Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they conducted an impact assessment of the effect on recruitment of 16-21 year old apprentices by non-levy-paying employers of the decision to (1) increase the apprentice wage for 16-17 year olds by 6 per cent, and (2) raise the national minimum wage for 18-20 year olds by 8.5 per cent; if so, what were the results of that assessment; and if not, why.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department for Business and Trade will publish a comprehensive impact assessment alongside the legislation introducing the revised National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates early in the New Year. This assessment will provide detailed analysis for each rate including the apprentice rate, the projected number of workers who will benefit and the estimated costs to businesses, broken down by region, age group, and sector.
In addition, the Low Pay Commission have published their summary of evidence on gov.uk, which sets out the key evidence behind their recommendation. Finally, the Low Pay Commission will publish their full annual report in the new year, which will set out in greater detail the evidence and stakeholder feedback that informed their 2026 NMW recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals were granted entry visas to the UK under the high-potential individual route in (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa type in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ [https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release]. Data on grants of visa applications are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the ‘detailed entry clearance visas dataset’ [https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-system-statistics-data-tables#entry-clearance-visas-granted-outside-the-uk].
Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.
Figures for visa grants for the High Potential Individual route can be seen in the table below.
Quarter | Main Applicants | Dependants | Total |
2023 Q1 | 517 | 100 | 617 |
2023 Q2 | 583 | 85 | 668 |
2023 Q3 | 620 | 70 | 690 |
2023 Q4 | 493 | 76 | 569 |
2024 Q1 | 399 | 73 | 472 |
2024 Q2 | 544 | 56 | 600 |
2024 Q3 | 497 | 43 | 540 |
2024 Q4 | 357 | 31 | 388 |
2025 Q1 | 336 | 73 | 409 |
2025 Q2 | 605 | 70 | 675 |
2025 Q3 | 536 | 68 | 604 |
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 12 November (HL11389 and HL11390), how many qualifications were approved as Higher Technical Qualifications as of (1) September 2023, and (2) September 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In September 2023 there were 154 qualifications awarded the Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) quality mark, and in September 2024 there were 227 qualifications awarded the HTQ quality mark.
The department’s data on learner enrolments does not distinguish between HTQs that were approved but had not yet started delivery, and those that were live and available but attracted no student enrolments. The department does not therefore have sufficient data to specify how many live HTQs had no students enrolled in any given academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 12 November (HL11389 and HL11390), how many of the qualifications approved as Higher Technical Qualifications in September had no students enrolled in the 2023–24 academic year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In September 2023 there were 154 qualifications awarded the Higher Technical Qualification (HTQ) quality mark, and in September 2024 there were 227 qualifications awarded the HTQ quality mark.
The department’s data on learner enrolments does not distinguish between HTQs that were approved but had not yet started delivery, and those that were live and available but attracted no student enrolments. The department does not therefore have sufficient data to specify how many live HTQs had no students enrolled in any given academic year.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government which private special education schools closed in England in (1) 2024, and (2) 2025; and in which region were they located.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2024 there were 2,458 private schools in England, of which 804 were special schools.
During 2024, 58 private schools closed, of which 18 were special schools.
Between 1 January and 15 October 2025, 60 private schools have closed, of which 6 were special schools.
The table below shows the special schools that closed in England in 2024. Of these, 9 schools closed on or before 4 July 2024, and 9 schools closed on or after 5 July 2024:
School Name | Region |
Ashcroft School | North West |
Sheiling School | South West |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
Wings School | Cumbria |
The Meadows | East Midlands |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Blidworth | East Midlands |
Manorway Independent School | South East |
Glebe House | East Anglia |
Buzz Learning Independent Specialist School | North East |
Argyll House | East Anglia |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Ilkeston | East Midlands |
Summit School | West Midlands |
The Copper Academy | South West |
Starbold Farm Outdoor Learning Centre | West Midlands |
Sunflower Meadow Farm School | West Midlands |
Odyssey House School - Wokingham | South East |
Redbourn Park Secondary School | South East |
The following special schools closed in England in 2025:
School Name | Region |
Greater Manchester Alternative Provision | North West |
Cornfields School | South East |
Belle Vue School | South East |
Blooming Tree Primary School | Greater London |
Endeavour House School | West Yorkshire |
Skylarks School | South East |
Children whose place in a private school has been deemed necessary by a local authority will not be affected by tax changes. If an education, health and care plan names a private school, the local authority must fund that place. Where this is the case, local authorities will be able to reclaim the VAT on the fees from HMRC via the Section 33 VAT refund scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many private schools closed in England in (1) 2024 and (2) 2025; and in each year, how many of them were special education schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2024 there were 2,458 private schools in England, of which 804 were special schools.
During 2024, 58 private schools closed, of which 18 were special schools.
Between 1 January and 15 October 2025, 60 private schools have closed, of which 6 were special schools.
The table below shows the special schools that closed in England in 2024. Of these, 9 schools closed on or before 4 July 2024, and 9 schools closed on or after 5 July 2024:
School Name | Region |
Ashcroft School | North West |
Sheiling School | South West |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
Wings School | Cumbria |
The Meadows | East Midlands |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Blidworth | East Midlands |
Manorway Independent School | South East |
Glebe House | East Anglia |
Buzz Learning Independent Specialist School | North East |
Argyll House | East Anglia |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Ilkeston | East Midlands |
Summit School | West Midlands |
The Copper Academy | South West |
Starbold Farm Outdoor Learning Centre | West Midlands |
Sunflower Meadow Farm School | West Midlands |
Odyssey House School - Wokingham | South East |
Redbourn Park Secondary School | South East |
The following special schools closed in England in 2025:
School Name | Region |
Greater Manchester Alternative Provision | North West |
Cornfields School | South East |
Belle Vue School | South East |
Blooming Tree Primary School | Greater London |
Endeavour House School | West Yorkshire |
Skylarks School | South East |
Children whose place in a private school has been deemed necessary by a local authority will not be affected by tax changes. If an education, health and care plan names a private school, the local authority must fund that place. Where this is the case, local authorities will be able to reclaim the VAT on the fees from HMRC via the Section 33 VAT refund scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many private schools there were in England in 2024; and how many of them were special education schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In 2024 there were 2,458 private schools in England, of which 804 were special schools.
During 2024, 58 private schools closed, of which 18 were special schools.
Between 1 January and 15 October 2025, 60 private schools have closed, of which 6 were special schools.
The table below shows the special schools that closed in England in 2024. Of these, 9 schools closed on or before 4 July 2024, and 9 schools closed on or after 5 July 2024:
School Name | Region |
Ashcroft School | North West |
Sheiling School | South West |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
Wings School | Cumbria |
The Meadows | East Midlands |
Values Academy | West Midlands |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Blidworth | East Midlands |
Manorway Independent School | South East |
Glebe House | East Anglia |
Buzz Learning Independent Specialist School | North East |
Argyll House | East Anglia |
R.E.A.L Independent Schools Ilkeston | East Midlands |
Summit School | West Midlands |
The Copper Academy | South West |
Starbold Farm Outdoor Learning Centre | West Midlands |
Sunflower Meadow Farm School | West Midlands |
Odyssey House School - Wokingham | South East |
Redbourn Park Secondary School | South East |
The following special schools closed in England in 2025:
School Name | Region |
Greater Manchester Alternative Provision | North West |
Cornfields School | South East |
Belle Vue School | South East |
Blooming Tree Primary School | Greater London |
Endeavour House School | West Yorkshire |
Skylarks School | South East |
Children whose place in a private school has been deemed necessary by a local authority will not be affected by tax changes. If an education, health and care plan names a private school, the local authority must fund that place. Where this is the case, local authorities will be able to reclaim the VAT on the fees from HMRC via the Section 33 VAT refund scheme.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil servants were employed by the Department for Education in (1) 2011, (2) 2016, (3) 2021, and (4) 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Data on the number of civil servants employed by the Department for Education (including its executive agencies), as at 31 March, are available in the published Civil Service Statistics in Table 20 of the respective statistical releases for 2011, 2016, 2021, and 2024. These statistics are published by the Cabinet Office and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/civil-service-statistics.
Data by year requested is available below (numbers are rounded to the nearest 10):
The role of the department has changed over this period. The increase in headcount reflects organisational growth, such as the transfer of the higher and further education briefs to the department in 2016, the creation of the Education and Skills Funding Agency in 2017, and the expansion of delivery responsibilities in areas including academies, skills and further education.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were enrolled on courses leading to Higher Technical Qualifications in the academic years 2023–4 and 2024–5.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of September 2025, there were 281 qualifications approved as Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These encompass thirteen occupational routes:
The list of approved qualifications is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-higher-technical-qualifications.
In the 2023/24 academic year, the second year of the HTQ rollout, the department estimates that 4,370 students were enrolled on HTQs based on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Individualised Learner Record student records.
Data covering participation and completion rates for HTQs in the 2024/25 academic year is not currently available.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many qualifications are currently approved as Higher Technical Qualifications.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of September 2025, there were 281 qualifications approved as Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These encompass thirteen occupational routes:
The list of approved qualifications is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-higher-technical-qualifications.
In the 2023/24 academic year, the second year of the HTQ rollout, the department estimates that 4,370 students were enrolled on HTQs based on data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Individualised Learner Record student records.
Data covering participation and completion rates for HTQs in the 2024/25 academic year is not currently available.