Every parliamentary written question tabled by David Williams this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–20 of 21 · Department for Education
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the SEND system on (a) family wellbeing, (b) employment and (c) mental health.
The current system for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is failing too many children and too many families. Improving the life chances of children and young people with SEND is the first priority for these reforms, in turn a...
What assessment he has made of trends in the level of accessibility of statutory SEND rights for (a) parents and (b) carers.
The views of parents, carers and young people remain a key underpinning principle for decisions made in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The government’s proposed reforms will expand the legal duties to meet the needs of child...
What funding is available for ongoing professional development in SEND for teachers and support staff, and whether this provision meets demand.
The department’s core professional development offer, including Initial Teacher Training, the Early Career Framework, and national professional qualifications for leaders and Special Educational Needs Coordinators, is grounded in the latest evidence, revi...
How her Department is supporting schools to meet SEND needs where specialist placements are unavailable or inappropriate.
From September, the government is providing upfront investment for schools, colleges and early years providers to intervene early in meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), through our inclusi...
What recent estimate her Department has made of the cost of the provision of a hot meal at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
The department spends over £1.5 billion annually supporting schools to provide free meals to around 3.4 million children. We have recently confirmed that free meals will be extended to all households receiving Universal Credit from September 2026. This expansion is being backed by £1 billion in additional funding over the multi-year spending review period and will benefit half a million pupils.The department provides free school meals (FSM) funding to schools, who have flexibility to provide meals in the way that works best for them. FSM are currently funded at £495 per pupil annually.As with all programmes, we continue to keep funding for FSM under review to ensure that schools can continue to provide hot and nutritious meals that support pupil attainment and health. Departmental officials meet regularly with the sector, including the school catering industry, and use these insights to inform our work.
Whether she plans to have discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the the findings of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' report entitled, A Profession Under Pressure, published in July 2025.
Speech and Language Therapists break down communication barriers, unlocking learning, inclusion, and opportunity for every child. They play a critical role in early intervention for children and young people. However, they have the second highest waiting list in children’s community services. I am grateful to the Royal College for highlighting these issues in their report.The department knows that continuing to build the pipeline of speech and language therapists is essential. We are working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the current Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund fair access limit on the mental health outcomes of (a) adopted children and (b) children living with a special guardianship.
The department always considers the impact of decisions on vulnerable children. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will still allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Where needed, local authorities and regional adoption agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.
What evidence base was used to inform the new per-child funding allocation of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Changes to the Fair Access Limit have been made to ensure that the maximum number of children can benefit from the fund, on the basis of forecast demand. The level of funding per child in 2025/26 will still allow adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support. Where needed, and as before, local authorities and Regional Adoption Agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.
When she expects the timelines for the delivery of Young Future Hubs to be clarified.
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity. Too many children and young people do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than going on to achieve and thrive. Young Futures Hubs are just one part of addressing this, as part of a much wider youth landscape which will be brought together in the forthcoming youth strategy.To roll-out Young Futures Hubs, building upon the successes of existing infrastructure and provision, the department will first establish early adopter hubs. These early adopters, and work with local areas, will inform the longer term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs. We will set out more details on timelines in due course.
Whether (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent settings will be able to access (i) Early Years and (ii) workforce funding.
In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department expects to provide over £8 billion for early years entitlements, an increase of over 30% compared to 2024/25, as the department rolls out the expansion of the entitlements.This funding is distributed to ...
What steps her Department is taking to reduce the potential impact of workforce shortages in the early years sector on pre-school children’s language and communication development.
Early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in their early years and later in life, including in all aspects of their later attainment in school. To support early language skills, the department is investing over £20 million in the Nuffie...
What steps her Department is taking to support (a) language and (b) communication skills of children under three.
Early language skills are vital to enable children to thrive in the early years and later in life.The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every ch...
What steps her Department is taking through the Youth Guarantee to support care leavers at risk of dropping out of (a) education and (b) training.
The department’s vision for a Youth Guarantee is to ensure all young people aged 18 to 21 have access to training or employment support to prevent them from becoming economically inactive before their careers have even begun. This includes young people ...
What steps her Department is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the further education sector.
Good quality teaching is the main determinant of quality outcomes for learners. The population of 16 to 19 year olds in further education (FE) is set to grow in the coming years, which is why we need more great FE teachers in critical subject areas.To boo...
What steps her Department is taking to reduce dropout rates of students studying T-Levels.
This government wants all young people to have access to high-quality education options that enable them to learn the skills they need to progress in life and build successful careers. T Levels are an excellent post-16 option for students, and we want to ...
What steps her Department is taking to support local authorities to ensure that young people's home to school transport needs are met.
The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest...
What steps her Department is taking to ensure that Foundational Apprenticeships support disadvantaged young people into apprenticeship schemes.
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Too many young people face difficulties progressing beyond secondary education and we want to ensure that more people from disadvantaged backgrounds can undertake apprenticeships...
What steps she is taking to help support local authorities to meet the legal deadline to provide an education, health and care plan.
Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve and thrive but, at the moment, far from every child is being given that chance. The current special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system has lost the confidence of famil...
What steps she is taking to (a) support Local Skills Improvement Plans and (b) prevent duplication of those plans with Skills England.
Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) support the department’s aim to make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs. Since autumn 2022, the designated employer representative bodies (ERBs) leading the LSI...
What steps her Department is taking to help support people to transition from level three qualifications to higher levels.
Skills are crucial to economic growth, with a third of productivity improvement over the last two decades explained by improvements to skills levels. However, between 2017 and 2022, skills shortages in England doubled to more than half a million and now a...