Written questions by Anderson.

What steps she is taking to tackle childcare deserts in rural areas.

It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.In the 2025/26 financial year alone, the department plans to provide over £8 billion for early years entitlements, a more than 30% increase compared to the 2024/25 financial year, so eligible working parents of children aged from nine months can access 30 hours of funded childcare from September this year. To support the sector during this period of expansion, the government is providing further supplementary funding of £75 million for the early years expansion grant. We also announced the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium, increasing the rate by over 45% compared to the 2024/25 financial year, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. On top of this, providers will receive £25 million through the forthcoming National Insurance Contributions grant for public sector employers in the early years.The government’s plan to deliver 3,000 school-based nurseries and will help deliver on our commitment to ensure families right across the country have access to high quality childcare and early education. Funding will be allocated to the first wave of nursery projects in spring 2025 to support delivery for the first cohort of places from September. We know that families in some areas are struggling to find childcare places which meet their needs, so we will be working with schools and local childcare providers to deliver much-needed places across all our communities.Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ’Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The department has regular contact with local authorities in England about the sufficiency of childcare and any issues being faced. Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and, where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract. We do not currently have any reports of sufficiency issues in any local authority.

What steps her Department has taken to improve access to specialist education in (a) rural areas and (b) South Shropshire constituency.

For too long the education and care 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. We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a suitable placement. Alongside this, we recognise the vital role that special schools play in catering to those with the most complex needs. Many mainstream settings are already going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units. Following the last Ofsted inspection, departmental officials have been working with Shropshire Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. A SEND Advisor was appointed to support and work alongside Shropshire Council and the local area partnership. Shropshire is also gaining valuable insights and learning across the SEND and alternative provision system through engagement in the Change Programme.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Shropshire Council is being allocated over £46 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £3.8 million on this year’s DSG high needs block.Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools or adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, alongside continuing to provide places in special schools for pupils with the most complex needs. In Shropshire and other rural areas, where specialist providers are more likely to be geographically dispersed, this could reduce the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a suitable placement. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding for the 2025/26 financial year in the spring.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of specialist education provision in (a) rural areas and (b) South Shropshire constituency.

For too long the education and care 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. We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a suitable placement. Alongside this, we recognise the vital role that special schools play in catering to those with the most complex needs. Many mainstream settings are already going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units. Following the last Ofsted inspection, departmental officials have been working with Shropshire Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. A SEND Advisor was appointed to support and work alongside Shropshire Council and the local area partnership. Shropshire is also gaining valuable insights and learning across the SEND and alternative provision system through engagement in the Change Programme.Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Shropshire Council is being allocated over £46 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £3.8 million on this year’s DSG high needs block.Additionally, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education has now announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools or adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, alongside continuing to provide places in special schools for pupils with the most complex needs. In Shropshire and other rural areas, where specialist providers are more likely to be geographically dispersed, this could reduce the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a suitable placement. We will confirm allocations for the £740 million funding for the 2025/26 financial year in the spring.

What steps she is taking to improve the availability of apprenticeships in rural areas.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Meeting the skills needs of the next decade is central to delivering the government's five missions on economic growth, opportunity for all, a stronger NHS, safer streets and clean energy. Through delivering the opportunity and growth missions, the department will ensure that we have the skilled workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs. This will align with the government’s industrial strategy and break down the barriers to opportunity for learners.In order to help meet these skills needs, the government has committed to widening the apprenticeships offer into a levy-funded growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart. This will offer greater flexibility to learners and employers, including those in rural areas. As a first step, this will include shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors, helping more people learn new high-quality skills at work, fuelling innovation in businesses across the country and providing high-quality entry pathways for young people.In addition, Skills England will help to ensure that there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, and that regional and national skills needs are met.The department is committed to supporting employers, including those in rural areas, to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The government continues to pay additional funding to employers and training providers to support them to take on young apprentices, apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities and care leavers.The department pays 100% of apprentice training costs for small employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 21 and £1,000 to all employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under-19. This payment is to support young apprentices in the workplace and can be used to support costs such as travel, work equipment and uniforms.

What steps she is taking to support SEND transport providers with the cost of increased employer’s National Insurance contributions.

Home-to-school travel is an integral part of the school system. It provides a valuable service on which many families rely. The department is grateful to the many transport operators for the crucial role they play in ensuring that children receive the education that they need to help them thrive.Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. It is for them to determine how best to do so, based on local circumstances and the needs of the children travelling. They might, for example, have an in-house fleet, provide passes for free travel on public transport or contract with private transport operators for the provision of buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles. Where they contract with private operators, it is for the local authority and the operator to agree suitable terms.The government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers. It 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.

If she will take steps to increase funding for rural schools.

Through the dedicated schools grant, the department is increasing funding for mainstream schools to £48.7 billion in 2025/26. This is an increase of 2.15% per pupil in 2025/26, compared to 2024/25. The schools national funding formula (NFF) distributes funding for mainstream schools based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. The NFF recognises that some schools are necessarily small because they are remote and do not have the same opportunities to grow or make efficiency savings as other schools and that such schools often play a significant role in the rural communities they serve. As such, small and remote schools can attract additional funding through the sparsity factor. In 2025/26, the department is allocating £100 million in respect of small and rural schools through the sparsity factor. The department will take the time needed to consider changes to various funding formulae going forward, ensuring that we get any changes right, and recognising the importance of establishing a fair funding system that directs funding to where it is needed.

Whether funding to establish youth hubs will be distributed on a revenue basis.

Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes, supporting crime prevention and enabling young people to thrive.We will make use of existing structures and build upon the successes of existing provision, from physical buildings to local partnership working, and existing workforces. By having a more cohesive and integrated approach, with strategic centre points co-ordinating activity, we will reach more young people.Officials from across a range of departments are working together, using evidence of what works, to start to shape how the Young Futures Hubs will work in practice. To roll out Young Futures Hubs, the department will establish a number of early adopter hubs. These hubs and work in local areas will inform the longer-term development of the programme, including how quickly we move to a greater number of hubs.

How many new teachers will be delivered in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas.

Delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, and high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament. This will help ensure that children in South Shropshire and all other areas of the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.

How many youth hubs will be established in rural areas.

The government is committed to breaking down barriers to success and opportunity. Too many children and young people today do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health, and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than going on to achieve and thrive.Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Ensuring young people from rural areas are included in the rollout of Young Futures Hubs is incredibly important.As part of the development process, the department is engaging with local areas, communities, statutory partners, charities and other key stakeholders to support the design of the Young Futures Hubs and explore options for their delivery. This will ensure we are making use of the vast knowledge and experience that already exists, and will include considerations of the most suitable locations, as well as how best to engage with those young people who would benefit most from their support. The number of Young Futures Hubs, their specific locations and their reach are still being determined, and we will share further information regarding these Hubs in due course.

What steps she is taking to improve access to further education facilities for young people in rural areas.

This government is committed to driving economic growth and supporting opportunity for all. To help achieve these missions, we announced £300 million in the 2025/26 financial year for further education (FE) at the Autumn Budget 2024. We will set out how t...

What steps she is taking to help ensure that the introduction of VAT on private school fees does not negatively impact the academic progress of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and ensuring every child has access to high quality education. The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) rec...

What steps her Department is taking to increase access to careers advice in rural communities.

The National Careers Service in England provides free, up to date, impartial information advice and guidance on careers, skills and the labour market, helping customers make informed choices about their career options, whatever their age, ethnic group and...

Whether she plans to extend the targeted STEM retention incentive payments for secondary school teachers to those teachers in further education colleges.

In October, the department expanded eligibility for retention incentives to include early career further education (FE) teachers in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and technical subjects. FE teachers can currently apply for the...

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of childcare places in rural communities.

High quality, affordable early education and childcare is essential to ensuring that all our children get the best start in life.The department recognises that there are differences in the availability of childcare depending on where you live.The latest d...

What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of resources to support the further education sector in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas.

Further education (FE) plays a critical role in delivering the government’s missions and ensuring that everyone has access to the opportunities they need, breaking down the barriers to their success and boosting economic growth.FE funding, including the a...

Whether she plans to continue the Half-Term Activities Fund in (a) Shropshire and (b) the UK.

The future of the holiday activities and food programme beyond 31 March 2025 is subject to the next government Spending Review taking place this autumn and the department will communicate the outcome of that process in due course.

What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for rural schools (a) in South Shropshire constituency and (b) nationally.

The national funding formula (NFF) accounts for the challenges faced by small schools in rural areas through the lump sum and sparsity factors. The lump sum provides a fixed amount of £134,000 that is unrelated to pupil numbers, and so is particularly ben...

How many of the planned 6,500 new teachers will be delivered in South Shropshire constituency.

Delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, but the department needs to do more to recruit additional teachers, especially in shortage subjects in secondary schools. The department knows that high quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers. The department has taken the first steps towards this mission by restarting and expanding the teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’. The Secretary of State for Education and her ministerial team are dedicated to working alongside education partners and have already begun restoring the relationship with the sector. The Secretary of State has already addressed over 14,000 people from the workforce in the first of many regular engagements and has committed to working alongside them to re-establish teaching as an attractive and expert profession. The number of teachers in South Shropshire has remained stable, with 526 teachers in the 2023/24 academic year. The department is doing more to attract teachers in this area. Financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply. The minimum starting salary for teachers in South Shropshire increased to £30,000 from the start of the 2023/24 academic year. Mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers, who chose to work in disadvantaged schools, receive retention payments worth up to £3,000 after tax. As the department works towards its ambition of recruiting 6,500 more teachers, it will do more to ensure teachers are attracted to the areas with the highest levels of need. Alongside recruiting more teachers, the government is also committed to tackling retention challenges, making work pay, and supporting teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. We will be making further announcements on these issues in due course. The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and to support schools to introduce flexible working practices. The department's 'Improve workload and wellbeing for school staff service', which was developed alongside school leaders, includes a workload reduction toolkit to support schools to identify opportunities to cut excessive workload. The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter also sets out commitments from the government, Ofsted, schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff.