Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2024 to Question 19002 on Ministry of Defence: Temporary Accommodation, how many Afghans are being accommodated on the defence estate.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As of 18 July 2025, there are currently 972 eligible Afghans in transitional accommodation on the Defence Estate under the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). Use of the Defence Estate will be gradually reduced over the coming months, with a view to ceasing its use as transitional accommodation for Afghan families by the end of 2025.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were claiming Universal Credit who were (a) in employment and (b) not in employment and whose immigration status was (i) Common Travel Area - UK, Ireland, Right of Abode, (ii) EU Settlement Scheme, (iii) humanitarian, (iv) refugee, (v) indefinite leave to remain, not EU Settlement Scheme, (vii) limited leave to remain, not EU Settlement Scheme, including family reunion, (viii) other and (ix) no immigration status recorded on digital systems in each local authority in each month since June 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department recently published new Universal Credit - Immigration Status and Nationality statistics. Further breakdowns of these statistics are not currently available.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral statement of 15 July 2025 on Afghanistan, Official Report, column 149-152, whether the £5.5 to 6 billion lifetime cost of the Afghan resettlement schemes includes further family members coming to the UK.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Yes, the lifetime cost quoted of the Afghan resettlement schemes includes family members coming to the UK.
Projected costs are based on per person costs used for planning purposes, and estimated numbers of future arrivals. The estimate is based on costs incurred including: relocation and transitional accommodation costs; Local Authority tariffs and the Local Authority Housing Fund; legal fees; and staffing costs (e.g. case workers). The cost estimates also factor in assumptions on numbers of outstanding ARAP applications expected to be made eligible, family sizes and length of stay in transitional accommodation.
HM Treasury included the cost of all Afghan resettlement schemes in the spending audit in July 2024. HMT has fully funded all future costs of resettlement schemes as part of the Spending Review in June.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the assumptions used to generate the figure of a 5.5 to 6 billion lifetime cost of the Afghan re-settlement schemes.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Yes, the lifetime cost quoted of the Afghan resettlement schemes includes family members coming to the UK.
Projected costs are based on per person costs used for planning purposes, and estimated numbers of future arrivals. The estimate is based on costs incurred including: relocation and transitional accommodation costs; Local Authority tariffs and the Local Authority Housing Fund; legal fees; and staffing costs (e.g. case workers). The cost estimates also factor in assumptions on numbers of outstanding ARAP applications expected to be made eligible, family sizes and length of stay in transitional accommodation.
HM Treasury included the cost of all Afghan resettlement schemes in the spending audit in July 2024. HMT has fully funded all future costs of resettlement schemes as part of the Spending Review in June.
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 medical school places he expects there to be in each year up to 2031.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The total maximum fundable limit for medical school places in England set by the Office for Students is 8,230 places for the 2025/26 academic year. The limit is confirmed on an annual basis.
We will publish a new 10 Year Workforce Plan later this year to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number and what proportion of Universal Credit claimants who have (a) no qualifications, (b) Level 2 qualifications, (c) Level 3 qualifications, (d) Level 4 qualifications, (e) Level 5 qualifications and (f) Level 6 qualifications or above.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 17th July is attached.
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 real terms cost to the public purse is of Free School Meals in 2025-26; and what she expects this to be in future years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department published information on pupil free school meal eligibility in the annual Schools, Pupils and Characteristics publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data is based on the January (spring) school census. Under current eligibility criteria, the department spends around £1.5 billion on free lunches annually.
We estimate that over 500,000 additional children will benefit from expanded free school meal eligibility from September 2026, net of the ending of transitional protections, based on data which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/estimate-of-additional-children-claiming-free-school-meals-following-expansion-of-eligibility/2025. We have set aside over £1 billion in additional funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover meal costs.
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 she expects to be eligible for Free School Meals (a) this year and (b) in future years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department published information on pupil free school meal eligibility in the annual Schools, Pupils and Characteristics publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. The most recent data is based on the January (spring) school census. Under current eligibility criteria, the department spends around £1.5 billion on free lunches annually.
We estimate that over 500,000 additional children will benefit from expanded free school meal eligibility from September 2026, net of the ending of transitional protections, based on data which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/estimate-of-additional-children-claiming-free-school-meals-following-expansion-of-eligibility/2025. We have set aside over £1 billion in additional funding over the multi-year spending review period to cover meal costs.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2025 to Question 63010 on Church of England: Slavery, how much has been spent on this project so far.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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 secondary schools provide two weeks of work experience.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department has asked the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to collect national baseline data on the delivery of two weeks’ worth of work experience for every secondary pupil, across schools in England. CEC plan to publish this data by the end of 2025.
The most recently published data by CEC regarding work experience relates to the 2023/24 academic year. 76% of schools self-report that the majority of their pupils have had an experience of the workplace by the end of year 11.84% of schools report that the majority of their pupils had received experience of the workplace in year 12 or year 13.
The department recently updated careers statutory guidance to set out expectations for the 2025/26 academic year, including multiple, high quality experiences of the workplace for every pupil.