Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to the public purse was of funding state schools in St Helens North constituency in (a) 2024 and (b) 2010.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department cannot provide comparable funding for St Helens North constituency back to 2010, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. Therefore, the scope of the funding in 2010 and 2024 are not directly comparable. In particular, in 2018/19 the central services provided by local authorities were split out from the schools block funding, and instead became funded separately through the central school services block from that year onwards.
The schools national funding formula (NFF) determines schools’ core revenue funding, in respect of 5 to 16 year olds, for all mainstream schools in England. Constituency figures are based on an aggregate of schools’ notional NFF allocations. In 2024/25, the schools in St Helens North constituency received an aggregated total of £86.5 million through the NFF. The allocations that schools within a constituency actually receive are determined by the local funding formula in their area.
The above figure is for mainstream schools only. The department does not hold constituency level funding data for special schools.
In addition to this core revenue funding, schools also receive funding through a number of separate streams, including pupil premium, Universal Infant Free School Meals funding, PE and sport premium funding, and the recovery premium, and the National Tutoring Programme to support education recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The department also has a capital budget, which funds a range of programmes for schools, such as the Schools Rebuilding Programme. Additionally, schools will receive funding for 16 to 19 year olds, or for children in school nursery provision, if applicable.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) Brsk, (b) Openreach and (c) other broadband providers use existing infrastructure wherever possible when installing new broadband provision.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We fully understand people’s concerns about the excessive deployment of telegraph poles, and are urgently considering options to address this.
Obviously, telegraph poles can play an important role in delivering connectivity to communities and competition between providers can offer consumers greater choice and cheaper rates, but it is vital that operators share infrastructure wherever possible in the interests of local communities.
The law already provides for this. The Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 require operators to share infrastructure where practicable, and the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 made it easier for operators to upgrade and share existing apparatus.
In addition, providers can also use the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016 (“the ATI regulations”), which are designed to facilitate sharing for physical infrastructure.
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of children living in poverty in St Helens North constituency in (a) 2024 and (b) 2010.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statistics on the number of Children living in absolute and relative poverty per constituency are published annually in the “Children in low income families: local area statistics” publication and can be found in tabs “6_Absolute_ParlC” and “5_Relative_ParlC” at Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest statistics published on 21 March 2024 cover the years 2014/15 to 2022/23. Figures are not available prior to 2014/15 and are produced on a before housing costs basis only.