Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will debut at the Education Committee to answer questions on SEND provision, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, VAT on private school fees and other topics. She will be joined by Department for Education Permanent Secretary, Susan Acland-Hood.
Following a Commons vote on the Bill on 8 January, MPs will question aspects of the legislation such as how unique identifier codes, and a national register of children not in school, will be developed. The 2019-2024 Committee made repeated calls for a national register.
There may also be questions on why the Bill does not include provisions for eligible children to be auto-enrolled for receiving free school meals, after over 100 experts and organisations said too many children go hungry due to low registration levels.
The cross-party Committee recently launched an inquiry into finding solutions to the SEND crisis. MPs will ask how the Government will make mainstream schools and early years settings more inclusive, and what action will be taken to stop councils from declaring effective bankruptcy over SEND costs in future years. The Minister and Permanent Secretary will also be asked what assessment they have made of the potential knock-on effects that charging VAT on private school fees could have on capacity to provide SEND support in mainstream schools.
Following the Committee’s landmark inquiry into screen time and its effects on children’s education and mental health, Phillipson will be asked if further action should be taken to limit children’s exposure to harmful content on social media, and whether smart phones should be banned in schools.
After warnings from the Office for Students regarding universities’ finances, there may be questions about the increase to tuition fees and support for poorer students.
During this session, MPs are likely to also ask about progress with refurbishing aging school buildings and remediating those with RAAC; reforms to the work of Ofsted; the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy; improving teacher recruitment and retention; early years funding; and whether per-pupil funding will increase in real terms for 2025-26.
Witnesses from 10:00
- Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State, Department for Education
- Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
