Written questions by Wrigley.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce (a) hate crime and (b) discrimination against international students.

The department condemns all forms of hatred on our campuses. Every student, irrespective of their background, should feel safe to pursue their studies at university.As autonomous institutions, universities should have robust processes in place to prevent and tackle acts of harassment and abuse on campus.This government is clear that international students, who make a positive impact on UK higher education, our economy and society as a whole, are welcome in the UK. They bring significant benefits, by enriching our university campuses, forging lifelong friendships with our domestic students and becoming global ambassadors for the UK.

If she will meet with hon. Members representing constituencies in Devon to discuss (a) the recent Ofsted report in Devon and (b) SEND provision.

The department has been working closely with Devon County Council since Ofsted’s inspection of children’s services in March 2020, in which services were found to be ‘inadequate’ overall and were placed in formal intervention under a Statutory Direction.In September 2022, the department issued Devon with an Improvement Notice for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and an Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) was developed with the local authority and integrated care board (ICB). The department is working with all statutory partners involved in delivering SEND services in Devon to monitor and support improvement, which includes the deployment of SEND advisers to assist the local area and to offer advice.In October 2024, children’s services in Devon were inspected by Ofsted. Publication of the report has been delayed as a part of Ofsted’s quality assurance processes. Once confirmed, findings from the report will be used as part of our wider evidence base to help shape the longer-term approach to supporting children’s services at the Council.Following the conclusion of Ofsted’s quality assurance process and the publication of the inspection report, I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the hon. Members for constituencies in Devon to discuss progress and next steps to our intervention of both children’s services and SEND in Devon.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of cutting funding for Adoption South West on parents of adopted children in Devon; and when the funding for 2025-26 will be announced.

The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of trends in the level of (a) access and (b) participation in university services by (i) UK and (ii) international students.

Universities and higher education providers are independent institutions, and the government plays no part in their day to day running. Consequently, the department does not hold data about trends relating to university services for UK and international students.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the ability of local authorities to fulfil their statutory obligations for ensuring that children with special educational needs and disabilities are able to attend school.

I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

If she will take steps to ensure the adoption and special guardian support fund can continue to offer support beyond March 2025.

The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.

Whether her Department has plans to continue funding the adoption and special guardianship support fund for financial year 2025-26.

The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.Applications for the fund with therapy starting in this financial year are still being accepted and processed under business as usual.

Whether she has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Licensed Private Hire Car Association on the potential impact of the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on future provision of home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs beyond March 2025.

Departmental officials engage regularly with local authorities to understand the challenges they face and will continue to monitor this situation. We do not expect there to be a significant impact on home-to-school travel for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel and deliver this through a range of in-house services and external providers. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not met with the Licensed Private Hire Car Association on this topic.The government has more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500 which means that more than half of businesses with National Insurance liabilities will either gain or see no change next year. Businesses will still be able to claim employer National Insurance contributions relief, where eligible.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the provisions in the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill on the ability of children with special educational needs and disabilities requiring home-to-school transport to attend lessons.

I refer the hon. Member for Newton Abbot to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of international students on UK universities.

This government is clear that international students, who make a positive impact on UK higher education (HE), our economy and society as a whole, are welcome in the UK. They bring significant benefits, by enriching our university campuses, forging lifelong friendships with our domestic students and becoming global ambassadors for the UK.HE providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2022/23 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of English HE providers. In its most recent report on the financial health of the sector, published November 2024, the OfS assessed the risks to provider financial sustainability and overreliance on recruitment of students from particular countries was noted as a particular concern.The OfS emphasised that the HE sector should be cautious about depending too much on international student fee income in their recruitment forecasts and urged institutions to have strong contingency plans to mitigate the financial risks of over-recruiting from a single country.All providers must continue to adapt to financial risks and, as autonomous bodies independent of government, it is for them to decide on effective business models.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of financial pressures on (a) UK and (b) international students.

This government is clear that international students, who make a positive impact on UK higher education (HE), our economy and society as a whole, are welcome in the UK. They bring significant benefits, by enriching our university campuses, forging lifelong friendships with our domestic students and becoming global ambassadors for the UK.HE providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2022/23 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of English HE providers. In its most recent report on the financial health of the sector, published November 2024, the OfS assessed the risks to provider financial sustainability and overreliance on recruitment of students from particular countries was noted as a particular concern.The OfS emphasised that the HE sector should be cautious about depending too much on international student fee income in their recruitment forecasts and urged institutions to have strong contingency plans to mitigate the financial risks of over-recruiting from a single country.All providers must continue to adapt to financial risks and, as autonomous bodies independent of government, it is for them to decide on effective business models.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29255 on Immigration: Overseas Students, if she will take steps to promote UK universities to international students.

This government has made clear that we welcome international students, who make a positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector and our economy and society as a whole.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is leading our efforts to promote our great universities to international students. In her first speech, in July 2024, and in subsequent video messages, she has set out that the UK is an attractive overseas study destination with high quality education institutions that will support international students throughout their studies.The UK has a world-class HE sector with four universities in the world university rankings top 10, and 15 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of leading institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.International students enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK. That is why we offer them the opportunity to work or remain in the UK, and contribute to the society and economy, for two or three years after their studies.

Pursuant of the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22412 on Childcare: Finance, how many and what proportion of childcare providers allow parents to stretch the 38 weeks of paid childcare to cover 52 weeks.

The department does not collect data on how childcare providers deliver the entitlements. Therefore, we cannot provide detail on the numbers and proportion of childcare providers that allow parents to stretch the 38 weeks of paid childcare over 52 weeks.Parents are able to stretch their child’s entitlement by taking fewer hours per week over more weeks of the year, although hours cannot be compressed into fewer than 38 weeks per year. This means, where possible, parents can use their funded hours of childcare all year round alongside Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit. Local authorities are able to help parents by providing details of childcare settings who offer this option.There is no requirement for childcare providers to deliver funded hours at particular times of the day or on particular days of the week. Providers are free to choose when to deliver funded hours, as long as they comply with the terms of their arrangements with the local authority.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 22413 on Childcare, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of stretching 38 weeks of paid childcare to cover 52 weeks on parents.

The department does not collect data on how childcare providers deliver the entitlements. Therefore, we cannot provide detail on the numbers and proportion of childcare providers that allow parents to stretch the 38 weeks of paid childcare over 52 weeks.Parents are able to stretch their child’s entitlement by taking fewer hours per week over more weeks of the year, although hours cannot be compressed into fewer than 38 weeks per year. This means, where possible, parents can use their funded hours of childcare all year round alongside Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit. Local authorities are able to help parents by providing details of childcare settings who offer this option.There is no requirement for childcare providers to deliver funded hours at particular times of the day or on particular days of the week. Providers are free to choose when to deliver funded hours, as long as they comply with the terms of their arrangements with the local authority.

What assessment she has made of potential impact of the time taken for education, health and care plan applications to be processed on children in Devon.

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.The department has been working closely with all statutory partners involved in delivering special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services in Devon since their local area SEND inspection in May 2022, which found that insufficient progress had been made against the four areas of significant weakness identified during their previous inspection in December 2018, including on the timeliness and quality of EHC plans.In response to these findings, the department issued an improvement notice in September 2022, and an accelerated progress plan was developed with the local authority and integrated care board. In addition, the department and NHS England have both deployed SEND advisers to assist the local area and to offer advice and support. This includes analysis of EHC plans data and trends, facilitation of best practice exchange from other regions and guidance to enhance the quality of EHC plans.The department also holds regular formal monitoring meetings with the local authority and partners as part of holding the local area to account for making the necessary improvements in services. As part of this work, there is robust monitoring of Devon’s EHC plans, including their timeliness, quality and the clearance of backlogs.The latest monitoring meeting highlighted that the local authority and partners are taking steps to improve services, with some early impact on outcomes regarding the timeliness and quality of EHC plans. However, there remains substantial progress needed to ensure that all children and families receive the service they require and deserve, and we will continue to work closely with the local area and our support partners to closely monitor and ensure they deliver further improvements in services.

What proportion of the most recent long-term migration figures were accounted for by international students.

According to the latest Office for National Statistics estimates, net migration to the UK (immigration minus emigration) of international students was 262,000 in the year ending June 2024. Total net migration for the same period was 728,000, meaning international students' net migration made up 36% of total net migration.

What steps her Department is taking to help support children who have a parent in prison.

The department knows growing up with a parent or primary carer in prison can have a devastating impact on a child’s life chances. These children can experience the trauma of separation, social isolation and shame, and support is often lacking.This government has a key mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child, which includes better supporting and identifying children affected by parental imprisonment.The department and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) are working together to see how we can support children affected by parental imprisonment. We have also closely engaged the sector who have provided us with invaluable support during the early stages of policy development.At the department, we are looking at how best to support children and their families within the community, including as part of our wider reforms to Children’s Social Care. The MoJ is looking at how to improve support for parents in prison and the visiting experience for families, with a focus on strengthening family ties where appropriate.At present, prisons across England and Wales offer a range of services to maintain family relationships including social visits and family days.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure an adequate provision of supply teachers in schools.

Supply teachers perform a valuable role and the department is grateful for their important contribution to schools across the country.Schools and local authorities are currently responsible for the recruitment of their supply teachers and are best placed to make decisions on their approach to recruitment.There are various approaches to providing supply teachers, such as using supply agencies.The department, in conjunction with the Crown Commercial Service, has established the agency supply deal, which supports schools to obtain value for money when hiring agency supply teachers and other temporary school staff. More information on the agency supply deal can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

What steps her Department is taking to support children's services in Devon.

The department has been working closely with Devon County Council since Ofsted’s inspection of children’s services in March 2020, in which services were found to be Inadequate overall and were placed in formal intervention under a Statutory Direction.As part of the department’s intervention, it has put in place robust support for the local authority and partner agencies involved in the delivery of children’s services. This includes the appointment of a Children’s Services Commissioner, in addition to the appointment of both Hertfordshire and Essex local authorities through our Sector Led Improvement Programme. The Sector Led Improvement Programme enables the delivery of peer-to-peer support from the strongest performing local authorities to local authorities like Devon, who are working to improve their services.The department also holds regular formal monitoring meetings with the local authority and partners as part of holding all parties to account for making the necessary improvements in services, and we will continue with our work with them and our support partners to ensure that all children and families receive the service they require and deserve.

What steps she is taking to make it easier for parents to obtain Education, Health and Care plans.

For too long the education system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with parents struggling to get their children the support they need and deserve.This government knows that parents have struggled to get the right support for their children, particularly through long and difficult education, health and care (EHC) plan processes. We will work with children, young people, parents, local authorities, schools and colleges and their partners in delivering improvements so that children and young people can access the support they need.The department wants to ensure that, where required, EHC plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. EHC plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. In 2023, there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan and 90,500 assessments took place. 50.3% of new EHC plans in 2023 were issued within twenty weeks.The department knows that local authorities have seen an increase in the number of assessment requests and that more needs to be done to ensure that local areas deliver effective and timely services. This includes better communication with schools and families.The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing specialist SEND adviser support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.