First elected: 12th December 2019
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Laura Trott, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Laura Trott has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to make provision about the administration to persons under the age of 18 of botulinum toxin and of other substances for cosmetic purposes; and for connected purposes.
This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2021 and was enacted into law.
Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Richard Holden (Con)
Social Media Platforms (Identity Verification) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Siobhan Baillie (Con)
I refer the Rt Hon Members to the answer given by the then Prime Minister on 7 February 2017, Official Report, PQ 62542.
Following the practice followed by past administrations, the Government does not comment on security matters.
Following the practice followed by past administrations, the government does not comment on security matters.
A timeline of the steps Ofcom is taking to implement the Media Act 2024 can be found on their website at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/Media-Act-Implementation/.
Ofcom’s timeline currently advises that their report concerning the audience protection measures implemented by video-on-demand service providers will be published between July and September 2025.
The Secretary of State has made no assessment of the adequacy of British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) age ratings on streaming services. Following implementation of the Media Act 2024, the independent regulator Ofcom is currently undertaking a review of the audience protection measures in use on on-demand programme services. This includes age ratings.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer took difficult decisions in order to restore economic and fiscal stability, which included increasing Employer National Insurance Contributions from April 2025. Working people’s living standards were protected by raising the National Living Wage, keeping bus fares down, and not increasing income tax, employee national insurance or VAT.
Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school transport and deliver this through both in-house services and a range of external providers, as such the department holds no central assessment of Employer National Insurance Contributions. Departmental officials engage regularly with local authorities to understand the challenges they face across the services they deliver.
The most recent application window for the Trust Capacity Fund opened on 1 March 2024 and closed on 25 June 2024. A total of 190 applications were received from 174 establishments, mainly trusts.
This government is clear it wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. That is why we have set out a clear ambition to improve inclusivity in mainstream schools, while ensuring that special schools cater for those with the most complex needs.
The window for trusts to apply to run these schools closed on 19 July. The department will provide an update in due course.
High and rising standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure every child has the best life chances.
Trusts have played, and continue to play, an important role in supporting collaboration between schools and spreading best practice in pursuit of high standards. Against a challenging fiscal inheritance the government has had to make difficult choices and ensure that limited funding is best targeted. On 1 November, we announced that we would be ending the academy conversion grant from 1 January 2025.
Voluntary conversion is a choice for schools. The department thinks that the benefits, including financial, of joining a strong structure are well understood in the sector and schools and trusts should continue to make these informed choices.
Additionally, latest published figures show 98% of academy trusts and 87% of local authority maintained schools are in cumulative surplus or breaking even. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and young people with high needs for 2025/26, compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core school funding will total almost £63.9 billion next year, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25, after technical adjustments.
High and rising standards are at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure every child has the best life chances.
Trusts have played, and continue to play, an important role in supporting collaboration between schools and spreading best practice in pursuit of high standards. Against a challenging fiscal inheritance the government has had to make difficult choices and ensure that limited funding is best targeted. On 1 November, we announced that we would be ending the academy conversion grant from 1 January 2025.
Voluntary conversion is a choice for schools. The department thinks that the benefits, including financial, of joining a strong structure are well understood in the sector and schools and trusts should continue to make these informed choices.
Additionally, latest published figures show 98% of academy trusts and 87% of local authority maintained schools are in cumulative surplus or breaking even. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and young people with high needs for 2025/26, compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core school funding will total almost £63.9 billion next year, compared to £61.6 billion in 2024/25, after technical adjustments.
Data collected by the 2024 survey of childcare and early years providers has been used to estimate the average unit costs of delivering childcare per child in a setting. This data can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673b14b8fc572967fe66a92e/Providers__finances_Evidence_from_the_2023_Survey_of_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Providers.pdf.
The department no longer publishes providers’ total costs as differences between providers largely reflect differences in the average number of children that attend them and the average number of hours that they attend for.
There are limitations to the unit cost measure because of some challenges in gathering information from providers on total costs, such as the difficulty in estimating costs shared with other settings for group-based providers that are part of a chain. Furthermore, the number of hours of care provided was estimated. As a result, caution should be applied to the interpretation of the unit cost measures.
On 2 September, the government announced that the use of single headline grades for Ofsted’s school inspection would end with immediate effect, and that a new system of report cards would be launched from September 2025. Single headline grades were overly simplistic, being low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, the largest in Ofsted’s history, evidenced widespread concerns about single headline grades and the need for reform. Ofsted found that single headline grades were supported by only 3 in 10 professionals and 4 in 10 parents. The schools section of the consultation found that only 1 in 8 respondents agreed that the number of good and outstanding providers was reflective of the overall quality of the sector. Therefore, it was right for the government to act quickly and decisively to address this.
The department is currently engaging closely with Ofsted to develop proposals for new reporting arrangements, through a report card system, to capture the performance of schools in a much richer way, and to provide more helpful information to parents and support school improvement. The new reporting system will be accompanied by improved support arrangements through Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams. Proposals for the new arrangements will be subject to public consultation in the new year.
An equalities impact assessment will be carried out as part of the process of reform in the usual way.
On 2 September, the government announced that the use of single headline grades for Ofsted’s school inspection would end with immediate effect, and that a new system of report cards would be launched from September 2025. Single headline grades were overly simplistic, being low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, the largest in Ofsted’s history, evidenced widespread concerns about single headline grades and the need for reform. Ofsted found that single headline grades were supported by only 3 in 10 professionals and 4 in 10 parents. The schools section of the consultation found that only 1 in 8 respondents agreed that the number of good and outstanding providers was reflective of the overall quality of the sector. Therefore, it was right for the government to act quickly and decisively to address this.
The department is currently engaging closely with Ofsted to develop proposals for new reporting arrangements, through a report card system, to capture the performance of schools in a much richer way, and to provide more helpful information to parents and support school improvement. The new reporting system will be accompanied by improved support arrangements through Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams. Proposals for the new arrangements will be subject to public consultation in the new year.
An equalities impact assessment will be carried out as part of the process of reform in the usual way.
On 2 September, the government announced that the use of single headline grades for Ofsted’s school inspection would end with immediate effect, and that a new system of report cards would be launched from September 2025. Single headline grades were overly simplistic, being low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, the largest in Ofsted’s history, evidenced widespread concerns about single headline grades and the need for reform. Ofsted found that single headline grades were supported by only 3 in 10 professionals and 4 in 10 parents. The schools section of the consultation found that only 1 in 8 respondents agreed that the number of good and outstanding providers was reflective of the overall quality of the sector. Therefore, it was right for the government to act quickly and decisively to address this.
The department is currently engaging closely with Ofsted to develop proposals for new reporting arrangements, through a report card system, to capture the performance of schools in a much richer way, and to provide more helpful information to parents and support school improvement. The new reporting system will be accompanied by improved support arrangements through Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams. Proposals for the new arrangements will be subject to public consultation in the new year.
An equalities impact assessment will be carried out as part of the process of reform in the usual way.
Depriving a child of their liberty must always be a last resort in order to keep the child safe. A growing number of children in England and Wales, often with complex behavioural needs, are being deprived of their liberty through Deprivation of Liberty Orders (DOLOs) under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court, due to a lack of suitable registered placements.
The department would like to see fewer children given DOLOs and an improved quality of provision for these children. As set out in the department’s recent policy statement, ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, we want to see new forms of provision to address the rising need for suitable, registered homes capable of depriving a child of their liberty. This provision needs to be able to respond flexibly to children’s changing and fluctuating needs, as well as provide the crucial therapeutic care and, when necessary, restriction.
The department intends, when Parliamentary time allows, to amend primary legislation to provide a statutory framework for local authorities seeking to place children in such new forms of accommodation, rather than relying on a DOLO. This new legislation will ensure that, where a secure children’s home cannot meet a child’s needs, there are clear criteria for when children may need to be deprived of liberty and mandatory review points to ensure that no child is deprived of liberty for longer than is required to keep them safe, while in high quality, registered provision.
This is part of a wider programme of work to improve outcomes for children with complex needs. This includes a programme of capital investment to support local authorities to maintain existing capacity and expand provision in both open and secure children’s homes, including for children with complex needs. This also includes the creation of 350 additional open children’s homes placements by March 2025. The recent Autumn Budget 2024 announced £90 million for the 2025/26 financial year which includes a multi-million pound package of match funding to support local authorities to build additional open children’s home placements. This will provide high quality, safe homes for some of our most vulnerable children and young people.
We have also recently commissioned independent research to understand the existing system and how we can achieve better outcomes for children who are, or are at risk of, being deprived of liberty. We aim to publish this in summer 2025. This will build on the insights gained from the research commissioned by the department from the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘Children with complex needs who are deprived of liberty’ report, published on 18 November, which interviewed children with complex needs who are deprived of liberty, their parents and the professionals who support them.
The department published ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’ on 18 November, setting out our vision for reform to children’s social care. Our legislative proposals will keep families together and children safe, remove barriers to opportunity for children in care and care leavers, make the care system child-centred, and tackle profiteering.
To deliver reform across children’s social care, the department announced £44 million for 2025/26 at the Autumn Budget 2024 to support children in kinship and foster care, and £90 million to provide safe and suitable homes for some of the most vulnerable children and young people.
The government has confirmed its commitment to further reforms to children’s social care in future spending reviews, to make sure every child, irrespective of background, has the best start in life.
On 2 September, the government announced that the use of single headline grades for Ofsted’s school inspection would end with immediate effect, and that a new system of report cards would be launched from September 2025. Single headline grades were overly simplistic, being low information for parents and high stakes for schools.
Ofsted’s Big Listen consultation, the largest in Ofsted’s history, evidenced widespread concerns about single headline grades and the need for reform. Ofsted found that single headline grades were supported by only 3 in 10 professionals and 4 in 10 parents. The schools section of the consultation found that only 1 in 8 respondents agreed that the number of good and outstanding providers was reflective of the overall quality of the sector. Therefore, it was right for the government to act quickly and decisively to address this.
The department is currently engaging closely with Ofsted to develop proposals for new reporting arrangements, through a report card system, to capture the performance of schools in a much richer way, and to provide more helpful information to parents and support school improvement. The new reporting system will be accompanied by improved support arrangements through Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams. Proposals for the new arrangements will be subject to public consultation in the new year.
An equalities impact assessment will be carried out as part of the process of reform in the usual way.
As at 31 March 2024, there were 83,630 looked after children, which was similar to the previous year. The government has announced the following measures to ensure there are more of the right placements to meet the needs of looked after children:
Building on this investment in kinship, fostering and children’s homes, this government will go further to reform the children's social care system by helping children to stay with their families where possible, fixing the broken care market, and investing in key enablers which underpin the system.
As the suite of reforms are developed, we will assess the impact for children, the social care system (including care places and workforce pressures) and the value for money of our reforms. Impact assessments will be published at the point of introducing proposals, subject to parliamentary procedure and time.
The level of any future cap on the profits of children’s social care placement providers would depend on a number of factors, including market conditions at the point it was introduced. Before introducing any such cap we would consult fully, including with providers and local authorities.
On the quality of children’s homes and inspection, the department is working hard to improve the quality of this provision through numerous avenues. We will seek to strengthen Ofsted’s powers to hold provider group owners of children’s homes and other children’s social care provision to account where there are quality issues across several settings owned by a group. This will help to resolve issues quickly and ensure the quality of children’s placements.
The department is also working closely with Ofsted as they revise both their Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) and Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services framework in response to the Big Listen. We welcome their focus on ensuring that inspections are a constructive force in the sector that champion good practice, empower leaders and also that the progress and experiences of children are at the heart of inspection.
Additionally, the department is working with Social Work England to scope and develop options for establishing professional registration for children’s homes managers and staff. This has the potential to raise the status and profile of working in the sector and improve the quality of provision by providing greater oversight of those working in the sector. We are confident that the ongoing work on provider oversight, updates to the SCCIF and development the workforce will result in significant improvements to the quality of children’s homes and inspection processes.
There are no plans to increase the frequency of inspections this year. Children’s homes normally receive a full inspection at least once annually and if leaders and managers have shown that they can consistently deliver services for children well, it may be appropriate to return less often or do a more proportionate inspection. However, Ofsted always takes into account the risk to children of not inspecting as frequently.
As at 31 March 2024, there were 83,630 looked after children, which was similar to the previous year. The government has announced the following measures to ensure there are more of the right placements to meet the needs of looked after children:
Building on this investment in kinship, fostering and children’s homes, this government will go further to reform the children's social care system by helping children to stay with their families where possible, fixing the broken care market, and investing in key enablers which underpin the system.
As the suite of reforms are developed, we will assess the impact for children, the social care system (including care places and workforce pressures) and the value for money of our reforms. Impact assessments will be published at the point of introducing proposals, subject to parliamentary procedure and time.
The level of any future cap on the profits of children’s social care placement providers would depend on a number of factors, including market conditions at the point it was introduced. Before introducing any such cap we would consult fully, including with providers and local authorities.
On the quality of children’s homes and inspection, the department is working hard to improve the quality of this provision through numerous avenues. We will seek to strengthen Ofsted’s powers to hold provider group owners of children’s homes and other children’s social care provision to account where there are quality issues across several settings owned by a group. This will help to resolve issues quickly and ensure the quality of children’s placements.
The department is also working closely with Ofsted as they revise both their Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) and Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services framework in response to the Big Listen. We welcome their focus on ensuring that inspections are a constructive force in the sector that champion good practice, empower leaders and also that the progress and experiences of children are at the heart of inspection.
Additionally, the department is working with Social Work England to scope and develop options for establishing professional registration for children’s homes managers and staff. This has the potential to raise the status and profile of working in the sector and improve the quality of provision by providing greater oversight of those working in the sector. We are confident that the ongoing work on provider oversight, updates to the SCCIF and development the workforce will result in significant improvements to the quality of children’s homes and inspection processes.
There are no plans to increase the frequency of inspections this year. Children’s homes normally receive a full inspection at least once annually and if leaders and managers have shown that they can consistently deliver services for children well, it may be appropriate to return less often or do a more proportionate inspection. However, Ofsted always takes into account the risk to children of not inspecting as frequently.
As at 31 March 2024, there were 83,630 looked after children, which was similar to the previous year. The government has announced the following measures to ensure there are more of the right placements to meet the needs of looked after children:
Building on this investment in kinship, fostering and children’s homes, this government will go further to reform the children's social care system by helping children to stay with their families where possible, fixing the broken care market, and investing in key enablers which underpin the system.
As the suite of reforms are developed, we will assess the impact for children, the social care system (including care places and workforce pressures) and the value for money of our reforms. Impact assessments will be published at the point of introducing proposals, subject to parliamentary procedure and time.
The level of any future cap on the profits of children’s social care placement providers would depend on a number of factors, including market conditions at the point it was introduced. Before introducing any such cap we would consult fully, including with providers and local authorities.
On the quality of children’s homes and inspection, the department is working hard to improve the quality of this provision through numerous avenues. We will seek to strengthen Ofsted’s powers to hold provider group owners of children’s homes and other children’s social care provision to account where there are quality issues across several settings owned by a group. This will help to resolve issues quickly and ensure the quality of children’s placements.
The department is also working closely with Ofsted as they revise both their Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) and Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services framework in response to the Big Listen. We welcome their focus on ensuring that inspections are a constructive force in the sector that champion good practice, empower leaders and also that the progress and experiences of children are at the heart of inspection.
Additionally, the department is working with Social Work England to scope and develop options for establishing professional registration for children’s homes managers and staff. This has the potential to raise the status and profile of working in the sector and improve the quality of provision by providing greater oversight of those working in the sector. We are confident that the ongoing work on provider oversight, updates to the SCCIF and development the workforce will result in significant improvements to the quality of children’s homes and inspection processes.
There are no plans to increase the frequency of inspections this year. Children’s homes normally receive a full inspection at least once annually and if leaders and managers have shown that they can consistently deliver services for children well, it may be appropriate to return less often or do a more proportionate inspection. However, Ofsted always takes into account the risk to children of not inspecting as frequently.
As at 31 March 2024, there were 83,630 looked after children, which was similar to the previous year. The government has announced the following measures to ensure there are more of the right placements to meet the needs of looked after children:
Building on this investment in kinship, fostering and children’s homes, this government will go further to reform the children's social care system by helping children to stay with their families where possible, fixing the broken care market, and investing in key enablers which underpin the system.
As the suite of reforms are developed, we will assess the impact for children, the social care system (including care places and workforce pressures) and the value for money of our reforms. Impact assessments will be published at the point of introducing proposals, subject to parliamentary procedure and time.
The level of any future cap on the profits of children’s social care placement providers would depend on a number of factors, including market conditions at the point it was introduced. Before introducing any such cap we would consult fully, including with providers and local authorities.
On the quality of children’s homes and inspection, the department is working hard to improve the quality of this provision through numerous avenues. We will seek to strengthen Ofsted’s powers to hold provider group owners of children’s homes and other children’s social care provision to account where there are quality issues across several settings owned by a group. This will help to resolve issues quickly and ensure the quality of children’s placements.
The department is also working closely with Ofsted as they revise both their Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) and Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services framework in response to the Big Listen. We welcome their focus on ensuring that inspections are a constructive force in the sector that champion good practice, empower leaders and also that the progress and experiences of children are at the heart of inspection.
Additionally, the department is working with Social Work England to scope and develop options for establishing professional registration for children’s homes managers and staff. This has the potential to raise the status and profile of working in the sector and improve the quality of provision by providing greater oversight of those working in the sector. We are confident that the ongoing work on provider oversight, updates to the SCCIF and development the workforce will result in significant improvements to the quality of children’s homes and inspection processes.
There are no plans to increase the frequency of inspections this year. Children’s homes normally receive a full inspection at least once annually and if leaders and managers have shown that they can consistently deliver services for children well, it may be appropriate to return less often or do a more proportionate inspection. However, Ofsted always takes into account the risk to children of not inspecting as frequently.
The department knows that using mobile phones in schools can lead to online bullying, distraction and classroom disruption, which can, in turn, lead to lost learning time.
Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including outlining the items that are banned from school premises. Additionally, the government’s non-statutory guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Headteachers are responsible for the implementation of such guidance within their schools.
The requested information for each region and local authority is attached.
Information on the number of all education, health and care (EHC) plans, and their named school is not readily available at constituency level.
Information on the number of pupils in schools in England with EHC plans is available at constituency level here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england. The data file titled ‘School level underlying data 2024 (csv, 10 Mb)’ under the section ‘Additional supporting files’ includes the figures at school level, including the school type and parliamentary constituency. As these figures are taken from the January 2024 school census, the parliamentary constituencies are based on pre-election boundaries. Where statistics were published prior to the changes in parliamentary constituency boundaries, they will be updated to reflect the new boundaries in the next publication of statistics. This is expected to be in June 2025 for statistics on schools and pupils, including special educational needs.
I refer the right Hon. member for Sevenoaks to the answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12804.
The department is aware that higher education (HE) providers will have to pay increased National Insurance contributions. As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions. That is why the government has asked employers to contribute more.
The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of the HE sector. The OfS has made its own estimate of the impacts in their update published on 15 November 2024. This update is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/s32lw2vq/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-november-2024-update.pdf.
It is clear that the UK needs to put its world-leading HE sector on a secure footing in order to face the challenges of the next decade and ensure that all students have confidence they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve. In line with this approach, from August 2025, the government will be increasing the maximum cap for tuition fees by 3.1%, in line with forecast inflation.
The government recognises the impact the cost of living crisis has had on students and is also increasing the maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families. The department plans to publish an assessment of impacts of the planned tuition fee and student finance changes shortly.
The department expects the HE sector to demonstrate that, in return for the increased investment that students are being asked to make, they deliver the very best outcomes both for those students and for the country. We are calling for providers to go further and play a stronger role in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students.
The department knows how vital securing a sustainable future for the HE sector is for the success of students. We will set out our longer-term plans for HE reform by next summer.
The department is aware that higher education (HE) providers will have to pay increased National Insurance contributions. As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out in the Autumn Budget 2024, raising the revenue required to fund public services and restore economic stability requires difficult decisions. That is why the government has asked employers to contribute more.
The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of the HE sector. The OfS has made its own estimate of the impacts in their update published on 15 November 2024. This update is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/s32lw2vq/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-november-2024-update.pdf.
It is clear that the UK needs to put its world-leading HE sector on a secure footing in order to face the challenges of the next decade and ensure that all students have confidence they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve. In line with this approach, from August 2025, the government will be increasing the maximum cap for tuition fees by 3.1%, in line with forecast inflation.
The government recognises the impact the cost of living crisis has had on students and is also increasing the maximum loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families. The department plans to publish an assessment of impacts of the planned tuition fee and student finance changes shortly.
The department expects the HE sector to demonstrate that, in return for the increased investment that students are being asked to make, they deliver the very best outcomes both for those students and for the country. We are calling for providers to go further and play a stronger role in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students.
The department knows how vital securing a sustainable future for the HE sector is for the success of students. We will set out our longer-term plans for HE reform by next summer.
I refer the hon. Member for Sevenoaks to the answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 13264.
The timetable for the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review may be found in the terms of reference available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66d196b7d107658faec7e3db/Curriculum_and_assessment_review_-_aims_terms_of_reference_and_working_principles.pdf.
I refer the right hon. Member for Sevenoaks to the answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12804.
The department is reviewing mainstream free school projects, to ensure that they continue to meet localised need for places, offer value for money and are not to the detriment of the other schools in the local area. The review covers mainstream, centrally delivered projects.
Work on special and alternative provision (AP) free schools is continuing. As with all government investment, special and AP free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the special educational needs system.
Fixing the Foundations showed Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) Winter Fuel Payments (WFP) savings of £1.4bn, for 2024/2025, for Great Britain. These included an assumption about increased take-up of Pension Credit which is in line with the highest levels it has achieved historically. Final savings will be certified and published by the Office for Budget Responsibility at the Autumn Budget on the 30th October, taking account of any behavioural response and associated impact on the estimated number of people who will receive Pension Credit in upcoming years.
The Government is currently considering what steps may need to be taken in relation to the safety of the non-surgical cosmetics sector. The Government will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.
The government announced at Autumn Budget that it will commission an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers.
Further details about the review will be set out in due course.
The Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement is managed by the Second Permanent Secretary.
There is no member of HM Treasury staff with the job title Director of Investment.
Within private offices, the Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement is an SCS pay band 2. All other Treasury staff in private offices are at Deputy Director or below and we do not comment on individual roles and appointments at this level.
The Treasury does not comment on individual appointments at Deputy Director level or below.
The below appointments to Senior Civil Service roles at Director level and above have been made since 4 July 2024:
1. Louise Tinsley - Director of Special Advisers & Chancellor Engagement
2. Timothy Power - Director, Business and International Tax
Ian Corfield has resigned as a Senior Civil Servant and been appointed as an unpaid adviser.
Offers of employment are personal information as individuals are not Directors (or above) until they take up a role.
The Treasury does not comment on individual appointments at Deputy Director level.
The below appointments to Senior Civil Service roles at Director level and above have been made since 4 July 2024:
1. Louise Tinsley - Director of Special Advisers & Chancellor Engagement
2. Timothy Power - Director, Business and International Tax
Ian Corfield has resigned as a Senior Civil Servant and been appointed as an unpaid adviser.
Offers of employment are personal information as individuals are not Directors (or above) until they take up a role.
The Treasury does not comment on individual appointments at Deputy Director level.
From 30 May to 5 September 2024, 25 staff were appointed to HM Treasury by exception.
The breakdown of these appointments by grade is as below.
• Student – 16
• AO (Range B) – Fewer than 5
• EO (Range C) – Fewer than 5
• HEO – Fewer than 5
• SEO – Fewer than 5
• G7 (Range E) – Fewer than 5
• G6 (Range E2) – Fewer than 5
• SCS1 – Fewer than 5
• SCS2 – Fewer than 5
• SCS3 - Fewer than 5
Where the number of individuals covered is fewer than five (which could include 0), we consider that to provide an exact figure would constitute the disclosure of personal data.
The ‘Student’ grade is used for staff appointed to short term roles via cross Civil Service internship schemes.
The correct processes were followed in the appointment of the Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement. Louise Tinsley has been a civil servant for 7 years. She had passed a selection board for a role at director level prior to the election being called. A similar Director role had been filled by a civil servant prior to Louise’s appointment. The incumbent has been appointed for an initial period of 6 months.
The Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement does not currently have line management responsibilities.
The correct processes were followed in the appointment of the Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement. Louise Tinsley has been a civil servant for 7 years. She had passed a selection board for a role at director level prior to the election being called. A similar Director role had been filled by a civil servant prior to Louise’s appointment. The incumbent has been appointed for an initial period of 6 months.
The Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement does not currently have line management responsibilities.
The correct processes were followed in the appointment of the Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement. Louise Tinsley has been a civil servant for 7 years. She had passed a selection board for a role at director level prior to the election being called. A similar Director role had been filled by a civil servant prior to Louise’s appointment. The incumbent has been appointed for an initial period of 6 months.
The Director of Special Advisers and Chancellor Engagement does not currently have line management responsibilities.