Written questions by Aldridge.

Whether her Department has any guidance around restrictions being placed by nurseries on hours during which government funded childcare hours can be accessed, such as limiting provision to specific times of the day.

The ‘Early Education and Childcare’ statutory guidance states that local authorities should encourage providers to offer flexible packages of free hours, which will enable children to access regular, high-quality provision, while maximising flexibility for parents and ensuring a degree of stability for providers.Local authorities should enable parents to take up their child’s free place in patterns of hours that stretch their child’s entitlement by taking fewer hours a week over more weeks of the year, where there is provider capacity and parental demand.Additionally, local authorities should ensure that parents and providers are aware that there is no requirement that free places must be taken on, or delivered on, particular days of the week or at particular times of the day.

Whether students required to resit GCSE Mathematics alongside A-level study are mandated to attend school-delivered resit classes, including in cases where they are receiving private tuition outside of school.

Progress towards and attainment of Level 2 maths and English is essential for helping students seize opportunities in life, learning and work. The 16 to 19 maths and English Condition of Funding ensures students have this opportunity. Students aged 16 to 19 who have not yet achieved a GCSE grade 4 in maths are required to continue studying towards Level 2 maths as part of their study programme. Under the 16 to 19 maths and English Condition of Funding, institutions are required to deliver a minimum of 100 hours in-person, whole class, standalone teaching in maths each academic year for eligible students on 16 to 19 study programmes and T Levels. Any additional support, including remote, online delivery or private tuition can be delivered in addition to the minimum teaching hours.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of freezing the accrual of interest on student loans for individuals on maternity or paternity leave.

Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree.The student finance system protects borrowers if they see a reduction in their income for whatever reason, including those on maternity or paternity leave. Student loan repayments are based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant student loan repayment threshold. Any outstanding debt, including interest built up, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower.A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022, and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

What steps her Department plans to take to ensure that proposed changes to childcare provision do not undermine the sustainability of private nurseries and childminders.

The government is investing significantly in early education and childcare to ensure sustainability across all providers, including nurseries and childminders. Government spending on funded hours will reach £9 billion next year, rising further over this Parliament, with around 80% of hours funded from September 2025.To strengthen the sector, the department is supporting local authorities to shape and oversee childcare markets, helping single-site providers grow, and monitoring financial sustainability to maintain stability and transparency. We are also encouraging investment from charities and social enterprises, expanding nursery provision in schools, building stronger school-nursery partnerships, and supporting childminders with monthly payments and recruitment initiatives.The department values the diversity of the sector and is committed to working closely with providers to secure affordable, flexible, high-quality childcare. Our ambition is for every family to have access to the early education and care their children need, delivering on our Plan for Change.

Whether it is her Department's policy to increase the capital budget to schools to support them in implementing the proposed EHRC changes to the Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is updating its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations and is seeking views from affected stakeholders through their consultation which closes on 30 June. We would encourage people to ensure their views are heard by submitting a response to the consultation. The department will then consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it.

What estimate she has made of the cost of implementing the proposed EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions, and Associations on academies; and whether she has had discussions with academy providers on this issue.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Weston-super-Mare to the answer of 09 June 2025 to Question 55359.

What estimate she has made of the legal costs of implementing the EHRC’s proposed Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations for schools.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Weston-super-Mare to the answer of 09 June 2025 to Question 55359.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of safeguarding legislation in ensuring that organisations outside of formal education settings comply with statutory guidance.

This government is committed to safeguarding children. We believe the majority of the out-of-school settings sector does a good job, providing safe and enriching education and activities for children.Providers have a legal duty of care to ensure the safety of children who attend their setting and protect them from harm. Local authorities are also legally responsible for safeguarding children in their areas and, when there are concerns, the department expects them to intervene using the wide range of powers available to them.In December 2023, the department updated the statutory safeguarding guidance 'Working together to safeguard children' to strengthen multi-agency working across the whole system of help, support and protection.We have already acted to improve sector safety by updating the safeguarding code of practice for out-of-school setting providers and accompanying guidance for parents and carers, both in September 2023. We will also publish new e-learning for out-of-school providers and strengthened guidance for local authorities.In addition, the department will publish a call for evidence in due course to help us improve our understanding of safeguarding in out-of-school settings and to gather information on potential approaches to enhance the safety of these settings.

If she will commission research into the potential merits of the use of generative AI in apprenticeship provision.

The department is committed to supporting high quality apprenticeship training provision which supports employers and learners gain the skills they need for long-term success.It is for training providers to choose how best to deliver apprenticeship training in order to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard, in consultation with the learner and employer. The department encourages providers to explore how they can use the latest technologies to enhance their offers.The department will continue to work with experts to consider and respond to the implications of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.

What discussions her Department has had with training providers on the potential adoption of generative AI in education settings.

The department is building the evidence base for how generative artificial intelligence (AI) is best used in education and learning from the experience and expertise of the sector. As part of this work departmental officials have sought views and experiences from practitioners and training providers across all stages of education as well as the education technology sector and AI experts.Departmental officials have also regularly met with representative bodies, such as the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), who represent training providers. On 1 February 2024, departmental officials met representative bodies at the AELP AI conference, to discuss AI related work programs.In November 2023, the department published the response to the call for evidence on generative AI in education to understand more about sector views and early use of generative AI tools across schools, further education and higher education. The response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/generative-artificial-intelligence-in-education-call-for-evidence. In January 2024, the department published a report outlining educator and expert views on generative AI, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-in-education-educator-and-expert-views.The department is also a member of the cross-government AI working group and we are collaborating with peers across government to share thinking and expertise as we develop future policy.

Whether her Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the role of generative AI in apprenticeship provision.

The department is committed to supporting high quality apprenticeship training provision which supports employers and learners gain the skills they need for long-term success.It is for training providers to choose how best to deliver apprenticeship training in order to equip learners with the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard, in consultation with the learner and employer. The department encourages providers to explore how they can use the latest technologies to enhance their offers.The department will continue to work with experts to consider and respond to the implications of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies.