Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people started apprenticeships who were aged a) 16, b) 17, c) 18, d) 19, e) 20, f) 21, g) 22, h) 23, i) 24 in each year since 2017-18.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeship starts in England for the individual ages requested are available in the accompanying file.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the department’s apprenticeships statistics publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Answer of 12 January 2026 to WPQ 101070, of the over 100,000 people that the Government estimates could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from Erasmus+ participation in 2027-8, how many he expects to be UK students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Erasmus+ is open to learners, trainees and staff in higher education, further education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education, youth programmes and sport programmes. The department will have detailed information on the UK’s Erasmus+ beneficiaries after our first year of participation.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department were promoted (a) in-grade and (b) to a higher grade in the last year broken down by (i) performance marking in the previous year and (ii) grade.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The table below shows the grade breakdown and proportions of promotions to a higher grade (excluding temporary promotions) between November 2025 and October 2025. Please note: The promotion counts shown are based on internal departmental staff who were promoted to a higher grade within the department between November 2024 and October 2025. These figures exclude individuals who joined the department on promotion and those who left on promotion to another department, as this information is not captured in our central HR systems.
Since 2019 the flexible performance management framework has enabled departments to adopt a performance management approach which best suits their organisational and cultural needs. There is no common performance rating across government. The department does not currently operate a performance management system that includes performance markings. However, it is in the process of introducing ratings for its Senior Civil Servants, with ratings for the 2025/26 performance year due to be determined in Spring 2026.
Grade* | Average headcount | Count of those promoted to grade | Proportion of roles filled by internal candidates on promotion (%)** |
EO | 655 | <30 | - |
HEO | 1,488 | 95 | 6 |
SEO | 2,342 | 202 | 9 |
Grade 7 | 2,229 | 129 | 6 |
Grade 6 | 905 | 44 | 5 |
Deputy Director | 206 | <30 | - |
Director | 46 | <30 | - |
Total | 8,026 | 482 | 6 |
Data has been suppressed where there are fewer than 30 employees.
*The grade displayed in the table represents the grade to which staff were promoted.
** The percentage scores in the table represent the number of promotions to each higher grade between November 2024 and October 2025, expressed as a proportion of the average headcount for that higher grade during the same period.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of he number of UK students who will access the Erasmus scheme in 2027-28, 2028-29 and 2029-30.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK and European Commission have reached an agreement in principle for the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027.
The department expects that over 100,000 people could benefit from mobility and partnership opportunities from participation in 2027. Our immediate focus is on realising the benefits of Erasmus+ association in 2027.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated to programmes relating to the UKs relationship with Europe in the (a) 2026-7, (b) 2028-9 and (c) 2029-30 financial years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The European Union is the UK’s largest trading partner, and cooperation with our European partners is, among other issues, central to the government’s work on trade, security, illegal migration, development and climate change, not to mention our support for Ukraine. In order to obtain an answer, the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston may therefore wish to be more specific about the aspects of the UK’s relationship with Europe that he has in mind.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the median annual earnings were for apprentices whose prior attainment was equivalent to (a) 4 As or above, (b) 360 points, (c) 300-359 points, (d) 240-299 points, (e) 180-239 points, (f) below 180 points, (g) 1 or 2 A level passes, (h) BTEC and (i) other (i) 1, (ii) 3 and (iii) 5 years after the completion of their apprenticeship in the most recent year for which data is available.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes annual data on the learning and employment outcomes of apprentices, including earnings up to 5 years after completion in the Further Education Outcomes publication available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-outcomes#explore-data-and-files.
The latest published data on earnings outcomes by level for apprenticeships was published on 10 December 2025 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c75d0f51-44de-418d-ccdc-08de37c05e81.
Earnings outcomes data for apprenticeships broken down by prior attainment is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total cost was of (a) settlement agreements and (b) special severance payments made to departing staff in her Department in the last year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
For the last financial year, the total cost to the department of payments associated with settlement agreements is set out in annual report and accounts. Where relevant, this includes special severance payments that have associated settlement agreements.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the past twelve months, how many disciplinary cases were concluded against civil servants in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies broken down by (i) outcome and (ii) whether the primary allegation related to (A) performance and (B) conduct.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The requested information is available in the table below:
Disciplinary Cases Concluded | ||
Totals | Department of Education | Agencies |
32 | <5 | |
Outcomes | ||
Alternative role | <5 | <5 |
Dismissal | <5 | <5 |
Final Written | <5 | <5 |
Final Written - 24 months | <5 | <5 |
First Written | <5 | <5 |
Informal | 8 | <5 |
No Action | 5 | <5 |
No Outcome Provided | 5 | <5 |
Allegations | ||
Performance | * | * |
Conduct | 29 | <5 |
Other | <5 | <5 |
*Footnote – cases relating to performance are managed separately through the department’s performance management policy and are excluded from the above table
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of working days lost to sickness absence per full-time equivalent member of staff was in (a) the Department and (b) its executive agencies in the last year; and how many formal performance warnings were issued to staff.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Sickness absence data for the Civil Service, including departmental breakdowns, is published annually. The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence.
The next update will be for the year ending 31 March 2025.
In the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, 13 formal performance warnings were issued to staff.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of staff in her Department in each grade were rated in the top performance category in the last year.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not currently operate a performance management system that includes ratings. However, it is in the process of introducing ratings for its Senior Civil Servants, with ratings for the 2025/26 performance year due to be determined in spring 2026.