Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of children in (a) primary and (b) post-primary schools in (i) St Helens, (ii) Merseyside, (iii) the North West and (iv) England and Wales that play musical instruments.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s music hub programme, which has been in place in England since 2012/13, is intended to ensure all children have access to a high-quality music education, including learning to play musical instruments and having the opportunity to play and sing in ensembles.
A breakdown of core funding allocations for the areas requested is provided in the tables below.
| 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
St Helens Music Hub | £152,637 | £196,771 | £198,850 | £258,548 |
Merseyside (excluding Wirral) | £1,155,039 | £1,409,227 | £1,186,226 | £1,534,658 |
North West | £7,160,329 | £8,970,650 | £8,069,841 | £10,402,339 |
England | £50,014,480 | £62,628,293 | £58,187,226 | £75,000,000 |
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
St Helens Music Hub | £255,889 | £252,312 | £254,068 | £255,072 |
Merseyside (excluding Wirral) | £1,520,913 | £1,510,038 | £1,517,280 | £1,526,954 |
North West | £10,405,255 | £10,395,497 | £10,474,949 | £10,560,167 |
England | £75,000,000 | £75,000,000 | £75,490,000 | £75,840,004 |
The information requested is not held centrally regarding the total number or proportion of children who learn to play musical instruments at school. However, music is compulsory in the national curriculum for 5-14 year old pupils, and the national curriculum programmes of study say that children should have the opportunity to learn an instrument in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.
The music education hubs do record the number of pupils receiving individual or group lessons through the hub lead organisation or hub partners. Figures for the areas requested, based on the Department’s latest published music education hub data report in 2016/17 and broken down by level of study rather than age group, are included below.
| Entry | Foundation | Intermediate | Advanced | Total |
St Helens Music Hub | 3,154 | 881 | 122 | 55 | 4,212 |
Merseyside (excl. Wirral) | 28,143 | 3,892 | 816 | 337 | 33,188 |
North West | 118,537 | 26,958 | 3,933 | 1,407 | 150,835 |
England | 885,798 | 210,898 | 43,882 | 19,840 | 1,160,108 |
The music hubs programme is only funded by the Department for Education in England. The figures provided for Merseyside do not include the Wirral because the area is covered by the Musical Routes Hub, which also covers Cheshire West and Chester.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated from the public purse to Music Education Hubs in local authority areas in (a) Merseyside, (b) the North West and (c) England and Wales since 2011.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government’s music hub programme, which has been in place in England since 2012/13, is intended to ensure all children have access to a high-quality music education, including learning to play musical instruments and having the opportunity to play and sing in ensembles.
A breakdown of core funding allocations for the areas requested is provided in the tables below.
| 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
St Helens Music Hub | £152,637 | £196,771 | £198,850 | £258,548 |
Merseyside (excluding Wirral) | £1,155,039 | £1,409,227 | £1,186,226 | £1,534,658 |
North West | £7,160,329 | £8,970,650 | £8,069,841 | £10,402,339 |
England | £50,014,480 | £62,628,293 | £58,187,226 | £75,000,000 |
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
St Helens Music Hub | £255,889 | £252,312 | £254,068 | £255,072 |
Merseyside (excluding Wirral) | £1,520,913 | £1,510,038 | £1,517,280 | £1,526,954 |
North West | £10,405,255 | £10,395,497 | £10,474,949 | £10,560,167 |
England | £75,000,000 | £75,000,000 | £75,490,000 | £75,840,004 |
The information requested is not held centrally regarding the total number or proportion of children who learn to play musical instruments at school. However, music is compulsory in the national curriculum for 5-14 year old pupils, and the national curriculum programmes of study say that children should have the opportunity to learn an instrument in Key Stages 1, 2 and 3.
The music education hubs do record the number of pupils receiving individual or group lessons through the hub lead organisation or hub partners. Figures for the areas requested, based on the Department’s latest published music education hub data report in 2016/17 and broken down by level of study rather than age group, are included below.
| Entry | Foundation | Intermediate | Advanced | Total |
St Helens Music Hub | 3,154 | 881 | 122 | 55 | 4,212 |
Merseyside (excl. Wirral) | 28,143 | 3,892 | 816 | 337 | 33,188 |
North West | 118,537 | 26,958 | 3,933 | 1,407 | 150,835 |
England | 885,798 | 210,898 | 43,882 | 19,840 | 1,160,108 |
The music hubs programme is only funded by the Department for Education in England. The figures provided for Merseyside do not include the Wirral because the area is covered by the Musical Routes Hub, which also covers Cheshire West and Chester.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has been made of the effect of the funding allocated to children’s services between 2010-11 and 2017-18 on the number of (a) referrals to children’s services; (b) re-referrals within 12 months, (c) children in need, (d) child protection enquiries, (e) child protection plans and (f) looked after children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local Authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education is working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at local government finance settlements.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in funding available for children’s services in St Helens borough on the number of (a) referrals to children’s services, (b) re-referrals within 12 months, (c) children in need, (d) child protection enquiries, (e) child protection plans, (f) looked after children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local Authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education is working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at local government finance settlements.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the financial sustainability of the children’s services department in the local authority of St Helens.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Funding for children’s services is made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS), which gives local authorities flexibility to target spending according to local needs and to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including services for children and families. Since 2010, the responsibilities of local authorities and the makeup of their funding streams have changed significantly. Therefore, wider spending power measures are not directly comparable over this period.
Over the 5 year period to 2019-20, councils have access, through the LGFS, to over £200 billion to deliver local services, including children’s services. Core spending power has increased from £45.1 billion in 2018-19 to £46.4 billion in 2019-20.
In addition to this the Autumn Budget announced a further £410 million in 2019-20 for local authorities to invest in adult and children’s social care services. It also announced £84 million of extra funding, over the next 5 years, to support local authorities to invest in initiatives that improve social work practice and decision making.
Local Authority level data since 2013 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait.
National level children in need and service use since 2010 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-children-in-need and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.
The most common factors recorded in children’s social care assessments are domestic abuse and mental health. These have been consistently the top two factors for the years during which we have collected this data and have risen in line with trends in demand.
The Department for Education is working closely with Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government on the review of relative needs and resources to develop a robust, up-to-date approach to funding distribution for children's services at local government finance settlements.
The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2018 to Question 153188, whether reciprocal rights to study will include (a) third level education and (b) schooling; and whether those rights will cover cross-border provision across the Irish land border.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Under the Common Travel Area arrangements, British and Irish citizens have the right to access all levels of education in either state on terms no less favourable than those available to the citizens of that state. Both the UK and Irish governments have committed to taking steps to ensure that this continues after the UK leaves the EU.
These rights will continue to cover cross-border provision across the Irish land border.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many qualified teachers left the state-funded sector in (a) St Helens and (b) the North West in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the number of entrants and leavers, plus leavers rates for qualified teachers in all state funded schools in England for the years up to November 2017 is available in Table 7a (entrants) and Table 7b (leavers) of the publication, ‘School Workforce in England’, November 2017 available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.
The Government recognises that there are differences on teacher recruitment and retention at a sub-national level and the Department has been doing more work to understand this. Information at local authority or regional level comparable to the national figures for 2016 and 2017 is not yet available. However, information is available on the number of qualified teachers entering and leaving the profession by region for the years 2010 to 2015. It is published as part of the statistical release, Local analysis of Teacher Workforce: 2010 to 2015. Tables 2.1a (secondary) and 2.1b (primary) show the wastage rates, by region in state funded schools for the years 2011 to 2015. Information for entrants is shown in Table 2.3a (secondary) and Table 2.3b (primary) of this publication. Comparable information at local authority level is not available. This publication can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-analysis-of-teacher-workforce-2010-to-2015.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many qualified teachers joined the state-funded sector in (a) St Helens and (b) the North West in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the number of entrants and leavers, plus leavers rates for qualified teachers in all state funded schools in England for the years up to November 2017 is available in Table 7a (entrants) and Table 7b (leavers) of the publication, ‘School Workforce in England’, November 2017 available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.
The Government recognises that there are differences on teacher recruitment and retention at a sub-national level and the Department has been doing more work to understand this. Information at local authority or regional level comparable to the national figures for 2016 and 2017 is not yet available. However, information is available on the number of qualified teachers entering and leaving the profession by region for the years 2010 to 2015. It is published as part of the statistical release, Local analysis of Teacher Workforce: 2010 to 2015. Tables 2.1a (secondary) and 2.1b (primary) show the wastage rates, by region in state funded schools for the years 2011 to 2015. Information for entrants is shown in Table 2.3a (secondary) and Table 2.3b (primary) of this publication. Comparable information at local authority level is not available. This publication can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-analysis-of-teacher-workforce-2010-to-2015.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the wastage rate was of qualified teachers in the state-funded sector in (a) St Helens and (b) the North West in each year since 2010.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information on the number of entrants and leavers, plus leavers rates for qualified teachers in all state funded schools in England for the years up to November 2017 is available in Table 7a (entrants) and Table 7b (leavers) of the publication, ‘School Workforce in England’, November 2017 available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2017.
The Government recognises that there are differences on teacher recruitment and retention at a sub-national level and the Department has been doing more work to understand this. Information at local authority or regional level comparable to the national figures for 2016 and 2017 is not yet available. However, information is available on the number of qualified teachers entering and leaving the profession by region for the years 2010 to 2015. It is published as part of the statistical release, Local analysis of Teacher Workforce: 2010 to 2015. Tables 2.1a (secondary) and 2.1b (primary) show the wastage rates, by region in state funded schools for the years 2011 to 2015. Information for entrants is shown in Table 2.3a (secondary) and Table 2.3b (primary) of this publication. Comparable information at local authority level is not available. This publication can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-analysis-of-teacher-workforce-2010-to-2015.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on the admissions criteria adopted by Catholic state-funded schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department does not have a separate policy on Catholic state-funded school admissions. All state funded schools are required to comply with the provisions of the School Admissions Code which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-admissions-code--2, and the law on admissions (Part III of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998). The Equality Act 2010 permits schools that are designated with a religious character to prioritise faith applicants in their admission policies.