Written questions by Rankin.

What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of universities at fulfilling their Prevent duty obligations, in the context of levels of support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The situation in the Middle East is deeply troubling, and the escalating violence highlights the importance of universities’ Prevent duty responsibilities to safeguard students from radicalisation.To comply with the Prevent duty, universities must have effective policies in place and regularly assess risks; this may include updating their risk assessments to remain alert to any increased vulnerability among students, considering recent events.The Office for Students (OfS) monitors how higher education providers are complying with the Prevent duty and ensures that appropriate measures are in place to protect students from radicalisation. Current OfS monitoring shows that providers are broadly meeting their responsibilities.The department continues to work closely with the OfS to review compliance and support providers in maintaining high standards.

What mechanisms are in place to monitor the consistency of Prevent duty implementation across higher education providers in England.

The situation in the Middle East is deeply troubling, and the escalating violence highlights the importance of universities’ Prevent duty responsibilities to safeguard students from radicalisation.To comply with the Prevent duty, universities must have effective policies in place and regularly assess risks; this may include updating their risk assessments to remain alert to any increased vulnerability among students, considering recent events.The Office for Students (OfS) monitors how higher education providers are complying with the Prevent duty and ensures that appropriate measures are in place to protect students from radicalisation. Current OfS monitoring shows that providers are broadly meeting their responsibilities.The department continues to work closely with the OfS to review compliance and support providers in maintaining high standards.

Whether her Department has had discussions with (a) University College London and (b) other higher education institutions on levels of student society support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.

Whether the Office for Students has reviewed the adequacy of compliance procedures at students' unions following public statements praising Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to higher education institutions on the promotion of narratives in student societies linked to foreign political leadership.

As stated by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence on 1 March, Ayatollah Khamenei ran an oppressive and brutal regime, murdering thousands of his own citizens and exporting terror, including to Britain. It is horrifying to see his death mourned publicly in this country.We condemn all extremist intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred in our universities. Where public mourning involves this sort of unacceptable behaviour, it should not be tolerated. The department’s Prevent Coordinators engage with universities on concerns relating to students’ union activity and student conduct, to ensure that the correct policies and procedures have been followed. Students’ Unions, where they are registered charities, are regulated by the Charity Commission for compliance with charity law, which assesses and manages them through its regulatory framework.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the absence of a statutory complaints scheme on enforcement of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.

The department is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend and repeal elements of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 at the earliest opportunity, including in relation to the complaints scheme.The department cannot comment on what might or might not be considered for future legislation, but we will act to protect freedom of speech and academic freedom, and we are considering options.

How much their department spent on X and xAI since July 2024.

During the period 1 July 2024 to 19 January 2026, the department and its executive agencies spent £27,118.12 on sector comms and awareness with X and its predecessor platform/brand Twitter.xAI acquired X on 28 March 2025. £4,834.80 was spent before the acquisition by xAI. £22,283.32 was spent after the acquisition by xAI.

What her planned timetable is for implementation of the free speech complaints scheme.

​​On 28 April, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education signed commencement regulations, bringing the following provisions into force on 1 August 2025:​Duties on higher education (HE) providers and their constituent institutions to take reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law, put in place a code of practice on freedom of speech and academic freedom and promote freedom of speech.​A ban on non-disclosure agreements for staff and students at HE providers in cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.​Duties on the Office for Students (OfS) to promote freedom of speech and the power to identify good practice and advise HE providers on it.The department is seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend and repeal other elements of the Act in due course, including in relation to the complaints scheme.​ In the meantime, as well as the new provider duties in place, the OfS Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the sector to offer advice and share best practice, so providers can protect free speech and academic freedom more effectively.​

What the estimated average cost per child of breakfast food is at school breakfast clubs according to the latest available data.

The government is delivering on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of their circumstances, has a supportive start to the school day.The department has confirmed over £30 million of funding for free breakfast clubs for the current 2025/26 financial year and around £80 million for the 2026/27 financial year. Schools will be funded for the running of a breakfast club, including food, staffing and day-to-day delivery. Learning from the early adopters, we will provide further information, including specifics on eligibility, funding, and expectations for schools, later in the autumn term.The department does not collect data on how much money schools spend per child on breakfast food.

What proportion of full-time undergraduate students with British nationality non-domiciled in the UK are paying international fees.

The department is not able to identify which non-UK domiciled students who hold British nationality are paying international fees.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. These data are shared with the department and includes a wide range of information on students coming from overseas to study in UK higher education providers (HEPs), including their legal nationality. Information on the type of fees a student pays, however, is not collected across all UK HEPs.

What information his Department holds on the number of full-time undergraduate students paying international fees who are (a) British nationals and (b) non-domiciled in the UK.

The department is not able to identify students who are paying international fees who are (a) British nationals and (b) non-domiciled in the UK.The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on students coming from overseas to study in UK higher education providers (HEPs). Information on the type of fees a student pays, however, is not collected across all UK HEPs.The legal nationality of the student is collected across all HEPs that submit data to HESA. The department estimates that of the 288,465 full-time, undergraduate, international students (those with permanent address outside the UK) enrolled in UK HEPs in the 2022/23 academic year, 12,805 declared that they held British nationality. Of the remaining full-time, undergraduate, international students, 271,505 declared that they held an overseas nationality and 4,155 have an unknown nationality.

What steps she is taking to improve (a) management accountability and (b) the complaints and oversight system for staff at multi-academy trusts.

All school staff should feel safe and supported at work, and confident in being able to report concerns. We expect school leaders, as employers, to take appropriate action to tackle any issues that are raised.All school employers, including trusts, have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The primary duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of all employees, including school leaders, rests with the employer. The employer is therefore responsible for doing what is reasonably practicable to ensure that employees are adequately supported in relation to wellbeing and should take appropriate action where they are aware of any matters that impact their employee’s welfare. It is the responsibility of individual trusts to have robust staffing policies in place to ensure this is the case.This includes having complaints guidance and whistleblowing policies and procedures in place. Guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures and here: https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, is the prescribed person for matters relating to education for whistleblowers who do not want to raise matters directly with their employer. Concerns can be raised with the department using the Customer Help Portal available here: https://customerhelpportal.education.gov.uk.More widely, as Principal Regulator for academies, the Secretary of State is clear that accountability is non-negotiable. The department holds academies to high standards, setting and enforcing all non-financial standards, and facilitating, supporting and overseeing intervention in multi-academy trusts when it is needed.Academy trusts are also bound by their funding agreements to conduct their academies within the terms and requirements of their Articles of Association, the Academies Trust Handbook and any legislation or legal requirement that applies to academies. Where concerns about an academy are identified or raised, the department works closely with trusts to ensure statutory requirements are being met.

Whether she is aware of any situations in which SEND money is being used by schools for (a) non-SEND related facilities and (b) on non-SEND pupils.

The department does not collect data from schools which specifically distinguishes spending on non-special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) related facilities or non-SEND pupils.Local authorities retain the legal duty to ensure appropriate support is provided for children with SEND. Local authorities can allocate high needs top-up funding to schools in respect of a particular pupil with more complex SEND, normally to secure the provision set out in an education, health and care plan, and they determine how much extra funding to allocate.