Written questions by McMurdock.

If she will take steps to promote transparency between teachers and parents on politically sensitive topics in schools.

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools. The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.

What recent discussions she has had with teachers on political impartiality in schools.

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools. The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.

Whether her Department monitors political impartiality in schools.

In 2022 the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools. The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable and politically impartial, particularly when using materials produced by external organisations. The guidance also highlights that legal duties on political impartiality are unlikely to be relevant when teaching about political events from previous historical periods. However, the guidance is clear that, when teaching about more recent historical events, it is important to ensure that political issues that remain contentious today are presented to pupils in a balanced manner.

What recent estimate she has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in debt in (i) England and (ii) Essex.

The department trusts schools to manage their own budgets, and the vast majority are operating with a cumulative surplus, with only a small percentage having a deficit.The latest published figures for academies show that at a national level, 98% of academy trusts are in cumulative surplus or breaking even nationally. These figures for academy trusts relate to 31 August 2023.For maintained schools, at national level, 14.7% of maintained primary schools and 13% of maintained secondary schools were in deficit. In the Essex local authority 6.9% of maintained primary schools and no secondary schools were in deficit in the same period. The figures for maintained schools relate to 31 March 2024.The department does not hold local authority level figures for academies, since their funding is managed at Trust level, and many Trusts operate across local authorities’ boundaries. The financial benchmarking and insights tool on GOV.UK provides resources to review the finances of individual academies. This tool is available at: https://financial-benchmarking-and-insights-tool.education.gov.uk/data-sources.

What recent discussions her Department has had with head teachers on (a) energy bills and (b) other costs for schools.

Overall core revenue funding for schools totals almost £61.6 billion this 2024/25 financial year. The overall core schools budget is increasing by over £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning the core schools budget will total over £64.8 billion.The department holds discussions on energy costs and other cost pressures with sector bodies, including representatives for headteachers. This includes regular meetings with the Schools and Academies Funding Group and the Service-level Working Group on Education and Children's Services.The department provides advice to headteachers and is developing a suite of productivity initiatives to support schools in making efficiencies in their budgets. This includes giving schools the opportunity to join the department’s ‘Energy for Schools’ initiative. When schools' energy contracts are up for renewal, they can join the department's contract. During the pilot for this project, schools saved 36% on average compared to their previous contracts. The Schools Resource Management Advisor Programme works with headteachers by providing peer to peer advice on resources and costs at school level. We continue to work with schools to ensure, where needed, they are accessing our full suite of existing support to help manage budgets.The department will continue to monitor cost pressures, as it usually does.

What recent discussions her Department has had with (a) secondary school teachers and (b) head teachers on (i) smart phones in schools and (ii) young people on social media.

The department engages regularly with teachers and headteachers and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including mobile phone use in schools and the impact of social media on young people. This includes engagement through the department’s teacher and headteacher reference groups.The department’s ‘Mobile phones in schools’ guidance is clear that schools should prohibit the use of devices with smart technology throughout the school day, including during lessons, transitions and breaks.

Which groups she has consulted during the decision-making process on the future of the adoption and special guardianship support fund.

The department regularly discusses policy issues with a range of sector bodies and interested parties.Between 2018 and 2021, the Institute of Public Care (IPC), at Oxford Brookes University, carried out a three-year mixed-method evaluation, on behalf of the department. Their report can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6391c41a8fa8f53ba783e8ad/Evaluation_of_the_Adoption_Support_Fund_2018_to_2022_-_summary_.pdf.The report found that “a high proportion (83%) of parents and guardians participating in the longitudinal survey found the funded support helpful or very helpful overall”. The IPC report also found “a statistically significant (substantial, with large effect size) improvement in parent and guardian estimates of the extent to which the main aim of the funded support had been met by the end of the intervention” and reported that parents and guardians scored on average “7 out of 10 in relation to a question about the extent to which positive change(s) for their child and/or family had been sustained 6 months since the conclusion of adoption support fund-funded support”.The impact of the therapies available within the adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) is currently being assessed from multiple angles. The National Institute for Health Research is conducting a randomised control trial into Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), one of the main therapies the ASGSF funds. This research is currently in its third and final phase and it will provide robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of DDP. The department started to collect data from outcomes measurement tools for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment comes to an end, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies.The department has been making a range of changes to improve the timeliness of the ASGSF application process. For example, we have streamlined the online application process to reduce administration for local authorities and regional adoption agencies (RAAs) and have changed systems to ensure that application outcomes are delivered more swiftly. We have also introduced a direct communication link with therapy providers to give early updates on any changes and advice on submitting applications.These changes should help to reduce delays within local authorities and RAAs before applications are received. The additional support to providers, with better sharing of information about the ASGSF, should also help families to receive support more quickly.The department has considered what changes to the ASGSF portal will facilitate making the re-application for therapies more efficient. The streamlining of the application process has already reduced the information required, and an option to simplify the process in the case of a re-application is under consideration.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Adoption and special guardianship support fund on families with adopted children.

The department regularly discusses policy issues with a range of sector bodies and interested parties.Between 2018 and 2021, the Institute of Public Care (IPC), at Oxford Brookes University, carried out a three-year mixed-method evaluation, on behalf of the department. Their report can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6391c41a8fa8f53ba783e8ad/Evaluation_of_the_Adoption_Support_Fund_2018_to_2022_-_summary_.pdf.The report found that “a high proportion (83%) of parents and guardians participating in the longitudinal survey found the funded support helpful or very helpful overall”. The IPC report also found “a statistically significant (substantial, with large effect size) improvement in parent and guardian estimates of the extent to which the main aim of the funded support had been met by the end of the intervention” and reported that parents and guardians scored on average “7 out of 10 in relation to a question about the extent to which positive change(s) for their child and/or family had been sustained 6 months since the conclusion of adoption support fund-funded support”.The impact of the therapies available within the adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) is currently being assessed from multiple angles. The National Institute for Health Research is conducting a randomised control trial into Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), one of the main therapies the ASGSF funds. This research is currently in its third and final phase and it will provide robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of DDP. The department started to collect data from outcomes measurement tools for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment comes to an end, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies.The department has been making a range of changes to improve the timeliness of the ASGSF application process. For example, we have streamlined the online application process to reduce administration for local authorities and regional adoption agencies (RAAs) and have changed systems to ensure that application outcomes are delivered more swiftly. We have also introduced a direct communication link with therapy providers to give early updates on any changes and advice on submitting applications.These changes should help to reduce delays within local authorities and RAAs before applications are received. The additional support to providers, with better sharing of information about the ASGSF, should also help families to receive support more quickly.The department has considered what changes to the ASGSF portal will facilitate making the re-application for therapies more efficient. The streamlining of the application process has already reduced the information required, and an option to simplify the process in the case of a re-application is under consideration.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of waiting times for the Adoption and special guardianship support fund.

The department regularly discusses policy issues with a range of sector bodies and interested parties.Between 2018 and 2021, the Institute of Public Care (IPC), at Oxford Brookes University, carried out a three-year mixed-method evaluation, on behalf of the department. Their report can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6391c41a8fa8f53ba783e8ad/Evaluation_of_the_Adoption_Support_Fund_2018_to_2022_-_summary_.pdf.The report found that “a high proportion (83%) of parents and guardians participating in the longitudinal survey found the funded support helpful or very helpful overall”. The IPC report also found “a statistically significant (substantial, with large effect size) improvement in parent and guardian estimates of the extent to which the main aim of the funded support had been met by the end of the intervention” and reported that parents and guardians scored on average “7 out of 10 in relation to a question about the extent to which positive change(s) for their child and/or family had been sustained 6 months since the conclusion of adoption support fund-funded support”.The impact of the therapies available within the adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) is currently being assessed from multiple angles. The National Institute for Health Research is conducting a randomised control trial into Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), one of the main therapies the ASGSF funds. This research is currently in its third and final phase and it will provide robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of DDP. The department started to collect data from outcomes measurement tools for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment comes to an end, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies.The department has been making a range of changes to improve the timeliness of the ASGSF application process. For example, we have streamlined the online application process to reduce administration for local authorities and regional adoption agencies (RAAs) and have changed systems to ensure that application outcomes are delivered more swiftly. We have also introduced a direct communication link with therapy providers to give early updates on any changes and advice on submitting applications.These changes should help to reduce delays within local authorities and RAAs before applications are received. The additional support to providers, with better sharing of information about the ASGSF, should also help families to receive support more quickly.The department has considered what changes to the ASGSF portal will facilitate making the re-application for therapies more efficient. The streamlining of the application process has already reduced the information required, and an option to simplify the process in the case of a re-application is under consideration.

Whether her Department is taking steps to simplify the re-application process for the Adoption and special guardianship support fund.

The department regularly discusses policy issues with a range of sector bodies and interested parties.Between 2018 and 2021, the Institute of Public Care (IPC), at Oxford Brookes University, carried out a three-year mixed-method evaluation, on behalf of the department. Their report can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6391c41a8fa8f53ba783e8ad/Evaluation_of_the_Adoption_Support_Fund_2018_to_2022_-_summary_.pdf.The report found that “a high proportion (83%) of parents and guardians participating in the longitudinal survey found the funded support helpful or very helpful overall”. The IPC report also found “a statistically significant (substantial, with large effect size) improvement in parent and guardian estimates of the extent to which the main aim of the funded support had been met by the end of the intervention” and reported that parents and guardians scored on average “7 out of 10 in relation to a question about the extent to which positive change(s) for their child and/or family had been sustained 6 months since the conclusion of adoption support fund-funded support”.The impact of the therapies available within the adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) is currently being assessed from multiple angles. The National Institute for Health Research is conducting a randomised control trial into Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), one of the main therapies the ASGSF funds. This research is currently in its third and final phase and it will provide robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of DDP. The department started to collect data from outcomes measurement tools for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment comes to an end, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies.The department has been making a range of changes to improve the timeliness of the ASGSF application process. For example, we have streamlined the online application process to reduce administration for local authorities and regional adoption agencies (RAAs) and have changed systems to ensure that application outcomes are delivered more swiftly. We have also introduced a direct communication link with therapy providers to give early updates on any changes and advice on submitting applications.These changes should help to reduce delays within local authorities and RAAs before applications are received. The additional support to providers, with better sharing of information about the ASGSF, should also help families to receive support more quickly.The department has considered what changes to the ASGSF portal will facilitate making the re-application for therapies more efficient. The streamlining of the application process has already reduced the information required, and an option to simplify the process in the case of a re-application is under consideration.

What representations her Department has received from parents who home school their children about the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the Ministerial team try to meet with stakeholders regularly, including in relation to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. It is important that the department engages and listens to the views of key stakeholders who have an interest in the Children Not in School measures within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. That is why we have established stakeholder implementation forums to listen to the views of home educating parents, home education organisations, local authorities and other safeguarding and education stakeholders with a vested interest. There is currently no automatic right for all parents to be able to home educate their children, with local authority consent currently being required for a small cohort of children.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the removal of the automatic right to home educate under the Children and Wellbeing Bill on parents home schooling their children.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the Ministerial team try to meet with stakeholders regularly, including in relation to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. It is important that the department engages and listens to the views of key stakeholders who have an interest in the Children Not in School measures within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. That is why we have established stakeholder implementation forums to listen to the views of home educating parents, home education organisations, local authorities and other safeguarding and education stakeholders with a vested interest. There is currently no automatic right for all parents to be able to home educate their children, with local authority consent currently being required for a small cohort of children.

If she will meet with parents who home school their children to discuss the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the Ministerial team try to meet with stakeholders regularly, including in relation to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. It is important that the department engages and listens to the views of key stakeholders who have an interest in the Children Not in School measures within the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. That is why we have established stakeholder implementation forums to listen to the views of home educating parents, home education organisations, local authorities and other safeguarding and education stakeholders with a vested interest. There is currently no automatic right for all parents to be able to home educate their children, with local authority consent currently being required for a small cohort of children.

What steps she is taking to support children living in temporary accommodation to ensure their access to a stable education in (a) Thurrock and (b) England.

The Opportunity Mission will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success across Thurrock and the whole of England, by ensuring family security and providing the best start in life. It will ensure all children are achieving, thriving and building skills for opportunity and growth. High and rising standards in every school are at the heart of this mission, driving better outcomes for every child, and delivered through excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, and a system which removes the barriers to learning which hold too many children back. We know that disadvantaged young people in particular face barriers to engagement with education, including insecure housing. If children are unable to engage with education, then no matter how good teaching and learning is, they are much less likely to succeed. From April 2025 the department will be rolling out Family Help Services that will prioritise supporting the whole family and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating. Lead practitioners will undertake assessments of all needs of the family, including those who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness and work to support families where this may be part of a more complex set of needs. As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, funding for homelessness services is increasing next year by £233 million compared to this year (2024/25). This increased spending will help to prevent rises in the number of families in temporary accommodation and help to prevent rough sleeping. This brings total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. The Child Poverty Taskforce has also started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy. The Strategy will tackle overall child poverty including a focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials. This is set out in more detail in the 23 October publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy. Homeless children are included in the Fair Access Protocol, which is a mandatory mechanism developed by local authorities in partnership with all schools in their area. Its aim is to ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty in securing a school place in-year, are allocated a school place as quickly as possible.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in international student applications on the availability of university spaces for domestic students.

Universities and other higher education (HE) providers are autonomous bodies and are independent of government and responsible for their own admissions decisions in relation to both domestic and international students. Our world class universities are highly attractive to all students.This government is clear that international students, who make a positive impact on HE, as well as our economy and society as a whole, are welcome in the UK. They bring significant benefits, by enriching our university campuses, forging lifelong friendships with our domestic students and becoming global ambassadors for the UK.Domestic students continue to make up the majority of students within our universities. Higher Education Statistics Agency data shows that international students made up 16% of all undergraduate entrants at UK providers in the 2022/23 academic year, down from a high of 18% in the 2019/20 academic year. Tuition fees paid by international students in the 2022/23 academic year are estimated at £12.1 billion, with this contribution supporting provision of places for domestic students and research and development.The department will continue to monitor available data and engage closely with the HE sector to assess the level of international student admissions to UK universities for the next academic year.

What steps she is taking to improve the number of (a) work experience and (b) apprenticeship opportunities in (i) existing and (ii) emerging sectors.

The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils are provided with at least two weeks' worth of work experience over the course of their secondary education, by the end of this Parliament. We are piloting the delivery of this guarantee through our delivery partner, the Careers and Enterprise Company. This includes exploring improving the supply of work experience opportunities in all, including emerging, sectors, such as life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital, ensuring equitable access to activities and placements. We are looking at ways to reduce the administrative burden on both employers and schools to encourage greater uptake of work experience amongst pupils. Piloting work began in October 2024, with end of pilot reporting in August 2025.Our levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers in England, aligned with our industrial strategy creating routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors. From August 2025, three trailblazers in the key priority sectors of green energy, healthcare and film/TV production will be among the first to pioneer, and benefit from, the flexibilities that new shorter duration apprenticeships offer. These will support more people to gain high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country.

What assessment she has made of the factors contributing to the decline in mature student applications.

Data published by Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS) on full-time undergraduate higher education (HE) applications for the 2025 admissions cycle shows the overall number of applicants to UK HE is slightly higher than last year, with demand remaining strong.UCAS data from the equal consideration deadline, which was in January, shows applications from mature UK applicants, those aged over 21, are down 6.4% on 2024, and down 21.3% on 2020. However, acceptances at end of cycle are not always reflective of these earlier trends.In 2024, UK domiciled mature applicants were down 15.8% on 2019 at the January deadline but were up 1.3% at end of cycle. Acceptances at end of cycle were up 2.2%. There has been long-term growth in the number of UK domiciled mature acceptances reported at end of cycle between 2006 and 2024. This is shown in the green line in the attachment.Eligible full-time and part-time undergraduate students, including mature students, qualify for up-front fee loans to meet the full costs of their tuition. Full-time students also qualify for partially means-tested loans as a contribution towards their living costs, which are paid at four different rates depending on where a student is living and studying. In addition, vulnerable groups of students who are eligible for benefits, such as lone parents, qualify for higher rates of loans for living costs. Full-time students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course qualify for a single rate fully means-tested loan for living costs.Full-time undergraduate students with adult or child dependants can apply for fully means-tested dependants’ grants.Part-time undergraduate students attending eligible courses also qualify for partially means-tested loans for living costs.Students undertaking postgraduate master’s or doctoral degree courses can apply for loans to help them with fee and course costs.Maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduates and postgraduates will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year with the largest cash increases to means-tested support for students from low-income families.In terms of additional support available, all HE providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APP) approved by the OfS. APPs articulate how HE providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including mature students.There are many excellent examples of interventions that show a real commitment to widening access into HE for mature students, but we want the sector to go further. By summer, the department will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all under-represented students.Finally, from January 2027, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the student finance system in England. Under the LLE, new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. Returning learners who have previously received government support will have a reduced entitlement. This will depend on previous funding received. Learners will be able to use this new entitlement more flexibly than ever before to fund individual modules as well as full courses at levels 4 to 6, regardless of whether they are provided in colleges, universities or independent providers. The government expects to see the LLE being taken advantage of by mature students, those wishing to change career and retrain, or those wanting to move up in their existing career and upskill. Mature students may particularly benefit from the additional flexibility that LLE will bring as they frequently study part-time while combining paid work and other familial and financial commitments.

What comparative assessment she has made of the employment rates between working-age non-graduates and young graduates.

The department produces an annual publication that uses the Labour Force Survey and compares the employment rates of postgraduates, graduates and non-graduates. The publication can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets#dataBlock-3450d11e-68f3-4f34-9284-4a9dd67e861a-tables.The employment rates for graduates and non-graduates of working age (16 to 64) and for the young population (21 to 30) can be found in two of the tables provided in ‘Section 4. Employment rates time series (2007 – 2023)’ of the publication. These are highlighted below:Employment rates by working age population for 16- to 64-year-olds: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/8c070fb0-8bb7-4278-a65f-08dc7b21f080#:~:text=https%3A//explore%2Deducation%2Dstatistics.service.gov.uk/data%2Dtables/permalink/dcb4226c%2Dc97e%2D4908%2Dd8c5%2D08dd4a33315d.Employment rates by young population for 21- to 30-year-olds: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a671ed04-c746-435a-6d61-08dd48e2728c.The figures in the publication show that:Employment rates for young graduates are higher than those for working age non-graduates across all years of the time-series since 2007. The latest figures for 2023 show that employment rates for young graduates were 87.4% and were 68.7% for working age non graduates.The gap between employment rates for young graduates and working age non graduates has been growing recently, increasing from 16.0 percentage points in 2019 (pre-COVID pandemic) to 18.7 percentage points in 2023.Whilst employment rates have remained relatively stable for young graduates since 2019 (pre-COVID pandemic), employment rates have fallen by 3.2 percentage points for working age non graduates between 2019 and 2023.

What steps she is taking to help reduce the suicide rate amongst male university students.

This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by ensuring young people receive the mental health support they deserve. It is vital that higher education (HE) students are supported to achieve and thrive during their time at university.Figures on non-continuation following year one of entry to HE are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for full-time first-degree entrants starting courses between the 2014/15 and 2019/20 academic years. Further information is available in Table T3 at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation.More recent information on continuation rates, which are the inverse of non-continuation, for first year full-time degree entrants entering HE are published by the Office for Students (OfS). This is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/.The proportion of UK domiciled student enrolments to HE providers who declared a mental health condition, such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorder, was 5.6% in the 2022/23 academic year, compared with 1.8% in 2014/15. Although specific data on the number of students who have left their course due to a mental health issue is not known, we are determined that action is taken so students can maximise the opportunity to study in HE.This government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.To drive meaningful change in HE mental health support, the HE Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck, is chairing the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The taskforce includes representatives from students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector. The taskforce published its second stage report in December, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.We appointed the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health to undertake a National Review of HE Student Suicides. This review has seen excellent engagement from universities and will publish its report in the spring, with a focus on highlighting lessons learned and recommendations for better prevention of student suicides.

What assessment she has made of potential implications for her policies of the proportion of university students who leave their university courses early due to mental health issues.

This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by ensuring young people receive the mental health support they deserve. It is vital that higher education (HE) students are supported to achieve and thrive during their time at university.Figures on non-continuation following year one of entry to HE are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for full-time first-degree entrants starting courses between the 2014/15 and 2019/20 academic years. Further information is available in Table T3 at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation.More recent information on continuation rates, which are the inverse of non-continuation, for first year full-time degree entrants entering HE are published by the Office for Students (OfS). This is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/.The proportion of UK domiciled student enrolments to HE providers who declared a mental health condition, such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorder, was 5.6% in the 2022/23 academic year, compared with 1.8% in 2014/15. Although specific data on the number of students who have left their course due to a mental health issue is not known, we are determined that action is taken so students can maximise the opportunity to study in HE.This government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.To drive meaningful change in HE mental health support, the HE Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck, is chairing the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The taskforce includes representatives from students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector. The taskforce published its second stage report in December, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.We appointed the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health to undertake a National Review of HE Student Suicides. This review has seen excellent engagement from universities and will publish its report in the spring, with a focus on highlighting lessons learned and recommendations for better prevention of student suicides.