Written questions by Spencer.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to provide easy access to free drinking water.

Awaiting answer.

Whether she has issued guidance to universities on the Employment Rights Act; and what steps she is taking to prevent university employers engaging in fire and rehire practices before January 2027.

Awaiting answer.

If she will ensure no compulsory redundancies among staff who cannot relocate from her Department's offices which are closing.

Awaiting answer.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the recommendation on the competitiveness of teachers’ pay in The National Foundation for Educational Research report entitled The School Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2026 published on 19 March 2026.

The department notes the recent National Foundation for Educational Research report, which highlights some improvement in the competitiveness of teachers’ pay.The department values all teachers, which is why we have delivered two above inflation awards that, combined, will mean all schoolteachers will have seen an increase in their pay of almost 10% over the last two years.In making their recommendations on teacher pay in maintained schools each year, the School Teachers’ Review Body carries out rigorous assessments as part of its reports and considers a range of evidence, including key indicators for pay competitiveness.We are already seeing positive signs that our investment is delivering. The workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, and our teacher pipeline is growing, with just under 32,600 new entrants to initial teacher training in autumn 2025, up 13% on the previous year.

When she plans to publish the latest School Teachers' Review Body report on teacher’s pay; and what discussions she has had with head teachers and their representatives on (a) the publication date of that report and (b) the potential impact this date will have on the adequacy of the amount of time schools get to plan their budgets for September.

The government has received the School Teachers’ Review Body’s 36th Report. As is the case each year once the report is received, the government is now in the process of discussing the recommendations and will publish the report, in addition to the government’s response, and launch the statutory consultation as soon as those discussions have concluded, making every effort to give schools as much notice of the impact on school budgets as is possible.