Written questions by Taylor.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of student loan interest rates and repayment threshold freezes on (a) women, (b) disabled graduates and (c) graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Interest accrues on loan balances until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled, but interest rates do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.Borrowers on Plan 5 student loans only accrue interest at Retail Price Index (RPI) (currently 3.2%) meaning graduates will not repay more than they borrow in real terms. Borrowers on Plan 2 terms have interest applied at RPI only if earnings fall below the repayment threshold, or when out of the labour market, such as with caring responsibilities, ensuring that the loan’s debt value will not grow in real terms. Additionally, borrowers, regardless of their plan, earning under the repayment threshold are not required to make repayments.Graduates only begin repaying once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. If a graduate becomes disabled and permanently unfit for work, loan balances, including interest may be written off.For all borrowers, any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

What steps she is taking to ensure that young people are fully informed about student loan repayment terms.

The government continuously reviews student finance to ensure it remains fair, sustainable, and supportive of students from all backgrounds.Interest accrues on loan balances from the first day the loan is paid to the learning provider, and/or to the student, until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest rates are linked to the Retail Price Index to maintain the real value of the loan over a long loan term but do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.Prospective students have access to information across a range of platforms before submitting their loan application. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans. Students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them.Repayments are calculated solely on earnings, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest applied. Any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

If she will commit to a review of the student loan interest rate system.

The government continuously reviews student finance to ensure it remains fair, sustainable, and supportive of students from all backgrounds.Interest accrues on loan balances from the first day the loan is paid to the learning provider, and/or to the student, until the loan has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest rates are linked to the Retail Price Index to maintain the real value of the loan over a long loan term but do not impact monthly repayments made by borrowers.Prospective students have access to information across a range of platforms before submitting their loan application. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the regulations that govern the loans. Students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them.Repayments are calculated solely on earnings, not on amount borrowed or the rate of interest applied. Any outstanding loan, including interest accrued, will be cancelled after the loan term ends, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the practice of state grammar schools charging fees for familiarisation tests ahead of 11-plus entrance exams.

Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What steps she is taking to ensure that children from lower-income backgrounds are not disadvantaged in access to grammar school places.

Schools are not permitted to charge parents for their children’s admission or education. This includes charges for children to sit a school’s entrance test. However, they can charge for optional extras such as familiarisation tests.The department and the Grammar School Heads Association (GSHA) entered into a memorandum of understanding in 2018, which runs until 2027, through which the GSHA agreed to work with its members to increase access for disadvantaged children.Some local authorities and schools provide free test familiarisation materials for all children, including for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What steps she is taking to ensure that all 16 to 18-year-olds receive political education in schools.

In secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship, with an optional GCSE available in citizenship studies. Political education is not compulsory post-16, but providers are free to teach it if they wish. When political issues are discussed, schools must offer pupils a balanced presentation of opposing views and should not present materials in a politically biased or one-sided way.On 5 November, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review published its final report, which includes recommendations for a refreshed curriculum and assessment system in England. The government’s response to the report recognises the importance of developing young people’s understanding of democratic institutions and processes and commits to strengthening citizenship content to improve progression across all key stages.

Whether the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as matchball assistants at grassroots football clubs.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill should not prohibit the voluntary engagement of children as match ball assistants at grassroots football clubs, as it does not change the scope of what is or is not considered employment for the purposes of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of including a target of at least 80 hours of enrichment activities in the enrichment framework.

I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62871.

When she expects construction of Angel Hill Free School in Rosehill to begin.

Works at Angel Hill Free School are expected to commence in September 2025 subject to the contract being awarded in August.Departmental officials working on the programme would be happy to meet to discuss the project in detail alongside the Trust.

What steps she is taking to enable Get Information About Schools to recent census data.

Get Information About Schools (GIAS) is the department’s register for several organisation types, including schools and academies. GIAS is used by the department and key partners to contact establishments, update systems, perform analysis and inform policy decisions, some of which carry funding implications.Information on pupils in the GIAS service is based on data provided by schools in the January school census and is updated each summer following the publication of the Schools, pupils and their characteristics accredited official statistics release, which is available at the following address: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24. This time point is used because it is the spring collection when the department receives information for all establishment types (such as General Hospital Schools, Alternative Provision and independent schools) and across all data items (such as free school meal eligibility). This allows for one consistent time point to be used in this public resource.

What steps her Department is taking to help support the uptake of apprenticeships in the hair and beauty sector.

Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hair and beauty industry. Employers in the sector have developed several apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, to help them develop their workforce.The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people, adults and employers through the Skills for Life campaign.Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan, or have been in local authority care.Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, or £50,270 a year.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in funding for level seven apprenticeships on barriers of access to the legal profession.

I refer the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43275.

What her Department's policy is on the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.

The adoption and special guardianship fund (ASGSF) offers valuable support to adoptive and kinship families, helping families to thrive and enabling children and young people to make the best start in life.Announcements on funding for the ASGSF will be made shortly.

If she will consider reducing the British National Overseas visa holders' requirement for home fee status to three years of continuous residence.

To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course.Subject to meeting the other relevant eligibility requirements, persons with the status of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after five years). Most persons who acquire settled status will automatically meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. There are no plans to exempt Hong Kong BN(O)s from the requirement that applies to other British Nationals that they must be settled in the UK before becoming eligible for student funding.The department has not made an assessment of the number of persons with BN(O) status, or persons of any other nationality, who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the number of British National Overseas Hong Kongers aged 14 to 21 who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities without access to student loans.

To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK, and in the case of persons with settled status, be ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of the course.Subject to meeting the other relevant eligibility requirements, persons with the status of British Nationals Overseas (BN(O)) will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after five years). Most persons who acquire settled status will automatically meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. There are no plans to exempt Hong Kong BN(O)s from the requirement that applies to other British Nationals that they must be settled in the UK before becoming eligible for student funding.The department has not made an assessment of the number of persons with BN(O) status, or persons of any other nationality, who are unable to afford the cost of paying international tuition fees at UK universities.

If she will take steps to ensure fair and competitive pay for people working in further education.

This government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving further education (FE) sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.FE colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay for their staff. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for schoolteachers. FE colleges were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.At the Autumn Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs and a further £300 million to support colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate. We have recently announced that we are making approximately £50 million of the additional revenue funding available to statutory FE providers for April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention.The remaining funding will be made available in 16-19 funding rates for the 2025/26 academic year.This builds on the department’s investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. We are also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16, who are predominantly studying in FE.The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. FE teacher training bursaries will be offered for a further year, worth up to £31,000 each, tax-free, in the 2025/26 academic year. Additionally, we are supporting industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through our Taking Teaching Further programme.

Whether teachers in post-16 education will be included in the teacher pay award.

As confirmed in July, schools delivering post-16 education would be included in the teacher pay award for the 2024/25 academic year, in line with the independent School Teachers’ Pay Review Body (STRB) recommendations. The department confirmed that an additional £63 million would be provided for schools delivering post-16 education. Further education (FE) providers are not included in the school teacher pay award and FE does not fall under the STRB’s remit. FE colleges, rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating pay within colleges. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for school teachers and are free to implement their own pay arrangements in line with their own local circumstances. FE colleges, including sixth form colleges, were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff. The Autumn Budget 2024 set out the government’s commitment to skills, by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department recognises the vital role that FE teachers and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills they need to succeed in their education. We will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.In making their recommendations for 2025/26, the STRB were asked to consider the impact of recommendations on the FE teaching workforce in England. Given FE and school workforce are closely related, it is important for the STRB to consider the totality of the workforce.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle school absences among young carers.

The department wants to ensure that young carers have the best life chances by supporting them in their education. The department recognises that absence from school is almost always a symptom of wider needs and barriers that a family are facing. It is often also the best early indication of need in a family that may not be in contact with other services.The department’s expectations of local authorities and schools, as set out in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, were made statutory on 19 August 2024. The ‘support first’ ethos of the attendance guidance is that pupils and families, including young carers, should receive holistic, whole-family support to help them overcome the barriers to attendance they are facing. This includes holding regular meetings with the families of pupils who the school, and/or local authority, consider to be vulnerable to discuss attendance and engagement at school. Schools are expected to recognise that absence is a symptom and that improving pupil’s attendance is part of supporting the pupil’s overall welfare.Young carers are also now part of the school census, which will improve their visibility in the school system, allowing schools to better identify and support their young carers. This will provide an annual data collection to establish long term trends. Separately, the department also publishes daily attendance data fortnightly and will continue to monitor the quality of data on young carers that is collected via the school register for consideration to include in the daily data collection in the future.Schools can also use pupil premium funding to support other pupils with identified needs, including young carers. Pupil premium funding has increased to over £2.9 billion for the 2024/25 financial year.

If she will make a comparative assessment of the (a) tuition fee status and (b) student financing arrangements for students under the (i) Ukraine and (ii) Afghanistan humanitarian visa schemes and (iii) the British National (Overseas) visa scheme.

Generally, to qualify for higher education (HE) student support and home fee status in England, a person must have settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course. There are exceptions to this for persons who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. This includes persons granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under one of the Afghan or Ukraine schemes.The creation of a bespoke immigration route for Hong Kong British National (Overseas)’s (BN(O)) reflects the unique and unprecedented circumstances in Hong Kong and the UK’s historic and moral commitment to BN(O) citizens. The BN(O) route is not a form of international protection and is not, therefore, comparable to the Afghan and Ukraine schemes. However, it remains open to a Hong Kong BN(O) to apply for refugee status or humanitarian protection should they believe they qualify.There are no plans to extend HE student support and home fee status to Hong Kong BN(O)s before they are settled in the UK.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting Home Fee status to Hong Kongers under the British National (Overseas) Visa Scheme after three years’ residency in the UK before the start of the spring term in 2025.

Generally, to qualify for higher education (HE) student support and home fee status in England, a person must have settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course. There are exceptions to this for persons who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. This includes persons granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under one of the Afghan or Ukraine schemes.The creation of a bespoke immigration route for Hong Kong British National (Overseas)’s (BN(O)) reflects the unique and unprecedented circumstances in Hong Kong and the UK’s historic and moral commitment to BN(O) citizens. The BN(O) route is not a form of international protection and is not, therefore, comparable to the Afghan and Ukraine schemes. However, it remains open to a Hong Kong BN(O) to apply for refugee status or humanitarian protection should they believe they qualify.There are no plans to extend HE student support and home fee status to Hong Kong BN(O)s before they are settled in the UK.