Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of moving the BBC to a commercial subscription-based model on costs to the public purse.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The BBC is a vital British asset and makes a huge contribution to lives up and down the country. This government firmly believes that the unique obligations placed on the BBC demand continued, sustainable public funding to support its vital work.
The Government is keeping an open mind about the future of the licence fee, and the forthcoming Charter Review will provide an essential opportunity to consider the best possible funding model to set the BBC up for success long into the future. We will provide more details in due course.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Independent Schools have (a) closed and (b) announced their closure, since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Records of school closures are publicly available on the Get Information about Schools website at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an estimate of the number of criminals erroneously released as part of the early release scheme.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
On 10 September 2024, the Government took the necessary and unavoidable step to move certain release points from 50% to 40%, with an initial tranche of eligible offenders released on this date, and a second tranche released on 22 October 2024.
There was an issue with a repealed Breach of Restraining Order offence. We took action and as a result, we returned all 37 offenders to prison who had been released in error owing to this issue.
We have published data on how many offenders were released on the first day of both initial SDS40 release tranches (1,889 prisoners for Tranche 1, and 1,223 prisoners for Tranche 2). The number of people who have been released in error since September 2024 forms a subset of releases in error data which is scheduled for future publication. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we may not give any early indication of the contents of these statistical reports. Annual totals for releases in error are published each July in the HMPPS Annual Digest, available via Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of US tariffs on the hospitality sector in the UK.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK and US have a strong economic relationship which is fair, balanced and reciprocal. We have £1.2 trillion invested in each other’s economies and over 2.5 million jobs across both countries.
Hospitality businesses play a key role in the UK economy and we’re prioritising engagement with the US to stand up for industry and find a resolution.
We will continue to engage closely and productively with the US to press the case for UK business interests. We will keep all options on the table and won’t hesitate to respond in the national interest.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the mis-selling of timeshare schemes.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Consumers are already protected from mis-selling by consumer law.
Additionally, The Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Contracts Regulations 2010 specifically prevent mis-selling and pressure-selling of timeshares and give consumers protections against unfair contracts.
Recognising that tough enforcement is crucial to protecting consumers, the Government has introduced the Digital Market, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Part 3 of the Act introduces penalties of up to 10% of turnover for breaches of the law and gives the Competition and Markets Authority new powers to take swifter enforcement action without having to go through the courts.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the press release entitled Hundreds of quangos to be examined for potential closure as Government takes back control, published on 7 April 2025, what estimate he has made of the potential reduction in Government spending arising from this review.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The review of all arms length bodies is ongoing. Further information, including on savings, will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what was the total (a) apprenticeship levy revenue received from eligible employers, (b) sum and proportion of levy revenue spent on Level 4, 5, 6 and 7 apprenticeship qualifications and (c) the sum and proportion of unspent levy revenue returned to HM Treasury in each of the last five years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay 0.5 per cent of their pay bill to invest in apprenticeship training. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. Annual apprenticeship levy receipts are published at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67b5fd2c9ae06ef4a71cf2e0/NS_Table_final.ods.
The department is responsible for apprenticeships in England only and receives an annual protected apprenticeships budget, which is agreed at spending reviews. Although closely linked, this is distinct from the total levy income collected and the funds in employer accounts.
In total, this apprenticeship budget covers the spend drawn down by all levy-paying employers, as well as apprenticeships for those who do not pay the levy, the costs of English and mathematics tuition for apprentices, and additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. It also covers the administrative costs of running the apprenticeships programme.
The table below provides details of the ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total and proportion of the budget that was unspent in each of the last five years.
| £ (million) |
|
|
|
|
Financial year | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Department ring-fenced apprenticeships budget | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,525* |
Underspend against Department ring-fenced apprenticeships budget | 550 | 604 | 11 | 96 | 16* |
Proportion of underspend against the apprenticeship budget | 22% | 24% | 1% | 4% | 1%* |
*The 2023/24 annual apprenticeship budget was revised in-year from £2,585 million to £2,525 million, as £60 million was surrendered in-year.
Where the department’s apprenticeships budget is underspent by the end of the financial year, funds are returned to HM Treasury in line with standard practice set out in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance, a copy of which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consolidated-budgeting-guidance-2024-to-2025.
The table below provides a breakdown of spend against the apprenticeship budget by apprenticeship level 4 to level 7, and the proportion of the budget spent at level 4 to level 7 for each of the five past years.
| Budget spend by apprenticeships level (£ million & %) |
|
|
|
Financial year | Level 4 | Level 5 | Level 6 | Level 7 |
2019/20 | 156 (8%) | 128 (7%) | 114 (6%) | 103 (5%) |
2020/21 | 181 (10%) | 146 (8%) | 172 (9%) | 165 (9%) |
2021/22 | 241 (10%) | 181 (7%) | 296 (12%) | 236 (10%) |
2022/23 | 249 (10%) | 166 (7%) | 349 (14%) | 234 (10%) |
2023/24 | 268 (11%) | 171 (7%) | 387 (15%) | 238 (9%) |
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help secure the release of Peter and Barbie Reynolds from Afghan authorities.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. I met their family on 2 April and I am closely monitoring this case. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the potential savings to the public purse of abolishing the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The budget allocated to the Sentencing Council for 2024/25 is £1.92 million. The savings of abolishing any public body would though depend on a number of factors e.g. wind-up costs, and we do not have a detailed assessment of these factors in relation to the Sentencing Council.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed increase to employers National Insurance contributions on trends in the levels of unemployment benefit claims.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The potential impacts of the changes to employers National Insurance Contributions, have been assessed by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.
This assessment is publicly available and can be found here: Economic and fiscal outlook – March 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility