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 (a) primary and (b) secondary schools received a lump sum payment in the last financial year; and for how many of those schools the lump sum represented (i) less than one, (ii) two to five, (iii) five to 10, (iv) 10 to 20, (v) 20 to 30, (vi) 30 to 40 and (vii) over 50 per cent of their total income.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The schools national funding formula (NFF) introduced in 2018 is used to distribute core funding for mainstream schools, for pupils from reception to year 11. The NFF determines how much funding each local authority receives, and local authorities then determine individual schools’ final allocations through their own local formulae.
In both the schools NFF and local authority formulae, the majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and pupil characteristics. In line with the formula introduced under the previous government, every school receives a contribution to the costs that do not vary with pupil numbers, which is why both the national and local funding formulae provide a lump sum for every school, irrespective of their size.
The table below summarises the proportion of the funding generated by local authority formulae that the lump sum represents in 2024/25.
Lump sum proportion | Number of schools |
<1% | 9 |
1<2% | 1,350 |
2<5% | 2,744 |
5<10% | 5,898 |
10<20% | 7,128 |
20<30% | 2,057 |
30<40% | 696 |
40<50% | 217 |
>=50% | 51 |
Total | 20,150 |
Further information can be found at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics/2024-25.
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 her Department's transparency data entitled Breakfast clubs early adopters: schools in the scheme, published on 24 February 2025 and updated on 22 April 2025, for what reason 79 schools are no longer taking part in the scheme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 47782.
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 number and proportion of Level 7 apprenticeship (a) starts and (b) completions were for people aged (i) under 22 and (ii) 22 or over, in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The attached file shows level 7 apprenticeship starts and achievements for the 2015/16 to 2023/24 academic years broken down by learner age as requested.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children were prescribed antidepressants in each year since 2007.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) holds data going back to April 2015, but not prior to this date. The following table shows the total number of patients aged 17 years old and under that were prescribed antidepressants for the financial years 2015/16 to 2023/24:
Financial year | Total identified patients aged 17 years old and under |
2015/16 | 65,594 |
2016/17 | 65,428 |
2017/18 | 65,555 |
2018/19 | 67,631 |
2019/20 | 68,794 |
2020/21 | 65,266 |
2021/22 | 71,251 |
2022/23 | 71,263 |
2023/24 | 66,483 |
Source: NHSBSA Statistical Collections, available at the following link:
https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/medicines-used-mental-health-england
These cover antidepressants prescribed in England that are then dispensed in the community in England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands.
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 looked after children (a) were and (b) were not Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in each year since 2005.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Information on the number of looked after children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published at local authority level in our statistical release at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.
Figures on the number of UASC in each year since 2005 can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/32f71e7b-83b1-4494-96d7-08dd85738b16. This table also provides data on all children looked after at 31 March from which the number and proportion of non-UASC can be calculated. Similarly, the percentage of UASC can also be derived from this table.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) UKRI and the Research Councils have job titles that include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
(a) There are 4 staff within DSIT with one or more of the terms in their job title, the individual breakdowns are as follows - Equality: 0, Diversity: 0, Inclusion: 4, Race: 0, Gender: 0, LGBT: 0.
(b) There are 20 staff within UKRI and its research councils with one or more of the terms in their job title, the individual breakdowns are as follows: (note: some staff have multiple terms in their job title, while some staff only have one term in their job title, so the numbers below are greater than 20) - Equality: 18, Diversity: 18, Inclusion: 19, Race: 1, Gender: 0, LGBT: 0
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the median time taken to register a death was in each (a) integrated care board and (b) local authority area in the most recent six months for which data is available.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024, through the Death Certification Strategic Board and a cross-Government data strategy group. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes a weekly deaths release which includes the provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the latest weeks, and which is available at the following link:
As part of this release, the ONS publishes data on the median time taken to register a death in England and Wales in each region. This data is also split by certification type and place of occurrence. The latest data available covers deaths registered in the week ending 18 April 2025. The ONS does not publish any data on the median time taken in integrated care boards or local authorities.
The introduction of medical examiners is in part about making sure deaths are properly described and improving practice, but the impact on the bereaved is also central. The reforms aim to put the bereaved at the centre of the process, and the medical examiner’s office must offer a conversation with representatives of the deceased, so they can ask any questions they have about the death or to raise concerns. Ensuring the system is appropriately resourced and works for all those who interact with it is crucial, and something we will continue to monitor with NHS England.
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 Answer of 28 June 2019 to Question 267249 on Schools: Closures, what the (a) postcode, (b) local authority area and (c) rural and urban classification is of each school that has closed with no direct replacement provision in each year since 21 June 2019.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information on closures of state-funded schools, including the urban/rural classification for each school, is available on the Get Information about Schools (GIAS) website, which can be found here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Search?SelectedTab=Establishments.
GIAS records a number of different reasons for closure, including closure as a result of amalgamation, “closure” where a school has been replaced by a successor institution (including academy conversions), as well as outright closure of provision.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what the weekly attendance was for (a) children, (b) adults and (c) all ages for (i) weekly, (ii) Sunday and (iii) school services in each year since 2003.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
An excel spreadsheet is attached that gives weekly attendance for (a) children, (b) adults, and (c) all ages, for (i) weekly, (ii) Sunday and (iii) school services in each year since 2003.
The 2024 figures are preliminary and may change as further information is received and further data checks are carried out.
Attendance at services for schools has only been collected since October 2013.
The Church of England publishes statistical data annually on its website. The most recent (2023) Statistics for Mission document is available here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2024-12/statisticsformission2023.pdf
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff in his Department have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This information is not held centrally.