Kate Dearden

The full-time equivalent (FTE) of support staff has increased each year since 2019/20, reaching 510,400 in 2023/24, and has now passed the previous peak of 2015/16. This is an increase of 4,800 (0.9%) since last year. This increase is mainly due to an increase of 2,400 in other support staff.

Support staff are categorised into posts of teaching assistants, administrative staff, auxiliary staff, technicians and other supporting staff, plus two new posts of school business professional and leadership non-teacher that were reported for the first time in 2023/24.

School business professionals include roles such as bursar, business manager, finance officer, office manager, premises manager or ICT network manager. The national figures of all FTE support staff from the 2019/20 to 2023/24 academic years are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/7b0a17e8-b3ff-403e-687f-08dca70c1109.

The figures of all FTE support staff in the Halifax constituency from the 2019/20 to 2023/24 academic years are included in the table below:

School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and development.

The department will value and recognise the professionalism of the entire school workforce and address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body.

The body will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training and progression routes. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education.

Data on children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools (GIAS) database portal. This portal can be found here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on information supplied by Calderdale local authority, no centres have closed in Halifax constituency since May 2010. The list of children’s centres closed since May 2010 is based on information supplied by Calderdale local authority as of 18 July 2024. These figures could change again in future since local authorities may update the database at any time.

The most recent data available is from February 2024. As of that date, there are 15 open dentistry practices in Halifax constituency. Of these practices, 13 carry out a mixture of National Health Service and private work, and two seeing only private patients. There is no data available for 2010.

Pharmacies play a vital role in our healthcare system. We are committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and to better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including by cutting red tape. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists.

We are currently consulting with Community Pharmacy England on the national funding and contractual framework arrangements for 2024/25.

Data provided by NHS England Digital shows that in May 2014, the earliest year from which data is available, there were 14 open general practices (GPs) in the Halifax constituency, and as of May 2024 there are nine open GPs in the constituency. The data only includes main practices, and does not include branch practices.

GPs close for a variety of reasons, including mergers or retirement, so this does not necessarily indicate a reduction in the quality of care. When a GP does close, patients are informed of the closure and advised to register at another local practice of their choice, within their area.

The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police station closures and has not collected this data previously.

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission to take back our streets.

​We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, such as Halifax and in West Yorkshire, so that residents have a named officer they can turn to when things go wrong.

​We will crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers via a Crime and Policing Bill, including a new Respect Order to tackle repeat offending.

The Home Office is providing £66.3m funding this financial year (2024/25) to police forces in England and Wales for hotspot policing to tackle anti-social behaviour and serious violence. West Yorkshire police have been allocated £2,476,420 of this funding.