Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many more teachers are there in England now than on 1 January 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has pledged to recruit 6,500 additional teachers across state-funded secondary and special schools, further education (FE) colleges and school-based FE providers during this Parliament. Progress against this pledge is measured using published workforce statistics and uses the 2023/24 academic year as the baseline. The pledge does not include primary schools, where the pupil population has been declining.
The latest published data, show that there were 3,008 more full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded secondary and special schools in 2025/26 than in 2023/24, and 1,646 more FTE teachers in FE colleges and school-based FE providers in 2024/25 than in 2023/24.
Taken together, this represents an increase of 4,654 FTE teachers compared with the 2023/24 baseline, equivalent to 71.6% of the government's 6,500 additional teachers pledge.
The 2025/26 FE workforce figures are due to be published in December. Progress figures are published annually through the School Workforce in England and further education workforce official statistics, which is available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the net loss of mainstream independent schools since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department monitors the private school sector and publishes data on schools opening and closing through the ‘Get Information about Schools’ service. Between 1 July 2024 and 31 August 2026, 146 private schools closed, of which 114 were mainstream independent schools. This remains within historic norms, as on average, around 75 private schools, including independent special schools, have closed each year over the past 20 years.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many pupils at independent schools which are inspected by Ofsted have places that are fully funded by local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the register of independent schools, there are around 30,000 pupils with identified special educational needs either with or without an education health and care plan attending independent schools inspected by Ofsted, out of a total school population of 9,032,426. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
The matter of fully funded placements in independent schools is governed by contractual agreements between the individual independent schools and the commissioning local authorities. As such, the department does not collect or hold data on the number of places in independent schools that are fully funded by local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total number of pupils with special needs who are being educated at independent schools which are inspected by Ofsted.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the register of independent schools, there are around 30,000 pupils with identified special educational needs either with or without an education health and care plan attending independent schools inspected by Ofsted, out of a total school population of 9,032,426. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
The matter of fully funded placements in independent schools is governed by contractual agreements between the individual independent schools and the commissioning local authorities. As such, the department does not collect or hold data on the number of places in independent schools that are fully funded by local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the independent schools inspected by Ofsted educate children with special needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the register of independent schools, there are around 30,000 pupils with identified special educational needs either with or without an education health and care plan attending independent schools inspected by Ofsted, out of a total school population of 9,032,426. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25.
The matter of fully funded placements in independent schools is governed by contractual agreements between the individual independent schools and the commissioning local authorities. As such, the department does not collect or hold data on the number of places in independent schools that are fully funded by local authorities.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to change the role or functions of the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently no plans to change the role or functions of the Independent Schools Inspectorate.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total sum raised so far by the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, and how many extra teachers have been recruited as a result.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on applying VAT to independent school fees.
The TIIN estimates that, accounting for the spending implications of any pupil movement into the state sector, the policy is expected to raise £1.7 billion per annum by 2029/30.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many international students are currently studying in English universities, and what is the total amount these pupils will pay in tuition fees this academic year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education (HE), including on international student numbers and tuition fee income.
In the 2022/23 academic year there were 630,005 international students studying at English universities and other HE providers, generating a total tuition fee income of £10.1 billion.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they have on the number of international students studying in English universities who attended English independent schools, and what assessment they have made of any potential loss of income for English universities as a result of levying VAT on independent school fees.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does hold some information on the type of school attended by students prior to entering higher education in the UK. However, this is only mandatory for UK domiciled students and is optional for providers to complete for international students. Therefore, the information held by the department is of unreliable quality and Higher Education Statistics Agency publish this information for UK domiciled students only.
HM Treasury will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note that considers the impact of these tax changes at Budget on 30 October.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status.
Answered by Baroness Barran
The government has no plans to make changes to the VAT regime for independent schools. The VAT regime does not treat school fees differently based on whether schools have charitable status or not. All school fees are exempt from VAT.
The government has made no assessment of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status. Other organisations, including EDSK, Baines Cutler Consulting, and Oxford Economics have published their own assessments related to this issue.
It is also worth noting that in practice, VAT on school fees would be passed on to parents. Schools would be required to pay the difference between the VAT they have charged to parents and the VAT they have themselves paid to other businesses.