Written questions by Snell.

When she plans to provide an Answer to Question 50886 on Apprentices: Taxation, tabled on 8 May 2025.

The response to Written Parliamentary Question 50886 was published on 21 May 2025.

How many organisations were consulted on the decision to cut funding for specialist software from the Disabled Student's Allowance.

The department engaged with disability experts who support disabled students to gather their feedback and insights on the decision to remove non-specialist spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students’ Allowance funding. These persons contributed in a personal capacity.The department does not expect that students will be negatively impacted by the changes, because specific technology packages will no longer be funded where free-to-access versions, with the required functionality, are available to meet students’ disability-related support needs.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to levy funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the educational opportunities available in Stoke-on-Trent.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.

What plans she has to increase access to adult education on media literacy.

The adult skills fund (ASF) fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, including media literacy education.Currently, approximately 62% of the ASF is devolved to 9 mayoral strategic authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers to best meet their local needs. The department is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas. In non-devolved areas, adults who earn less than £25,000 in annual gross salary are eligible for full funding, but it is the responsibility of providers to decide what training to offer.More broadly, civil society and community organisations are instrumental in delivering media literacy programmes to adults, leveraging their expertise to support diverse and vulnerable groups.The Digital Inclusion Action Plan outlines steps toward delivering digital inclusion and media literacy for everyone in the UK, including supporting local and community initiatives to increase digital participation.Under updated media literacy duties, Ofcom is developing a ‘place-based’ model to embed media literacy into community digital strategies, working with the Good Things Foundation to support Digital Inclusion Hubs.

If she will ensure that media literacy becomes a core component of the Curriculum and Assessment Review in the context of generative AI.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central to the answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 47184 .

What the average programme funding is for 16 to 19 year olds studying T levels and other Level 3 qualifications.

The Autumn Budget 2024 provided an additional £300 million revenue funding for further education (FE) for the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs.The department uses the 16 to 19 funding formula to calculate an allocation of funding to each institution, each academic year. The starting point for these allocations are the funding rates, which depend on the size of students’ study programmes or T Levels. The rates for 2024/25 can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-information-for-2024-to-2025#national-funding-rate-for-2024-to-2025. The other elements of the funding formula are then applied, which include a number of adjustments, including for higher cost programmes. Further detail on how the funding formula works can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-how-it-works#funding-formula.The average total programme funding per 16 to 19 student is £6,219 in the 2024/25 academic year, according to published allocations.

How many students are studying an applied general qualification of 720 guided learning hours or more in a T level route.

The government has affirmed its commitment to T Levels as a high quality qualification and that these should be the qualifications of choice for 16 to 19-year-olds wishing to study large qualifications.In the 2022/23 academic year there were 63,840 16 to 19-year-olds, enrolled on a study programme taking an Applied General Qualification over 720 guided learning hours, which appear on performance tables in the same sector subject areas as a T Level. The data is the total number of enrolled students on those qualifications, so will include students on the multiple years of study.Students deserve high quality qualifications that meet their needs, and the department must continue to develop and improve qualifications so that they support the government’s key missions of spreading opportunity and supporting economic growth. Through our work on the qualifications reform rapid review and the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we will ensure a curriculum that meets the needs of students and employers, which is backed up by high quality qualifications that deliver strong outcomes.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reducing tuition fees for foundation year in-classroom-based subjects on the finances of universities.

On 20 January 2025, the department published a regulatory impact assessment covering the reduction in tuition fee and loan limits for higher education foundation years in classroom-based subjects, which is available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/13/pdfs/ukia_20250013_en.pdf.

What recent discussions her Department has had with the Teachers Pension Scheme on delays in providing Remediable Service Statements to retired teachers.

Delays have been encountered with the approach to calculating the remediable service statement (RSS) values for retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme whilst cross-scheme issues were resolved.130,000 retired teachers require a rectification RSS. ...

What proportion of primary schools have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.

The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food br...

What proportion of secondary schools have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.

The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food br...

Whether the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include provisions to help schools provide up to date allergy awareness education for pupils and staff.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England.The precise content of the Bill will be confirmed upon the Bill’s introduction, which wi...

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 October 2024 to Question 6377 on Children in Care, whether her Department plans to collect data on the number of children removed from a family who have previously had a child remov

The department recognises the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experience of children, young people and families. A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of th...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that parents receive appropriate support after children are removed from their care to prevent recurrence.

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole fam...

What steps her Department is taking to prevent the recurrence of child removals from the same families.

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole fam...

How many children entering care each year are from a family who have previously had a child removed from their care.

The department is unable to answer the question. We only collect data on individual children and do not collect data on families.

Whether the Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include provisions to tackle repeat removals of children from the same families.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England. The department will deliver our manifesto commitments on children’s social care to ensu...

What assessment her Department has made of the potential (a) merits and (b) financial savings of increasing investment in support for parents following the removal of a child from their care to prevent repeat r

This government is committed to whole-system reform of children’s social care to give hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. We recognise that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention and whole fam...

What steps her Department is taking to ensure the (a) voices and (b) experiences of birth parents who have experienced the removal of children from their care are included in (i) policymaking and (ii) service p

The department is committed to engaging widely with those with lived experience of children’s social care, as well as all interested stakeholders, to help us drive the right change and scale up good practice in children’s social care across the country.He...