Written questions by Byrne.

Whether a statutory review process will be available for parents with SEND children who disagree with changes to their children's support plans under the proposed reforms.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding and workforce capacity, including (a) specialist teachers, (b) teaching assistants, (c) therapists and (d) other support staff, to deliver the SEND suppor

The department is investing to ensure all settings have the capacity, expertise and resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).We are already seeing positive signs, the latest School Workforce Census reported stro...

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing eligibility for Education, Health and Care Plans to only the most complex cases on equality of access to specialist educational support; and what

The department has carefully assessed the impact of our proposals, and this is included in our published equalities impact and child’s rights impact assessments.Under our proposed reforms, education, health and care (EHC) plans will continue to exist, but...

Whether the Government intends to introduce accountability mechanisms in legislation to ensure that the National Inclusion Standards and updated SEND Code of Practice lead to improvements in outcomes for pupils

The department plans to introduce National Inclusion Standards, which we propose should set out minimum standards all settings must adhere to, including a range of evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and su...

If she will put in place transitional safeguards for children and young people who currently hold an EHCP to ensure that, during reassessment under the new SEND model proposed, there is no reduction in the leve

Under the department’s proposals, a triple lock of transitional protections will ensure children get the support they need.Every child with a special school place in September 2029 will be able to stay in a special school until they finish education.Trans...

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased student loan balances on graduates’ access to mortgages and savings.

The size of one’s outstanding student loan is not a barrier to accessing a mortgage and savings. Student loan balances do not appear on borrower credit records, meaning the total size of the student loan debt is not considered in a borrower mortgage application. Monthly student loan repayments will be considered alongside other living costs as part of the affordability check for mortgage applications in the same way as any other fixed monthly outgoings, but monthly repayments are not linked to the size of the outstanding loan.Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold, are not required to make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.The government appreciates that making student loan repayments has an impact on individuals, and this is why there are unique protections for borrowers and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of freezing the income repayment threshold for Plan 2 student loans on the level of disposable income of graduates earning between £29,000 and £40,000 per year.

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements. Threshold freezes have been introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold, are not required to make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.The government appreciates that making student loan repayments has an impact on individuals, and this is why there are unique protections for borrowers and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of interest rates applied to income-contingent student loans on the total level of graduate debt.

The department does not hold analysis on the impact of interest rates on total level of graduate debt.No Plan 5 borrower should see their loan balance grow in real terms without additional outlay, as the rate of interest for Plan 5 loans is applied at Retail Price Index (RPI) only.Plan 2 loan interest rates are applied at RPI only, then variable up to RPI+3% depending on earnings. Interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by student loan borrowers, which stay at a constant rate of 9% above an earnings threshold to protect lower earners.Outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of borrower protection. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.

What estimate her Department has made of the proportion of borrowers on Plan 2 student loans whose outstanding balance is projected to increase for at least the first ten years of repayment due to interest accrual exceeding annual repayments.

The department does not hold analysis of the proportion of borrowers whose loan is projected to increase in their first ten years of repayment.Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same. Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers.Outstanding debt, including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.

What estimate her Department has made of (a) the average outstanding student loan balance and (b) the proportion of borrowers currently making repayments in (i) Merseyside and (ii) the North West of England.

The average outstanding student loan balance of borrowers in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England was £37,000 (rounded to the nearest thousand) on 15 March 2025. This includes all loans, even those not yet liable to repay. The proportion of borrowers currently residing in the North West government region who have been funded by Student Finance England and made at least one repayment in this financial year is 46.8%.The department does not hold student loan data for Merseyside specifically, as it is not a defined statistical geography in our datasets. Therefore, figures can only be provided at North West regional level.Please note published national data provides the picture of borrowers’ repayment and employment status on 31 March 2025 and differs to the proportion who have made a repayment in the last year.

If she will make the eligibility criteria for the holiday activities and food programme the same as that for free school meals.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool West Derby, to the answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 57800.

What assessment has she made of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent.

I refer my hon. Friend, the member for Liverpool West Derby, to my written statement of 22 April 2025, which is available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-04-22/hcws589.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of pausing student loan interest from accruing while new parents are in receipt of statutory maternity pay.

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. This includes those in receipt of statutory maternity pay, or any other person on parental 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 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

What steps she is taking to ensure state schools have adequate levels of funding.

The overall core schools budget is increasing by £3.7 billion in 2025/26, meaning that it will total £65.3 billion, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25. This is a 6% overall increase, which against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal picture, demonstrates the government’s commitment to enabling every child to achieve and thrive through delivery of the Opportunity Mission.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on student retention rates at universities.

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.The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing spelling and grammar software from Disabled Students' Allowance funding on disabled students' future employment prospects.

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.The department’s review of non-specialist spelling and grammar software found that the required functionality to meet students’ disability-related support needs was available to students in free to access software. We do not expect that this change will affect students’ retention rates or employment prospects.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing monitoring compliance with School Food Standards.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool West Derby to the answer of 9 May 2025 to Question 48872.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of ventilation in schools in reducing the spread of airborne infections.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance on ventilation in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings. This guidance is consistent with the expert advice given by the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic on ventilation requirements to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and by extension other airborne infections. The department supports and works with academics to understand the research relating to the impact of air quality on school users.

With reference to Education Support's annual survey titled Teacher Wellbeing Index, what steps her Department is taking to support teachers' mental health.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Liverpool West Derby to the answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29516.

What steps her Department is taking with local authorities to help support kinship carers in (a) Liverpool and (b) other areas.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children. In October 2024, the department published the new Kinship Care statutory guidance for local authorities, which sets out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families, including reaffirming the requirement to publish their local offer of support in a clear, accessible way.Alongside this, as part of her role as the National Kinship Care Ambassador, Jahnine Davis will work alongside all local authorities to help them improve their kinship practice and local policies and ensure they are following national guidance. She will share learning nationally so that more local authorities can benefit from evidence of best practice. In turn, this will help to improve outcomes for children and families across England.In October 2024, the government also announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in some local authorities in England, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting a child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date and could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home.The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.