​​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, regularly meets colleagues across government to discuss issues in education, including issues relating to school governance and ownership.

We assess that current ECHR interpretation has undermined our Immigration Rules and effective immigration control.

The Immigration, Asylum and Appeals Bill, introduced on the 30 June, will therefore, deliver a fundamental reset of the balance between individual Article 8 rights and the public interest.

The ECHR provides important protection both for ourselves and for those who are abroad. We have been clear that we inherited a system without order or control, and we are restoring that order and control to the system. Part of that involves the reform of article 8 of the ECHR, exactly as the hon. Gentleman says. If he has the vigour to support such action, he will not have to wait long—in fact, at 10 o’clock tonight he will have the chance to show it.

The government is committed to ensuring every child can access high-quality physical education (PE) and school sport by removing barriers to participation. As part of our curriculum reforms, work is underway to develop a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious and accessible for every child, focused rich in knowledge and in skills. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list for PE GCSE, AS and A levels to ensure the list is inclusive to all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A revised PE national curriculum is expected in spring 2027, with first teaching from 2028.

To support these ambitions, the government has committed more than £1 billion to school sport over the next three years, including £580 million for a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, investment in sports facilities and transitional support for primary schools. This network will build on existing initiatives such as Inclusion 2028, working with the Youth Sport Trust to strengthen inclusive practice to ensure every child can participate, build confidence, and experience the benefits of school sport.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new approach, the government has confirmed £300,000 of funding for the Youth Sport Trust to continue delivering Inclusion 2028 until the end of the 2026/27 financial year, helping schools provide high-quality PE and physical activity opportunities for pupils with SEND.

The government is committed to ensuring every child can access high-quality physical education (PE) and school sport by removing barriers to participation. As part of our curriculum reforms, work is underway to develop a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious and accessible for every child, focused rich in knowledge and in skills. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list for PE GCSE, AS and A levels to ensure the list is inclusive to all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A revised PE national curriculum is expected in spring 2027, with first teaching from 2028.

To support these ambitions, the government has committed more than £1 billion to school sport over the next three years, including £580 million for a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, investment in sports facilities and transitional support for primary schools. This network will build on existing initiatives such as Inclusion 2028, working with the Youth Sport Trust to strengthen inclusive practice to ensure every child can participate, build confidence, and experience the benefits of school sport.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new approach, the government has confirmed £300,000 of funding for the Youth Sport Trust to continue delivering Inclusion 2028 until the end of the 2026/27 financial year, helping schools provide high-quality PE and physical activity opportunities for pupils with SEND.

The government is committed to ensuring every child can access high-quality physical education (PE) and school sport by removing barriers to participation. As part of our curriculum reforms, work is underway to develop a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious and accessible for every child, focused rich in knowledge and in skills. Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we have outlined our commitment to revisit the activity list for PE GCSE, AS and A levels to ensure the list is inclusive to all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A revised PE national curriculum is expected in spring 2027, with first teaching from 2028.

To support these ambitions, the government has committed more than £1 billion to school sport over the next three years, including £580 million for a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, investment in sports facilities and transitional support for primary schools. This network will build on existing initiatives such as Inclusion 2028, working with the Youth Sport Trust to strengthen inclusive practice to ensure every child can participate, build confidence, and experience the benefits of school sport.

To ensure a smooth transition to the new approach, the government has confirmed £300,000 of funding for the Youth Sport Trust to continue delivering Inclusion 2028 until the end of the 2026/27 financial year, helping schools provide high-quality PE and physical activity opportunities for pupils with SEND.

I am responding as the Minister for Sport, Tourism, Civil Society and Youth with responsibility for DCMS youth enrichment policy, including Every Child Can.

As announced on 14 June, we will align the Every Child Can funding with DfE’s Enrichment Framework. This investment of £132.5m of dormant assets funding will fund opportunities exclusively across five key categories of enrichment: civic engagement; arts and culture; nature, outdoor and adventure; sport and physical activities; and developing wider life and future skills.

The Libraries in Primaries programme - the first announced under Every Child Can - intends to extend provision to approximately 1,675 schools across England. It will prioritise schools with above-average free school meal eligibility, ensuring support reaches those with the greatest need, and schools with high SEND provision or additional needs will receive enhanced funding. The programme is led by the National Literacy Trust and is fully funded, meaning eligible schools receive this support at no cost.

The remaining funding will be directed across the categories above, funding enriching activities which may be delivered on school premises or in the community, in order to reach as many young people as possible. Eligibility criteria are still being considered as we develop the funding programmes and further details on which groups and organisations will be able to apply will be confirmed in due course. Dormant assets funding cannot fund statutory provision and all activities funded should adhere to the additionality principle.

The information the department holds on the management of independent schools is available via Get Information about Schools: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

The information the department holds on the management of independent schools is available via Get Information about Schools: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

The information the department holds on the management of independent schools is available via Get Information about Schools: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

When we came into Government, we made a significant increase to the high needs block, precisely because we knew that investment in special educational needs and disabilities was desperately needed. Hon. Members across the House will know that the current system has been failing for a long time. We are acting to reform the system, but we are also investing £4 billion into early intervention, £3.7 billion into capital places and £200 million into teacher training and supporting local authorities with their deficits. This is something we are taking absolutely seriously. It is at the heart of our agenda, and we are acting where the previous Government failed.

Only half of children meet the chief medical officer’s recommendation of 60 active minutes a day. Although well intentioned and despite huge efforts from primary schools, the current system is not doing what it needs to do to turn the situation around. We know through talking to national bodies that a partnership model that brings our huge national resources, the energy from the world cup and the different clubs that are out there together with local schools is going to transform that investment. We are investing £1 billion over three years. I was in local government when the Conservatives cut youth clubs and community sports facilities, but we are investing.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures and reversing the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts amongst young people – which have fallen by 40% over the last decade

Since January 2026, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will create more opportunities for those entering the labour market and help apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people.

This decision was informed by a range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s evidence suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding. Skills England have published a report on their findings: Skills England: evidence on defunding of level 7 apprenticeships - GOV.UK.

We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. There are alternative training options available to employers at level 7 including non-apprenticeship routes. The department has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships, which will enable employers to privately fund level 7 apprenticeships for staff aged over 22:  Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK.

Where a student has studied architecture at level 6 via an apprenticeship route, they are unable to access undergraduate support for a level 7 masters’ qualification in architecture. Students may be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for a Master’s in Architecture. This is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures and reversing the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts amongst young people – which have fallen by 40% over the last decade

Since January 2026, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will create more opportunities for those entering the labour market and help apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people.

This decision was informed by a range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s evidence suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding. Skills England have published a report on their findings: Skills England: evidence on defunding of level 7 apprenticeships - GOV.UK.

We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. There are alternative training options available to employers at level 7 including non-apprenticeship routes. The department has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships, which will enable employers to privately fund level 7 apprenticeships for staff aged over 22:  Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK.

Where a student has studied architecture at level 6 via an apprenticeship route, they are unable to access undergraduate support for a level 7 masters’ qualification in architecture. Students may be eligible for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan for a Master’s in Architecture. This is subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for a Postgraduate Master’s Loan.

Absence is a key barrier to opportunity. For children to achieve and thrive, they need to be in school.

The department’s real-time data tools and attendance toolkits help schools and local authorities to identify the drivers of absence and adopt effective practice to improve attendance. In January, we launched our new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) Attendance and Behaviour hubs, which can support over 3000 schools, including enhanced support for up to 500 schools.

We recognise that white working-class children have among the highest overall absence rates. The white paper sets out our plans to support this group, including rebuilding early family support, designing a new model for targeting disadvantage funding, and developing insights into the relationships between white working-class children and families with schools, in order to strengthen parental engagement.

The department is investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards (ICBs), to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer. This offer is designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to support across health and education, including from educational psychologists and trainees, speech and language therapists and support workers or assistants, occupational therapists and support workers or assistants; and specialist teachers, both local authority-based and those based in specialist or alternative provision settings.

To support delivery of the offer, we are investing over £40 million in the specialist workforce, including £26 million to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year from 2026 and 2027, followed by additional funding from 2028 to train more educational psychologists than we currently do, subject to future spending review. This is in addition to the £31 million already invested to train educational psychologists since 2023.

Upon graduating, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required remain in local authority employment for a minimum period (three years, or two for earlier cohorts, dependent on when their training started). Investment in this vital workforce will therefore help to ensure that the local authority educational psychology workforce is able to support all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The remaining £15 million will be invested to establish new speech and language therapist (SaLT) advanced practitioners in every ICB geographical area, to get more SaLTs working in educational settings.