Written questions by Kirkham.

Whether she has considered financing the provision of EpiPens for all children in an educational establishment.

Awaiting answer.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of calculating student loan repayments on an annual basis so that people with fluctuating monthly incomes are not penalised and required to make larger repayments than those with stable incomes.

Awaiting answer.

Whether she has considered financing the provision of EpiPens for all children in an educational establishment.

Awaiting answer.

What plans the Department has to promote the National Year of Reading in a) early years settings, b) primary schools, c) secondary schools, d) further education and e) higher education.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Truro and Falmouth to the answer of 23 February to Question ​​112757​.

What steps she has taken to prevent parents from avoiding paying VAT on private school fees by paying several years' fees in advance.

All fees paid since the tax changes were announced on 29 July 2024, in relation to terms after 1 January 2025, are subject to VAT. HMRC is scrutinising the detail of any pre-payment schemes and stands ready to challenge the validity of these schemes.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of using empty school classrooms for health services.

As set out in our Education Estates Strategy, to support strategic planning at a local level, we will work with the sector to develop a decision-making framework for the use of mainstream school space through demographic change.This will ensure that we are balancing the opportunities created by the current fall in birth rates, including delivery of priorities such as support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and Best Start Family Hubs, with a collective view on the long-term risks. This will be informed by new pathfinders to pilot flexible use of surplus spaces for join up with Best Start Family Hubs, housing, neighbourhood health service and youth centres and will build on the success of the school-based nursery programme, which is delivering thousands of nursery places to support children to get the best start in life.

When draft updated statutory guidance on supporting pupils with medical conditions will be published.

The government has committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to support pupils with medical conditions effectively and inclusively. The current statutory guidance, ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions,’ will be updated to reflect best practice and recent developments.We intend to consult later this year on revised guidance. This consultation will seek views from schools, parents, health professionals, and other stakeholders on proposals to strengthen how schools meet their duties, including improvements to allergy safety and broader medical condition management.Our aim is to ensure that every child can access education safely and confidently, regardless of their health needs.

How many and what proportion of children's homes that are privately owned and operated.

As at 31 March 2025, 84% (3,360) of all children’s homes were privately owned and operated. Ofsted publish annual data on children’s social care in England. This includes data on the number of homes and the different types of social care providers. The latest data is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2025. The government is taking forward work to reshape the children’s social care placement’s market, including increasing the number of foster carers so that more children can be looked after in family-based environments and encouraging more non-profit, local authority, and social investment backed providers to enter the market.

What progress she has made on the automatic registration of eligible children for free school meal entitlements.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. Introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals so that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals from September 2026 will make it easier for parents to know whether they are entitled to receive free meals. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty. The department is also rolling out improvements to the Eligibility Checking System which will make it easier for local authorities, schools and parents to check if children are eligible for free meals.

What estimate she has made of the proportion of school supply spending that is retained by private agencies rather than paid to teachers; and what assessment she has made of the impact on school budgets.

The department does not hold data on the proportion of supply spending retained by agencies.According to school financial returns, in the 2023/24 financial year, local authority maintained schools spent approximately £522 million on agency supply teaching staff whilst, in the 2023/24 academic year, academies spent approximately £898 million. The total school budget was £58 billion for the 2023/24 financial year.The department’s 2024 ‘Use of supply teachers in schools’ research found that on average a secondary supply agency teacher cost a school £291 per day, whilst the daily take-home pay for a secondary supply teacher was £150. This suggests that agencies retain around 48% of the spend for secondary supply on average, which covers profit, on-costs and operational costs.We continue to explore ways to support schools to obtain value for money when hiring supply staff.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of mandating that supply staff (a) are paid according to national pay scales and (b) have access to (i) the Teachers' Pension Scheme and (ii) other relevant pension funds.

​​A supply teacher’s pay and pension depends on how the supply teacher is employed.​Supply teachers employed directly by a state maintained school or local authority must be paid in accordance with the statutory arrangements for teachers laid down in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. If a supply teacher is employed by a private agency or non-maintained school, the employer can set the rate of pay.​The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations currently provide for supply teachers to participate in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by a scheme employer, including local authorities, academies and further education colleges.​Where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by a supply agency and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services’, it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS as there is no organisation to undertake the employer role, including remitting contributions to the scheme. However, eligible supply teachers working via agencies are entitled to workplace pensions.​The department does not have plans at this time to assess the potential benefits of mandating pay or pensions for supply teachers.

What assessment she has made of trends in the level of commercial agencies in the supply teaching sector; and whether she plans to provide funding for non-commercial operators in that sector.

Schools and local authorities are responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers and are best placed to make decisions on this.The supply market in England is large and diverse. It includes supply pools, direct recruitment and commercial agencies. Although the department does not hold data on the precise number of commercial agencies operating, agencies account for the majority of supply provision to schools.The department is aware of the concern around agency fees and is working with the Crown Commercial Service on their agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. The deal has established a list of preferred suppliers that schools can access, all of which will be transparent with schools about the rates they charge.There are currently no plans to provide funding for non-commercial operators in the sector. The department does, however, continue to conduct policy research into the supply market.

What steps she is taking to help ensure the sustainability of early years providers.

The government’s Plan for Change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We want 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by the end of reception by 2028. By focusing on child development rather than just childcare, the government aims to ensure that children are better prepared for school and future learning.In 2025/26 alone, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements. This is a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements.As announced at the Spending Review, the government will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents. Employment Allowance is being increased to protect businesses by providing relief of up to £10,500 per annum on their employer Class 1 National Insurance Contributions liabilities from 6 April 2025. Early years childcare providers are entitled to claim the Employment Allowance if they are private businesses or charities, and we expect the vast majority will be eligible to do so.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of permitting pay-as-you-save soft loans from community energy enterprises into solar panels on schools.

This government continues to look for opportunities to support schools in the growth of renewables in order to reduce emissions and energy bills. Options like Great British Energy’s scheme, which will provide funding to put rooftop solar panels on around 200 schools, provide a way forward.The department has considered the soft solar loan scheme models being offered by community energy enterprises. However, commercial loans by schools impact on public debt, and broader fiscal considerations at this time around accountability and achieving best value for investment mean schemes of this type cannot currently be supported.

What steps she is taking to support rural and regional universities to access funding.

Providers in rural and regional locations are important in supporting their local economies and driving the growth of skills in those areas.Providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) and in the ‘Approved (fee cap)’ category of registration, including those located in rural and regional areas, are allocated targeted grant funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG). The government provides this funding on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education, including expensive-to-deliver subjects, such as science and engineering and for students at risk of discontinuing their studies. Of the £1.4 billion recurrent funding distributed by the OfS for the 2024/25 academic year, more than two-thirds is being directed to support the provision of high-cost courses.Falmouth University, which makes an important local and regional contribution, is in receipt of SPG funding for the 2024/25 academic year.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the qualifying earnings threshold for free school meals on levels of child poverty in (a) Truro and Falmouth constituency, (b) the south west and (c) England.

The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start in life. To support this, a new Ministerial taskforce has been set up to begin work on a Child Poverty Strategy, co-chaired by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.The continued provision of free school meals (FSM) to disadvantaged children also plays an important role in this. In total, this government spends around £1.5 billion annually on free lunches for 2.1 million school-age pupils under benefits-based FSM, and a further 1.3 million infant pupils under the universal infant free school meal scheme to ensure they receive a nutritious lunch. This includes 16,781 eligible pupils in Truro and Falmouth and 158,794 pupils in the South West.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling Holiday Activities and Food programme providers to make their programmes open access if they are located in areas of high deprivation.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.

Whether she has assessed the potential merits of enabling local authorities to expand eligibility criteria for the Holiday Activities and Food programme to ensure that children who are (a) living in poverty and (b) do not qualify for free school meals can access the programme.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.

What is her Department's policy on the renewal of the holiday activities food programme beyond the 2025-26 financial year.

The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme supports disadvantaged children and their families with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things, improving socialisation and benefitting their health and wellbeing during school holidays.The HAF programme, although aimed at those children in receipt of benefits related free school meals (FSM), is not exclusively for them. As set out in the HAF guidance, while the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of FSM, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related FSM, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision. Local authorities are responsible for understanding the needs of the children and families in their area and ensuring that the programme reaches those who need it.Funding beyond March 2026 will be determined in the next government spending review.

What steps she is taking to ensure the sustainability of funding for maintained nursery schools.

​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear in her commitment to early years. Despite tough decisions to get our public finances back on track, this government has increased investment in the early years sector to drive forward progress towards our Plan for Change target of a record number of children starting school ready to learn.In the 2025/26 financial year alone, this government plans to spend over £8 billion on early years entitlements. The department has also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, raising it to the equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year.On top of this the department is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant to support the sector to provide the additional places and workforce needed by September 2025.The department is also providing £25 million through the Employer National Insurance Contributions Grant for public sector employers in early years, which includes maintained nursery schools (MNS).As part of the overall early years budget, the department expects to spend £92.6 million in MNS supplementary funding in the 2025/26 financial year, in recognition of the additional costs MNS face. The national average hourly rate for MNS supplementary funding will increase from £5.27 in the 2024/25 financial year to £5.90 in the 2025/26 financial year.The department has introduced a minimum and maximum hourly rate that a local authority can receive for their MNS to create a fairer distribution of funding. For 2025/26, the supplementary funding minimum hourly rate for MNS will be set at £5.27.MNS supplementary funding is just as secure over the long term as all the other early years funding streams.