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 the policy paper titled Applying VAT to private school fees, published on 30 October 2024, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the expected increase in the number of pupils with SEND at state schools in each (a) age group and (b) region.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
This overall assessment considers but does not provide a breakdown of impacts by region or pupil characteristics, including special educational needs and age. The government predicts that, in the long-run steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population. This movement is expected to take place over several years. Of this number, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system, and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. The government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £300 million per annum after several years.
The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide full-time education for all children of statutory school age in their area, suitable for their age, aptitude, ability and any special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.
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 the policy paper entitled Applying VAT to private school fees, published on 30 October 2024, what assessment she has made of the number of pupils with SEND that will move from the private education sector to the state education sector as a result of the introduction of VAT on private school fees.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
This overall assessment considers but does not provide a breakdown of impacts by region or pupil characteristics, including special educational needs and age. The government predicts that, in the long-run steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population. This movement is expected to take place over several years. Of this number, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system, and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. The government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £300 million per annum after several years.
The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide full-time education for all children of statutory school age in their area, suitable for their age, aptitude, ability and any special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.
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 the policy paper entitled Applying VAT to private school fees, published on 30 October 2024, what the direct cost of pupils with SEND moving from private schools to state schools as a result of introducing VAT on private school fees will be to the state education sector.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
This overall assessment considers but does not provide a breakdown of impacts by region or pupil characteristics, including special educational needs and age. The government predicts that, in the long-run steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population. This movement is expected to take place over several years. Of this number, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system, and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. The government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £300 million per annum after several years.
The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide full-time education for all children of statutory school age in their area, suitable for their age, aptitude, ability and any special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.
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 steps her Department is taking to support state schools as pupils transfer from their independent school to a state school as a result of the Government’s introduction of VAT on private school fees.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.
This overall assessment considers but does not provide a breakdown of impacts by region or pupil characteristics, including special educational needs and age. The government predicts that, in the long-run steady state, there will be 37,000 fewer pupils in the private sector in the UK as a result of the removal of the VAT exemption applied to school fees. This represents around 6% of the current private school population. This movement is expected to take place over several years. Of this number, the government estimates an increase of 35,000 pupils in the state sector in the steady state following the VAT policy taking effect, with the other 2,000 consisting of international pupils who do not move into the UK state system, and domestic pupils moving into homeschooling. This state sector increase represents less than 0.5% of total UK state school pupils, of which there are over 9 million. The government expects the revenue costs of pupils entering the state sector in England to steadily increase to a peak of around £300 million per annum after several years.
The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide full-time education for all children of statutory school age in their area, suitable for their age, aptitude, ability and any special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The department works with local authorities to help them fulfil their duty to secure school places. Requirements for state-funded places for children that would have attended a private school will be addressed in each local authority through normal processes.
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 pupils with an education, health and care plan have a named school on their education, health and care plan.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
As at January 2024, 446,448 children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, had a school (including mainstream schools, special schools, alternative provision or pupil referral unit) named as the setting on their EHC plan. This represents 77.5% of all EHC plans.
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 paragraph 2.40 of the Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in the rate of employer National Insurance Contributions on the number of apprenticeship starts in each year to 2030.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
To repair public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance.
The government recognises the need to protect the smallest employers, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with National Insurance Contributions (NICs) liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Employers will continue to be able to claim employer NICs reliefs, including the relief for employing apprentices under 25, where eligible.
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 discussions she has had with the Office of Budget Responsibility on increasing (a) university tuition fees and (b) maximum maintenance loan levels.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the maximum level of maintenance loan that students can take out on public sector net (a) debt and (b) financial liabilities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
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 assessment she has made of the potential impact of an increase in university tuition fees have on public sector net (a) debt and (b) financial liabilities.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2024 to Question 11294 on Armed Forces: Cadets, what discussions she had with the Minister for Veterans and People on the School staff instructor grant.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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.