Written questions by O'Brien.

What estimate he has made of the average time taken for deaths to be reviewed under the national medical examiner system since 9 September 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken for deaths to be reviewed on the time taken to arrange funerals.

The Government is monitoring the impact of the death certification reforms, which came into legal effect on 9 September 2024. The median time taken to register a death since the introduction of the statutory medical examiner system in England and Wales is eight days. This figure is for all deaths, as it includes those certified by a doctor and those investigated by a coroner. The median time taken to register a death varies depending on the type of certification. Deaths certified by a doctor, that comprise approximately 80% of deaths registered each week, had a median time to registration of seven days. The Department has not conducted a separate review of the time taken to arrange funerals, which can depend on a number of external factors.The core purposes of the death certification reforms are to introduce scrutiny of the cause of death to detect and deter malpractice, to improve reporting, and crucially to put the bereaved at the centre of the process by offering a conversation with the medical examiner about the cause of death. The expectation on doctors and medical examiners is clear, that they should complete certification as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the Department is working with all stakeholders to make sure this is the case.

When she plans to publish a response to the consultation on Faith school designation reforms.

The consultation on faith school designation closed on 20 June. The department is analysing the responses and we will respond in due course.

If she will list (a) all the contracts for asylum accommodation and support services the Department has agreed since 2017 and (b) the (i) value of, (ii) regions covered by and (iii) period covered by each contract.

The Asylum Accommodation and Support Services agreements and the details sought have been published on Contracts Finder and can be found at:AASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract MEE - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NEYH - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract South - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Wales - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NW - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract Scotland - Contracts FinderAASC - Asylum Accommodation & Support Services Contract NI - Contracts Finder

How many people were referred by job centre advisors to a course to improve their English language skills in each year since 2015.

The requested information is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

How many visas were granted to (a) people and (b) family dependents in each quarter since January 2021.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visas granted, by quarter, visa route and applicant type, are published in table Vis_D02 of Entry clearance detailed dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relate up to the end of September 2024.

How many people seeking (a) asylum and (b) humanitarian protection are in accomodation on his Department's property.

There are currently no people seeking asylum or humanitarian protection accommodated on the Defence Estate. The Secretary of State for Defence recently made an announcement regarding the Afghan Resettlement Programme (ARP). The ARP is a cross-government delivery programme that will improve efficiency, value for money and outcomes across Afghan Resettlement. This Government has always supported the aims of the Afghan resettlement schemes and we will deliver its commitments to those in Afghanistan who are eligible to relocate and resettle in the UK. As part of this, the use of the Defence Estate for transitional accommodation will reduce over time however it is currently providing temporary and long-term accommodation to over 5,600 Afghans.

How many and what proportion of (a) primary and (b) secondary schools secured academy status in each year since 2010; and how many of these were in a multi-academy trust.

The attached information details the current number of open academies and free schools, by phase and their respective year of opening, as well as the proportion of state-funded schools this represents.Of the 11,224 open academies and free schools as of 1 December 2024, 10,352 are part of a multi-academy trust.

When she plans to update the LGB asylum data tables, last updated on 25 August 2022.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on asylum claims relating to sexual orientation are published in the ‘Asylum claims on the basis of sexual orientation tables’. The latest data on claims and initial decisions relates to 2023 and was updated as part of the year ending June 2024 release in August 2024. The next planned update is in August 2025.

When he plans to publish the work his Department commissioned from the Adult Social Care Research Unit on updating the 2013 Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula.

The Department of Health and Social Care funds independent research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). This project is funded through the NIHR Adult Social Care Policy Research Unit.The publication of research is led by the research team and in line with NIHR commitments to the transparent and independent publication of high-quality research will be made available on the Adult Social Care Policy Research Unit Website. The views expressed in outputs of the research are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.The Department of Health and Social Care is still considering this research as part of its ongoing policy work. We are working closely the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the role of a specific Adult Social Care funding formula is considered within the consultation ‘Local authority funding reform: objectives and principles’, published on 18 December 2024. We will update further in due course.

How many people were working in the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence team in (a) total, (b) the East of England, (c) the East Midlands, (d) the North West, (e) the North East, (f) the South East, (g) London, (h) the South West, (i) the West Midlands and (j) Yorkshire and the Humber on 10 December 2024.

On 10 December 2024, the number of civil servants working in the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams were as follows. These numbers represent staff headcount, not full time equivalent.a) Total: 35b) East of England: 4c) East Midlands: 4d) North West: 3e) North East: 4f) South East: 4g) London: 5h) South West: 4i) West Midlands: 4j) Yorkshire and the Humber: 3

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2024 to Question 15704 on Jobcentres and Universal Credit: Telephone Services, how many calls were translated by language code since 2021; and what the cost was of translating calls by language code.

Following consultation with the supplier, we consider that the release of the information requested would prejudice commercial interests.

How many and what proportion of new claimants of (a) Universal Credit, (b) Employment Support Allowance, (c) Personal Independence Payment, (d) Jobseeker's Allowance and (e) income support had (i) Level 1 and (ii) Level 2 English Language proficiency in each year since 2010.

The requested information is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. Information relating to claimant qualifications is not routinely captured by the Department for Work and Pensions.

What proportion of (a) apprenticeship courses started and (b) apprenticeship levy spent were for (i) Level 6 and (ii) Level 7 apprenticeships in each year since 2016.

The proportions of apprenticeships starts at level 6 and level 7, as a percentage of total apprenticeship starts at all levels, are provided in the table below for each academic year between 2015/16 and 2023/24.Academic YearProportion of total starts at Level 6 (%)Proportion of total starts at Level 7 (%)2015/16 0.10%<0.05%2016/17 0.30%<0.05%2017/18 1.70%1.20%2018/19 2.80%3.00%2019/20 4.70%4.80%2020/21 6.10%6.10%2021/22 6.70%5.60%2022/23 7.40%6.50%2023/24 7.70%7.00% Further information on numbers of apprenticeship starts by detailed level can be found at: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/bfd06312-7732-41bc-97e7-94a6d85d2400/files/1ff3ab06-a956-4baa-921c-7166db33c723.The apprenticeship levy was introduced in 2017, from which the department is allocated an apprenticeships budget for England. This budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in apprenticeship levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers.The table below shows total spend on level 6 and level 7 apprenticeships, in both levy-paying and non-levy paying employers in England, as a proportion of the total spend on the apprenticeship programme since the 2017/18 financial year.Financial yearLevel 6 spend (£million)Level 7 spend (£million)Total apprenticeships spend (£million)Proportion of total spend at Level 6 (%)Proportion of total spend at Level 7 (%)2017/1850121,5863%1%2018/1971501,7384%3%2019/201141031,9196%5%2020/211721651,8639%9%2021/222962362,45512%10%2022/233492342,45814%10%2023/243872382,50915%9% Spend is rounded to the nearest million and proportions to the nearest whole number.

With reference to paragraph 2.41 of the Autumn Budget, published on 24 October 2024, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse of the increase in the employment allowance in each year of the forecast period.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs. The estimated cost of the increase to the Employment Allowance is set out in the table below: (£m)2025-262026-272027-282028-292029-30Cost of increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,5003,7303,5553,5703,6003,630

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14487 on Private Education: Special Educational Needs, if she will publish the information that informed her Department's assessment of the potential impact of applying VAT to private school fees on pupils with SEND in private schools moving to state schools.

HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for VAT policy and publishing the impacts of the policy.HMT has published an assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/ac8c20ce-4824-462d-b206-26a567724643#who-is-likely-to-be-affected.Additionally, HMT published policy costings for applying the standard rate of VAT to private schools alongside the Autumn Budget 2024 on 30 October, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6721d2c54da1c0d41942a8d2/Policy_Costing_Document_-_Autumn_Budget_2024.pdf.As the impact assessment publication sets out, the government estimates that only a very small minority of private school pupils (6%) will move and that most school moves will occur at natural transition points, which will reduce overall disruption. Longer term impacts on this group may be lessened by revenue raised by this measure being used to help the 94% of children who attend state schools, including over one million children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).There is no separate assessment by SEND. It is important to note that pupils who need a local authority-funded place in a private school will not be impacted by the changes. To protect pupils with special educational needs that can only be met in a private school, local authorities and devolved governments that fund these places will be compensated for the VAT they are charged on those pupils’ fees.

How many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools were (i) newly graded inadequate or (ii) received a second consecutive Requires Improvement by Ofsted in each year since 2010.

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.

What recent estimate her Department has made of the average cost of a child receiving SEND support in a state school.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.The department does not have the data to make an estimate of the average cost of a child receiving SEND support because no information is collected from schools on how much they spend on SEND support for individual children. To require schools to provide such information would involve placing significant burdens on schools. To calculate such costs, schools would need to apportion between pupils with SEND the time and attention teachers and other staff give to those pupils, and costs for other forms of support they receive individually, in groups or as part of whole class teaching.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill, what definition her Department is using of mainly, in the context of schools that are mainly concerned with the provision of education to children with an education, health and care plan.

The Bill sets out that where a private school is wholly or mainly concerned with providing education for pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan they will be exempt from the measure and therefore retain eligibility for business rates charitable relief. The wholly or mainly test is one which is common across various parts of business rates and local authorities are accustomed to applying it. Wholly or mainly is generally taken to mean 50% or more.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of wifi available across the rail network.

I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also conducting research to measure the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed, and the potential impacts.

What the cost to the asylum and immigration tribunal system was of commissioning reports from Independent Social Workers in each of the last five years.

The Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal is independent of government and act as impartial arbiters of the evidence presented by Appellants and the Home Office as Respondent to appeals. The Tribunal does not establish verification systems for any experts called by either party. Regulation of Social workers is overseen by Social Work England, Scottish Social Services Council, Social Care Wales and Northern Ireland Social Care Council.Similarly, the Tribunal does not commission reports from parties and accordingly bears no cost.The information requested on reports produced for either party on an appeal is not held centrally. HMCTS does not hold data on the number of expert reports that may have been entered into evidence by a party, the classification of the expert, the conclusions of that expert or whether those conclusions contradict or support the conclusions of the Home Office.Judges weigh the opinions of experts and make their decisions based on all of the collective evidence including any expert reports that may be provided, but they are not bound to accept conclusions in those reports.