Written questions by Wrigley.

What steps she are taking to support children with medical conditions in schools.

Awaiting answer.

If she will have discussions with the PCS trade union over the Department for Education office closures in Exeter.

Awaiting answer.

If she will publish an impact assessment of the provisions in Part 2 (Sections 24–29) of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of those provisions on (a) children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans and (b) children experiencing mental health difficulties.

Awaiting answer.

What steps her Department is taking to consider the recommendations in the Law Commission's 2025 report on disabled children's social care; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of legislative reform alongside the rollout of the Family Help programme.

The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care. The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response. Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.

What assessment she has made of adequacy of the Law Commission's findings regarding regional variations in support for disabled children; and what steps her Department is taking to help ensure consistent entitlements for such children across all local authorities.

The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care. The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response. Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing national eligibility criteria for disabled children's social care in England; and if she will make a statement.

The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care. The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response. Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that disabled children have access to social care support following the Law Commission's report on social care law; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing legal reform to achieve that objective.

The Law Commission published its final report on 16 September 2025 following a department-commissioned review in April 2023 of the legal framework for disabled children’s social care. The report sets out 40 recommendations, which we are now considering, aimed at improving how the law operates, with a focus on simplifying and strengthening the system to better support disabled children and their families. In line with the protocol agreed between the Lord Chancellor and the Law Commission, the department provided an initial response to these recommendations on 16 March 2026 and is expected to provide a full response within one year, setting out which recommendations will be accepted, rejected or modified, and any implementation timeline. Policy development is ongoing and the department continues to engage with key stakeholders, therefore it would not be appropriate to comment on specific recommendations ahead of publication of the full response. Alongside this, we believe the rollout of Family Help as part of the Families First Partnership programme, backed by £2.4 billion of funding over three years, is already beginning to deliver many of the intended outcomes of the report. Our wider reforms are designed to make a real and tangible difference to children and families, including disabled children.

How many formal requests for meetings her Department has received from disability sector organisations regarding recent DSA policy changes since October 2025.

The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.

Whether any further reductions or restrictions to DSA-funded assistive technology or non-medical support are currently under consideration.

The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.

What assessment his Department has made of the impact of changes to Disabled Students’ Allowance support on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes.

The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.

Whether her Department has collected post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software.

The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.

Whether her Department has reviewed the findings of the National Association of Disability Practitioners’ December 2025 critique of the Equality Impact Assessment relating to Disabled Students’ Allowance changes; and what steps she plans to take in response that critique.

The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.

Whether she has made progress on the implementation of a Ukraine Language GCSE course.

Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by four independent awarding organisations, AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC, rather than by central government. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has written to these organisations to ask them to consider introducing a Ukrainian GCSE based on the existing subject content for modern foreign languages set by the department. We are also considering alternative ways of supporting Ukrainian language learning in the UK.The British government stands steadfast behind the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government. The department is proud to support children and families from Ukraine during their transition to a new life in the UK. To do our part to support the Ukrainian people, we are supporting the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science in policy development, and in 2025 we launched a UK-Ukraine Schools Partnership Programme, twinning 100 schools in the UK and Ukraine. Due to the programme’s popularity in its first year, it has been extended to include 30 more schools.

What oversight exists when academy trusts increase executive pay in years where frontline teaching posts are reduced.

The department’s Academy Trust Handbook is clear that executive pay must be justifiable and should reflect individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs. The Handbook is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body to support the 2026 pay award recognises that the department is aware of trends of increasing executive pay and monitors this through an annual engagement exercise. The evidence was published in October 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69034343fabc9f10a832a838/Government_evidence_to_the_STRB_2026.pdf.The evidence also recognises that there are opportunities to drive value for money in this area. The department has started to make progress in this area with the recent introduction of executive pay into the Financial Benchmarking and Insight tool for trusts to encourage boards to make evidence-based decisions when setting executive pay.The department engages annually on executive pay, requiring academy trusts to demonstrate value for money. The engagement considers executive responsibilities, taking into account peer benchmarking data on the level of pay, the size of trust, pupil numbers and grant income. The department will also engage on executive pay when intervening in an academy trust that is in financial difficulty.

What benchmarks her Department uses to assess whether academy trust executive pay represents value for money when trusts are making redundancies.

The department’s Academy Trust Handbook is clear that executive pay must be justifiable and should reflect individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs. The Handbook is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body to support the 2026 pay award recognises that the department is aware of trends of increasing executive pay and monitors this through an annual engagement exercise. The evidence was published in October 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69034343fabc9f10a832a838/Government_evidence_to_the_STRB_2026.pdf.The evidence also recognises that there are opportunities to drive value for money in this area. The department has started to make progress in this area with the recent introduction of executive pay into the Financial Benchmarking and Insight tool for trusts to encourage boards to make evidence-based decisions when setting executive pay.The department engages annually on executive pay, requiring academy trusts to demonstrate value for money. The engagement considers executive responsibilities, taking into account peer benchmarking data on the level of pay, the size of trust, pupil numbers and grant income. The department will also engage on executive pay when intervening in an academy trust that is in financial difficulty.

What assessment her Department has made of the relationship between academy trust executive pay levels and reductions in curriculum offer or staffing.

The department’s Academy Trust Handbook is clear that executive pay must be justifiable and should reflect individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs. The Handbook is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body to support the 2026 pay award recognises that the department is aware of trends of increasing executive pay and monitors this through an annual engagement exercise. The evidence was published in October 2025 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69034343fabc9f10a832a838/Government_evidence_to_the_STRB_2026.pdf.The evidence also recognises that there are opportunities to drive value for money in this area. The department has started to make progress in this area with the recent introduction of executive pay into the Financial Benchmarking and Insight tool for trusts to encourage boards to make evidence-based decisions when setting executive pay.The department engages annually on executive pay, requiring academy trusts to demonstrate value for money. The engagement considers executive responsibilities, taking into account peer benchmarking data on the level of pay, the size of trust, pupil numbers and grant income. The department will also engage on executive pay when intervening in an academy trust that is in financial difficulty.

What steps she is taking to end child hunger in Devon.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child hunger. That is why the department is introducing a new eligibility threshold for free school meals (FSM). This ensures that all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit will be eligible from September 2026. This will provide over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day. Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 36,230 children in Devon will be eligible for FSM from September 2026.The government remains committed to deliver on its pledge to provide a free breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged children. This will ensure every child, regardless of circumstance, has a supportive start to the school day. Over 750 early adopter schools are already being funded to deliver free breakfast club places for their primary pupils, including 27 in Devon. An additional 2,000 schools will join the scheme between April 2026 and March 2027, benefitting around half a million more children.Additionally, the holiday activities and food programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their heath, wellbeing and learning.

What steps her Department is taking to help support academies with multimillion-pound deficits.

The department supports all academy trusts to have the capability to manage their resources effectively by providing high quality advice, tools, support and development to help schools protect against financial difficulty and enable excellent school resource management. Tools and guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.Where academy trusts are experiencing financial difficulty, the department’s focus will be on prioritising support for the most serious cases, considering the financial, educational and governance aspects of the trust. The department may also commission a School Resource Management Adviser (SRMA) to support the trust. SRMAs are practising sector experts, such as school business professionals that work collaboratively with schools and trusts to provide independent, expert and tailored advice to schools and trusts on how to make best use of their resources to deliver the best possible educational outcomes for their pupils.Where an academy trust is reporting a cumulative deficit, it may require additional financial support as part of their recovery plan. If approved, financial support will be repayable to the department within an agreed timeframe. Non-repayable funding will only be considered where there is no other reasonable means to protect pupils’ interests.

Whether her Department has a process for (a) reviewing and (b) approving executive pay rises in multi-academy trusts.

The primary responsibility for the financial oversight of academy trusts, including setting executive pay, rests with the trustees themselves. Academy trusts are delivering a high standard of financial management and governance. The latest published data shows that, in the 2022/23 academic year, 97.7% of trusts had a cumulative surplus or a zero balance, with an aggregate surplus of £4.6 billion. In terms of pay trends, the latest published workforce data shows that the mean average salary for headteachers in the sector was:£78,240 in a maintained primary school.£78,289 in an academy primary school.£111,796 in a maintained secondary school.£108,654 in an academy secondary school.The data can be read in full here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.The department engages with trusts on levels of executive pay where there is insufficient demonstration of value for money, where there is no direct link to improving pupil outcomes, or if the trust is in financial difficulty.The department sets out its expectations on pay for academies and academy trusts in the academy trust handbook, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trust-handbook/academy-trust-handbook-2025-effective-from-1-september-2025. Executive pay must be justifiable and should reflect the individual responsibility alongside local retention and recruitment needs.The handbook requires that:An academy trust’s board of trustees ensures its decisions follow a robust, evidence-based process when setting levels of executive pay, including salary and any other benefits.Academy trusts’ decisions on pay must be a reasonable and defensible reflection of the individual’s role and responsibilities.No individual can be involved in deciding their remuneration.Academy trusts must be transparent on pay and publish the number of employees whose benefits exceed £100,000 on their websites in £10,000 bandings. Where employees are also trustees, this information must be disclosed in £5,000 bandings.To further support academy trusts, the department has also published ‘setting executive salaries’ guidance on GOV.UK which outlines the key contextual factors that trusts should be considering when setting or reviewing executive salaries, and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts/setting-executive-salaries-guidance-for-academy-trusts.

What steps her Department is taking to support schools that have had to (a) reduce subjects, (b) rely on non-specialist teaching staff and (c) remove extracurricular opportunities due to funding shortfalls.

School funding is increasing by £3.7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, and a further £4.2 billion by 2028/29, reaching £69.5 billion. This will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget and help transform the special educational needs and disabilities system.The department is seeing positive signs for recruitment and retention. The secondary and special school workforce has grown by 2,346 full-time equivalent between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, where workforce growth is most needed. We are offering bursaries worth up to £29,000 and scholarships worth up to £31,000, tax-free, to encourage more talented people into key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.The department knows reprioritising schools’ budgets and ensuring best value can be challenging, but it is in line with asks to the rest of the public sector. We also know it is a joint responsibility of the government and the entire school system. We will tackle systemic issues that drive costs, establishing a new programme later this year to help schools and groups free up resources to invest in what matters most, teaching, learning, and support for pupils.