Written questions by Fenton-Glynn.

Media and Sport, how many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. (a) Subscriptions: DCMS has had a Premium Plus subscription with X (formerly known as Twitter) for two years which costs £168 per annum, and a Reddit subscription since March 2024 at £60 per annum. A breakdown per financial year is as follows:2024/25 - £228 (X and Reddit).2023/24 - £178 (X and Reddit).2022/23 - £0.2021/22 - £0. (b) Advertisements: On advertisements, we have calculated figures based on the three previous financial years, excluding 2024/25 given this year has not yet finished. These figures are total amounts spent on advertising and marketing in our campaigns that includes wider campaign costs such as creative development and production, research, evaluation and media channels not limited to social media. We do not have records that give a comprehensive breakdown of each social media platform earlier than FY2023/24 due to the way figures are recorded. FY2023/24:In 2023/24, DCMS spent a total of £601,129.14 on advertising and marketing in our campaigns, of which £110,000 was spent on social media advertising. £35,000 was spent on YouTube and £75,000 on Meta and Snapchat.DCMS also spent an additional £600 boosting social media posts on DCMS owned channels.FY2022/23:In 2022/23, DCMS spent a total of £587,958.60 on advertising and marketing in our campaigns, a small contribution of which going to social media advertising. This figure includes campaigns that would now be owned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which were conducted when DCMS still held the Digital portfolio. Social media channels included: Google, Bing, Netmums, YouTube, Facebook, X/Twitter, Giphy, Acast, Spotify, Snapchat, Loop Me, Instagram, Venatus.DCMS also spent an additional £188.53 boosting social media posts on DCMS owned channels.FY2021/22:In 2021/22, DCMS spent a total of £318,844.21 on advertising and marketing in our campaigns, a smaller contribution of which going to social media advertising. This figure includes campaigns that would now be owned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which were conducted when DCMS still held the Digital portfolio. Social media channels included: Spotify, Acast, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Loop-Me, Venatus, Youtube, Google, LinkedIn.DCMS also spent an additional £639.93 boosting social media posts on DCMS owned channels.

How many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. DfT operates 23 separate social media accounts, and in the last three years it has spent £201.60 on social media subscriptions. The table below shows how much DfT have spent advertising on social media platforms for each of the last 3 calendar years for public behaviour change campaigns predominantly on road safety and accessibility. YearMETA PLATFORMS IRELAND LIMITEDPINTEREST EUROPE LTDREDDIT INCSNAP GROUP LIMITEDTWITTER UK LTDTotal2021£661,232£46,481£15,927£149,184£195,613£1,068,4372022£485,431£4,642£54,707£311,344£200,741£1,056,8652023£311,333£2,101£101,775£215,300£41,448£671,9572024£276,223 £158,849£207,426£0£642,498Total£1,734,219£53,224£331,258£883,254£437,802£3,439,757

How many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.Social media is an essential part of Government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.The Ministry of Justice Communications team oversees 33 social media accounts, for HQ and its executive agencies across various platforms as of 28 February 2025, we also support around 91 local Prison social media accounts across X and LinkedIn.The Department's spending on social media platforms for the last three financial years is detailed below: Social Media platforms2021/222022/232023/24X£69,765.00£0.00£0.00Linked in£119,616.73£65,809.65£150,846.07YouTube£0.00£0.00£19,957.00Gaia£0.00£8,500.00£26,472.10GDN£0.00£463.00£1,855.13Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Threads)£420,388.00£582,390.00£1,138,059.44Totals£609,769.73£657,162.65£1,337,189.74 Across our Various digital subscription services, our departmental spend, broken down by year is:FY2021/22 - £101,225FY2022/23 - £103,636FY2023/24 - £165,991** 2023/24 the Department started managing 91 local prison X accounts.

Innovation and Technology, how many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Department is responsible for operating a total of 18 social media accounts. This includes a number of accounts currently under review and operated by the Government Digital Service, which recently became a part of the department.The Department has spent £201.60 on (a) subscriptions – two payments of £100.80 in 2023 and 2024.To date, the Department has spent £450,901.04 on (b) social media advertisements.The Department spent £386,615.04 on LinkedIn and £64,286.00 on META in the financial year 24/25.In addition, the Department has a shared HR function with DESNZ which has a contractual arrangement with LinkedIn Hiring Solutions for the period June 2023 to June 2025, for the amount of £425,123.31.The Department holds no data prior to the financial year 23/24 due to DSIT only being formed in February 2023.The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact.Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. The Government remains committed to scrutiny, transparency and best value for taxpayer money.

How many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

DESNZ operates seven social media accounts. Since the Department was established on 7th February 2023, we can only provide information for the past two years. The department spends £84 annually on subscriptions and allocated £366,928 in 2023 and £545,576 in 2024 for advertisements on social media platform.

How many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Department operates 25 social media accounts in total. Of these, seven are Department-branded accounts, including two specifically focused on adult social care recruitment. The remaining 18 accounts are operated by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and are branded according to specific public health campaigns, such as Better Health, Start for Life, Couch to 5K, and FRANK. These accounts operate across various platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and Strava.In terms of social media subscriptions, the Department maintains one premium subscription on X for social listening purposes.The following table shows the Department's social media advertising spend across platforms for the last three financial years: Platform2021/22 (£)2022/23 (£)2023/24 (£)Meta2,887,4771,461,5221,475,286LinkedIn79022,4597,739NextdoorN/AN/A129,908Pinterest341,329116,299140,685Snapchat369,188450,694543,388TwitterN/AN/AN/ARedditN/AN/A158,626Total3,598,7842,050,9742,455,632Source: Department of Health and Social CareNote: These figures include spending across Departmental and OHID accounts. Some advertisements were run from NHS England accounts but were funded by the Department/OHID. YouTube advertising spend is not included as this is categorised as online video rather than social media advertising.

How many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. A full departmental response is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Social media accounts are managed locally across the various departments within the Ministrt of Defence (MOD). Any costs associated with social media platforms including advertisements are also managed within individual teams’ departmental budgets. A list of the main MOD social media accounts are published on Gov.UK via the following link https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence/about/social-media-use.

How many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

There are a total of 80 social media accounts that are operated across the department. A full list of handles can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-registered-twitter-accounts/dwp-official-twitter-accounts There are currently no paid for subscriptions to any of these services. Spending on social media advertising for the last three years is outlined below. This does not include cross-government campaign costs which cannot be disaggregated between Departments: 202220232024TotalsLinkedIn£188,679 £0£14,381£203,060Meta £1,120,584£1,556,910£972,889£3,650,383NextDoor £0£92,338£49,225£141,563Pinterest£23,156£193,854£117,860£334,870Reddit £0£0£38,985£38,985Snapchat£175,414£60,000£285,419£520,833Twitter£213,905£128,584 £0£342,489 £1,721,738£2,031,686£1,478,759£5,232,183

How many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The department uses social media to connect directly and speak with the public on the issues and areas of interest they care most deeply about.It operates 25 live social media accounts incorporating campaigns and supporting agencies.The department spends no money on social media platform subscriptions.The department undertook communications activity across its remit in line with the government’s published communications plans for each year. All spend complies with Cabinet Office spending controls to ensure that, where taxpayer money is being spent on government communications, it is cost-effective, coordinated and reflects functional standards and professional best practices. Activity included delivering joined up, national campaigns to increase supply and demand for technical qualifications, including apprenticeships and T Levels, and skills offers; inspiring more people to teach in schools and colleges; encouraging take up of government-funded childcare; and inspiring more people to become childcare professionals. As part of these campaigns, the department spent the following on paid-for advertising on each social media platform in each complete financial year: Platform2021/222022/232023/24Meta£ 1,513,264.00£ 2,170,187.00£ 3,202,273.00LinkedIn£ 223,926.00£ 476,815.00£ 486,835.00Pinterest£ 95,280.00£ 99,799.00£ 175,733.00Snapchat£ 598,276.00£ 821,765.00£ 1,449,496.00Twitter£ 276,397.00£ 391,616.00-Reddit-£ 47,644.00£ 28,145.00

Food and Rural Affairs, how many social media accounts his Department operates; and how much his Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.

The Government communicates across a range of media channels in order to reach its target audience effectively. Channels are selected based on whether they will reach the intended audience on a specific issue to have the most impact. Social media is an essential part of government communications and is used to inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests. Defra currently operates 18 accounts across its policy areas and functions. To our knowledge, Defra does not have regular social media subscriptions. Departmental marketing spend for the last 3 years on social advertisements is detailed below: DEFRA Social Investment by year (H1/H2)2021LinkedInMETATwitterNext DoorTotalH1 Jan-Jun£24,047£127,757£1,088 £152,892H2 Jul-Dec £66,756 £66,7562022LinkedInMETATwitterNext DoorTotalH1 Jan-Jun£7,045£176,713 £183,758H2 Jul-Dec £44,114 £44,1142023LinkedInMETATwitterNext DoorTotalH1 Jan-Jun £94,121 £94,121H2 Jul-Dec£3,570£125,930 £129,5002024LinkedInMETATwitterNext DoorTotalH1 Jan-Jun £174,872 £11,785£186,657H2 Jul-Dec £60,320 £60,320

Of the total additional elective operations statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.

The information is not held in the format requested.

Of the total additional outpatient appointments statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.

The information is not held in the format requested.

Of the total additional diagnostic tests statistics published by NHS England on 16 February 2025, how many were performed by treatment function by each (a) NHS Trust and (b) NHS Region.

The information is not held in the format requested.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the cumulative level of debt held by local authorities in each of the last 15 years.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collects data returns from local authorities including their borrowing and investment information. These returns are collated and published by MHCLG on gov.uk. There are various metrics by which debt can be measured. We have provided links to relevant information along with a summary what is available in each:Borrowing and investment live tables - Live tables on local government finance - GOV.UK. This dataset shows all UK local authorities’ borrowing and investment on a quarterly basis. The data is split by each authority dating back to 2014. There is also an annual summary table which shows the cumulative balances on an annual basis.Capital expenditure, receipts and financing - Local authority capital expenditure, receipts and financing - GOV.UK. This dataset is an annual return collected from English authorities only and dates back to 2000. These returns explain in more detail the expenditure of each authority and how these are financed, including each authority’s year end debt position, individually and in aggregate.Other government departments including HMT and The Office of National Statistics provide their own datasets. One such example would be: LG: Local government gross debt - Office for National Statistics. This is not owned by MHCLG however does provide aggregate local government gross debt from 1966 to 2024.

If she will take steps to launch a consultation on (a) reducing the availability of Disabled Students Allowance assistive technology packages and products and (b) removing the needs assessment element of applications for Disabled Students Allowance.

The department is not intending to launch a consultation on reducing the availability of assistive technology support packages and products provided through Disabled Students’ Allowance or the removal of the needs assessment element of applications.The department has not announced any changes to these areas of the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential equality impact of changes to the Disabled Students Allowance on (a) the provision of assistive technology support packages and products, and (b) the removal of the needs assessments from the eligibility criteria.

The department has not announced changes to the provision of assistive technology support packages and products through Disabled Students’ Allowances or the removal of needs assessments from the eligibility criteria.

What the average waiting time was for a needs assessments for Disabled Students Allowance applications from the date of application to the date of (a) the assessment being carried out and (b) entitlement letters being issued in the latest period for which data is available.

The average waiting time for a needs assessment from the date of application to the date of the assessment being carried out comprises the time taken by the Student Loans Company (SLC) to process an application and then the time taken by the contracted suppliers Capita and Study Tech to process the needs assessment. The time taken by SLC to process an application is published online at GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales. The latest weekly update, for February, shows that the average time taken for SLC to process an application, shown under the heading “a DSA application”, is currently 7 working days. The average time taken for the contracted suppliers to offer and complete the needs assessment is currently 28 days. Each supplier has been set two individual KPIs to cover the offer and completion of the needs assessment. These are KPI 1, “Booking of a Needs Assessment Appointment (Minimum of 95% of offer of needs assessment appointment made within 2 working days of referral of customer by SLC)” and KPI 2, “Completion of a Needs Assessment (Minimum of 95% of needs assessment interviews should be offered and completed within 7 working days of successful contact (excluding those where the customer has requested an alternative date))”. Following completion of the needs assessment, both suppliers are required to return the needs assessment report to SLC for review within 5 workings days, as stipulated by KPI 3, “Minimum of 95% of NARs made available to SLC within 5 working days of when needs assessments undertaken (excluding those where the customer has requested to review the needs assessment report)”. It is currently taking suppliers on average 14 days to return the needs assessment report to SLC. The needs assessment is then reviewed by SLC, following which confirmation of entitlement is communicated to the customer on the DSA2 letter. It is currently taking SLC 10 working days to complete this stage of the journey, as noted on the GOV.UK page under the heading “a Needs Assessment report”. Information on the suppliers’ performance against their KPIs is published online on a quarterly basis here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ds. The next update will be published at the end of February. All students applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) are required to have a needs assessment. This means that assistive software for spelling and grammar support has only been awarded when recommended in a needs assessment and agreed by SLC. Data on the number of students awarded specific assistive software for spelling and grammar support through DSA for the time periods specified in the question is not immediately available, but in the 2023 calendar year this was around 36,000. A list of the assistive software products for spelling and grammar support that have previously been awarded through DSA is published online here: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/exchange-blog/2017/april/dsa-product-review-process/. This list is for administrative purposes only. Products that are not on the list can also be funded through DSA if they are recommended by a needs assessor and agreed by SLC. Overall, agreed spend on spelling and grammar software through DSA is in the region of £4.5 million to £5 million annually. The total spend on each software product within that varies, as it depends on which products are recommended by needs assessors as being most suitable for students’ needs. As an illustration, in the 2023 calendar year, around 80% of total spend was on non-specialist grammar and spelling products, with Grammarly Premium making up 53% of total spend and Global Autocorrect 24% of total spend. Around 20% of total spend was on specialist grammar and spelling products for specific subject areas such as medicine and law, with Medincle products making up 16% of total spend.

How many students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance have been provided with spelling and grammar assistive technology packages (a) as of 5 February 2025 and (b) in each year since 2015.

The average waiting time for a needs assessment from the date of application to the date of the assessment being carried out comprises the time taken by the Student Loans Company (SLC) to process an application and then the time taken by the contracted suppliers Capita and Study Tech to process the needs assessment. The time taken by SLC to process an application is published online at GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales. The latest weekly update, for February, shows that the average time taken for SLC to process an application, shown under the heading “a DSA application”, is currently 7 working days. The average time taken for the contracted suppliers to offer and complete the needs assessment is currently 28 days. Each supplier has been set two individual KPIs to cover the offer and completion of the needs assessment. These are KPI 1, “Booking of a Needs Assessment Appointment (Minimum of 95% of offer of needs assessment appointment made within 2 working days of referral of customer by SLC)” and KPI 2, “Completion of a Needs Assessment (Minimum of 95% of needs assessment interviews should be offered and completed within 7 working days of successful contact (excluding those where the customer has requested an alternative date))”. Following completion of the needs assessment, both suppliers are required to return the needs assessment report to SLC for review within 5 workings days, as stipulated by KPI 3, “Minimum of 95% of NARs made available to SLC within 5 working days of when needs assessments undertaken (excluding those where the customer has requested to review the needs assessment report)”. It is currently taking suppliers on average 14 days to return the needs assessment report to SLC. The needs assessment is then reviewed by SLC, following which confirmation of entitlement is communicated to the customer on the DSA2 letter. It is currently taking SLC 10 working days to complete this stage of the journey, as noted on the GOV.UK page under the heading “a Needs Assessment report”. Information on the suppliers’ performance against their KPIs is published online on a quarterly basis here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ds. The next update will be published at the end of February. All students applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) are required to have a needs assessment. This means that assistive software for spelling and grammar support has only been awarded when recommended in a needs assessment and agreed by SLC. Data on the number of students awarded specific assistive software for spelling and grammar support through DSA for the time periods specified in the question is not immediately available, but in the 2023 calendar year this was around 36,000. A list of the assistive software products for spelling and grammar support that have previously been awarded through DSA is published online here: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/exchange-blog/2017/april/dsa-product-review-process/. This list is for administrative purposes only. Products that are not on the list can also be funded through DSA if they are recommended by a needs assessor and agreed by SLC. Overall, agreed spend on spelling and grammar software through DSA is in the region of £4.5 million to £5 million annually. The total spend on each software product within that varies, as it depends on which products are recommended by needs assessors as being most suitable for students’ needs. As an illustration, in the 2023 calendar year, around 80% of total spend was on non-specialist grammar and spelling products, with Grammarly Premium making up 53% of total spend and Global Autocorrect 24% of total spend. Around 20% of total spend was on specialist grammar and spelling products for specific subject areas such as medicine and law, with Medincle products making up 16% of total spend.

How many assistive technology products funded via the Disabled Students Allowance for spelling and grammar support require a needs assessment before being approved.

The average waiting time for a needs assessment from the date of application to the date of the assessment being carried out comprises the time taken by the Student Loans Company (SLC) to process an application and then the time taken by the contracted suppliers Capita and Study Tech to process the needs assessment. The time taken by SLC to process an application is published online at GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales. The latest weekly update, for February, shows that the average time taken for SLC to process an application, shown under the heading “a DSA application”, is currently 7 working days. The average time taken for the contracted suppliers to offer and complete the needs assessment is currently 28 days. Each supplier has been set two individual KPIs to cover the offer and completion of the needs assessment. These are KPI 1, “Booking of a Needs Assessment Appointment (Minimum of 95% of offer of needs assessment appointment made within 2 working days of referral of customer by SLC)” and KPI 2, “Completion of a Needs Assessment (Minimum of 95% of needs assessment interviews should be offered and completed within 7 working days of successful contact (excluding those where the customer has requested an alternative date))”. Following completion of the needs assessment, both suppliers are required to return the needs assessment report to SLC for review within 5 workings days, as stipulated by KPI 3, “Minimum of 95% of NARs made available to SLC within 5 working days of when needs assessments undertaken (excluding those where the customer has requested to review the needs assessment report)”. It is currently taking suppliers on average 14 days to return the needs assessment report to SLC. The needs assessment is then reviewed by SLC, following which confirmation of entitlement is communicated to the customer on the DSA2 letter. It is currently taking SLC 10 working days to complete this stage of the journey, as noted on the GOV.UK page under the heading “a Needs Assessment report”. Information on the suppliers’ performance against their KPIs is published online on a quarterly basis here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ds. The next update will be published at the end of February. All students applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) are required to have a needs assessment. This means that assistive software for spelling and grammar support has only been awarded when recommended in a needs assessment and agreed by SLC. Data on the number of students awarded specific assistive software for spelling and grammar support through DSA for the time periods specified in the question is not immediately available, but in the 2023 calendar year this was around 36,000. A list of the assistive software products for spelling and grammar support that have previously been awarded through DSA is published online here: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/exchange-blog/2017/april/dsa-product-review-process/. This list is for administrative purposes only. Products that are not on the list can also be funded through DSA if they are recommended by a needs assessor and agreed by SLC. Overall, agreed spend on spelling and grammar software through DSA is in the region of £4.5 million to £5 million annually. The total spend on each software product within that varies, as it depends on which products are recommended by needs assessors as being most suitable for students’ needs. As an illustration, in the 2023 calendar year, around 80% of total spend was on non-specialist grammar and spelling products, with Grammarly Premium making up 53% of total spend and Global Autocorrect 24% of total spend. Around 20% of total spend was on specialist grammar and spelling products for specific subject areas such as medicine and law, with Medincle products making up 16% of total spend.

How many assistive technology products for spelling and grammar support are funded under the Disabled Students Allowance; and what the total cost to the public purse is of each product.

The average waiting time for a needs assessment from the date of application to the date of the assessment being carried out comprises the time taken by the Student Loans Company (SLC) to process an application and then the time taken by the contracted suppliers Capita and Study Tech to process the needs assessment. The time taken by SLC to process an application is published online at GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sfe-current-application-timescales. The latest weekly update, for February, shows that the average time taken for SLC to process an application, shown under the heading “a DSA application”, is currently 7 working days. The average time taken for the contracted suppliers to offer and complete the needs assessment is currently 28 days. Each supplier has been set two individual KPIs to cover the offer and completion of the needs assessment. These are KPI 1, “Booking of a Needs Assessment Appointment (Minimum of 95% of offer of needs assessment appointment made within 2 working days of referral of customer by SLC)” and KPI 2, “Completion of a Needs Assessment (Minimum of 95% of needs assessment interviews should be offered and completed within 7 working days of successful contact (excluding those where the customer has requested an alternative date))”. Following completion of the needs assessment, both suppliers are required to return the needs assessment report to SLC for review within 5 workings days, as stipulated by KPI 3, “Minimum of 95% of NARs made available to SLC within 5 working days of when needs assessments undertaken (excluding those where the customer has requested to review the needs assessment report)”. It is currently taking suppliers on average 14 days to return the needs assessment report to SLC. The needs assessment is then reviewed by SLC, following which confirmation of entitlement is communicated to the customer on the DSA2 letter. It is currently taking SLC 10 working days to complete this stage of the journey, as noted on the GOV.UK page under the heading “a Needs Assessment report”. Information on the suppliers’ performance against their KPIs is published online on a quarterly basis here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ds. The next update will be published at the end of February. All students applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) are required to have a needs assessment. This means that assistive software for spelling and grammar support has only been awarded when recommended in a needs assessment and agreed by SLC. Data on the number of students awarded specific assistive software for spelling and grammar support through DSA for the time periods specified in the question is not immediately available, but in the 2023 calendar year this was around 36,000. A list of the assistive software products for spelling and grammar support that have previously been awarded through DSA is published online here: https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/exchange-blog/2017/april/dsa-product-review-process/. This list is for administrative purposes only. Products that are not on the list can also be funded through DSA if they are recommended by a needs assessor and agreed by SLC. Overall, agreed spend on spelling and grammar software through DSA is in the region of £4.5 million to £5 million annually. The total spend on each software product within that varies, as it depends on which products are recommended by needs assessors as being most suitable for students’ needs. As an illustration, in the 2023 calendar year, around 80% of total spend was on non-specialist grammar and spelling products, with Grammarly Premium making up 53% of total spend and Global Autocorrect 24% of total spend. Around 20% of total spend was on specialist grammar and spelling products for specific subject areas such as medicine and law, with Medincle products making up 16% of total spend.