Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an impact assessment of proposals to increase charges payable by independent schools for Ofsted inspections; and if so, whether they will publish that assessment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department launched an 8 week consultation on 25 September 2025 on the subject of reducing the subsidy for Ofsted inspection fees. The consultation document is publicly available and sets out how Ofsted-inspected private schools will be affected by the proposed fee increases.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK conservatoires of the proposal to introduce a levy on fees that higher education institutions charge overseas students, set out in the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May (CP 1326).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.
We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.
We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.
We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the impact on the UK's creative economy of the proposal to introduce a levy on fees that higher education institutions charge overseas students, set out in the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May (CP 1326).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.
We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.
We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.
We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of state-funded schools had no applications for (1) GCSE music, and (2) A level music, in 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold information regarding the number of applications for individual subjects. However, the number of entries into each subject in each school and college can be downloaded from the Compare School and College Performance website: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 May (HL6984), whether they will name the schools visited by ministers in the Department for Education since July 2024, including whether each school is state-funded or fee paying.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider Ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools, in both their capacities as ministers and as Members of Parliament. The Ministerial team prioritise visits to state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England. In addition to the visits that Ministers undertake in their official capacity, Ministers undertake a range of visits to education settings in their role as Members of Parliament organised by constituency and Parliamentary offices, therefore any list provided would not provide the full picture of all activity undertaken.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many independent schools have been visited by Ministers at the Department for Education since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many teachers were employed in primary and secondary state-funded schools in England on 31 December 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers in each school phase and type, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
As of November 2023, the latest date for which data is available, there were 218,534 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers employed in state-funded nursery and primary schools in England and 217,563 FTE teachers employed in state-funded secondary schools in England.
School workforce statistics as of November 2024 will be published in June 2025.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist Key Stage 4 pupils in state schools whose study is disrupted by the closure of the Latin Excellence Programme; and what plans they have to ensure these students are able to complete their exam courses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision has been made to not extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the agreed initial three-year contract, which will end on 28 February 2025. This was not an easy decision, and we are grateful to the Centre for Latin Excellence for its work to deliver the programme and that of the schools who have participated.
Over the course of the programme Latin was delivered to over 4,000 pupils in over 40 schools across England, with an emphasis on schools outside London and the South East. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources and we hope that many schools will continue to deliver Latin after the programme ends.
The department will work closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme on 28 February.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the ending of the Latin Excellence Programme on access to Latin education in different parts of the country; and whether any areas will be disproportionately affected.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The fiscal situation this government inherited means there are difficult decisions to take on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Given this, the decision has been made to not extend the Latin Excellence Programme beyond the end of the agreed initial three-year contract, which will end on 28 February 2025. This was not an easy decision, and we are grateful to the Centre for Latin Excellence for its work to deliver the programme and that of the schools who have participated.
Over the course of the programme Latin was delivered to over 4,000 pupils in over 40 schools across England, with an emphasis on schools outside London and the South East. All schools on the programme will continue to have access to the curriculum resources and we hope that many schools will continue to deliver Latin after the programme ends.
The department will work closely with the Centre for Latin Excellence to ensure that teachers currently delivering the Latin curriculum to key stage 4 pupils will be prioritised and will receive extra support in the lead up to the end of the programme on 28 February.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many overseas pupils are currently studying at independent schools; and what assessment they have made of the impact on those pupils of adding VAT on independent school fees.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold this information for private schools. However, data from the 2024 Independent Schools Council (ISC) shows that there are 62,708 non-British pupils at ISC schools. There are 1,411 ISC schools, which make up roughly half of all private schools in England. This research can be found here: https://www.isc.co.uk/research/annual-census/.
The government is working to carefully consider the impact of charging VAT on private schools’ fees. Following scrutiny of the government’s costing by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, details of the government’s assessment of the expected impacts of these policy changes will be published at the Budget.