Written questions by Huq.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of student loan debt on parents returning to education.

Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study once their earnings exceed the earnings threshold, paying 9% of income above that level. Unlike commercial loans, student loans carry significant protections for borrowers and student loan repayments are linked to income, rather than the amount borrowed or interest applied.If a borrower’s income drops below the repayment threshold, or they are not earning, their repayments will stop. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.

What assessment she has made of the potential consequences for her policies of the Office for National Statistics' assessment of RPI as a measure of inflation.

The Office for National Statistics has undertaken a substantial programme of work over the past two years to enhance how inflation is measured and this will be carried over into student loans. The Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed that from 2030, at the earliest, movements in RPI will be aligned with CPIH as viewed here: https://obr.uk/box/the-long-run-difference-between-rpi-and-cpi-inflation/.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the operation of the Prevent programme in schools.

Schools have a statutory duty to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. This includes referring individuals susceptible to radicalisation to Prevent, for support.In the most recent departmental survey, 98% of school leaders responsible for Prevent were confident in their school’s ability to train staff to recognise and refer radicalisation concerns. 94% were confident in their school’s ability to deal with a safeguarding incident related to terrorism or extremism.Schools are already highly experienced in safeguarding children, and the department has confidence in the professional judgement of teachers if they decide a referral is appropriate.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of applying home tuition fee status to students who hold a British National (Overseas) visa.

Higher education institutions in England are autonomous bodies and it is for them to assess whether the fees for students who do not meet the criteria for automatic home fee status should be reduced or waived in line with individual circumstances.To qualify for automatic home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or a ‘recognised connection’ to the UK. A recognised connection includes persons who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country, or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. There are also requirements associated with ordinary residence in the UK.The British National (Overseas) immigration route reflects the UK’s historic and moral commitment to those people of Hong Kong. Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders will be able to qualify for student finance and home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK.There are no plans to amend the eligibility requirements for Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders as these are in line with those that apply to most other persons on routes to settlement.

What assessment she had made of the potential impact of changes to the Adoption and Guardianship Support Fund on of the adequacy of mental health support for children in care who have been victims of abuse.

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order children who were previously in care. It is not available for children who remain in care. This year the £50 million fund will enable eligible adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support, tailored to meet their individual needs, including for those children who have experienced abuse, amounting to £3,000 per child. Where needed, local authorities and regional adoption agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.While the department does collect and publish annual data on the demand for ASGSF services, no wider information about demand for adoption services is currently collected. The latest publicly available ASGSF data covering the period 2023/24 can be found here: https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/asgsf_2024_data_insights/.

What assessment her Department has made of the variation in demand for adoption services across local authorities.

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) provides funds to local authorities and regional adoption agencies to pay for essential therapeutic services for adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order children who were previously in care. It is not available for children who remain in care. This year the £50 million fund will enable eligible adoptive and kinship families to access a significant package of therapeutic support, tailored to meet their individual needs, including for those children who have experienced abuse, amounting to £3,000 per child. Where needed, local authorities and regional adoption agencies can use their own funding to increase the amount of therapy.While the department does collect and publish annual data on the demand for ASGSF services, no wider information about demand for adoption services is currently collected. The latest publicly available ASGSF data covering the period 2023/24 can be found here: https://www.coram.org.uk/resource/asgsf_2024_data_insights/.

What steps she is taking to support adoption services.

On 2 April, the department confirmed funding of £8.8 million for Adoption England to improve the recruitment of adopters, matching of children, and family support during the 2025/26 financial year.This includes funding to develop more Centres of Excellence as multidisciplinary teams across the country to provide specialist and therapeutic support to families and the development of national standards for adoption support. It also includes a new framework for an early support core offer, ‘Becoming a Family’, for the first twelve to eighteen months of placement and an Adoption Support Plan to guide assessments of a family’s support needs. All are designed to improve support and reduce the risk of an adoption breakdown.Adoption England are also planning work to develop a national protocol on how children’s services, front door services and adoption support teams work together to better support families at risk of adoption disruption.Adoption England and regional adoption agencies work closely with adopters to improve adoption support services. This includes considering the latest evidence of why adoption disruptions have occurred in their agencies and across the country.Since its inception in 2015, the department has provided over £400 million through the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) to provide therapeutic interventions for around 52,700 children who have left care under an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangements order. The interventions are designed to help children and their families to deal with their trauma and attachment difficulties and have been independently assessed to have helped prevent adoption breakdowns.On 1 April, it was announced that the ASGSF would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million. A further announcement about arrangements for applications will be made as soon as possible. We remain committed to supporting families, who play an essential role in providing stable and loving homes for children in need.

What steps she is taking to provide affordable childcare to parents in (a) work and (b) further education.

It is the department’s ambition that parents have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and childcare.Next year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare.From the start of September 2024, eligible working parents have been entitled to 15 hours a week of early education and care from the term after their child turns nine months old. So far, over 320,000 additional parents are now accessing a place.The department is expanding the childcare entitlements so that from September 2025, eligible working parents can access 30 hours of early education and childcare a week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months old until they start school.As we grow the childcare system, it is important it remains fair and accessible to all parents. We have taken action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges or ‘top-up fees’ on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds where it makes the biggest difference. We have updated the statutory guidance on government-funded entitlements that relates to additional charges, helping local authorities ensure there is clarity and consistency for parents and providers.Parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare.The department wants to ensure that parents are aware of and accessing all government funded childcare support they are eligible for. The department is raising awareness of the government funded childcare support available via the Childcare Choices website to stimulate increased take-up by eligible families.Students who are parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all three and four year-olds, regardless of family circumstances. Students who work in addition to studying are eligible for the working parent entitlement if they meet the income requirements. If they meet the eligibility criteria, students can apply for the Childcare Grant and Parental Learning Allowance.Additionally, the Care to Learn scheme provides funding for childcare to help young parents, defined as those aged under 20, continue in education after the birth of a child. The scheme provides funding for childcare while the young parent is engaged in a study programme and is not able to provide care for their child. It can also help the young parent with any additional travel costs involved in taking the child to the childcare provider.