Written questions by Dhesi.

What recent estimate she has made of the proportion of local councils who have failed to meet the time limit of 20 weeks for the issuing of an Education, Health and Care Plan within the last year.

Information on the number and percentage of education, health and care plans issued within the statutory 20 week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the statistical release, ‘Education, health and care plans – reporting year 2024’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans.The figures for each local authority for the 2023 calendar year can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b372ed7-8c76-42df-5a32-08dd3479441b.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) support and (b) guidance available to (i) parents and (ii) guardians of children who require an Education, Health and Care Plan to navigate the process.

The department is aware of the challenges that families face in accessing support for children and young people through the long, difficult and adversarial education, health and care (EHC) plan process.The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice is clear that local authorities must consult and work collaboratively with children, young people and their parents throughout the process of assessment and production of an EHC plan. This statutory guidance can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7dcb85ed915d2ac884d995/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf. The department recognises that more efficient and effective communication with schools and families is pivotal to rebuilding and reforming this system. We have listened to parents, local authority colleagues, and partners across education, health and social care and are considering carefully how to address and improve the experience of the EHC plan process for families, including reflecting on what practice could or should be made consistent nationally.Under the Children and Families Act (2014) it is a legal requirement that all local authorities have a Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS). This is to ensure families are provided with the support necessary to enable them to participate in discussions and decisions about their support, for example through their EHC plan, and strategically, for example through SEND local offers.The department funds training and support for SENDIASS services through a contract with specialist charities which supports parents and carers of children with SEND. This contract is led by Contact, a national charity who support families with SEND. In addition, Contact also runs a national telephone helpline which offers impartial support and advice on SEND.The department also provides grant funding to Parent Carer Forums throughout England who provide a supportive forum for parents. They work alongside local authorities, education, health and other service providers to ensure the services they plan, commission, deliver and monitor, meet the needs of children and families locally.

If she will review school food standards to ensure they adequately address the nutritional content of meals provided in breakfast clubs.

This government is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made fast progress with up to 750 schools starting to deliver from this April. Free, universal breakfast clubs will mean that every primary school child, no matter their circumstances, is well prepared to learn, including through the provision of a healthy, nutritious breakfast, giving children the energy they need to start the school day.The school food standards, which regulate the food and drink provided at school, already apply to breakfasts. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods, and ensures that pupils always have healthy options.Alongside the existing ‘School food standards’ statutory guidance, earlier this month we published guidance for the early adopter schools, which provides additional helpful guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs to ensure that the school food standards are met.More broadly, the department’s aim is to deliver better life chances for all through a system which works for all. As part of this, as with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to the school food standards under continued review.

What steps she is taking to ensure meals provided in free breakfast clubs meet nutritional guidelines set for schools.

This government is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made fast progress with up to 750 schools starting to deliver from this April. Free, universal breakfast clubs will mean that every primary school child, no matter their circumstances, is well prepared to learn, including through the provision of a healthy, nutritious breakfast, giving children the energy they need to start the school day.The school food standards, which regulate the food and drink provided at school, already apply to breakfasts. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, as well as low quality reformed or reconstituted foods, and ensures that pupils always have healthy options.Alongside the existing ‘School food standards’ statutory guidance, earlier this month we published guidance for the early adopter schools, which provides additional helpful guidance on which foods should be served at breakfast clubs to ensure that the school food standards are met.More broadly, the department’s aim is to deliver better life chances for all through a system which works for all. As part of this, as with all government programmes, we will keep our approach to the school food standards under continued review.

What her planned timetable is for implementing alternative student finance following the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in the 2025-26 academic year.

The department is committed to introducing an alternative student finance (ASF) product, compatible with Islamic finance principles, as quickly as we can. To support this, the department has reconvened an expert working group made up of representatives from the Islamic community and the finance sector. The department has also appointed a secretariat to take forward the certification of the product as compatible with Islamic finance principles.The delivery of the ASF product will need to follow the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will replace the existing student finance system when introduced. The first LLE-funded courses and modules will begin in January 2027 and the department intends to introduce ASF as soon as possible after this.

What recent steps she has taken to increase awareness of financial support available to students.

Information on the student support package for the 2024/25 academic year, is available on GOV.UK at: https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/currently-a-student/.The higher education (HE) sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade, and to ensure that all students have confidence that they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve.In line with this approach, on 4 November 2024, this government announced that from 1 August 2025 it will be increasing both the maximum cap for tuition fees, and maintenance loans for students, in line with inflation.There is much more to do to expand access and improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. That is why we have announced that we expect the HE sector to do more to support students by working with the government and the Office for Students, and by making the most of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement. We will be setting out longer-term plans for the sector next year.Further information for prospective students is provided on the Student Finance England website, available here: https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk/student-toolkit/.The government will announce further details of the student finance package for the 2025/26 academic year soon.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle persistent absence in schools in Slough constituency.

This government is determined to tackle the generational challenge of school absence which is a fundamental barrier to learning and life chances. Missing school regularly is harmful to a child’s attainment, safety and physical and mental health, which lim...

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on future earnings.

Every child should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are, where they are from, or how much their parents earn. Too often opportunity for children and young people is defined by their background.That is why this government is committed ...

What estimate she has made of the number of young people out of (a) work, (b) education and (c) training in Slough.

The department publishes statistics on those not in education, employment or training (NEET) for England from the labour force survey (LFS) for young people aged 16 to 24. The statistics are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov...

How many children living in relative poverty are not eligible for free school meals.

The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers....

What steps is she taking increase school attendance among children who are living in poverty.

Today, 4.3 million children are living in poverty in this country. Tackling child poverty is at the heart of breaking down barriers to opportunity and improving the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the op...

How their Department defines strategy.

The definition is detailed in the Functional Standards Common Glossary, which is published on the GOV.UK website.

How many university (a) biology, (b) chemistry and (c) physics departments (i) opened and (ii) closed in the last five years.

The government is committed to promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and skills to ensure the UK remains competitive in the global economy. Universities operate as autonomous institutions, therefore specific data on t...

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14130, whether the local authorities to take part in the kinship allowance trial have been selected.

The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children t...

What the average staff to student ratio was in secondary schools in Slough constituency in each year since 2015.

Information on the school workforce, including the pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios at national, regional, local authority and individual school level, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, found here: https:...

Whether the rate paid to nursery providers for free hours childcare will increase proportionately to cover the increase in employer national insurance contributions.

I refer the hon. Member for Slough to the answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12804.

Whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the financial support available to kinship carers.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.The government recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities to test whethe...

What steps they are taking to help increase productivity within their Department through the use of (a) artificial intelligence and (b) effective use of data.

The department is committed to improving its productivity, including through artificial intelligence (AI) and effective use of data.For example, a Microsoft Azure Open AI sandbox environment has been enabled to limited groups of users within the departmen...

What the timeline is for the increase in the number of attendance mentors for schools.

On 11 October 2024, the department announced an additional £15 million to expand the attendance mentoring programme to at least 10,000 pupils across ten new areas.Mentoring support is expected to begin in April 2025. More information can be found here: ht...

What specialist mental health support she plans to provide to secondary schools to help tackle absences.

Poor mental health in children and young people is a significant contributing factor in school absence, and a key barrier to opportunity and learning, that the government is committed to addressing.To tackle mental ill-health among children and young peop...