Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many teachers were employed in state schools in English as of 1 January 2025.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of teachers, is available in the ‘school workforce in England’ statistical publication.

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) teacher numbers in state schools are shown here:

These figures were published on 5 June 2025.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the impact on the welfare of cats arising from the absence of regulations on cat breeding.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Anyone in the business of selling cats and kittens as pets should already have a pet selling licence and must meet strict statutory minimum welfare standards which are enforced by local authorities who have powers to issue, refuse, vary or revoke licences.

Defra officials regularly meet animal welfare stakeholders to discuss the welfare of cats and to further our understanding of the cat breeding sector as set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, what action they are taking to support the Charity Commission in improving the way it handles cases of whistleblowers following the Commission's application to pursue a judicial review of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman being refused.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Charity Commission for England and Wales spent £70,000 on external legal advice and representation in relation to this matter from 2024. In taking the legal action, the Commission was seeking legal clarity on questions of jurisdiction between it and the PHSO which the Commission felt was important to clarify for both the sector it regulates and complainants.

The Commission does not collate information on staff time spent on this matter, so it is not possible to provide an estimate of the total costs to public funds.

The Commission has established procedures for dealing sensitively with disclosures from whistleblowers. In light of the PHSO's reports on the two cases in question, the Commission has already taken steps to further improve how it records its risk assessments and how it communicates with those raising concerns about a charity.

This work is ongoing, supported by additional resources for the Commission allocated in the recent Spending Review. Recognising the growing range of threats facing charities and the corresponding demands upon the Commission, the Government is also working with the Commission to expand its regulatory powers.

A former member of the Court of Appeal, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, has been appointed to lead an independent review of the two cases and specifically to examine the Commission's regulatory decision making in these matters.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much the Charity Commission spent on legal and other professional advice and court representation in pursuing a Judicial Review of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman from 2024 to the Permission Hearing at the High Court in March 2026.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Charity Commission for England and Wales spent £70,000 on external legal advice and representation in relation to this matter from 2024. In taking the legal action, the Commission was seeking legal clarity on questions of jurisdiction between it and the PHSO which the Commission felt was important to clarify for both the sector it regulates and complainants.

The Commission does not collate information on staff time spent on this matter, so it is not possible to provide an estimate of the total costs to public funds.

The Commission has established procedures for dealing sensitively with disclosures from whistleblowers. In light of the PHSO's reports on the two cases in question, the Commission has already taken steps to further improve how it records its risk assessments and how it communicates with those raising concerns about a charity.

This work is ongoing, supported by additional resources for the Commission allocated in the recent Spending Review. Recognising the growing range of threats facing charities and the corresponding demands upon the Commission, the Government is also working with the Commission to expand its regulatory powers.

A former member of the Court of Appeal, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, has been appointed to lead an independent review of the two cases and specifically to examine the Commission's regulatory decision making in these matters.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total costs to public funds were of the decision by the Charity Commission to pursue a judicial review of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman between 2024 and March 2026.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Charity Commission for England and Wales spent £70,000 on external legal advice and representation in relation to this matter from 2024. In taking the legal action, the Commission was seeking legal clarity on questions of jurisdiction between it and the PHSO which the Commission felt was important to clarify for both the sector it regulates and complainants.

The Commission does not collate information on staff time spent on this matter, so it is not possible to provide an estimate of the total costs to public funds.

The Commission has established procedures for dealing sensitively with disclosures from whistleblowers. In light of the PHSO's reports on the two cases in question, the Commission has already taken steps to further improve how it records its risk assessments and how it communicates with those raising concerns about a charity.

This work is ongoing, supported by additional resources for the Commission allocated in the recent Spending Review. Recognising the growing range of threats facing charities and the corresponding demands upon the Commission, the Government is also working with the Commission to expand its regulatory powers.

A former member of the Court of Appeal, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, has been appointed to lead an independent review of the two cases and specifically to examine the Commission's regulatory decision making in these matters.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence from the Get Information About Schools dataset about the closures of independent schools.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

’Get Information About Schools’ is an information base which holds detail of independent schools’ registration and closures as reported. The share of pupils in independent schools has stayed broadly consistent at 6.3%, and more private schools opened than closed in 2025.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria about their laws criminalising homosexuality in light of the growing number of attacks on LGBT+ people.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington

The UK Government is concerned by reports of discrimination against LGBT+ people in Nigeria and laws that criminalise homosexuality. The UK stands for the human rights of all people. No one should face violence, persecution, or exclusion because of who they are, who they love, or how they express themselves. We regularly raise human rights issues with the Government of Nigeria, including through our High Commission in Abuja and in multilateral fora. The UK-Nigeria Strategic Partnership underlines mutual commitments to human rights, and we remain committed to ongoing dialogue with Nigeria on these issues.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of figures in Schools, pupils and their characteristics Academic Year 2025/26, published on 4 June, showing that the decline in pupil numbers at independent schools is three times the level of the overall fall in the pupil population in England; and whether they are considering any policy changes as a result.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The data is in line with expectations given the removal the VAT exemption for private schools and decline in the number of school-age children. HMT have published the attached tax policy impact statement.