupils with SEND and will review our approach to SEND and the support we provide ECTs in teaching pupils with SEND. We will work with stakeholders to ensure that we continue to provide the best possible support for pupils with SEND.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating the sharing of students' data between Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.

All schools maintained by a local authority in England are required to send a Common Transfer File (CTF) to the new school when a pupil ceases to be registered at their school and becomes a registered pupil at another school. Academies, including free schools, are also strongly encouraged to send CTFs when a pupil leaves to attend another school.Information specified by the department for inclusion in a CTF includes a record of the pupil’s attainment and achievements, which would include details of key stage 4 results where available. Details of a pupil’s prior attainment is included in the CTF to ensure schools are able to meet the individual needs of each pupil with greater accuracy and maintain the momentum of their learning.Although there is no legal requirement for a school to transfer information to a further education (FE) college, schools are encouraged to do so on request from the FE college, where a secure method of transfer is available.In addition, the department runs the Learning Records Service (LRS). The LRS allows providers to collect and manage unique learner numbers on behalf of learners aged 14 and above. This provides a consistent identifier for young people to learning providers including schools, academies, FE providers, higher education providers and offender learning providers (prisons), which allows those providers to access a learner’s personal learning record to support education and career information, advice and guidance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of education recruitment agencies on the number of teachers finding jobs via her Department's teaching vacancies service; and if she will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of these agencies to schools.

Schools spend an estimated £75 million a year on recruitment advertising. Teaching Vacancies is a leading job listing service and 98% of secondary schools and 75% of primary schools have signed up to post their vacancies, for free. The department estimates that primary and secondary schools using Teaching Vacancies have saved, in total, between £47.3 and £60.8 million (from September 2018 to August 2024). More information about this calculation can be found on the Teaching Vacancies website: https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/pages/savings-methodology.In addition to listing teaching and leaderships roles, the service expanded last year to include all school roles meaning schools will be able to save even more money by using the service.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on apprenticeship of the British Hair Consortium’s report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: The economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025.

The hair and beauty sector have developed several high-quality apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, and the department continues to encourage employers in the sector to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need.To support smaller employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can also benefit from £1000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can choose how they spend these payments.As the report highlights, we recognise that the increase to employer National Insurance contributions will have a varying impact across all sectors. Employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, where they earn less than £50,270 a year.This government also remains committed to ensuring that apprentice wages support the attraction of talented individuals into apprenticeships and remain fair for employers.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Addressing the UK’s heritage skills crisis: why we must act now, published by the University of Manchester in January 2025.

The department supports vocational education and training programmes that include heritage conservation skills. This includes funding for courses at further education colleges and specialist training providers. A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) have developed 90 apprenticeship standards in the construction and built environment sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in heritage areas such as heritage construction specialist, cultural heritage conservation technician, craft carpenter and joinery, and stained glass craftsperson. IfATE works with key stakeholders such as Grosvenor, Peabody, Historic England, the National Trust, and the Crown Estate to ensure that employers can access the heritage construction skills they need. The department is working across government and in partnership with industry through the Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG) and the Construction Leadership Council to identify policy levers and other actions to ensure that our skills offer, including apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and T Levels, meets the needs of employers in the sector, including small and medium enterprises. The department works closely with Historic England, through the CSDG, to ensure that training programs meet the needs of the heritage sector.

If she will announce funding for a multi-year extension to the Holiday activities and food programme.

The government recently announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for 2025/26.The HAF programme has been delivered nationally by local authorities in England since 2022, to provide healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefitting their health, wellbeing and learning.Funding beyond March 2026 will be subject to the multi-year Spending Review taking place later this year.

Whether her Department has plans to extend the eligibility criteria for the Holiday activities and food programme.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is aimed at children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. However, local authorities have discretion to go beyond this as set out in the HAF guidance: “While the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of free school meals, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related free school meals, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision”.

What discussions she has had with local councils on the future funding of the Holiday Activities and Food programme.

I refer the hon. Member for Gosport to the answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17058.