Neil O'Brien

The department publishes forecasts annually for higher education and further education student loans in England. The published forecasts include assumptions that fee caps and maintenance loans will increase annually by RPI All Items Index Excl Mortgage Interest (RPIX). These assumptions are agreed with a range of stakeholders, including HM Treasury (HMT), the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the National Audit Office. These forecasts are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.

These assumptions in the baseline forecast mean the policy to apply inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans in the 2025/26 academic year is equivalent to the baseline forecast, so there is no additional cost on either public sector net debt or financial liabilities when compared to the published figures, which are included in departmental accounts and provided to HMT.

Any increase to loan amounts, whether on maintenance or fee loans, compared to the baseline would increase public sector net debt (PSND) and public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Student loans affect PSND by changing the government’s cash balance. The change in PSND is calculated as outlay (payments to students and providers) minus repayments. PSNFL includes the portion of student loans expected to be repaid and is calculated as PSND minus the modified loan balance. The annual increase in net debt would be equal to the increased cashflow, so the same as the increase in outlay in the near future.

In the context of student loans, public sector net financial liabilities are most affected in the short term by the proportion of the additional outlay the department forecasts will eventually be written off. As such, the impact of increased loan amounts would be smaller on net financial liabilities than on net debt.

The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. The OBR’s approach to scrutinising each measure on HMT’s scorecard and incorporating these into its forecast is set out in its ‘Briefing paper No.6: Policy costings and our forecast’, which is available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/27814-BriefingPaperNo_6.pdf.

Inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans are already included in the baseline forecast provided to the OBR, so no policy costing was necessary in this case, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has had no discussions with the OBR on this matter.

The department publishes forecasts annually for higher education and further education student loans in England. The published forecasts include assumptions that fee caps and maintenance loans will increase annually by RPI All Items Index Excl Mortgage Interest (RPIX). These assumptions are agreed with a range of stakeholders, including HM Treasury (HMT), the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the National Audit Office. These forecasts are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.

These assumptions in the baseline forecast mean the policy to apply inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans in the 2025/26 academic year is equivalent to the baseline forecast, so there is no additional cost on either public sector net debt or financial liabilities when compared to the published figures, which are included in departmental accounts and provided to HMT.

Any increase to loan amounts, whether on maintenance or fee loans, compared to the baseline would increase public sector net debt (PSND) and public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Student loans affect PSND by changing the government’s cash balance. The change in PSND is calculated as outlay (payments to students and providers) minus repayments. PSNFL includes the portion of student loans expected to be repaid and is calculated as PSND minus the modified loan balance. The annual increase in net debt would be equal to the increased cashflow, so the same as the increase in outlay in the near future.

In the context of student loans, public sector net financial liabilities are most affected in the short term by the proportion of the additional outlay the department forecasts will eventually be written off. As such, the impact of increased loan amounts would be smaller on net financial liabilities than on net debt.

The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. The OBR’s approach to scrutinising each measure on HMT’s scorecard and incorporating these into its forecast is set out in its ‘Briefing paper No.6: Policy costings and our forecast’, which is available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/27814-BriefingPaperNo_6.pdf.

Inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans are already included in the baseline forecast provided to the OBR, so no policy costing was necessary in this case, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has had no discussions with the OBR on this matter.

The department publishes forecasts annually for higher education and further education student loans in England. The published forecasts include assumptions that fee caps and maintenance loans will increase annually by RPI All Items Index Excl Mortgage Interest (RPIX). These assumptions are agreed with a range of stakeholders, including HM Treasury (HMT), the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the National Audit Office. These forecasts are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england.

These assumptions in the baseline forecast mean the policy to apply inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans in the 2025/26 academic year is equivalent to the baseline forecast, so there is no additional cost on either public sector net debt or financial liabilities when compared to the published figures, which are included in departmental accounts and provided to HMT.

Any increase to loan amounts, whether on maintenance or fee loans, compared to the baseline would increase public sector net debt (PSND) and public sector net financial liabilities (PSNFL). Student loans affect PSND by changing the government’s cash balance. The change in PSND is calculated as outlay (payments to students and providers) minus repayments. PSNFL includes the portion of student loans expected to be repaid and is calculated as PSND minus the modified loan balance. The annual increase in net debt would be equal to the increased cashflow, so the same as the increase in outlay in the near future.

In the context of student loans, public sector net financial liabilities are most affected in the short term by the proportion of the additional outlay the department forecasts will eventually be written off. As such, the impact of increased loan amounts would be smaller on net financial liabilities than on net debt.

The OBR was created in 2010 to provide independent and authoritative analysis of the UK’s public finances. The OBR’s approach to scrutinising each measure on HMT’s scorecard and incorporating these into its forecast is set out in its ‘Briefing paper No.6: Policy costings and our forecast’, which is available here: https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/27814-BriefingPaperNo_6.pdf.

Inflationary increases to fee caps and maintenance loans are already included in the baseline forecast provided to the OBR, so no policy costing was necessary in this case, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has had no discussions with the OBR on this matter.

As announced at Budget, the department expects to provide £8.1 billion for early years entitlements in the 2025/26 financial year, which is around a 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as the department continues to rollout the expansion of the entitlements to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department is looking at what the changes to National Insurance contributions will mean for the early years sector and will provide more details as soon as possible.

The Employment Allowance will be worth up to £10,500 for eligible providers, meaning some smaller providers may pay no National Insurance at all in the 2025/26 financial year.

The department is working at pace to publish funding rates for 2025/26 as we know how important this is for local authorities and providers.

As announced at Budget, the department expects to provide £8.1 billion for early years entitlements in the 2025/26 financial year, which is around a 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as the department continues to rollout the expansion of the entitlements to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department is looking at what the changes to National Insurance contributions will mean for the early years sector and will provide more details as soon as possible.

The Employment Allowance will be worth up to £10,500 for eligible providers, meaning some smaller providers may pay no National Insurance at all in the 2025/26 financial year.

The department is working at pace to publish funding rates for 2025/26 as we know how important this is for local authorities and providers.

As announced at Budget, the department expects to provide £8.1 billion for early years entitlements in the 2025/26 financial year, which is around a 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as the department continues to rollout the expansion of the entitlements to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department is looking at what the changes to National Insurance contributions will mean for the early years sector and will provide more details as soon as possible.

The Employment Allowance will be worth up to £10,500 for eligible providers, meaning some smaller providers may pay no National Insurance at all in the 2025/26 financial year.

The department is working at pace to publish funding rates for 2025/26 as we know how important this is for local authorities and providers.

The department works closely with the Ministry of Defence on delivery of the Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP). The CEP is run jointly by the departments and funding decisions are discussed and shared with ministers from both departments in that context.

The government, through the Ministry of Defence, provides in the region of £180 million to support cadet schemes. The CEP will continue to be delivered and receive £3.6 million in government funding for this academic year and through to the 2033/34 financial year. This goes to the single Service (i.e. Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force) cadet organisations, to provide funding for cadet expansion in schools.

The government, through the Ministry of Defence, provides in the region of £180 million to support cadets schemes. The Department for Education has contributed up to £1.1 million annually since the academic year 2021/22. This has provided some additional funding to support cadet expansion in the form of the school staff instructor (SSI) grant. This has been distributed to 230 state schools.

Due to the current challenging fiscal context the government is having to take difficult decisions to ensure the stability of the economy and, while the importance of cadets is being recognised by continued support for cadet units through core funding provided by the Ministry of Defence, the department has had to take the difficult decision to not extend the additional SSI grant into this academic year. All schools in receipt of the SSI grant have been informed.

The cadet expansion programme will continue to be delivered and receive £3.6 million in government funding for this academic year. This £3.6 million per year funding is within the Ministry of Defence’s annual budget cycle settlement showing a profile out to financial year 2033/2034. This funding goes to the single Service (Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force) cadet organisations to provide funding for cadet expansion in schools.

In 2024/25, the department is providing schools and high needs settings with £900 million through the teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG), £1.1 billion through the teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) to support them with the increased teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution rates from April 2024, and almost £1.1 billion through the core school budget grant (CSBG) to support schools with overall costs.

Guidance for schools and local authorities on the TPAG allocations for 2024/25, can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-additional-grant-2024-to-2025.

Guidance for schools and local authorities on the TPECG 2024 for March 2024 to April 2025 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-employer-contribution-grant-2024-for-schools-high-needs-settings-and-local-authorities-2024-to-2025.

Allocations and guidance for schools and local authorities for the CSBG for September 2024 to March 2025 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-schools-budget-grant-csbg-2024-to-2025.

Information on the number of looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published at local authority level in the department’s statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the numbers and proportion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at 31 March in the years 2017 to 2023 is attached. Figures are produced on an annual rather than monthly basis.

Information on the number of care leavers who were former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is routinely published at national level in the department’s statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the numbers and proportion of care leavers who were former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at 31 March by local authority for the years 2017 to 2023 is attached.

Information on a monthly basis is not held centrally by the department.

Information on the number of looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published at local authority level in the department’s statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the numbers and proportion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at 31 March in the years 2017 to 2023 is attached. Figures are produced on an annual rather than monthly basis.

Information on the number of care leavers who were former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is routinely published at national level in the department’s statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Information on the numbers and proportion of care leavers who were former unaccompanied asylum-seeking children at 31 March by local authority for the years 2017 to 2023 is attached.

Information on a monthly basis is not held centrally by the department.

Schools core funding is allocated through the dedicated schools grant (DSG), which includes growth and premises funding. These can be found as separate funding lines in the published DSG tables. DSG allocations are available at a regional and local authority level at the following links:

• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2019-to-2020.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2020-to-2021.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2021-to-2022.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2022-to-2023.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2023-to-2024.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2024-to-2025.

The department also provides pupil premium funding to support disadvantaged pupils. These allocations are also available at regional and local authority level using the published tables, which can be accessed at:

• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2018-to-2019.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2019-to-2020.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2020-to-2021.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2022-to-2023.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2023-to-2024.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2024-to-2025.

The department has also provided supplementary grants for schools to support them with the costs associated with teacher pay and pensions awards, as well as overall pressures. Information on the additional grants provided since 2018, such as the teachers’ pay additional grant (TPAG), the teachers’ pension employer contribution grant (TPECG) and the core schools’ budget grant (CSBG), can be found here:

• www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-grant-methodology/teachers-pay-grant-methodology.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-employer-contribution-grant-tpecg/pension-grant-methodology.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-supplementary-grant-2022-to-2023.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/mainstream-schools-additional-grant-2023-to-2024.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-additional-grant-2023-to-2024.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pay-additional-grant-2024-to-2025.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-employer-contribution-grant-2024-for-schools-high-needs-settings-and-local-authorities-2024-to-2025.
• www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-schools-budget-grant-csbg-2024-to-2025.

Most of these grants have since been rolled into DSG allocations. The only exceptions are the TPAG 2024/25, the TPECG 2024/25 and the CSBG 2024/25, which will all be rolled into the DSG allocations from 2025/26 onwards.

Outside core funding, schools have received a wide variety of further grants and programme funding since 2018/19. These are typically considerably smaller than the core funding streams set out above. This includes both funding provided nationally, and funding provided to particular areas and/or particular schools.

The attached table shows the number of borrowers who are liable to repay (i.e. are past their Statutory Repayment Due Date (SRDD) and have an outstanding loan) and of those, how many have ever made a repayment, split by Higher Education Provider (HEP).

The data has been supplied by the Student Loans Company. The data is for England domiciled borrowers who undertook full-time undergraduate courses. Please note the following caveats regarding the data:

• The data is not directly comparable across HEPs due to different course offerings, student numbers, communities served, and demographics of student cohorts. For example, some demographics of graduates may be more likely to take part-time employment, which is less likely to result in earnings over the repayment threshold.
• Borrowers from newer providers, where the majority have only just passed their SRDD, are less likely to have made a repayment as yet.
• The figures represent a snapshot in time and will change as borrowers pass their SRDD and may move into employment.
• Figures less than 11 in the ‘liable to repay’ column and less than 6 in the ‘repaying’ column have been suppressed.
• Where HEPs’ names are duplicated, this can be for a number of reasons, including two different providers having the same name.

The table below provides per pupil funding units from 2018/19 to 2024/25, which represents the funding provided for schools in all regions, nationally.

The department cannot provide comparable funding data back to 1994, due to the changes in the funding system since that time. In particular, funding for schools was only identified separately from funding for high needs or early years in 2013, and funding for central school services provided by local authorities was split out from the schools block funding in 2018/19.

The figures below represent the core funding schools receive through the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). All the figures in the table, apart from those for 2018/19 exclude growth funding but include premises funding. They do not include additional funding that schools have received for pay and pensions, or other funding streams, such as the pupil premium.

* In the 2018/19 DSG, growth funding and premises funding were calculated together, so the 2018/19 funding figures include growth funding. All other years exclude growth funding.

The department uses marketing to support the delivery of strategic aims and government priorities, including to recruit teachers and early years professionals, reform the skills landscape, and drive take up of products and services like apprenticeships, T Levels and childcare entitlements.

The department’s total spend on advertising and communications was £48 million in 2023/24. More information on the department’s accounts for 2023/24, the last year for which data is available, can be found in the link below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a78085ce1fd0da7b592e80/DfE_consolidated_annual_report_and_accounts_2023_to_2024_-_web-optimised_version.pdf.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards.

Measures in place to reduce waiting times for customers at driving test centres, include the recruitment of driving examiners, conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners.

As of 7 October 2024, there were 571,047 car practical driving tests booked, and 89,349 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. All available driving test appointments are shown on the live booking system, so the availability of test appointments continually changes. Test appointments are released on a rolling 24-week basis, and additional appointments are added as soon as they become available. Other candidates cancelling or rescheduling their test also free up appointments for others to book. Normal booking behaviour sees candidates move test appointments around routinely in line with their preferences. It is not therefore possible to give a meaningful assessment of the number of people waiting longer than 24 weeks for a test or how long a person waited between booking and taking a test.

DVSA continues to see high demand for driving tests, owing in part to a major shift in customer booking behaviour. Customers now book their car practical test far earlier in their learning journey, sometimes before they have even had a practical driving lesson.

The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00023819-00023823, shows the monthly average waiting time for a car practical driving test at each driving test centre and zone for each month since April 2015.

In the last year (August 2023 to July 2024) the Department spent £6,128,135 on paid communications campaigns.

The majority of this spend was for the THINK! campaign, which is a key pillar in the Department’s commitment to improving road safety. THINK! aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road through changing attitudes and behaviours among those at most risk. The campaign focuses on priority issues including drink driving and speeding, as well as communicating key policy interventions.

In the past year, the Department ran THINK! Campaigns across paid channels in England and Wales to tackle drink driving, seat belt use and speeding and among high-risk male drivers aged 17-24.

The total spend also includes the ‘It’s Everyone’s Journey’ campaign which aims to raise awareness of the needs of disabled people among the general travelling public, and to create a more supportive travelling environment to improve confidence and increase the use of public transport by disabled people.

My officials have been in discussion with Network Rail and will continue to do so regarding the works for Spion Kop bridge at Blaby Road.

The work is necessary to renew aging assets and enable the electrification of the railway. Network Rail are working with the local authority and are considering options for the works. They are mindful of minimising disruptive impacts whilst also delivering them efficiently.

My Officials have been in discussion with Network Rail regarding the necessary works for Spion Kop bridge at Blaby Road.

The work is necessary to renew aging assets and enable the electrification of the railway. Network Rail are working with the local authority and are considering options for the works and are mindful of minimising the disruptive impacts of the works whilst also delivering the works efficiently.

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.

The Department does not routinely collect data on the country of birth of individuals claiming any benefits.

DWP policy responsibility lies in establishing a customer’s eligibility to claim benefits. An individual’s specific country of birth does not play a role in this and the Department therefore does not collect the country of birth information at the point of benefit claim.