Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of additional teachers employed in state schools in Worcestershire since the addition of VAT on independent school fees was enacted.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Reforms to VAT and business rates will raise around £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30, helping to deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, including the £1.7 billion increase to the core schools budget in 2026/27, taking total funding to £67 billion. This increase will support schools to recruit the staff they need, including in Worcestershire.

The department is investing further to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers and ensure sufficient high-quality teachers in all schools. These include teacher training bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free and a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 for early career teachers in disadvantaged areas. 19 schools in the Worcestershire local authority area are eligible for the TRI.

We are making good progress with the workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. In Worcestershire local authority area, the number of secondary and special school teachers has grown to 4,797, the highest on record for this area.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of additional teachers funded in Worcestershire with the proceeds from VAT on school fees.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Reforms to VAT and business rates will raise around £1.8 billion a year by 2029/30, helping to deliver the government’s commitments relating to education and young people. This measure will raise essential revenue that will be invested in our public services, including the £1.7 billion increase to the core schools budget in 2026/27, taking total funding to £67 billion. This increase will support schools to recruit the staff they need, including in Worcestershire.

The department is investing further to deliver on our pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers and ensure sufficient high-quality teachers in all schools. These include teacher training bursaries worth up to £29,000 tax-free and a targeted retention incentive (TRI) worth up to £6,000 for early career teachers in disadvantaged areas. 19 schools in the Worcestershire local authority area are eligible for the TRI.

We are making good progress with the workforce growing by 2,346 full-time equivalent between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, the schools where they are needed most. In Worcestershire local authority area, the number of secondary and special school teachers has grown to 4,797, the highest on record for this area.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the number of income tax payers in tax year ending April 2026 with taxable income of a) between £90,000 and £99,999 b) £100,000-£109,999 and c) £110,000 to £119,999.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC publish the distribution of total income before tax in Table 3.3 of the Personal Incomes Statistics, linked below.

Personal Incomes Statistics for the tax year 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK