Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with the Department for Work and Pensions, to increase funding for music tuition for children from low-income families to match increases in the cost of lesson tuition at school music schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
This government is committed to ensuring that high-quality music education is not the preserve of the privileged few.
In the 2026/27 academic year, we will continue to invest £76 million revenue grant funding annually for the Music Hubs network, alongside continuing to invest £25 million capital funding for musical instruments, equipment and technology. The network provides services to schools, including group tuition, one-to-one tuition and instrument loans.
In the 2026/27 academic year, we are increasing means-tested bursary funding by £1.3 million to £37.8m for the Music and Dance Scheme to support around 2,100 high achieving young musicians and dancers to access to specialist performing arts education such as Chetham’s School of Music.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding has been allocated to local authorities to support pupils with special educational needs in the last three years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers left the profession within five years of qualifying in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the vacancy rate for teaching posts and the retention rate for teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The teacher vacancy rate for full and part-time posts in secondary schools decreased to 6 per 1,000 teachers in service in November 2024, the latest figures available, from a peak of 8 per 1,000 teachers in November 2023.
Over two thirds (67.7%) of teachers who qualified in 2019/20 were still teaching five years later in 2024/25.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the vacancy rate is for teaching posts in secondary schools in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the vacancy rate for teaching posts and the retention rate for teachers in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.
The teacher vacancy rate for full and part-time posts in secondary schools decreased to 6 per 1,000 teachers in service in November 2024, the latest figures available, from a peak of 8 per 1,000 teachers in November 2023.
Over two thirds (67.7%) of teachers who qualified in 2019/20 were still teaching five years later in 2024/25.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of financial pressures on universities in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support universities with financial sustainability.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students from disadvantaged backgrounds entered higher education in the most recent academic year.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average level of student debt is for graduates who attended institutions regulated by the Office for Students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of mental health support services for pupils in secondary schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the most recent national rate of persistent pupil absence is in state-funded schools.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.