Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much revenue has been raised since introducing VAT on private schools on 1 January; and what has this revenue has been spent on or is planned to be spent on to date.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
At the Budget in October, the Government set out its estimate that this measure will raise £460 million in VAT revenue in 2024/25, rising to £1,725 million in 2029/30.
Ending tax breaks for private schools will secure additional funding to help the Government deliver its commitments relating to education and young people.
DfE’s 2028-29 settlement includes £101.5 billion of day-to-day spending, a 1.4% average annual real-terms increase from 2023-24 to 2028-29
This includes an additional £4.7 billion cash increase per year for schools by 2028-29 (compared to 2025-26), increasing per pupil funding in real terms to a new record high.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government where the £615 million allocated to schools to fund teachers' pay awards for 2025–26 will come from within the existing budget of the Department for Education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department has made some tough decisions to ensure every pound of taxpayers’ money is driving high and rising standards for our children. By ending tax breaks for private schools, and undertaking a robust line-by-line budget review to identify poor value for money spend, we are able to deliver this investment in recruiting and retaining more expert teachers in our classrooms. We have driven efficiency through increasing digital capability both inside and outside of the department, reducing central headcount and removing duplication within programmes.
As we have made clear throughout the pay process, we are also asking schools and colleges to do their part in ensuring that we are driving productivity across all areas of the public sector, ensuring resources are deployed intelligently to maximise support for teaching and learning, freeing up educators to focus on what matters most, which is providing every child with the high quality education they deserve.
Schools will be expected to find approximately the first 1% of pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending to make every pound count. There will be those who say this cannot be done, but schools have a responsibility, like the rest of the public sector, to ensure that their funding is spent as efficiently as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been saved by reviewing the budget of the Department for Education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department has made some tough decisions to ensure every pound of taxpayers’ money is driving high and rising standards for our children. By ending tax breaks for private schools, and undertaking a robust line-by-line budget review to identify poor value for money spend, we are able to deliver this investment in recruiting and retaining more expert teachers in our classrooms. We have driven efficiency through increasing digital capability both inside and outside of the department, reducing central headcount and removing duplication within programmes.
As we have made clear throughout the pay process, we are also asking schools and colleges to do their part in ensuring that we are driving productivity across all areas of the public sector, ensuring resources are deployed intelligently to maximise support for teaching and learning, freeing up educators to focus on what matters most, which is providing every child with the high quality education they deserve.
Schools will be expected to find approximately the first 1% of pay awards through improved productivity and smarter spending to make every pound count. There will be those who say this cannot be done, but schools have a responsibility, like the rest of the public sector, to ensure that their funding is spent as efficiently as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to expand the number of high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for young people, particularly in sectors facing skill shortages.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.
Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.
To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that the apprenticeship levy is used to create apprenticeship opportunities for young people, rather than the upskilling of existing employees.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.
Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.
To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce differentiated funding bands to incentivise employers to take on younger apprentices.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has set out plans for a more flexible growth and skills levy. It will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces, whilst driving economic growth. This will include introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter-duration apprenticeships.
Foundation apprenticeships will be a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment. Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in construction.
To support employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Non-levy paying employers can also benefit from the government paying the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support small and medium sized enterprises to offer apprenticeships, particularly with cost and administration.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37179.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow adults with relevant occupational knowledge and experience to directly undertake apprenticeship end-point assessments without completing a full apprenticeship.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Apprentices are not able to directly undertake apprenticeship end point assessments without having completed the required training as set out in the apprenticeship standard and agreed with their employer and training provider at the start of their apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are jobs which contain substantial and sustained on and off-the-job training that allow the apprentice to learn new skills. In order for an employer and training provider to receive government funding for an apprentice, the apprentice must be employed and the apprenticeship must comply with the minimum duration and off-the-job training requirements, as set out in legislation and the apprenticeship funding rules.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have carried out of the uptake of existing free breakfast club and childcare provision in primary schools in England; and what percentage of pupils attend such clubs regularly.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The Government Social Research release ‘Parent, pupil and learner panel: 22/23 March/April wave’ found that as of March 2023, 36% of parents with primary aged children reported that they had used some kind of wraparound childcare for their primary aged children since the start of term, equating to around 1.6 million children. The full release is attached and can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170040/Parent__pupil_and_learner_panel_-_2022_to_2023_-_March_and_April_wave.pdf.
Findings from the ‘School and college voice: February 2024’ report show that 72% of primary school leaders (excluding special schools) said their school offers childcare both before and after school, but this includes paid for childcare and clubs with only limited spaces available.
Asked by: Baroness Barran (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the total annual running costs of the Department for Education’s teaching recruitment service.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department aims to deliver high quality advice and support for every potential teacher, enabling them to successfully apply for initial teacher training (ITT) through our Get Into Teaching service and our modernised in-house digital recruitment services. The total running costs of these services for the 2024/25 financial year are £36.5 million. This includes a range of programmes such as the Get Into Teaching Information service, Apply for Teacher Training service and the Teaching Internships programme.