Every parliamentary written question tabled by Damian Hinds this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 219 · Department for Education
What guidance her Department provides on the applicability of Normal Way of Working as a criterion for use of a computer for (a) GCSE and (b) A Level, for pupils who do not have a related physical disability or learning difficulty.
Awaiting answer.
If she will take further steps to reform the data collection methodology in order to (a) increase the accuracy and (b) reduce the statistical range in reporting the prevalence of (i) 25% extra time, (ii) use of a computer and (c) other access arrangements in (A) GCSE and (B) A Level entries.
Awaiting answer.
What steps she is taking to ensure SEND practitioners receive training on the impact of Armed Forces life on children with additional needs.
Awaiting answer.
Whether Ofsted inspection frameworks take account of how schools support children from Armed Forces families with special educational needs or disabilities.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the specialist provision packages in the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation on children with complex needs reliant on statutory Education Other Than in School provision.
Awaiting answer.
Whether there are changes of (a) circumstances and (b) residency other than moving to (i) secondary school and (ii) college which could trigger change of educational phase provisions in EHCP reforms.
Awaiting answer.
Whether in areas with middle schools, a pupil transitioning to Middle school or from Middle school will count as a change in phase of education for the purposes of the EHCP reforms she outlined in February 2026.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the specialist provision packages mentioned in the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation on children with complex needs reliant on statutory Education Other Than in School provision.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
With reference to the Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 104726 on Department for Education: Business Rates, what was the level of (a) payment and (b) reimbursement of business rates in (a) her Department and the (b) Education and Skills Funding Agency in the 2024-25 financial year.
Claims for national non-domestic rates for schools are processed on a reactive basis by the department, once all claims have been submitted for payment. Claims can be made and adjusted for up to six years, which means that levels of payment and reimbursement for the 2024/25 financial year will continue to be subject to change. The department is therefore not yet able to provide a final figure for the 2024/25 financial year.Regarding the change in business rates liability between the 2024/25 and 2026/27 financial years, the department does not hold a central estimate on changes between financial years. This is because payments are made on a reactive basis and will continue to be subject to change, depending on the rates that the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities charge to individual schools.
Pursuant to her Answer of 12 January 2026 to Question 104726 on Department for Education: Business Rates, what estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the 2026-27 financial year compared to 2024-25 financial year for the (a) schools (b) other hereditaments for which her Department and the Education and Skills Funding Agency covered the business rates liability in 2024-25 financial year.
Claims for national non-domestic rates for schools are processed on a reactive basis by the department, once all claims have been submitted for payment. Claims can be made and adjusted for up to six years, which means that levels of payment and reimbursement for the 2024/25 financial year will continue to be subject to change. The department is therefore not yet able to provide a final figure for the 2024/25 financial year.Regarding the change in business rates liability between the 2024/25 and 2026/27 financial years, the department does not hold a central estimate on changes between financial years. This is because payments are made on a reactive basis and will continue to be subject to change, depending on the rates that the Valuation Office Agency and billing authorities charge to individual schools.
What estimate she has made of the change in business rates liability for the university sector in 2026/7 relative to 2024/5.
Information about business rates, including changes that will come into effect on 1 April 2026, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/introduction-to-business-rates.As universities are independent of government, they are responsible for understanding the potential impact of these changes and ensuring their business models enable them to address emerging risks effectively.The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring the sector’s financial sustainability. The department works closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape and level of risk.While the sector is autonomous, this government is committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading sector so it can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. Our decision to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation, alongside refocusing the OfS on monitoring the sector’s financial health, demonstrates this commitment.
Whether in areas with middle schools, a pupil transitioning to Middle school or from Middle school will count as a change in phase of education for the purposes of the EHCP reforms she outlined in February 2026.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Whether there are any changes of circumstances or residency, other than moving to secondary school or college, which could trigger the ‘change of educational phase’ provisions in the EHCP reforms she outlined in February 2026.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What estimate she has made of the effect of the changes outlined in the February 2026 white paper to the school funding formula on average per-pupil funding in (a) Hampshire (b) the East Hampshire parliamentary constituency, assuming current pupil characteristics.
The distribution of additional funding for schools in the Inclusive Mainstream Fund for the 2026/27 financial year will be confirmed shortly.
Whether her Department's estimate of local authorities’ projected SEND deficits in 2028/29 assumes that 6.8% of pupils will have an EHCP in the academic year 2027/8, 7.3% in academic year 2028/9 and 7.7% in academic year 2029/30.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, as the independent authority, publishes estimates of future spend.From 2028/29, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) spending will be covered by the overall government departmental expenditure limit budget, meaning local authorities are not expected to fund future SEND costs from general funds once the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027/28.
What estimate she has made of the total historic SEND deficits accrued in local authorities in England up to the end of (a) 2024/5 and (b) 2025/6; and what estimate she has made of the level of funding that will be required from central government to offset these historic SEND deficits.
We have set out plans to address Dedicated Schools Grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit as at 31 March 2026, once they have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action. This is in accordance with our new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.
What proportion of currently-projected local authorities’ SEND deficits she expects to be covered from the central government funds when the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027-28.
We have set out plans to address local authorities’ high needs-related dedicated schools grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit. Grants will be paid once councils have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action in accordance with the department’s new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.For deficits that arise in 2026/27 and 2027/28, local authorities can expect that we will continue to take a proportionate approach to such support, though it will not be unlimited. We will set out more details about our approach in due course.
With reference to her Department's publications entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, and Education estates strategy: a decade of national renewal, published on 11 February 2026, how many inclusion bases in secondary schools will be added in each year of the 10-year plan; and how much funding is allocated to inclusion bases in each year of the plan.
In our consultation on special educational needs and disabilities, the department has set out our ambition that, in time, every secondary school will have an inclusion base.Where new places are needed, this will be supported by the £3.7 billion in high needs capital that we are investing between 2025/26 and 2029/30. This funding is allocated to local authorities, who know their schools and will determine how best to spend funding to meet local need. £740 million of this funding has already been allocated, and allocations for 2026/27 will be published in the spring.Currently, provision is inconsistent across the country, which is why we are also going to improve data collection on which schools have inclusion bases, so we can make sure that all pupils are given the support they need.
With reference to her Department's publications entitled 10-year plan to revitalise schools and colleges for every child, and Education estates strategy: a decade of national renewal, published on 11 February 2026, how much revenue funding has been allocated for the operation of the additional inclusion bases in secondary schools for each year of the 10 year plan.
In the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) consultation, the department set out our ambition that, in time, every secondary school will have an inclusion base. In every year of this parliament, core funding for schools and SEND is expected to increase, subject to future spending reviews. Overall, there will be £7 billion more being spent on SEND provision in 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. We will also consult on a range of specialist provision funding reforms later in 2026, working with the specialist sector, local authorities and others to develop new funding models. More information about SEND reform was set out in the SEND consultation. For example, by 2028, we will have invested up to £15 million to build the evidence base for, and then provide, National Inclusion Standards. Additionally, new research into SEN identification will be delivered by UK Research Innovation to develop approaches for the early identification, strengths and needs assessment, and support of children and young people with SEN.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the write-off of 90 per cent of the High Needs block debts of English councils on the amount of SEND funding to be absorbed into her Department's Resource Departmental Expenditure Limits from 2028-29 .
The High Needs Stability Grant is concerned with historic spending and will have no impact on pressures in 2028/29. From the 2028/29 financial year, the government has confirmed that special educational needs and disabilities pressure will be absorbed within the overall government departmental expenditure limits budget such that the government would not expect local authorities to need to fund future special educational needs costs from general funds. Budgets from 2028/29 onwards, including the core schools budget, will be confirmed at the 2027 Spending Review.