Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will increase the fines available through section 38 of the London Local Authorities Act 1990.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Local Authorities are responsible for enforcement and central Government has no current plans for legislation that can be used to amend these fees.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12200 on Reoffenders: Foreign Nationals, if she will publish a breakdown of the offences committed by reoffending foreign nationals by main offence group.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer the honourable Member to the response I gave on 11 November 2024 to PQ 13567.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to make an announcement on the future of the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. Individual programmes will now be assessed during the departmental Business Planning process.
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 Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to review the treatment of migrant workers in the care sector.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Government is deeply concerned by reports of unethical practices relating to international recruits within the adult social care sector. UK Visas and Immigration continue to investigate and take action, alongside partners, where evidence of abuse is found, engaging with the Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority and other relevant agencies to hold employers to account and working with Department for Health and Social Care to support impacted workers.
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.