Written questions by Morris.

How much funding has been allocated for teacher training under the reading initiative in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.

The government has committed £27.7 million to support and drive high and rising standards in reading in the 2025/26 financial year. This funding will deliver a range of support for schools, including new training for primary schools delivered through the 34 English Hubs, to help children progress from the early stages of phonics through to reading fluently by the time they leave primary school, and new support and training for secondary schools to support reading at key stage 3.Hexham, Northumberland and Newcastle are served by St Michael’s English Hub. Schools can find their local English Hub on the English Hubs website: https://englishhubs.net/.

What recent discussions she has had with stakeholders on the promotion of literature (a) about and (b) on the North East of England as part of the proposed National Year of Reading.

The National Year of Reading is a campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. It is a departmental initiative, in collaboration with our delivery partner, the National Literacy Trust, who are leading the delivery of the campaign.The National Year of Reading aims to reverse long-term declines in reading for pleasure by engaging new audiences and reshaping public attitudes to embed lasting, meaningful change, beyond 2026.The National Year of Reading 2026 will involve a huge range of events and activities in communities, including in the North East. Some will be bigger versions of well-loved events such as World Book Day and other major events are currently being planned. More information can be found on the National Year of Reading website: https://www.goallin.org.uk/.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that early years pupil premium funding supports her Department's quality improvement objectives in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle and (d) the North East.

The government is taking coordinated steps to ensure Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding aligns with broader quality improvement objectives.Through the department’s Best Start in Life strategy, we are ensuring that families can access affordable high-quality early education. In April 2025, EYPP increased by an unprecedented 45%, to a maximum of £570 per year per child in all local authorities in England.The government’s new early years strategy, ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’, links EYPP to improving quality of early years, strengthening transitions into primary school and enhancing workforce development. This includes the EYPP uplift targeted at areas most in need and published guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-pupil-premium-guide-for-local-authorities/early-years-pupil-premium-guide-for-local-authorities.From 2026, we aim to provide additional EYPP funding in areas most in need, ensuring that children most at risk of falling behind receive support.

With reference to the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, what discussions her Department has had on support for young people in the North East to attend universities.

The department is determined that opportunity is available to all who have the aspiration and talent to succeed in higher education (HE), regardless of where they live.To inform the development of the Post-16 education and skills white paper, the department engaged with a range of stakeholders, including HE providers, representative bodies, and Mayoral Strategic Authorities across England.The department will introduce targeted maintenance grants to support students from low-income households studying courses at Levels 4 to 6, including technical qualifications and degrees, aligned with the government’s missions and the Industrial Strategy.Professor Kathryn Mitchell of the University of Derby has agreed to chair the Access and Participation Task and Finish Group. This will consist of sector experts and charities, with representation from across different regions of the country. It will focus on developing options to address regional disparities in access to HE and tackling the most systemic barriers to access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on steps to improve vocational skills teaching in schools in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East, and (e) England.

The department’s careers framework, the Gatsby Benchmarks, encourages teachers to use industry and career pathways as a context for teaching the national curriculum and qualifications. We also fund the Careers and Enterprise Company to help schools and colleges deliver high quality careers programmes. To boost skills and work readiness, every young person will receive two weeks’ worth of work experience during their secondary education.Technical awards are the main vocationally focused pre-16 offer and play an important role in supporting a broad curriculum at key stage 4 and progression to post-16 pathways.

How many children are on waiting lists for Education, Health and Care plan assessments in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

The department does not hold information on the number of children waiting for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.Information is published on the number of requests for an EHC needs assessment and the number of assessments carried out. The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment which were outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year in Northumberland, Newcastle, the North East and England for the 2024 calendar year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/99797c00-9a15-49d0-7af8-08de11c58191.The number of EHC needs assessments which were outstanding at the end of the 2024 calendar year in Northumberland, Newcastle, the North East and England for the 2024 calendar year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e0532abe-628f-452a-7af9-08de11c58191.This information is not available at constituency level.

What steps his Department is taking to support the recruitment of teachers that have a background in industry to enhance (a) vocational and (b) technical education in (i) Hexham constituency, (ii) Northumberland, (iii) Newcastle, (iv) the North East, and (v) England.

The department is committed to strengthening the pipeline of industry expertise into teaching across the country, particularly in the further education (FE) sector.The 'Teach in Further Education' marketing campaign and online platform provides support to those interested in teaching, with a focus on industry professionals changing career. The ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme offers early career support and training to those industry professionals entering teaching with the relevant knowledge and experience. To boost retention of early career FE teachers in priority technical and vocational subjects, we offer retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax. In the 2024/25 academic year, almost 6,000 FE teachers received these payments. As announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, we are investing £20 million to support partnerships between construction employers and FE providers, and promote industry expertise in the classroom.In schools, we offer several pathways into teaching, including postgraduate salaried courses like apprenticeships, which can support industry career-changers into teaching. Similar targeted retention incentives are also available.

What discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on improving waiting lists for Education, Health and Care plan assessments in (a) Northumberland and (b) the North East.

Data on the number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the number of assessments carried out and assessments outstanding is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2025. This includes data for the North East. The latest data was published on 26 June 2025. ​​​ Following the above publication of EHC plan statistics, departmental officials met with all North East local authorities during July and August 2025, including Northumberland County Council. Officials discussed the published data including the overall timeliness of assessments and actions each local area was taking to improve services and reduce wait times for children, young people and their families undergoing an EHC needs assessment. The department will continue to work with North East local area partnerships to monitor the delivery of special educational needs and disabilities services and offer support when required.

What steps her Department is taking to support young people into education in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

On 20 October, we published the Post-16 education and skills white paper, outlining reforms to build a world-class skills system and support young people into education and training. This includes a target for two-thirds of young people to participate in higher-level learning (academic, technical, or apprenticeships) by age 25.A new Youth Guarantee will support young people to access to education, training, or provide help into work or an apprenticeship. Eight trailblazer areas are testing ways to help those at risk of becoming not in education, employment, or training.The department will invest nearly £800 million more in 16 to 19 education in 2026/27, helping support high quality teacher recruitment and retention. We will also pilot an automatic guaranteed provider place for all 16-year-olds.We will introduce targeted, means-tested maintenance grants before the end of this parliament to help students from low-income backgrounds progress onto higher education courses that support our missions and Industrial Strategy.

What discussions her Department has had with relevant stakeholders on opening Technical Excellence Colleges in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

The department is introducing technical excellence colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces which industry needs in growth-driving priority sectors. Ten construction TECs were appointed in August 2025, with one in each of the nine English regions and the tenth with a cross-regional remit. The department has engaged with North East Mayoral Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority throughout the process of appointing Sunderland College as the CTEC for the North East. Additionally, officials have engaged more widely with strategic authorities, trade bodies such as the Construction Industry Training Board, and membership organisations such as the Association of Colleges. The department will take a similar approach with the selection of the next wave of TECs in defence, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and digital and technologies.The selection process for these TECs will start by the end of 2025, with delivery planned to begin from April 2026. Further details will be published in due course.

How many kinship carers are registered in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

How many kinship carers are registered in Hexham constituency.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

What steps her Department is taking to improve support for families over the school holidays in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

Through our Plan for Change, the government is committed to giving every child the best start in life. On 28 August 2025, the department confirmed over £600 million for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for the next three financial years, from 2026/27. This equates to just over £200 million each year.This multi-year commitment gives parents and providers certainty that clubs will be available over what can otherwise be an expensive holiday period, ensuring that children and young people continue to benefit from enriching holiday experiences and nutritious meals. The programme also opens up work opportunities for parents on low incomes to support their families.The programme is delivered by all 153 local authorities in England, providing over 500,000 children per year with healthy meals and enriching activities in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.In Easter 2025, the latest data available, there were a total of 20,282 HAF funded attendees across the North East. We do not publish figures for individual local authorities.

What steps her Department is taking to support children in kinship care arrangements in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

The department does not collect local authority level data on the number of children in all types of kinship care placements. As such, we are unable to provide figures for Hexham constituency, Northumberland, Newcastle, or the North East. Some local authorities may publish their own data online, which can be found through individual local authorities websites or direct contact requests for more detailed local information.Nationally, the department does collect data on children in formal kinship care arrangements, such as those placed with family or friends foster carers. This data is published annually in the Children Looked After statistics.Local authorities in England are responsible for setting out a Kinship Local Offer, which outlines the support available to kinship carers and the children they care for. This offer should cover all types of kinship care arrangements, both formal and informal, and can include information on financial support, legal advice, training and peer support and educational and emotional wellbeing services.Support is available to kinship carers through peer to peer support groups and a programme of training, delivered by the charity Kinship. This includes free workshops, events and access to free support and advice, as well as support from virtual school heads, who promote the education of children in kinship care and help schools better support their needs.

What steps her Department is taking through Young Futures Hubs to help tackle violence against women and girls.

The government has set an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. To achieve this, we plan to reduce the current levels of offending and reoffending and prevent abuse from happening altogether.This focus on prevention also sits at the heart of the Young Futures programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures prevention partnerships.Young Futures Hubs will be set up across the country, bringing together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling young people to thrive.Young Futures Prevention Partnerships will bring local partners together to intervene earlier to ensure that vulnerable children at-risk of being drawn into a variety of crime types (including anti-social behaviour, knife crime and violence against women and girls) are identified and offered support in a more systematic way.Officials from across government, including my department, the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice are working together using their various bodies of evidence of what works to shape Young Futures Hubs.

How many primary school children are eligible for free school meals in (a) the North East and (b) Hexham constituency.

The department publishes the number of pupils in primary schools who are eligible for free school meals (FSM). The most recent figures, including regional level data, can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics. Parliamentary constituencies are based on their boundaries at the time of the January school census each year, therefore, the 2024 Parliamentary boundaries do not reflect the changes made in the summer of 2024. ​Where statistics were published prior to the changes in Parliamentary constituency boundaries, they will be updated to reflect the new boundaries in the next publication of statistics. This is expected to be in June 2025 for the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication. FSM data is published at school level. This can be combined with information from ‘Get Information About Schools’ (GIAS) to identify parliamentary constituency. GIAS currently reflects the changes made following the general election Parliamentary constituency changes. Updates to geographical data are made on a quarterly basis using data published by the Office for National Statistics.

How many children requiring SEND support did not attend school in each council ward in Northumberland in each of the last five academic years.

The requested information is not held centrally.The department collects information on children who are electively home educated (EHE) from local authorities on a voluntary basis. The latest figures can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.The department also collects data on children missing education (CME) from local authorities on a voluntary basis. These are children of compulsory school age not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education. The latest figures can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-missing-education.Information on the number of children in EHE in Northumberland between 2021/22 and 2022/23 is available in the following table: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d158d673-76e2-4aab-a0f2-08dcfae39e23. Information on the number of CME in Northumberland between 2021/22 and 2022/23 is available in the following table: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d86675e8-9537-4727-a0ed-08dcfae39e23. As data was collected from local authorities for the first time in autumn 2022, information is not held for prior time periods. Additionally, EHE and CME data is not available at council ward level.In autumn 2023/24, 15% of all EHE children had an additional requirement of special educational needs (SEN) support and 8% of all CME had an additional requirement of SEN support. This compares with 13% for the overall school population in January 2023.The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will legislate for local authority registers of children not in school. This will include a duty on parents to provide the necessary information for these registers if their child is eligible. These proposals are intended to help local authorities identify all children not in school in their areas, including those that may require SEN support, so they can ensure children are receiving a safe and suitable education.