Lord Black of Brentwood

The government is reviewing the UK’s International Education Strategy to ensure it continues to reflect the priorities of the entire education sector, including transnational education for schools. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the growth of exports across the education sector, including schools. The strategy will be published in the coming months.

The department launched an 8 week consultation on 25 September 2025 on the subject of reducing the subsidy for Ofsted inspection fees. The consultation document is publicly available and sets out how Ofsted-inspected private schools will be affected by the proposed fee increases.

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.

We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.

We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.

We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.

We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.

We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.

We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.

The department does not hold information regarding the number of applications for individual subjects. However, the number of entries into each subject in each school and college can be downloaded from the Compare School and College Performance website: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider Ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools, in both their capacities as ministers and as Members of Parliament. The Ministerial team prioritise visits to state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England. In addition to the visits that Ministers undertake in their official capacity, Ministers undertake a range of visits to education settings in their role as Members of Parliament organised by constituency and Parliamentary offices, therefore any list provided would not provide the full picture of all activity undertaken.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.

Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school phase and type, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there were 218,534 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers employed in state-funded nursery and primary schools in England and 217,563 FTE teachers employed in state-funded secondary schools in England.

School workforce statistics as of November 2024 will be published in June 2025.

The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision has been made to not extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the agreed initial three-year contract, which will end on 28 February 2025. This was not an easy decision, and we are grateful to the Centre for Latin Excellence for its work to deliver the programme and that of the schools who have participated.

Over the course of the programme Latin was delivered to over 4,000 pupils in over 40 schools across England, with an emphasis on schools outside London and the South East. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources and we hope that many schools will continue to deliver Latin after the programme ends.

The department will work closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme on 28 February.

The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision has been made to not extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the agreed initial three-year contract, which will end on 28 February 2025. This was not an easy decision, and we are grateful to the Centre for Latin Excellence for its work to deliver the programme and that of the schools who have participated.

Over the course of the programme Latin was delivered to over 4,000 pupils in over 40 schools across England, with an emphasis on schools outside London and the South East. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources and we hope that many schools will continue to deliver Latin after the programme ends.

The department will work closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme on 28 February.

The department does not hold this information for private schools. However, data from the 2024 Independent Schools Council (ISC) shows that there are 62,708 non-British pupils at ISC schools. There are 1,411 ISC schools, which make up roughly half of all private schools in England. This research can be found here: https://www.isc.co.uk/research/annual-census/.

The government is working to carefully consider the impact of charging VAT on private schools’ fees. Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget.

The transition to non-cage egg production has been accelerated in recent years by the major supermarkets pledging to stop selling shell eggs from hens kept in colony cages by 2025, and some supermarkets have extended this to products containing liquid or powdered eggs.

We remain firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The use of cages for laying hens is an issue which we are currently considering very carefully.

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad.

We are engaging stakeholders including the tourism industry and animal welfare groups on the most effective way to deliver the Act and will be setting out next steps in due course.

In addition, we are committed to introducing ambitious plans to improve animal welfare, including bans on trail hunting, puppy smuggling and farming, and snare traps.

This Government has been clear that we will change existing policies to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten bees and other vital pollinators before the next General Election. This includes thiamethoxam.

This Government has been clear that we will change existing policies to ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten bees and other vital pollinators by the next General Election. This is because there is clear and abundant evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to species other than those they are intended to control, and particularly pollinators, including bees.

A decision on the emergency authorisation application from British Sugar and the National Farmers’ Union to use the neonicotinoid Cruiser SB, which contains thiamethoxam, on sugar beet in 2025 will be taken in line with legal requirements. The Secretary of State will take full account of the available evidence and expert advice, and a decision will be made in due course.

At the time of writing, Defra has received a significant number of representations on this issue, reflecting the strength of interest from a range of interested organisations and members of the public.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation and will bring forward plans in due course. The Government is considering available evidence around the use of electronic collars and their effects on the welfare of animals.

Under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018, anyone breeding and selling cats as pets needs a valid licence from their local authority. Licensees must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse or revoke licences.

Local authorities are charged with enforcing the 2018 Regulations and may retain records of enforcement activity relating to illegal cat breeding. Information about local authority enforcement activity is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to carry on a licensable activity without a licence. Upon conviction, an offender faces 6 month's imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both. Section 30 of the Animal Welfare Act allows for local authorities to prosecute for any offences under that Act.

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of a future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. Future decisions on the next steps will be evidence-based and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. We are considering the most effective ways to deliver these commitments and will be setting out next steps in due course.