Lord Jamieson

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role.

Cabinet Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not received any representations on this matter from the Government of China or its representatives. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is the lead department on planning matters, and the final decision rests with its Secretary of State.

The government anticipates that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of the proposed VAT changes affecting private schools represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector. Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that it will represent an increase of less than 1%. HM Treasury will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note at the Budget on 30 October, which will set out its assessment. These small pressures will be considered as part of business as usual capital allocations.

Ensuring schools have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

The department has allocated £1.8 billion in capital funding to improve the condition of school buildings for the 2024/25 financial year. This funding, which includes school condition allocations and the budget for the condition improvement fund programme, was based on a methodology that takes account of data on condition, location and pupil numbers weighted by phase of education. Pupil number data was taken from the spring 2023 census and the 2022/23 Individualised Learner Record. Details of the methodology are published on GOV.UK.

The department provides capital funding through the basic need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data from the annual school capacity survey. Over £700 million of allocations have been confirmed to support local authorities to create school places needed in September 2025 and September 2026.

£850 million has also been allocated to local authorities for 2024/25 to support them to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities, or who require alternative provision. This funding was allocated using data from the school census, the Special Educational Needs survey (SEN2) and the school capacity survey (SCAP23).

School revenue funding for the 2024/25 financial year has already been allocated using pupil numbers recorded in the October census 2023. The department is also providing almost £1.1 billion through the new core schools budget grant (CSBG) to support schools with their overall costs. CSBG allocations for the 2024/25 financial year (September 2024 to March 2025) have also been calculated by reference to the October census 2023.

The department’s expenditure limits for 2025/26 will be agreed at the Budget on 30 October. This will also confirm budgets for 2024/25. This includes the 2025/26 core schools’ budget and school capital budgets.

We continue to work on the details of the timetable and budget for the new British embassy in Beijing. We have submitted our planning application for the new embassy and as with any project, this would be subject to due consideration by Chinese authorities.

The planning application has been called in by the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and she will make this decision independent from the rest of Government corresponding to her quasi-judicial role. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials speak regularly with the Chinese Government about a range of issues.

No contract held by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government explicitly provides for cost increases as a result of changes to National Insurance contribution rates as these are classed as General Change in Law. Where the contract allows for rates to be reviewed, any request by a supplier to do so would be considered by MHCLG on a case-by-case basis.

The government intends to consult shortly on draft amended Energy National Policy Statements (NPSs) ENs-1, 3 and 5, and the NPS for Ports. These draft amended NPSs will also be laid in Parliament for consideration as prescribed by the Planning Act 2008. Completion of the update processes is subject to the outcome and timings of the consultation and Parliamentary timings.

Consultation on the draft new nuclear NPS EN-7, which will be applicable to nuclear power stations expected to deploy beyond 2025, closed on 3 April. Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft NPS is expected to be completed by 23 June. Depending on the completion and outcome of these processes, the Government aims to designate this new NPS before the end of the year.

Further to this, we are introducing legislation through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to make at least five-yearly reviews of all NPSs a legal requirement. This would include a transitional period in which NPSs that are currently out of date (i.e. more than 5 years old at the time of Royal Assent) will have 2 years from the bill being enacted to update their NPSs in line with the legislation.

Pursuant to previous debate [Column 569 Volume 844] where this issue was raised, the Government was elected on a manifesto promising to give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections, strengthening our democracy and increasing the engagement of young people. This commitment does not extend to lowering the age at which an individual can hold elected office. The Government has no plans to change the candidacy age for any elections. We are therefore rightly focusing our efforts on delivering our manifesto commitment.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given to Question UIN 27566 on 7 February 2025.

The Government has moved away from individual negotiated deals to a consistent devolution offer for new areas and to existing Mayors and combined authorities, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper. Discussions on new devolution agreements or unlocking further powers for existing combined authorities are led by the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution on behalf of the Government. There is no role for the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff in these negotiations.

New devolution agreements must be supported by all the proposed constituent councils and can only go ahead if the Secretary of State is satisfied that the statutory tests have been met to proceed with the necessary secondary legislation to establish the strategic authority.