Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 41–60 of 121 · Department for Education
How many days the Union Flag was flown on her Department's main sites in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
The Union Flag is flown every day at the department headquarters in London. This is the only department building with a flagpole.This is in accordance with the Union Flag flying guidance for UK government buildings: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/designated-days-for-union-flag-flying.
What steps her Department is taking to remove asbestos from schools in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
I refer the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings to the answer of 4 September 2025 of Question 70188.
Whether her Department has spent money on social media influencers since July 2024.
The department has spent money on social media influencers since July 2024. Influencers can be effective in reaching audiences that the government and traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
What assessment she has made of the level of teaching of the canon of English literature in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure an appreciate of our rich and varied literary heritage. It encourages pupils to read a range of books, poems, and plays to foster the development of a lifelong love of literature.Maintained schools must follow the English programmes of study, and once passed, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will extend this requirement to academies.
What assessment she has made of the level of teaching of the works of William Shakespeare in secondary schools in England.
The national curriculum for English aims to ensure an appreciate of our rich and varied literary heritage. It encourages pupils to read a range of books, poems, and plays to foster the development of a lifelong love of literature.Maintained schools must follow the English programmes of study, and once passed, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will extend this requirement to academies.
How much the Teaching Regulation Agency has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) adheres to the departmental policy of providing workplace adjustments where appropriate. The cost of providing equipment for use at home to facilitate workplace adjustments for TRA staff is shown below:Financial YearCost2022/23£02023/24£02024/25£316.99 Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.
How much the Standards and Testing Agency has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is an executive agency of the department and follows our policies on hybrid working and the purchase of equipment for use at home.The department has set an expectation that colleagues spend at least 60% of their working time in the office or another work setting. Employees who work from home as part of a flexible arrangement, and not as part of a contractual arrangement, are expected to have access to a suitable workspace and equipment at their own cost. The exception to this would be equipment recommended as a part of a reasonable adjustment following an occupational health assessment, but such equipment would be charged to a central departmental budget rather than to STA.STA has no recorded expenditure on equipment to enable staff to work from home in any of the last three financial years.
How much the Education and Skills Funding Agency spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
The department and its executive agencies, including the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), only provide equipment for home working in the case of a workplace adjustment related to a disability and which the Equality Act requires us to support. Departmental spend over the last three years, which includes ESFA spend, on equipment which exceeded £500: Financial YearTotal spend on equipment exceeding £5002022/23£28,103.732023/24£53,675.592024/25£46,576 To obtain comprehensive data which includes spending on equipment below £500 for each of the last three years, it would be necessary to contact individual teams across the department and agencies, which would not be possible within the timeframe for responding to a PQ, and would incur a disproportionate cost.
How much Ofsted has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
How much Ofqual has spent on equipment to enable staff to work from home in each of the last three years.
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
What information her Department holds on the number of fines that were issued to parents for unauthorised school absence in (a) South Holland District Council and (b) South Kesteven District Council in the last 12 months.
The information is not held by the department at local authority district level.Information on penalty notices for unauthorised absence is collected at local authority level. The latest available data, covering the 2023/24 academic year, is available in the parental responsibility measures statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures/2023-24.
Whether her Department plans to increase the level of support available to help schools meet the needs of pupils with learning disabilities in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.We are engaging extensively with stakeholders, including our Expert Advisory Group for Inclusion, on the best ways to drive inclusive practice and how to improve mainstream education outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND.Details of the government's intended approach to SEND reform will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
What steps she is taking to support the introduction of more vocational education pathways for students in Lincolnshire.
As announced in the Spending Review, the department is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29. This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages, across the country including in Cambridgeshire. This includes:Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, which will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life.T levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them work.Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focussed level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.Skills Bootcamps giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion and Free Courses for Jobs giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications. We have also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.
Whether she plans to ensure improved access to schooling for children with (a) visual and (b) hearing impairments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities. The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.Of this £740 million, Lincolnshire Council has been allocated £10.3 million. This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND, including visual and hearing impairments. It is intended to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
How much her Department spent on equipment for civil servants to work from home in each of the last three years.
The department does not hold a complete central record of all spending on equipment to support home working. Information is only centrally recorded where the individual costs exceed £500.The department spent the following over the last three years on equipment which exceeded £500:Financial year Total spend on equipment exceeding £5002022/23£28,103.732023/24£53,675.592024/25£46,576To obtain comprehensive data which included spend on equipment below £500 for each of the last three years, it would be necessary to contact individual teams across the department, which would not be possible within the timeframe for responding to a Written Parliamentary Question, and would incur a disproportionate cost.
How many Young Futures Hubs she plans to create in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
The government has committed to the creation of a new Young Futures Programme, which will establish a network of Young Futures Hubs and Young Futures Prevention Partnerships. Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive.To roll out Young Futures Hubs, building on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, the government will establish a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. These early adopters and work in local areas and will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs and where they may be located.The government will set out more details on timelines and locations in due course.
How many students from overseas have come from countries where there are travel restrictions for people with security clearance by country of origin.
The department does not collect this information.
Whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential contribution of school food procurement to the resilience of the (a) fruit and (b) vegetable supply chain.
The new national procurement policy statement sets out requirements for government contracts, favouring products certified to high environmental standards that we think British producers operating to high standards are well-placed to meet.We are engaging with stakeholders on revising the school food standards to ensure the guidance supports our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history. The current standards state one or more portions of vegetables as an accompaniment and one or more portions of fruit must be provided every day, as well as at least three different fruits and three different vegetables each week. As with all aspects of the school food standards review, we will consider our approach to fruit and vegetable provision.
If she will introduce an equivalent to the statutory maternity allowance for self-employed adopters.
In the Department for Business and Trade’s ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ report, the government committed to a review of the parental leave system to ensure that it best supports working families. This will include consideration of support to self-employed people, including self-employed adopters.
How much capital funding she plans to provide to schools in Lincolnshire in 2026-27.
The department has recently announced over £1 billion of new capital investment to support local authorities to create mainstream school places needed by September 2028. £640 million will be allocated in the financial year 2026/27, of which Lincolnshire local authority will receive £23.9 million.Other capital budgets for 2026/27 will be decided as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review.