Every parliamentary written question tabled by Jess Brown-Fuller this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–55 of 55 · Department for Education
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact removing Apprenticeship Levy funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the public sector.
I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.
What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the planned changes to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund on access to therapeutic support for children and families; and whether she considered communicating those changes to hon. Members prior to the parliamentary recess.
The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access the available funding. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. The changes were finalised during Parliamentary recess and the announcement was made during recess to allow the fund to open and minimise further delays to children waiting for therapy. A written statement was laid on Parliament’s first day back after recess.By 31 March 2025, the ASGSF had spent all its allocated budget.
How much and what proportion of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund budget for the 2024–25 financial had been spent by 31 March 2025.
The new criteria for the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) will enable as many children and families as possible to access the available funding. The department always assesses the impact of changes on vulnerable children. The changes were finalised during Parliamentary recess and the announcement was made during recess to allow the fund to open and minimise further delays to children waiting for therapy. A written statement was laid on Parliament’s first day back after recess.By 31 March 2025, the ASGSF had spent all its allocated budget.
When she plans to confirm individual budgets for 2025-26 to providers within the Dance and Drama Awards scheme.
The department will shortly confirm final budgets for the 2025/26 academic year and is in touch with providers concerning this.
If she will (a) make support for the Music and Dance Scheme permanent and (b) uplift the threshold for that support to £55,000.
For the 2024/25 academic year, the department adjusted the Music and Dance Scheme bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 to account for the VAT introduction from January 2025. This methodology will be reviewed for future years and details will be set out in due course.
If she will adjust the means testing methodology for the Music and Dance Scheme to reflect the cost of VAT on fees.
For the 2024/25 academic year, the department adjusted the Music and Dance Scheme bursary contribution for families with a relevant income below £45,000 to account for the VAT introduction from January 2025. This methodology will be reviewed for future years and details will be set out in due course.
What progress her Department has made with the Office for Students on implementing the third category of registration for (a) smaller and (b) specialist providers of (i) Trinity College London level five and six Professional Performing Arts Diplomas and (ii) other qualifications in the context of accessing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
The government is fully committed to delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) as set out in the Autumn Budget 2024. From the LLE’s launch in January 2027, the Office for Students (OfS) will regulate all providers offering LLE-funded provision.The OfS has made clear that they expect to restart work on registrations, degree awarding powers and university titles in August 2025, although the changes will remain under review until then. The department understands the OfS will keep providers updated throughout this period about their plans, including confirming application arrangements from August onwards. As the independent regulator, it is for the OfS to process registrations in the manner they deem most appropriate.The government will continue to engage closely with the OfS and providers to support timely transition arrangements for the launch of the LLE. The government, together with the OfS, will provide further information on the regulation of providers under the LLE in spring 2025.
If she will have discussions with stakeholders to create a proportional route for registration for (a) smaller providers (b) specialist providers, including (i) all such providers and (ii) those that offer Trinity College London’s Level 5 and 6 Professional Performing Arts diplomas, with the Office for Students to access the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
I refer the hon. Member for Chichester to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 36314.
If she will undertake a review of the maintained nursery school supplementary funding formula.
Additional supplementary funding is provided to local authorities for maintained nursery schools (MNS) in their areas. In the 2025/26 financial year, the initial budget for MNS supplementary funding is £92.6 million, subject to final budget update. The national average hourly rate for MNS supplementary funding in financial year 2025/26 is £5.90, the minimum supplementary funding rate is £5.27 and the cap on the hourly rate is £10. Changes to the MNS supplementary funding formula were made in the 2023/24 financial year including an additional £10 million investment and an introduction of a minimum hourly funding rate to distribute funding evenly across all local authorities with MNS. At present, there are no plans to review the formula beyond this.
Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing a unique ID for every child to (a) facilitate data sharing between public bodies and (b) identify children not in school or any form of education.
Implementing a unique ID for every child has been regularly cited as a potential solution to bring together data on children’s interactions with different services. The government’s manifesto for the 2024 election included a commitment to this end (on page 81) and the government is committed to improving data sharing across services, with a single unique identifier, to better support children and families. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, currently before Parliament, introduces a legal provision for a consistent identifier to be specified and the organisations required to use it, to be determined later through regulations. Alongside this, the department will initiate a pilot to establish how a consistent identifier can be effectively implemented. The Bill also includes provisions for compulsory ‘Children Not in School’ registers in each local authority area in England. While the introduction of these registers does not depend on a consistent identifier, it may enhance data linking, which the department will explore through future piloting.
Whether her Department plans to create a pathway for Ukrainian refugees to apply to UK universities.
The government remains committed to giving all Ukrainians in the UK the same access to education as enjoyed by UK citizens. Persons granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, including the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, have access to higher education (HE) student support and home fee status on the same basis as those within other protection-based categories, such as refugees. Support on applying to HE courses can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/higher-education-courses-find-and-apply, where students can explore a range of resources to help them apply to UK HE providers. Organisations such as the UK Council for International Student Affairs also provide extensive information and support for Ukrainian students wishing to study in the UK, including a student advice line.
What recent assessment she has made of the level of support provided to Ukrainian refugees in applying to UK universities.
The government remains committed to giving all Ukrainians in the UK the same access to education as enjoyed by UK citizens. Persons granted leave under one of the Ukraine Schemes, including the Ukraine Permission Extension Scheme, have access to higher education (HE) student support and home fee status on the same basis as those within other protection-based categories, such as refugees. Support on applying to HE courses can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/higher-education-courses-find-and-apply, where students can explore a range of resources to help them apply to UK HE providers. Organisations such as the UK Council for International Student Affairs also provide extensive information and support for Ukrainian students wishing to study in the UK, including a student advice line.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of abolishing the notion of reasonable chastisement.
Violence towards children and abuse of children are never acceptable. There are laws in place to protect children against this.Wales is in the process of reviewing the impact of removing the defence of reasonable chastisement and the UK Government expects that the Welsh Government will publish their findings by the end of this year. Ministers in the department will want to consider this evidence, with other government ministers, ahead of deciding whether a change to the law is required.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of safeguarding leads in schools being violence against women and girls accredited.
Children’s wellbeing and safety, including reducing violence against women and girls, is a key priority for this government. A robust safeguarding framework is in place that schools and colleges must have regard to in the form of keeping children safe in education (KCSIE).This guidance is clear that every school must have a designated safeguarding lead (DSL) who should take lead responsibility for safeguarding and child protection. Annex C of the guidance sets out the role and expectations placed on DSLs.The department does not prescribe the training and accreditation that DSLs should receive. However, DSLs are required to undergo the training needed to provide them with the knowledge and skills required to carry out their role effectively within their school and community context. This includes how to identify, understand and respond to the specific needs that increase the vulnerability of children, as well as the many specific harms that put children at risk, which includes violence against women and girls.Education can be a significant protective factor for children who are vulnerable, either as victims and/or perpetrators of violence against women and girls. KCSIE requires schools to implement whole-school behaviour policies to reduce incidents of violence, put pastoral support in place to support both victims and perpetrators of violence, and to ensure that all school staff understand their role within their local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements in escalating concerns about children to local authority services.
If she will make (a) schools and (b) education providers statutory safeguarding partners.
The involvement of education and childcare agencies is fundamental at all levels of safeguarding arrangements. The department knows that teachers and educators are often the first to spot warning signs of abuse and neglect and are the largest referrer of cases into children’s social care, after the police.The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which the government introduced into the House of Commons in December of last year, will place a duty on safeguarding partners to automatically include education and childcare settings in their safeguarding arrangements. The duty on safeguarding partners will ensure education is consistently involved in multi-agency safeguarding arrangements across England. It will include include all education and childcare agencies, at both operational and strategic levels of their safeguarding arrangements, so they have a clear role in safeguarding locally.These measures include all education settings, covering early years and childcare settings through to schools, colleges and alternative provision, so that opportunities to keep children safe are not missed.This legislation enables the voice of education to influence the decisions of safeguarding partners and recognises the key role that education plays in keeping children safe.