Luke Murphy

This government is committed to delivering on our pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state-funded school with primary aged children. We have made early progress towards this, announcing that up to 750 early adopter schools will be delivering these new breakfast clubs by April 2025. We are clear on the impact that breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn and support working parents. Having a healthy breakfast at a club can help children get the energy they need to start the school day so that they are ready to learn.

Information on the school workforce, including the pupil-to-adult and pupil-to-teacher ratios at national, regional, local authority and individual school level, is published in the 'School workforce in England' statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

As of November 2023, which is the latest data available, there were 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England.

The table below provides the pupil-to-adult ratio and the pupil-to-teacher ratio for state-funded secondary schools in Basingstoke constituency and England for the 2010/11 to 2023/24 academic years.

Pupil to adult and pupil to teacher ratios for state-funded secondary schools in Basingstoke constituency and England, by year

2010/11 to 2023/24¹

Source: School Workforce Census.

1. Workforce data as at November and pupil data as at the following January. For instance, 2023/24 relates to November 2023 workforce and January 2024 pupils.

2. There were eight secondary schools in Basingstoke constituency in 2010/11 to 2016/17 and seven in 2017/18 to 2023/24.

3. Pupil to adult ratio includes teachers and support staff (excluding administrative and auxiliary staff).

4. Pupil to teacher ratio includes all teachers.

5. The ratios are calculated using pupil numbers taken from the 'Schools, pupils and their characteristics' publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.

The department cannot provide comparable funding back to 2010 due to the changes in the funding system since that time. The scope of the per pupil funding before and after the 2018/19 financial year are not directly comparable. In particular, funding for the central services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in the 2018/19 financial year, and instead funded separately through the central school services block from that year onwards.

We have therefore provided the links to the published dedicated schools grant (DSG) tables from the 2018/19 to 2024/25 financial years. In these tables we provide average per-pupil funding amounts, split by primary and secondary phase, for each local authority and at national level.

As the DSG is allocated at local authority level, DSG allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies. The individual allocations that schools within Basingstoke constituency receive are determined, each year, by the local funding formula set by Hampshire local authority.

Links to the published DSG tables from the 2018/19 financial year onward are below:

2018/19: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.

2019/20: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2019-to-2020.

2020/21: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2020-to-2021.

2021/22: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2021-to-2022.

2022/23: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2022-to-2023.

2023/24: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2023-to-2024.

2024/25: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussion with Ofwat on the implementation of a national New Appointment and Variations licence for independent water networks. Given the principle of regulatory independence, Ofwat conduct their functions at a distance from government.

The licensing of new appointments and variations of appointment is set out in relevant sections of the Water Industry Act 1991 and Ofwat's published policy and process guidance.

Ofwat is currently considering responses to its recent consultation on using monitoring data to evolve its approach to licensing new appointees. This consultation set out proposed changes to the licensing of new appointments and variations, and highlighted areas where it intends to conduct further work.

In 2023-24, Ofwat had around 6 full time equivalent members of staff working on new appointee and variation licensing applications.

The Secretary of State has not had any discussion with Ofwat on the implementation of a national New Appointment and Variations licence for independent water networks. Given the principle of regulatory independence, Ofwat conduct their functions at a distance from government.

The licensing of new appointments and variations of appointment is set out in relevant sections of the Water Industry Act 1991 and Ofwat's published policy and process guidance.

Ofwat is currently considering responses to its recent consultation on using monitoring data to evolve its approach to licensing new appointees. This consultation set out proposed changes to the licensing of new appointments and variations, and highlighted areas where it intends to conduct further work.

In 2023-24, Ofwat had around 6 full time equivalent members of staff working on new appointee and variation licensing applications.

The data requested is not held centrally.

There is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) either nationally, or for individual organisations or geographies in England. Although the data requested is not held centrally, it may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.

We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.

Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

The Department is currently considering next steps to improve access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments. It is the responsibility of integrated care boards to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including ADHD assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

We are supporting a taskforce that NHS England is establishing to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the National Health Service, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD and to help provide a joined-up approach in response to concerns around rising demand.

Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England will continue to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.

NHS England is working to detect people at risk of kidney disease through the NHS Health Check Programme. The programme, which is available for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 years old, who is not already on a chronic disease register, assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. Using this information, patients are supported to make behavioural changes and access treatment which helps to prevent and detect kidney disease earlier.

NHS England has established the Renal Services Transformation Programme (RSTP), which aims to reduce unwarranted variation in the quality and accessibility of renal care, to improve outcomes and services for those with kidney disease. NHS England, through the RSTP and regional renal networks, is implementing initiatives to provide better, integrated care, to reduce health inequalities, and to focus on prevention and timely intervention for kidney disease.

Working in collaboration with the NHS RightCare Programme and the renal community, the RSTP has developed a renal toolkit to provide integrated care boards, renal clinical networks, and providers with tools, case studies, and principles to support transformation of services at a local level. The toolkit outlines principles to support better management of patients identified with chronic kidney disease (CKD) throughout their patient journey. The RSTP is also working closely with NHS England’s regional renal clinical networks to review this toolkit, and to work with local partners to develop transformation programmes that will focus on early identification and management of kidney disease, and will seek to reduce the number of patients progressing through various stages of CKD, and reduce the number of patients requiring dialysis. By supporting prevention and early intervention, the need for late-stage treatments will be reduced.

Regional renal clinical networks prioritise the prevention and early diagnosis of CKD within their transformation ambitions. This includes considerations to develop a unified approach to testing populations at risk of developing CKD, and includes raising awareness of diagnostic tools like urine albumin creatinine tests, enabling CKD diagnosis at stages 1 and 2. NHS England aims to improve awareness and access to these important urine and blood tests across primary and secondary care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance, Chronic kidney disease: Assessment and management [NG203], updated in November 2021, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of CKD. The guidance covers the care and treatment of patients at risk of CKD. It includes recommendations on the monitoring of patients at risk of CKD, and aims to prevent or delay the progression of the disease. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng203

NHS England is working to detect people at risk of kidney disease through the NHS Health Check Programme. The programme, which is available for everyone between the ages of 40 and 74 years old, who is not already on a chronic disease register, assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. Using this information, patients are supported to make behavioural changes and access treatment which helps to prevent and detect kidney disease earlier.

NHS England has established the Renal Services Transformation Programme (RSTP), which aims to reduce unwarranted variation in the quality and accessibility of renal care, to improve outcomes and services for those with kidney disease. NHS England, through the RSTP and regional renal networks, is implementing initiatives to provide better, integrated care, to reduce health inequalities, and to focus on prevention and timely intervention for kidney disease.

Working in collaboration with the NHS RightCare Programme and the renal community, the RSTP has developed a renal toolkit to provide integrated care boards, renal clinical networks, and providers with tools, case studies, and principles to support transformation of services at a local level. The toolkit outlines principles to support better management of patients identified with chronic kidney disease (CKD) throughout their patient journey. The RSTP is also working closely with NHS England’s regional renal clinical networks to review this toolkit, and to work with local partners to develop transformation programmes that will focus on early identification and management of kidney disease, and will seek to reduce the number of patients progressing through various stages of CKD, and reduce the number of patients requiring dialysis. By supporting prevention and early intervention, the need for late-stage treatments will be reduced.

Regional renal clinical networks prioritise the prevention and early diagnosis of CKD within their transformation ambitions. This includes considerations to develop a unified approach to testing populations at risk of developing CKD, and includes raising awareness of diagnostic tools like urine albumin creatinine tests, enabling CKD diagnosis at stages 1 and 2. NHS England aims to improve awareness and access to these important urine and blood tests across primary and secondary care.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidance, Chronic kidney disease: Assessment and management [NG203], updated in November 2021, sets out best practice for clinicians in the diagnosis and management of CKD. The guidance covers the care and treatment of patients at risk of CKD. It includes recommendations on the monitoring of patients at risk of CKD, and aims to prevent or delay the progression of the disease. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng203

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

• The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

• The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

• The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

• The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

• The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

• The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is operationally independent. Standard and Basic checks are not referred by the DBS to police forces. For Enhanced checks, application details may be referred to any police force that holds potentially relevant information and not just the police force where the applicant currently resides.

The DBS publishes its performance data for England and Wales on a quarterly basis. The most recently published performance data for the second quarter of 2024-25 which can be viewed at: DBS dataset 1: DBS checks, the DBS Update Service, and disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), shows that the DBS achieved the following:

• The target to process 85% of Basic checks within 2 days was met, with an average attainment of 88.6%.

• The target to process 85% of Standard checks within 3 days was met, with an average attainment of 91.2%.

• The target to process 80% of Enhanced checks within 14 days was not met, with achievement continuing to be impacted by the closure of a higher percentage of aged cases at the police force stage.

The DBS does not publish data broken down by constituencies, towns, cities or counties.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of shoplifting offences and their investigative outcomes recorded by the police in England and Wales on a quarterly basis.

The proportion of shoplifting offences, broken down by Police Force Area, including Hampshire, which resulted in a “Charge/Summonsed” outcome can be derived from the Outcomes Open Data tables, which can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Information at the Parliamentary Constituency level is not held by the Home Office.

The Ministry of Justice publish statistics on convictions at courts in England and Wales, including a breakdown of convictions at courts in the Hampshire police force area. These are available in the Outcomes by Offence data tool that can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023

In the last year of the previous government shoplifting soared to a twenty-year high.

This Government will end the effective immunity, introduced by the previous Government, granted to shop theft of goods under £200 and we will introduce a standalone offence of assaulting a shopworker, so everybody can feel safe at work.

The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024; a government response, including implementation plans, has not yet been issued.

Government fully supports the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the Government response in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring that those living in the rented and leasehold sectors are protected from abuse and poor service at the hands of unscrupulous property agents. The Government will set out its position on the regulation of letting, managing and estate agents in due course.