Written questions by Madders.

When she expects to provide a response to the letter sent by the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough on 12th November 2025.

The department attaches great importance to the handling of correspondence from parliamentarians. Correspondence often raises complex and serious concerns, as it has in this instance, and as a department we aim to provide high quality, tailored responses to the points raised. I can confirm that a response to the correspondence of 12 November 2025 from my hon. Friend, the Member for Ellesmere Port and Bromborough was sent on 17 March 2026.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of (a) graduate debt and (b) recent media reports on levels of children from low-income households choosing to study at university.

The department is committed to addressing the persistent disadvantage gap in access to higher education (HE) and we are encouraged by the fact that disadvantaged young people continue to choose this pathway.We are introducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from the 2028/29 academic year. These will be paid on top of existing loan amounts, increasing the cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.Repayments are based on income, not loan amount or interest. Borrowers earning below the earnings threshold make no repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the term, with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed to family members or descendants.HE providers intending to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Office for Students approved access and participation plan articulating how they will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including students from low-income backgrounds.We have gone further and asked Professor Kathryn Mitchell to lead an HE Access and Participation Task and Finish Group to consider how to tackle systemic barriers across the journey into HE for disadvantaged students.

What steps she is taking to ensure that students from low-income households are encouraged to consider university education.

The department is committed to addressing the persistent disadvantage gap in access to higher education (HE) and we are encouraged by the fact that disadvantaged young people continue to choose this pathway.We are introducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from the 2028/29 academic year. These will be paid on top of existing loan amounts, increasing the cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.Repayments are based on income, not loan amount or interest. Borrowers earning below the earnings threshold make no repayments. Any outstanding loan, including interest, is cancelled at the end of the term, with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed to family members or descendants.HE providers intending to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Office for Students approved access and participation plan articulating how they will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including students from low-income backgrounds.We have gone further and asked Professor Kathryn Mitchell to lead an HE Access and Participation Task and Finish Group to consider how to tackle systemic barriers across the journey into HE for disadvantaged students.

Whether she has considered taking additional steps to facilitate further Parliamentary scrutiny of amending the terms of student loan repayments administrated by Student Finance England.

Parliamentary scrutiny is occurring in relation to the student loan system. For example, there has recently been a Westminster Hall Debate, as well as through the various mechanisms of parliamentary questions.It is worth remembering that these loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and the department is having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable. It is important that we have a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and the taxpayer. We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure this remains the case.

How many of the school-based nursery pilots originally scheduled to open in September 2025 had opened by 9 September 2025.

High quality early years is central to our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and give every child the best possible start in life and is essential to our Plan for Change. This government is boosting availability and access through the school-based nurseries programme, supporting school led provision and private, voluntary and independent providers and childminders operating from school sites.Phase 1 is already delivering results. We awarded £37 million to 300 schools, creating up to 6,000 new childcare places with the majority available in the 2025/26 academic year. Schools have reported that 160 of these nurseries have opened on or before 9 September and we remain on track to have more than 4,000 additional childcare available places by the end of September.