First elected: 8th June 2017
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Don't apply VAT to independent school fees, or remove business rates relief.
Gov Responded - 20 Dec 2024 Debated on - 3 Mar 2025 View Neil O'Brien's petition debate contributionsPrevent independent schools from having to pay VAT on fees and incurring business rates as a result of new legislation.
These initiatives were driven by Neil O'Brien, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Neil O'Brien has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Neil O'Brien has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Neil O'Brien has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Neil O'Brien has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
I refer the Hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the written answer to his question published on 21st March 2025 (UIN 29047). Subject to Charity Commission authorisation the Church Commissioners intends to settle income from its general fund on a new charitable fund through which the Church Commissioners intends to deliver Project Spire.
The Church Commissioners has not spent that sum in connection with its response to historic links to African chattel enslavement (known by the project name Spire). Expenditure on this work to date has been limited to proportionate research into the Church Commissioners’ source of funds and consideration of its response to that history, with a view to maintaining public trust in the charity; and in connection with proper steps to explore regulatory authorisation by the Charity Commission.
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
Data for 2024 is still being analysed and is not yet available for publication.
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 | 10,876 |
2023 | 10,715 |
Project Spire is important missional activity. The anticipated impact on parishes is an increased understanding of historic links with enslavement, which exist in many parts of the Church of England, and possible ways to share, discuss and respond.
Funding for Project Spire will be sourced entirely from the Endowment Fund managed by the Church Commissioners. None of the money from parish income, or that is given to a parish church, will be used for this fund. Therefore, no direct financial impact is anticipated for parishes.
Contested heritage guidance has been developed that may support churches in considering contested monuments within churches, but this work is not part of Project Spire, which exists to respond to links between the historic endowment of the Church and enslavement.
There are 6 full time equivalents working in standalone EDI roles. Otherwise, this information is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman Parliamentary Question of 13th of February is attached.
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 20 November is attached.
Government Departments are responsible for their own social media content. The Government Communications Service does not provide a central resource for this. The Cabinet Office employs two digital officers who are responsible for producing social media content, including videos, for the Department's policies and in support of the Department's Ministers.
Cabinet Office Communications total spend (pay and non-pay) was £2,988,971.49 in FY 23/24, and it has a total budget (pay and non-pay) of £2,460,684.00 in FY 24/25.
In DBT, we do not have any roles in HR or Corporate Services with job titles which include the words ‘equality’, ‘diversity’, ‘inclusion’, ‘gender’, ‘LGBT’ or ‘race’.
Within our Trade Policy, Implementation and Negotiations Group (TPIN), we have 8 roles which include the word ‘gender’ in the job titles – these roles cover FTA chapters rather than a corporate/HR role.
Within our Domestic and International Markets and Exports Group (DIME), we have one role which includes the word ‘diversity’ in the job title – this role is an administrative one as of the King’s Award for Enterprise Team.
The Government recognises that the UK’s aerospace and space industry is world-leading. Although the Government cannot comment on individual commercial cases, where appropriate officials will work with companies and administrators to consider how best to retain valuable Intellectual Property in the UK.
Local Authorities are responsible for enforcement and central Government has no current plans for legislation that can be used to amend these fees.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT), including spend by predecessor Department for International Trade (DIT), spent £24,299,000 on communications in financial year 2022-2023 as reported in the Department’s annual report and accounts, available on GOV.UK.
This spend has supported DBT’s strategic efforts to promote the UK’s international trade agenda and achievements, position it as a destination for inward investment, and boost export promotion.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has fewer than five staff with job titles that include the words equality, diversity, inclusion gender, LGBT or race. These roles play an important part in the Department’s commitment to supporting equality, diversity and inclusion.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority have 4 roles that include "diversity and inclusion" as their job title’
The CNC have 5 roles with the acronym EDI in the job title (Equality Diversity and Inclusion).
The UKAEA manages Equality, Diversity and Inclusion alongside Wellbeing, and there are 3 members of staff who have the words 'equality,' 'diversity' and 'inclusion' plus wellbeing in their job titles.
There are no roles with the words gender, LGBT or race in the job titles.
Bidirectional chargers for electric vehicles to enable them to export as well as import energy from their batteries is an emerging technology area. It will enable electric vehicle drivers to sell electricity back to the grid, as well as power their homes or business. This can save money for electric vehicle drivers and will contribute to delivering this Government’s clean energy superpower mission.
Whilst Government does not currently hold data on the total number of bidirectional chargers installed, over 650 were installed in homes and workplaces across the UK as part of the UK vehicle to grid innovation programme which ran from 2017 to 2022. Ongoing UK government funded innovation is supporting the further development and deployment of this important technology.
For the financial year 2023/24 the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spent £7.6m on communications including payroll and advertising.
(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
This public R&D regional investment target is committed to in legislation via the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
Increasing productivity right across the UK is fundamental to our mission to kickstart economic growth. Through our Industrial Strategy and the development of Local Growth Plans, we will build on local strengths to ensure that public and private R&D investment right across the UK helps local places to reach their potential.
In financial year 2023/2024 the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) spent a total of £8,316,561.37 on communications. This is inclusive of £3,516,253.54 which are payroll related costs for staff who work in the Communications Directorate.
The DSIT Communications Team is responsible for all communications conducted by the department and its Ministers to help inform, promote and explain departmental policies through traditional and new media channels. This includes a number of paid-for marketing campaigns such as those designed to encourage uptake of R&D funding made available through Horizon Europe and campaigns to build skills required for the jobs of the future.
The requested figures are
DCMS | 2 |
Arts Council England | 11 |
National Lottery Community Fund | 4 |
On the 22nd of January, I was pleased to announce that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme would continue from March 2025 to March 2026. Further details can be found here in the Written Statement.
Departmental settlements have been set following the Budget announcement on October 30. Individual programmes will now be assessed during the departmental Business Planning process.
Communications supports the government in delivering for the public, ensuring information is shared widely and effectively, informed by data and using a broad range of channels. In DCMS, an in-house team delivers communications with a limited supporting budget, used for example to help deliver campaigns that reach members of the public who don’t frequently engage with traditional media. In addition, internal communications ensures staff are informed and engaged - a proven driver of productivity - in support of delivering government and departmental priorities.
Spend on communications for the Department for Culture, Media & Sport during the 2023/24 financial year was £552,010.27 as outlined below:
Communications spending for FY 2023/24 | |
Media monitoring and services | £242,753.55 |
Campaigns | £156,121.22 |
Research & Evaluation | £107,775.00 |
Digital services & equipment | £20,510.50 |
Internal Communications | £24,850.00 |
To note, the figures for 2023/24 are still being audited and so could be subject to change. The Annual Report and Accounts to be published in November 2024 post audit.
Earlier this year, we updated the careers statutory guidance reflecting the revised Gatsby Benchmarks of good careers guidance and included the new definition of meaningful workplace experiences to raise the quality of work experience.
In this guidance we also set out the vision for this government’s priority for the delivery of two weeks’ worth of meaningful work experience for all pupils over the course of their secondary education, irrespective of background.
Building on the Gatsby Benchmark 6 definition for Experiences of Workplaces, we will ensure that all pupils have multiple, meaningful and varied high-quality workplace experiences, including one weeks’ worth of workplace activities between years 7-9 and one weeks’ worth of work placement between years 10-11, progressively increasing their exposure to different places of work.
We are currently piloting a new flexible model of work experience, designed to reduce barriers for young people, schools and employers. The department will set out more details of the work experience guarantee in due course.
Cheating of any kind is unacceptable. It threatens to undermine the reputation of our world-class education sector and devalues the hard work of those who succeed on their own merit.
Ofqual require Awarding Organisations to have robust policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect, and deal with malpractice, including plagiarism.
The Joint Council for Qualifications have published guidance to support schools and colleges to identify and address concerns about plagiarism in exams and assessments, which can be found at: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/malpractice/plagiarism-in-assessments---guidance-for-teachersassessors/.
Higher education providers are independent bodies responsible for their own approaches to preventing academic misconduct by students, including plagiarism, but are regulated in relation their assessment practices by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS sets the expectation that assessments must be designed in a way that minimises opportunities for misconduct and facilitates its detection where it does occur.
As part of our Plan for Change, the government is investing in skills in order to drive economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity. The overall programme resource budget for apprenticeships, further education and higher education in the 2025/26 financial year is £15.8 billion. This includes funding for the National Careers Service, the Education and Training Foundation, WorldSkills UK, and the Careers and Enterprise Company.
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.
I refer the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 47782.
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.
The total number of schools participating in the breakfast clubs early adopters scheme has increased since the initial list was published on 24 February.
From the start of this term, the first 750 free breakfast clubs are opening in towns and cities across the country, supporting nearly 180,000 children with a healthy, nutritious start to their day.
Over 3,000 schools expressed interest in joining the programme, so some movement was always expected as the department confirmed the final list.
The department built in time between the announcement and the start of the scheme in order to work closely with schools, ensure plans were deliverable, and get clubs up and running from the first day of term.
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 at: 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.
The assessment process for applications to the school-based nursery capital grant was conducted in a fair and consistent manner across all schools. Awards to eligible schools were made based on application scores.
Each application was evaluated by a team of officials from the department against four established criteria, using a six-point scoring scale. Any applicant that scored less than 2 in any criterion was eliminated from the process. Assessors reviewed each project based on the information provided in the application, the required supporting documentation and relevant school performance and financial indicators available to the department.
After the initial assessment and scoring, a panel of commercial specialists conducted a moderation exercise. Applications were then ranked by total score and funding was awarded to the 300 highest-scoring projects.
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.
The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Information on the number of pupils in England as at January is published annually in the ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ accredited official statistics publication, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2023-24.
These statistics do not include pupil movements within the school year.
The table below outlines information on the 69 schools visited by departmental Ministers, including the Secretary of State, between 4 July 2024 and 22 April 2025, in a Ministerial capacity. We have included state and independent primary, secondary and special schools.
Date | Setting | Independent or state? |
11/07/2024 | Woodmansterne Primary | State |
11/07/2024 | Albion Primary School | State |
18/07/2024 | Croftway Academy | State |
18/07/2024 | Iqra Primary School | State |
19/07/2024 | St Kentigern's RC Primary School | State |
19/07/2024 | Trinity CoE High School | State |
05/08/2024 | Fonthill Primary School | State |
13/08/2024 | Westcourt Primary School | State |
20/08/2024 | Harton Academy | State |
02/09/2024 | Perry Hall Primary School | State |
04/09/2024 | Elm Grove Primary School | State |
05/09/2024 | Dilkes Academy | State |
12/09/2024 | Barmston Village Primary School | State |
16/09/2024 | St Peters CofE Primary School | State |
27/09/2024 | Long Lawford Primary School | State |
27/09/2024 | Rugby Free Secondary School | State |
07/10/2024 | JCoSS - Jewish Community Secondary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Rimon Primary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Barry Primary School | State |
10/10/2024 | Weavers Academy | State |
11/10/2024 | Chantry Academy | State |
15/10/2024 | Manchester Academy | State |
15/10/2024 | Co-op Academy Manchester | State |
16/10/2024 | Westwood Academy | State |
17/10/2024 | Colville Primary School | State |
18/10/2024 | Mount Pleasant Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Lemington Riverside Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Beech Hill Primary School | State |
24/10/2024 | Regent Farm First School | State |
24/10/2024 | Sunningdale School | State |
24/10/2024 | Benedict Biscop C.E. Academy | State |
07/11/2024 | St Michael's CofE Primary Academy | State |
14/11/2024 | Waterville Primary School | State |
21/11/2024 | Reach Academy | State |
28/11/2024 | Hawley Primary School | State |
02/12/2024 | Becontree Primary School | State |
05/12/2024 | Chesterton Primary School | State |
05/12/2024 | Haygrove School | State |
10/12/2024 | The Cavendish School | Independent |
11/12/2024 | Campion School | State |
16/12/2024 | Harris Academy St John's Wood | State |
16/01/2025 | All Saints Catholic Primary School | State |
22/01/2025 | Haberdashers Knights Academy | State |
30/01/2025 | Malmesbury Primary School | State |
31/01/2025 | Rushey Mead Academy | State |
10/02/2025 | Outwood Academy Adwick | State |
13/02/2025 | Richard Cloudesley School Golden Lane Campus | State |
20/02/2025 | Haltwhistle Primary Academy | State |
24/02/2025 | Peckover Primary School | State |
27/02/2025 | Ada Lovelace CofE High School | State |
06/03/2025 | Fair Furlong Community School | State |
14/03/2025 | Cardinal Heenan Catholic School | State |
17/03/2025 | Gatton School | State |
20/03/2025 | Oakdene Primary Academy | State |
20/03/2025 | King's College Maths School | State |
21/03/2025 | E-Act Parkwood Academy | State |
24/03/2025 | Minchinhampton Primary Academy | State |
24/03/2025 | Forest High School | State |
26/03/2025 | Cranmer Primary School | State |
31/03/2025 | Manor Fields School | State |
31/03/2025 | Fulbridge Academy | State |
01/04/2025 | Garden City Academy | State |
02/04/2025 | Millbank Gardens Primary Academy | State |
03/04/2025 | City Academy | State |
03/04/2025 | Mandeville Primary School | State |
16/04/2025 | Coleridge Primary School | State |
16/04/2025 | Ernest Bevin Academy | State |
22/04/2025 | Denbigh Primary School | State |
Bid applications for the school-based nursery capital grant were assessed on four key criteria: project overview and value for money, local need for childcare, approach to early years education and management of provision.
The school-based nursery capital grant is capital funding awarded to schools to repurpose spare space in school buildings for the purpose of creating, or expanding, nursery provision.
All schools, including those in receipt of the school-based nursery capital grant, will report termly through the school census details of all registered pupils who take up any of the funded entitlements to free education within that school. All schools are also required to report annually on the types of childcare offered, for example, before school, after school, holiday and under five. The information collected includes the opening and closing time as well as the number of weeks opened.
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the non-departmental public body responsible for higher education in England. It is independent of government.
In 2022/23, the OfS opened investigations into the quality of business and management courses at eight providers and of computing courses at three providers. It also opened investigations into grade inflation concerns at three providers and opened a further 12 investigations into potential non-compliance with condition B3, which sets minimum thresholds for student outcomes. Quality assessments are conducted as part of the quality investigations.
The OfS began publishing the subject-based investigation case reports in September 2023. Details of these, including decisions about any regulatory action, can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/about/how-we-are-run/key-performance-measures/kpm-11-efficient-regulation/.
The OfS also publishes information about enhanced monitoring of providers. The OfS does not tell the department which providers are subject to enhanced monitoring, but where that enhanced monitoring follows an investigation, it is included in the case reports. The published case reports show that the OfS has decided to conduct enhanced monitoring of the University of Bolton (the OfS has since approved a change of name for the University of Bolton to the University of Greater Manchester) and the University of Bedfordshire, until such a point at which it judges the risk of non-compliance with its quality conditions to have been acceptably minimised.
The OfS began publishing the B3 investigation case reports in July 2023. Details of these can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-providers/quality-and-standards/how-we-regulate-student-outcomes/assessment-reports/.
The case reports for the investigations into grade inflation concerns have not yet been published.
The OfS does not share details about open ongoing investigations with the department.
Overall core revenue funding for schools totals almost £61.6 billion for the 2024/25 financial year. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced an additional £2.3 billion for mainstream schools and young people with high needs for the 2025/26 financial year, compared to 2024/25. This means that overall core school funding will total almost £63.9 billion in 2025/26. Each school has autonomy to allocate their budgets, including for their staff, to best meet the needs of their pupils to ensure they have the best opportunities in life.
The latest three years of published data for schools’ spending relates to the 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years. Our estimates in the table below for the proportions of expenditure for teachers and support staff have been compiled by combining published expenditure data sets from academies, which budget by academic year, and local authority maintained schools, which budget by financial year. We have not included cash expenditure data as combining financial and academic year data on school expenditure for different types of schools is less robust for estimating expenditure amounts than it is for estimating proportions. The pattern of expenditure in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 was affected by COVID-19.
Financial year | Primary schools | Secondary schools |
Proportions of expenditure in 2020/21 | Teachers: 50.6% Support staff: 33.0% | Teachers: 59.1% Support staff: 23.8% |
Proportions of expenditure in 2021/22 | Teachers: 49.0% Support staff: 32.8% | Teachers: 57.4% Support staff: 23.8% |
Proportions of expenditure in 2022/23 | Teachers: 48.1% Support staff: 33.1% | Teachers: 55.7% Support staff: 24.0% |
Further data on schools’ expenditure in the years following the 2022/23 financial year will be published in due course.
The information requested can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
Information on all open and closed establishments in England is published on the Get Information about Schools (GIAS) service, which can be accessed here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. Files available to download include information for all establishments (including name, URN and type of school) as well as a file with links to any predecessor or successor establishment. The files can be found here: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Downloads.
The information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
However, the department publishes the percentage of pupils achieving grades 4/5 or above in English and mathematics GCSEs by Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) deciles.
Data back to 2014/15 is published in the annual key stage 4/GCSE and equivalent statistical releases, which are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4. To find data by IDACI, see 'pupil residency and school location tables'.
Reformed GCSEs using the 9-1 grading scale were first introduced in 2016/17 with most GCSEs exams using the scale by 2018/19.
I refer the hon. Member for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston to the answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 34817.
The department expects twice as many mandatory interventions in schools, through both structural intervention and targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) interventions. This is expected to total around 370 schools experiencing mandatory intervention averaged annually over the next three years, based on the pattern of Ofsted inspections in recent years and the number of schools already meeting proposed intervention criteria. Over the past three years, the numbers of maintained schools and academies placed in an Ofsted category of concern were roughly equal, and we anticipate a similar picture in future years.
The government’s consultation on school accountability reform proposes a better and faster approach to intervention in all schools, regardless of whether they are maintained schools or academies.
This is a matter for the University of Greater Manchester. We understand the Office for Students, the independent regulator for higher education (HE) in England, has also been notified of this case. The university is conducting its own investigation, and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
This government is determined to ensure the safeguarding of public money and in January we published a consultation with proposals to strengthen oversight of partnership delivery in HE.