Written questions by Young.

What data her Department holds on the number of prosecutions of parents under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 where the child had an Education, Health and Care Plan at the time the prosecution was initiated.

Awaiting answer.

What data her Department holds on the number of prosecutions of parents under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 where the child was receiving SEN Support at the time the prosecution was initiated.

Awaiting answer.

What guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the application of discretion in attendance enforcement proceedings against parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to monitor the proportion of prosecutions of parents under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 that involve children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Awaiting answer.

How many prosecutions of parents under section 444 of the Education Act 1996 were brought in each of the last three years.

Awaiting answer.

What process her Department has in place to help ensure that Plan 2 student loan borrowers are informed of any changes made to their repayment terms.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) publishes confirmation of the interest rates and repayment threshold to apply in the upcoming financial year annually on GOV.UK. Furthermore, SLC have extensive guidance on the operation of the student loan repayments system available on GOV.UK.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to educational psychologists in schools.

Educational psychologists (EPs) play a critical role in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). However, their capacity is often limited by high volumes of statutory assessments, compounding local authorities’ struggles with recruitment and retention.This is why the department is investing £26 million to train at least 200 EPs per year in 2026 and 2027, followed by further investment from 2028 to expand this training scheme, subject to future spending review. After graduation, these EPs will be required to work within a local authority in England for at least three years. This investment will help to ensure that more EPs are available to provide support, including strengthening inclusive mainstream, identifying and supporting needs earlier, and bolstering capacity to deliver assessments.We will strengthen mainstream education settings’ capability by providing access to universal and targeted support from key services, including EPs. We want more opportunities for EPs to work in mainstream settings to support children with SEND, and we are providing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to work together to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of maintaining thresholds for Plan 2 student loan repayments on trends in the level of repayments made by graduates; and what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of maintaining this threshold on the marginal effective tax rate for graduates earning above that threshold.

The department produced the following analysis regarding the impact of maintaining the repayment and interest thresholds for Plan 2 student loans on the lifetime repayments made by borrowers:Average lifetime repayments (2024/25 financial year prices)Baseline (£)Post- policy (£)Impact£%Entire cohort27,00028,3001,3005AverageLifetime graduate earnings decile12,0002,0000024,3004,700400937,7008,1004005411,60013,0001,40012516,90018,5001,6009623,10025,2002,1009731,30033,6002,3007841,20043,5002,3006954,50056,1001,60031059,10059,5004001 The department will release an equalities impact assessment, including the impact on lifetime repayments, alongside other borrower impacts for the Plan 2 repayment threshold and interest threshold freeze announced at the Autumn Budget. Published results may differ from those provided due to model and data updates. The rate of repayment for undergraduate student loans remains at 9% on all income above the relevant threshold. Other factors, including any reliefs, pension contributions, or receipt of certain means-tested welfare benefits could adjust an individual’s effective tax rate.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the (a) proportion of Plan 2 student loans that will be fully repaid within the 30-year term and (b) average total interest accrued by a Plan 2 borrower over the lifetime of their loan.

Based on current modelling, 32% of the 2022/23 cohort of England-domiciled Plan 2 student loan borrowers are expected to fully repay their loans within the 30 year loan term. Student loan forecasts can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.The department does not hold information on the average total interest accrued by a Plan 2 borrower over the lifetime of their loan. However, interest rates only affect the total amount repaid by high-earning borrowers and those with small balances, who will pay back all, or very nearly all, their student loans.

What assessment she has made of the (a) potential impact of accrued interest on the total debt balances of Plan 2 borrowers and (b) number of graduates whose monthly repayments are lower than the monthly interest added to their account.

As monthly repayment amounts for individual borrowers can change from month to month, it is not possible to produce a reliable monthly level figure. On an annual basis, the number of England-domiciled borrowers with Plan 2 loans which have become liable to repay where the sum of all interest amounts accrued is greater than the sum of all repayment amounts in the 2024/25 financial year, to the nearest 10,000, was 3.32 million. This includes all maintenance, tuition and advanced learner loans and includes borrowers who are currently earning below repayment threshold. Unlike commercial loans, student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. Borrowers only start repaying their student loan once earnings exceed the threshold, after which they repay at a rate of 9% of income above the repayment threshold, meaning low earning borrowers are protected. At the end of the repayment term the majority of Plan 2 borrowers, other than those with sufficiently high earnings to repay their loan in full, will have any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, cancelled with no detriment to the borrower and debt is never passed on to family members of descendants.

How many and what proportion of parents who have been prosecuted for their child's non-attendance at school have a child that has (a) Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and (b) special educational needs and does not have a EHCP in each quarter of the last five years.

Data for prosecution of offences in England, including offences for non-attendance, is collected by the Ministry of Justice. The Department for Education does not collect data on the protected characteristics of the children of individuals who have been prosecuted for an offence related to their child’s non-attendance at school. Nevertheless, we recognise that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities may face more complex barriers to school attendance and guidance requires schools to take a ’support first’ approach to tackling non-attendance for these pupils. Our guidance makes clear that legal intervention, including prosecution, should only be considered where support has been exhausted, not engaged with or, in the cases of term-time holidays, not appropriate. We expect schools to work with these children and their families to remove any barriers to attendance and building strong and trusting relationships.

What guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the use of prosecutions for school non-attendance in cases where a pupil’s absence is related to special educational needs and disabilities.

The department recognises that pupils with additional needs, such as special educational needs and disabilities, may face more complex barriers to school attendance, and our statutory guidance is clear that schools should take a sensitive, “support first” approach to supporting their attendance. The ’Working Together to Improve School Attendance’ guidance emphasises that schools and local authorities should be working with children and their families to remove any barriers to attendance and building strong and trusting relationships. It makes clear that legal intervention should only be considered when support has been exhausted, not engaged with, or in the cases such as term time holidays, not appropriate. While some pupils may face additional challenges, we expect schools to have the same attendance ambitions for all pupils, and to put support in place where required.

How many parents have been prosecuted for their child's non-attendance at school in each quarter of the last five years.

The department does not hold data on the total number of parents that have been prosecuted for their child’s non-attendance as this is a matter for the courts. However, our statutory guidance is clear that schools should take a ‘support first’ approach to pupils’ attendance and prosecutions should only be used as a last resort, where all other routes have been exhausted or deemed inappropriate in the circumstances of the individual case. A new national framework for penalty notices came into effect from August 2024 designed to embed our support-first approach and improve consistency and fairness across the country. Data collected by the department from the first year of the new framework (the 2024/25 academic year) shows 148 cases reported where a parent was prosecuted due to reaching the limit of two penalty notices within three years. Comprehensive data on prosecution offences is collected by the Ministry of Justice.

If she will increase funding for the recruitment of specialist SEND teachers.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.There is significant work underway to ensure there is an appropriate training offer in place to support teachers and school leaders to create an inclusive school environment. We have recently reviewed the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework which includes significantly more content on adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND.A review of our National Professional Qualifications is also underway, which includes a key focus on including further best practice for teaching pupils with SEND.This core offer is supplemented by further SEND-specific training that is easy to access at any point in your career through the Universal SEND Services contract. This programme aims to support the school and further education workforce, particularly in mainstream settings, to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, earlier and more effectively.While school leaders have the autonomy and authority to make recruitment decisions, as they are best placed to understand their own context and pupils’ needs, the government is supporting them by increasing the core schools budget by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning it will total £65.3 billion, compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25.This additional funding provides an above real-terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget, taking per-pupil funding to its highest ever level, enabling us to transform the SEND system.

Whether her Department plans to apply a grace period for school uniform suppliers before fully implementing the provisions of the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The department knows that school uniform providers play an important role for parents and communities by providing year-round guaranteed supply, a diversity of sizes and specialist advice to schools and parents.We intend for the limit to come into effect in September 2026. This grace period will give suppliers enough time to renegotiate their existing contracts with schools in order to align with the new legislative requirements and wind down stock levels as appropriate.Parents should have choice over where they shop, rather than having to buy expensive branded uniform items. Departmental research shows that the average cost of uniform is significantly lower when parents are allowed to buy items from a range of outlets.

Whether she plans to support school uniform providers in complying with the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The department knows that school uniform providers play an important role for parents and communities by providing year-round guaranteed supply, a diversity of sizes and specialist advice to schools and parents.We intend for the limit to come into effect in September 2026. This grace period will give suppliers enough time to renegotiate their existing contracts with schools in order to align with the new legislative requirements and wind down stock levels as appropriate.Parents should have choice over where they shop, rather than having to buy expensive branded uniform items. Departmental research shows that the average cost of uniform is significantly lower when parents are allowed to buy items from a range of outlets.

With reference to section 23 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, whether the proposed limit of three branded items refers to the (a) overall number of items or (b) the individual types of items.

The proposed limit of three branded items relates to the individual types of items. For example, a school can include a branded blazer, jumper and book bag within its policy.Schools will only be able to require pupils to have up to three types of compulsory branded uniform items for use during the year. Secondary schools and middle schools will have the option of requiring an additional compulsory branded item if it is a branded tie.The limit will apply to any compulsory branded items in the school’s uniform policy, including PE kit. This includes any bags, such as book bags or rucksacks, and any items only suitable for particular times of year, such as summer dresses. It will be for individual parents to decide how many of each type of branded item they may wish to buy, but the limit on branded items will allow parents to purchase more uniform items from various retailers, including high street stores, helping them manage uniform costs more effectively.

What assessment she has made of the potential effectiveness of the Regional Care Cooperative pathfinder programme; and whether he plans to expand the programme to the South West.

The department is currently setting up two pathfinders in Greater Manchester (launched April 2025) and the South East (launching June 2025) to test the delivery of Regional Care Co-operatives. An evaluation is in place to support the delivery of the pathfinders. This will focus on assessing the implementation and delivery of the pathfinders, and the impact on improving the commissioning of placements for children in care. We will publish regular findings from this evaluation. We would make any announcement on funding to set up further Regional Care Co-operatives in the usual way. Local authorities may voluntarily choose to set up and fund Regional Care Co-operatives independently of the department.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that unlawful academy trust admissions policies are amended for future admissions rounds.

Once a school’s admission arrangements have been determined, anyone who believes they are unfair or unlawful may submit an objection to the Schools Adjudicator.Where the Adjudicator determines that a school’s admission arrangements are unlawful, the admission authority has a statutory duty to revise its admission arrangements within two months of the decision, or by 28 February following the decision, whichever is sooner, unless an alternative timescale is specified by the Adjudicator.An Adjudicator’s determination is binding and enforceable by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of expanding the role of the Local Government Ombudsman to encompass academy trusts.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is the principal regulator for academies. All academies are required to have a complaints process which adheres to Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. This sets out that it is the academy’s responsibility to handle and resolve any complaints against them. If a complainant has concerns that an academy did not handle a complaint in line with the regulations, they can then escalate to the department, whose role it is to consider whether the academy followed the correct process.Anyone can object to the Schools Adjudicator if they have concerns about a school’s admission arrangements. The Schools Adjudicator considers objections to the admission arrangements of all mainstream state-funded schools, including mainstream academy and free schools. The Adjudicator’s decision is binding.The department also considers complaints about maladministration in independent appeal panels in relation to school admissions and complaints about maladministration in independent review panels in relation to permanent exclusions. Decisions taken by panels in both circumstances are legally binding and the department is unable to overturn decisions taken. However, parents can contact the department if they have concerns that the appeal or review panel was not held in compliance with relevant legislation or statutory guidance. If the department upholds a complaint, then a fresh appeal may be requested. If a complainant wishes to take their complaint further following the department’s consideration, they are advised to seek independent legal advice.The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) can investigate complaints about maintained schools in certain circumstances. The department is considering the LGSCO’s Triennial Review, including their recommendations around school complaints, and will respond in due course.