Written questions by Hussain.

What recent assessment her Department has made on the adequacy of funding for children with special educational need in Bradford.

We are committed to reforming the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to deliver an excellent, inclusive education for every child and young person, with a world-class curriculum and highly trained, expert staff at every phase of learning. High needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND was increased by over £1 billion, or 11%, in 2025/26 and funding will continue at this increased level in 2026/27. Total high needs funding will be well over £12 billion in 2026/27. Of that total Bradford City Council will be allocated over £139 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant. Local authorities will receive at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, and we will publish allocations for 2026/27 in the spring. This builds on £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26, of which Bradford Council has been allocated approximately £7.3 million. When the Schools White Paper is published early in 2026, we will set out further details on additional funding for both local authorities and schools to drive forward reform of the SEND system.

Whether her Department plans to increase funding for Bradford City Council to support children with SEND.

We are committed to reforming the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system to deliver an excellent, inclusive education for every child and young person, with a world-class curriculum and highly trained, expert staff at every phase of learning. High needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND was increased by over £1 billion, or 11%, in 2025/26 and funding will continue at this increased level in 2026/27. Total high needs funding will be well over £12 billion in 2026/27. Of that total Bradford City Council will be allocated over £139 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant. Local authorities will receive at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30, and we will publish allocations for 2026/27 in the spring. This builds on £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26, of which Bradford Council has been allocated approximately £7.3 million. When the Schools White Paper is published early in 2026, we will set out further details on additional funding for both local authorities and schools to drive forward reform of the SEND system.

What plans her Department has to extend universal free school meals to all children in (a) Bradford East constituency and (b) other areas of high child poverty.

The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child. The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty, which has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low income family. That is why the government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a ministerial taskforce has been set up to begin work on the Child Poverty Strategy.Under current programmes, disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools, as well as 16 to 18 year-old students in further education, are entitled to receive free meals on the basis of low income. 2.1 million disadvantaged pupils are registered to receive free school meals (FSM) and a further 90,000 are registered to receive further education free meals. In addition, all children in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England's state-funded schools are entitled to universal infant free school meals, which benefits around 1.3 million pupils.Additionally, the government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to set children up for the day and ensure they are ready to learn, while supporting parents and carers to work.As with all government programmes, the department will keep the approach to FSM under review.