Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) workers and (b) temporary workers each of the sponsors on the register of licensed sponsors sponsored in each year for which data is available.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on sponsorship numbers broken down by each individual sponsor.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the value of penalties issued in illegal working civil penalties was in each quarter for which data is available; and how many and what proportion of the penalties issued in each quarter have been paid.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

Information on illegal working civil penalty statistics has been published since 2016 as part of the Home Office Immigration Transparency Data and can be found at Immigration Enforcement data: Q3 2024 - GOV.UK on tab CPO2.

Please note the figures are for penalties levied at the initial decision stage which may be reduced, cancelled or increased at the objection or appeal stage, or whose collection may be affected by any subsequent decision by business in question to cease operations or declare bankruptcy as a result of the enforcement action taken against them.

We do not hold cohort data on how many and what proportion of the penalties issued in each quarter have been paid.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum claims in each local authority were (a) successful, (b) ongoing and (c) rejected since 2018.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the initial decision of asylum claims (including grants and refusals), and data on asylum claims awaiting initial decision, is published in tables Asy_D02 and Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum applications, initial decisions and resettlement detailed datasets’ respectively. This data is not broken down by local authority.

Local authority level data on people in the asylum system who are in receipt of support is published in table Asy_D11 of the ‘Asylum seekers in receipt of support by local authority detailed datasets’.

The latest data relates to the year ending September 2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department granted to the Choir Schools Association through the Music and Dance Scheme in each year since 2010.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department will announce future funding for the Music and Dance Scheme for the 2025/26 academic year following the conclusion of the Spending Review in the spring. This includes consideration of the grant to the Choir Schools Association for the Choir Schools Scholarship Scheme.

The department has provided a grant of over £216,000 per year for the Choir Schools Scholarship Scheme between 2010 and 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to continue the grant to the Choir Schools Association in the next academic year.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

The department will announce future funding for the Music and Dance Scheme for the 2025/26 academic year following the conclusion of the Spending Review in the spring. This includes consideration of the grant to the Choir Schools Association for the Choir Schools Scholarship Scheme.

The department has provided a grant of over £216,000 per year for the Choir Schools Scholarship Scheme between 2010 and 2025.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of academy schools that do not currently comply with the duty in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to follow the national curriculum.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

I refer the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the answer of 29 July 2024 to Question 1038.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools will have to change their uniform policy to comply with the provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

School uniforms can play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities. However, too many schools require high numbers of branded uniform items costing families hundreds of pounds. That is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and PE kit that schools can require, to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities.

The department does not routinely collect school-level data on uniform requirements. However, based on the department’s 2023 Cost of School Uniforms Survey of parents, we estimate that one third of primary schools and seven in ten secondary schools will have to remove compulsory branded items from their uniforms to comply with the new limit. Many schools will only have to remove one or two items, although those with excessive numbers of branded items will have to remove more.

This research report can be accessed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e2b4df6cc3c902a6e6fbcc/DfE_Cost_of_School_Uniform_Survey_Report.pdf.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of academy schools' facilities to comply with the duty in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to follow the national curriculum.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Every child deserves a cutting-edge curriculum taught by expert, qualified teachers, which sets them up with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve throughout life. The Bill will require all state schools to teach the reformed national curriculum, giving parents certainty of the high quality education their children will receive.

Many academies already choose to follow the national curriculum and have the facilities they need to deliver it. The department will not commence the new requirement until a reformed national curriculum is introduced following the advice of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review. This will give all teachers and all schools, including academies, sufficient time to plan and prepare for the changes, including developing their facilities as needed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people were working in the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence team in (a) total, (b) the East of England, (c) the East Midlands, (d) the North West, (e) the North East, (f) the South East, (g) London, (h) the South West, (i) the West Midlands and (j) Yorkshire and the Humber on 10 December 2024.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

On 10 December 2024, the number of civil servants working in the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams were as follows. These numbers represent staff headcount, not full time equivalent.

a) Total: 35

b) East of England: 4

c) East Midlands: 4

d) North West: 3

e) North East: 4

f) South East: 4

g) London: 5

h) South West: 4

i) West Midlands: 4

j) Yorkshire and the Humber: 3

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of schools that will be impacted by the extension of statutory pay and conditions arrangements to Academy teachers in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

There are currently 11,245 academies in England that would be in scope of the measure in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 December 2024 to Question 20254 on Asylum: Housing, what difference each of the Contract Change Notices made to the contract.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information sought on costs and changes related to the Contract Change Notices referenced in Question 20254 has been identified as being of operational and commercial sensitivity and cannot therefore be disclosed.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 December 2024 to Question 20254 on Asylum: Housing, what the cost was of each of the Contract Change Notices.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

The information sought on costs and changes related to the Contract Change Notices referenced in Question 20254 has been identified as being of operational and commercial sensitivity and cannot therefore be disclosed.

Found: _NC7 Neil O'Brien Patrick Spencer 7 COMMITTEE STAGE Monday 20 January 2025 .

Found: _NC7 Neil O'Brien Patrick Spencer ★.

Found: by Mr Richard Holden supported by Robert Jenrick, Dan Carden, Claire Coutinho, David Smith, Neil O'Brien

Found: In a significant Government policy announcement, Neil O'Brien, former Minister for Primary Care and

Found: In a significant Government policy announcement, Neil O'Brien, former Minister for Primary Care and