Every parliamentary written question tabled by Monica Harding this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 1–8 of 8 · Department for Education
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of children who turn nine months old shortly after the term-time eligibility deadline for 30-hour free childcare on families; how many young children turned nine-months of age within one month after this deadline in March 2026; and whether she is considering the potential merits of reviewing this issue as part of the proposed reform to childcare.
Awaiting answer.
What assessment his Department has made of the proportion of secondary school pupils in England completing CPR training as required under the Health Education curriculum; and what steps the Department for Education is taking to support schools in ensuring consistent delivery of CPR training and to promote participation in national initiatives such as Restart a Heart month.
All state funded schools are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education set out in the Relationships, Sex and Health education (RSHE) statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.The RSHE guidance requires primary schools to teach basic first aid, such as dealing with common injuries. In secondary schools, pupils learn additional skills, including cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how and when to use a defibrillator.Schools have flexibility in how they deliver this content, including which resources they choose to use and whether to participate in initiatives such as Restart a Heart month.The department does not collect data on how many pupils have completed CPR training; schools are responsible for determining how best to meet curriculum requirements and ensure appropriate first aid education.The government has commissioned Oak Academy to make lesson materials freely available.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the gap between the introduction of increased tuition fees in 2026 and the reintroduction of maintenance grants in 2029 on students from lower-income households.
No assessment has been made. Tuition fees are covered by tuition fee loans, so students do not need to pay them while they study.Regarding students from lower-income backgrounds, we are acting to support them through future proofing our maintenance loan offer by increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year from 2026/27.Additionally, from 2028/29, maintenance grants will support full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions. The grants will provide disadvantaged full-time students with up to £1,000 extra per year, on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing cash in students’ pockets without increasing their debt.
For which local authorities her Department has provided (a) support and (b) intervention for safety valve agreements since 2019.
The department has made Safety Valve agreements with 38 local authorities. These are: Bath and North East Somerset, Barnsley, Bexley, Blackpool, Bolton, Bracknell Forest, Bristol, Bury, Cambridgeshire, Croydon, Darlington, Devon, Dorset, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Kent, Kingston upon Thames, Kirklees, Medway, Merton, Norfolk, North Somerset, North Tyneside, Richmond upon Thames, Rotherham, Salford, Slough, South Gloucestershire, Southwark, Stoke-on-Trent, Surrey, Torbay, Wiltshire, Wokingham and York. All agreements are published on GOV.UK and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-very-high-deficit-intervention.Of these, five agreements are currently suspended. The local authorities with suspended agreements are Bath and North East Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hillingdon and Norfolk.All Safety Valve local authorities receive ongoing support through the monitoring process.
What formula her Department is using to calculate Special Educational Needs and Disability high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year.
The high needs national funding formula will be used to allocate high needs funding to local authorities in the 2025/26 financial year. Provisional 2025/26 national funding formula allocations for local authorities have now been published and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs-2025-to-2026.For 2025/26, Surrey County Council has been allocated a provisional high needs funding amount of over £239 million. This represents an increase of 7% per head of their projected 2 to 18-year-old population, compared with their 2024/25 formula allocation.
What assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's Safety Valve Agreement with Surrey County Council on (a) funding per EHCP in Surrey and (b) quality of SEND provision in Surrey.
The Safety Valve programme helps local authorities provide an improved special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements were established only if both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is under review.Existing Safety Valve agreements do not in any way release local authorities from their obligation to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and no agreement would have been made if it compromised a local authority’s ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through our monitoring process, and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The department does not hold any data on the potential impact of Surrey’s Safety Valve agreement regarding funding per education, health and care plan.
If her Department will take steps to ensure the uplift for SEND funding announced in the Autumn Budget 2024 is allocated by local authorities to families assessed as being in the most urgent need; what steps her Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the impact of this funding on (i) children and (ii) families in each local authority; and how she plans to report that evaluation.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for local authorities’ high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND in England to £11.9 billion. The department is now in the process of calculating indicative high needs funding allocations for local authorities next year, which will be published shortly. It is for the local authorities to decide how they manage their spending to secure the best possible outcomes for children and young people within the resources available. Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission jointly inspect local area SEND provision to ensure there is joined-up support for children, young people and their families. These inspections are published and enable the department to intervene in cases of significant concern. The inspections also allow the department to work with local areas and professional advisors to address any areas of weakness that might be identified.
Whether her Department is taking steps to (a) ensure that deficit reduction measures taken by local authorities as part of their safety valve agreements do not reduce the (i) level and (ii) quality of support for SEND children and young people and (b) monitor such support.
The Safety Valve programme helps local authorities provide an improved special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) service by maximising the impact of their high needs budget and promoting a more stable and effective system for children and young people with SEND. Safety Valve agreements were established only if both the local authority and the department agreed that the proposals would improve services for children and young people with SEND. The future use of Safety Valve agreements is under review.Existing Safety Valve agreements do not in any way release local authorities from their obligation to fulfil their statutory duties to children and young people with SEND, and no agreement would have been made if it compromised a local authority’s ability to meet these obligations. The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through our monitoring process, and provides support and intervention if they go off track. The department does not hold any data on the potential impact of Surrey’s Safety Valve agreement regarding funding per education, health and care plan.