Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the spread of reported Asian hornet nesting sites in England since 2019.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A risk assessment for Asian hornet was completed in 2011. The risk assessment concluded that there were multiple pathways through which Asian hornet could arrive in England and therefore that entry was very likely. Several areas were identified where Asian hornet incursions were thought to be most likely and this included Southern English counties, coastal regions, open areas near fresh water and areas close to ports and airports.
Since 2019 there have been 80 Asian hornet nests located and destroyed in Great Britain with 77 of these nests located in the South of England.
In 2023 there was a large increase in the number of nests when compared to all previous years, with 72 nests located and destroyed. The majority of the nests were located in the South-East (62), while 8 were located in the South and South-West and 2 were located in the North of England.
We ask all members of the public to be vigilant for sightings of Asian hornet during the peak season (June-October) as Asian hornets are known to be an effective hitch hiker and may be spotted anywhere across the country.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in the South West have been eligible for pre-implantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pre-implantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is used to identify genetic anomalies in embryos created through in-vitro fertilisation. Over 600 genetic conditions can currently be tested for using this technique, as licensed by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. NHS England has commissioned five centres to provide PGT to patients in England. The number of PGT cycles undertaken has increased from 223 patients in 2009 to 620 in 2019, but NHS England does not have access to data that describes the geographical profile of the people that have used the National Health Service or privately commissioned PGT services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts have been recorded for the Youth Offer in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire as of 25 March 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Youth Offer launched 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements:
As of the 1st of March 2024, there have been 1,200 starts to the Youth Offer in South Holland and The Deepings constituency, and a total of 17,420 starts in the Lincolnshire region. These figures are part of the overall 1,123,000 total starts on the Youth Offer.
Notes
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual budget is for regional schools commissioners, per commissioner per region in each financial year since 2014-15; and how many staff were employed by each commissioner on average in each financial year since 2014-15.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has identified the costs as the workforce costs and the General Administration Expenditure for the Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and their teams up to 2022, and for Regional Directors and their teams from 2022 onwards. RSCs were replaced in 2022 by Regional Directors with an expanded remit.
The department's policy of retaining financial records for seven years limits access to data before the 2016/17 financial year.
In 2019 the department underwent re-organisation to align its delivery work in relation to academies, free schools and school improvement, bringing together functions that were previously delivered in different parts of the department. This data for 2019/2022 is therefore not directly comparable to previous years, as the functions delivered by the RSC teams expanded.
The RSC Staff programme budget, represented in the table below, was held centrally until the 2020/2021 financial year and then was split and allocated to the individual regions from 2021/2022. This was a change in where the budget sat rather than a change in staffing levels.
Workforce actual spend data for Regional Schools Commissioner teams 2016/2022
Workforce Actual Spend (Millions of GBP) | FY 2016/17 | FY 2017-18 | FY 2018/19 | FY 2019/20 | FY 2020/21 | FY 2021/22 |
RSC East of England and North East London | £1.60 | £1.62 | £1.15 | £1.07 | £1.20 | £1.99 |
RSC East Midlands and Humber | £1.90 | £1.48 | £1.39 | £1.10 | £1.33 | £2.58 |
RSC Lancashire and West Yorkshire | £1.85 | £1.91 | £1.45 | £1.33 | £1.39 | £2.86 |
RSC North & Opportunity North East | £1.57 | £1.29 | £1.16 | £0.74 | £0.93 | £3.36 |
RSC North West London and South Central England | £1.89 | £1.62 | £1.27 | £1.33 | £1.51 | £3.06 |
RSC South East and South London | £2.18 | £1.66 | £1.43 | £1.11 | £1.63 | £3.40 |
RSD South West | £2.20 | £1.98 | £1.39 | £1.59 | £1.81 | £3.55 |
RSC West Midlands | £1.90 | £1.91 | £1.15 | £1.20 | £1.67 | £3.18 |
RSC Staff Programme Costs* | £4.08 | £9.95 | £14.68 | £15.90 | £16.31 | £0.37 |
Full Time Equivalent staffing data for Regional Schools Commissioner teams 2016/2022
Full Time Equivalent Staff per Region | FY16/17 | FY17/18 | FY18/19 | FY19/20 | FY20/21 | FY21/22 |
RSC East of England and North East London | 44.01 | 41.46 | 42.6 | 47.4 | 41 | 41.6 |
RSC East Midlands and Humber | 46.99 | 59.93 | 47 | 51.4 | 53 | 49.9 |
RSC Lancashire and West Yorkshire | 54.16 | 68.71 | 48.6 | 64.2 | 64.1 | 54.5 |
RSC North & Opportunity North East | 40.48 | 41.28 | 32.6 | 41.9 | 37.7 | 37.3 |
RSC North West London and South Central England | 49.35 | 52.43 | 48.4 | 64.1 | 51.6 | 43 |
RSC South East and South London | 54.19 | 58.52 | 42.4 | 61.7 | 54.8 | 52.3 |
RSC South West | 54.66 | 55.59 | 53.7 | 67.2 | 59.2 | 58.9 |
RSC West Midlands | 58.62 | 52.57 | 46.7 | 57.9 | 58.6 | 56.3 |
In July 2022, the creation of Regions Group within the department led to the replacement of the RSC role with Regional Directors, with a broader remit for the delivery of special educational needs and disabilities support and children’s social care improvement and interventions in their regions alongside their role in relation to academies and free schools. The regional structures were also re-organised to align with geographical boundaries of English regions. This data is therefore not directly comparable to the previous years.
Workforce actual spend data for Regional Director teams 2022/2024
Workforce Actual Spend Data for Regional Director Teams 2022 – 2024 (Millions of GBP) | Workforce Actual | Workforce Actual (at end of Feb 2024) |
FY 2022/23 | FY 2023/24 | |
Regional Directorate - East Midlands | £2.70 | £3.11 |
Regional Directorate - East of England | £3.60 | £3.58 |
Regional Directorate - London | £4.06 | £3.68 |
Regional Directorate - North East | £2.47 | £2.09 |
Regional Directorate - North West | £4.44 | £4.36 |
Regional Directorate - South East | £4.04 | £3.93 |
Regional Directorate - South West | £4.34 | £4.13 |
Regional Directorate - West Midlands | £4.26 | £3.91 |
Regional Directorate - Yorkshire and the Humber | £4.00 | £3.89 |
Full Time Equivalent staffing data for Regional Director teams 2022/2024
Full Time Equivalent Staff per Region | FY22/23 | FY23/24 (Actual FTE at end of Feb 24) |
Regional Directorate - East Midlands | 47.7 | 54.6 |
Regional Directorate - East of England | 53.0 | 65.5 |
Regional Directorate - London | 55.6 | 56.3 |
Regional Directorate - North East | 38.3 | 33.2 |
Regional Directorate - North West | 76.2 | 80.0 |
Regional Directorate - South East | 62.8 | 61.2 |
Regional Directorate - South West | 66.3 | 78.5 |
Regional Directorate - West Midlands | 69.7 | 70.7 |
Regional Directorate - Yorkshire and the Humber | 62.7 | 71.7 |
Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the (a) Avanti and (b) South Western train contracts.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
For Avanti West Coast (AWC), no assessment has been made as the operator has a contract with a core term until 15 October 2026, after which the Department can terminate the contract at any point with three months' notice.
The National Rail Contract for South Western Railway ends in May 2025 having been extended by the maximum two-year period to a maximum term of four years. A Prior Information Notice was issued on 2 April 2024 setting out the Department’s intention to seek to obtain a Direct Award with SWR at the end of the current contract. The proposed Direct Award is expected to have a core term of three years and a potential maximum term of up to eight years.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what average weekly attendance was in each year since 1994.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The National Church Institutions first started collecting attendance data centrally in the autumn of 2000; as a result, it is not possible to publish data for the period 1994-1999. A methodological change also took place between 2000 and 2003 which means statistics for those years are not directly comparable with the data now collected. The data displayed below shows the longest period of comparable figures available, from 2003-2022.
| Adult average weekly attendance | Child average weekly attendance | All age average weekly attendance | Adult average Sunday attendance | Child average Sunday attendance | All age average Sunday attendance | Adult average school service attendance | Child average school service attendance | All age average school service attendance |
2003 | 905,000 | 218,000 | 1,126,000 | 802,000 | 154,000 | 959,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2004 | 896,000 | 220,000 | 1,119,000 | 789,000 | 151,000 | 942,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2005 | 898,000 | 218,000 | 1,119,000 | 791,000 | 147,000 | 941,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2006 | 894,000 | 217,000 | 1,115,000 | 786,000 | 145,000 | 935,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2007 | 888,000 | 205,000 | 1,097,000 | 779,000 | 137,000 | 919,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2008 | 877,000 | 215,000 | 1,094,000 | 768,000 | 139,000 | 910,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2009 | 867,000 | 211,000 | 1,082,000 | 758,000 | 134,000 | 895,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2010 | 851,000 | 208,000 | 1,062,000 | 741,000 | 130,000 | 874,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2011 | 840,000 | 207,000 | 1,050,000 | 728,000 | 127,000 | 858,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2012 | 843,000 | 202,000 | 1,049,000 | 733,000 | 128,000 | 864,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2013 | 836,000 | 157,000 | 994,000 | 721,000 | 124,000 | 845,000 | 23,000 | 103,000 | 126,000 |
2014 | 831,000 | 144,000 | 975,000 | 711,000 | 119,000 | 830,000 | 35,000 | 113,000 | 148,000 |
2015 | 819,000 | 140,000 | 959,000 | 698,000 | 115,000 | 813,000 | 40,000 | 131,000 | 171,000 |
2016 | 791,000 | 132,000 | 922,000 | 671,000 | 108,000 | 780,000 | 42,000 | 139,000 | 182,000 |
2017 | 767,000 | 127,000 | 895,000 | 653,000 | 104,000 | 757,000 | 46,000 | 152,000 | 198,000 |
2018 | 752,000 | 120,000 | 872,000 | 635,000 | 96,000 | 730,000 | 40,000 | 137,000 | 177,000 |
2019 | 734,000 | 120,000 | 854,000 | 613,000 | 94,000 | 707,000 | 41,000 | 141,000 | 182,000 |
2020 | 317,000 | 28,000 | 345,000 | 273,000 | 24,000 | 298,000 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
2021 | 531,000 | 75,000 | 605,000 | 447,000 | 62,000 | 509,000 | 18,000 | 71,000 | 89,000 |
2022 | 567,000 | 87,000 | 654,000 | 477,000 | 70,000 | 547,000 | 36,000 | 128,000 | 164,000 |
Attendance figures are collected from churches for the first 4 Sundays of October and in the following Monday-Saturday midweek periods - this exercise is referred to as the "October count”. Figures include attendance at baptisms, as these usually take place in service, but not attendance at weddings and funerals. Attendance at services for schools is NOT included in the average weekly and average Sunday attendance figures but is reported separately.
In 2013, the question was changed to specifically ask about attendance at school services. Prior to 2013, it was apparent that some churches included such attendance in their reported figures while others did not. The change in question during this year resulted in a large change in the average weekly attendance from 2012 to 2013 and a more consistent practice across the church as a whole.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to help achieve net zero.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Church Commissioners are committed to reducing the carbon intensity of their portfolio by 2025 and, as a member of the Asset Owners Alliance, reaching ‘Net Zero’ in the investment portfolio by 2050.
The General Synod has set a target for the Church of England to become Net Zero by 2030. The National Church Institutions are supporting every diocese with a grant to grow capacity and employ staff to manage the work of achieving this net zero ambition. The Church Commissioners have committed funding of £30m for 2023-25 and £190m total for a 9-year programme from 2023-31.
Stage one will explore the best ways to decarbonise the diverse range of buildings and navigate planning and governance structures. The project will assess cathedrals and clergy housing, with demonstration churches that can act as showpieces of what is possible. There will be a special grant available from dioceses to enable churches to fund improvements to their energy efficiency.
A second workstream supports schools in accessing public sector decarbonisation funds, and another stream of grants will match local fundraising in churches for net-zero carbon projects through the Buildings for Mission scheme
This will provide a clear picture of the kinds of projects that are effective in reducing emissions, ready for a scaled-up investment in the second 3-year period
Recent success stories include York Minster and the Chapel at Kings College, Cambridge, which have joined many other major churches and cathedrals across the country in installing new solar panels and renewable technologies, reducing their running costs and making them more sustainable buildings.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether a recent assessment has been made of the environmental improvements being advanced through the church's holding of agricultural land.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The Church Commissioners undertake rolling assessments of environmental improvements being made to the farmland portfolio by tenants, which is used to update the baseline study undertaken five years ago. Data has so far been provided on over 25,000 acres of Commissioners’ land holdings and contains details of environmental changes, such as transitioning to regenerative agricultural practices. The Commissioners are pleased to announce a partnership with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), which will further develop this work.
The Church Commissioners’ rural estates team continues to engage with our new and existing agricultural tenants through regular individual farm visits, the sharing of ground-sourced data, including carbon audits, and the gathering of information from third parties. On recent assessment revealed that on a single Commissioners’ farm in Kent, over 45 species of bird were recorded during a single visit in December 2023.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many confirmations there were in each year since 1994.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The table below shows the number of confirmations conducted in the Church of England each year since 1994.
As the Established Church, every member of the public, whatever their belief, living within a parish in England has the right to access baptism, marriage and burial services of the Church of England as long as performing that service is lawful under Canon Law.
The detailed data on the number of baptism and confirmation services is published in the annual data ‘Statistics for Mission’.
Post 2009 figures can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/statisticsformission2022_tables.xlsx
Pre-2009 figures can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/about/data-services/resources-publications-and-data#na
Year | Number of confirmations |
1994 | 48,024 |
1995 | 43,667 |
1996 | 42,768 |
1997 | 40,881 |
1998 | 39,926 |
1999 | 37,469 |
2000 | 36,387 |
2001 | 33,367 |
2002 | 33,425 |
2003 | 31,797 |
2004 | 30,425 |
2005 | 29,833 |
2006 | 29,380 |
2007 | 27,926 |
2008 | 26,972 |
2009 | 25,028 |
2010 | 22,349 |
2011 | 22,242 |
2012 | 22,540 |
2013 | 19,883 |
2014 | 18,028 |
2015 | 16,723 |
2016 | 15,917 |
2017 | 15,253 |
2018 | 14,475 |
2019 | 13,355 |
2020 | 2,165 |
2021 | 6,388 |
2022 | 10,855 |
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether he has made an assessment of the contribution of church schools in Hendon constituency.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Though the National Church Institutions are not responsible for the operation of individual schools, the Diocese of London has volunteered the following information, which I hope is useful.
There are two Church of England schools in the Hendon Constituency.
St Mary’s and St John’s educates more than 1,600 pupils. One quarter are on free school meals, which is higher than the Local Authority average. Pupils are making above-average progress at an 8-level attainment of 0.39 compared with the national average of -0.03.
St Paul’s School Mill Hill educates 210 pupils. One fifth of pupils are in receipt of Free School Meals, in line with the Local Authority average. Pupils attainment is above-average; 84% attained the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths last summer compared to the national average of 60%.
I commend the teachers and leadership teams in both schools for these achievements.
The Church of England educates over one million children in its 4,700 schools across England. Church Schools are committed to the flourishing of children and deliver a rounded education that remains in high demand with parents. They serve all those in the community, whatever their faith or belief.