Written questions by Vaz.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness and value for money of the £53 million spent on the Oak National Academy in the last three years, in the context of levels of financial pressures on schools.

For financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25, Oak National Academy (Oak) was allocated funding of £47 million. Any in-year underspend by Oak is returned to the department and reallocated to other education priorities, as with all other programmes.The government has publicly announced Oak’s future scope, including its updating of materials to align with the refreshed national curriculum, its technical support for the department’s development of the digital curriculum, and Oak’s redevelopment of reception year resources. The precise level of funding for this work is being agreed through the department’s business planning process. Oak’s remit and funding for the coming year will be set out in a published letter to the Chair of the Oak Board.In September 2025, we published the findings of an independent review and a market impact assessment of Oak which examined the effectiveness of the organisation and the extent to which it is meeting its strategic aims and delivering value for money. The reports have informed the government’s decisions about the future remit and funding of Oak and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oak-national-academy-independent-review-and-market-impact-assessment. Oak has also published an independent evaluation at: https://www.thenational.academy/about-us/meet-the-team#documents.

What information her Department holds on Oak National Academy’s plans for spending unspent money from the £53 million grant it received from the Government in the last three years.

For financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25, Oak National Academy (Oak) was allocated funding of £47 million. Any in-year underspend by Oak is returned to the department and reallocated to other education priorities, as with all other programmes.The government has publicly announced Oak’s future scope, including its updating of materials to align with the refreshed national curriculum, its technical support for the department’s development of the digital curriculum, and Oak’s redevelopment of reception year resources. The precise level of funding for this work is being agreed through the department’s business planning process. Oak’s remit and funding for the coming year will be set out in a published letter to the Chair of the Oak Board.In September 2025, we published the findings of an independent review and a market impact assessment of Oak which examined the effectiveness of the organisation and the extent to which it is meeting its strategic aims and delivering value for money. The reports have informed the government’s decisions about the future remit and funding of Oak and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oak-national-academy-independent-review-and-market-impact-assessment. Oak has also published an independent evaluation at: https://www.thenational.academy/about-us/meet-the-team#documents.

If she will take steps to increase levels of transparency on the Oak National Academy's future funding and scope, in the context of the absence of a public consultation.

For financial years 2022/23 to 2024/25, Oak National Academy (Oak) was allocated funding of £47 million. Any in-year underspend by Oak is returned to the department and reallocated to other education priorities, as with all other programmes.The government has publicly announced Oak’s future scope, including its updating of materials to align with the refreshed national curriculum, its technical support for the department’s development of the digital curriculum, and Oak’s redevelopment of reception year resources. The precise level of funding for this work is being agreed through the department’s business planning process. Oak’s remit and funding for the coming year will be set out in a published letter to the Chair of the Oak Board.In September 2025, we published the findings of an independent review and a market impact assessment of Oak which examined the effectiveness of the organisation and the extent to which it is meeting its strategic aims and delivering value for money. The reports have informed the government’s decisions about the future remit and funding of Oak and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oak-national-academy-independent-review-and-market-impact-assessment. Oak has also published an independent evaluation at: https://www.thenational.academy/about-us/meet-the-team#documents.

Pursuant to her Answer of 2 February 2026 to Question 109084, on Free Schools, what information her Department holds on the reasons for Walsall Council's payment of £1million to the Department for Education; and whether this formed part of her criteria for approval of the Swift Academy.

The payment represents a contribution towards the capital costs of developing the school site, as has happened with a number of free school projects. It is included within an agreement with the local authority, signed prior to the commencement of the pipeline review. This contribution did not form part of the decision-making process.

What steps she is taking to help address concerns raised in relation to the Judicial Review of Oak National Academy by (a) education unions, (b) publishers, (c) authors and (d) any other educational suppliers.

I cannot comment on the Judicial Review of Oak National Academy, which is ongoing.

How many visitors from (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Bangladesh and (d) Nepal were refused visas in 2024.

The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas by visa route, including Visitor visas, and nationality in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on visa applications refused are published in table ‘Vis_D02’ of the detailed entry clearance visas dataset. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data is from January 2005 up to the end of September 2025.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

How many students have claimed asylum (a) while studying in the UK and (b) after completing their studies in each of the last three years.

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of people claiming asylum after holding a study visa as their most recent category of leave prior to claiming asylum is published in table Asy_D01a of the ‘Asylum claims and decisions detailed datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.There is no published breakdown available on whether an individual claimed asylum before or after their visa expired.

How many complaints she has received on the new electronic visa system.

The Home Office has received 1888 complaints about the electronic visa system from 1 July 2024 when it first categorised this issue to 31 January 2026.This comprises 1785 Stage 1 and 103 Stage 2 complaints.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make a statement on the recent ministerial visit to Yemen.

I updated the House on my visit to Yemen in November in my oral statement on 5 January, and my responses to oral questions on 20 January.

Whether her Department has assessed the potential impact of the proposed changes to business rates on small independent bookshops.

At the Budget, the VOA announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since the pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties as they recover from the pandemic.To respond to those who are seeing large increases, Government has already acted to limit increases in bills, announcing a support package worth £4.3 billion package at the Budget. The Government is also introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year and will benefit over 750,000 properties. The Government published information on the effects of the changes to business rates made at Budget 2025 here: Effects of the business rates retail, hospitality and leisure multipliers and high-value multiplier - GOV.UK

When she plans to outline funding arrangements for the Oak National Academy in 2026-2029.

The department is providing grant-in-aid of up to a maximum of £17.412 million for Oak National Academy (Oak) for financial year 2025/26. The level of funding for Oak for financial years 2026/27 to 2027/28, as with other programmes, will be confirmed through the department’s business planning process. Funding from 2028/29 onward will be subject to the 2027 Spending Review.

What the funding for the Oak Academy is in the 2025-2026 financial year.

The department is providing grant-in-aid of up to a maximum of £17.412 million for Oak National Academy (Oak) for financial year 2025/26. The level of funding for Oak for financial years 2026/27 to 2027/28, as with other programmes, will be confirmed through the department’s business planning process. Funding from 2028/29 onward will be subject to the 2027 Spending Review.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, how much funding her Department has provided to Swift Academy in each financial year since 2016-17.

The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites/land and construction of free schools. A site has not yet been acquired for this project. When a site is secured, details and costs of the acquisition will be set out on the Land Registry website. We also publish details and costs for all free school construction contracts on Contracts Finder.The department also provides revenue funding (via project development grants) directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening. A one-off project development grant of £30,000 was paid to the trust in July 2017 following the approval of the project.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to the retail business rates multiplier on the non-domestic rating valuation of different retail property types.

The Government is introducing new permanently lower tax rates for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new tax rates are worth nearly £1 billion per year, and will benefit over 750,000 properties. We are paying for this through higher rates on the top one per cent of most expensive properties. This includes many large distribution warehouses, such as those used by online giants. The high value multiplier is 33% more than the multiplier for small RHL properties.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, if she will make it her policy to undertake a new assessment against the (a) selection criteria and (b) geographical context on Swift Academy.

The criteria for the mainstream free schools pipeline review were set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 22 October 2024. The department assessed the local need for school places, value for money and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.The department has offered feedback to local authorities, trusts and MPs with a related pipeline free school project.We keep all pipeline projects under review to ensure that they meet a need for places and represent value for public money. This includes the use of annually published pupil place planning data, which informs ministerial decision‑making.In 2016, the previous government ran a central free school programme application wave, which was open to all trusts to submit proposals for new free schools. All applications received were assessed against the published selection criteria in the How To Apply Guidance.Local consultation is also undertaken prior to the opening of any new free school, enabling residents and other interested parties to provide their views on the proposal.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, what steps her Department is taking to assess the (a) need for places and (b) value for money of the Swift Academy; and if she will publish that assessment.

The criteria for the mainstream free schools pipeline review were set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 22 October 2024. The department assessed the local need for school places, value for money and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.The department has offered feedback to local authorities, trusts and MPs with a related pipeline free school project.We keep all pipeline projects under review to ensure that they meet a need for places and represent value for public money. This includes the use of annually published pupil place planning data, which informs ministerial decision‑making.In 2016, the previous government ran a central free school programme application wave, which was open to all trusts to submit proposals for new free schools. All applications received were assessed against the published selection criteria in the How To Apply Guidance.Local consultation is also undertaken prior to the opening of any new free school, enabling residents and other interested parties to provide their views on the proposal.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, if she will publish the criteria used to determine which free schools should be proceeded with.

The criteria for the mainstream free schools pipeline review were set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 22 October 2024. The department assessed the local need for school places, value for money and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.The department has offered feedback to local authorities, trusts and MPs with a related pipeline free school project.We keep all pipeline projects under review to ensure that they meet a need for places and represent value for public money. This includes the use of annually published pupil place planning data, which informs ministerial decision‑making.In 2016, the previous government ran a central free school programme application wave, which was open to all trusts to submit proposals for new free schools. All applications received were assessed against the published selection criteria in the How To Apply Guidance.Local consultation is also undertaken prior to the opening of any new free school, enabling residents and other interested parties to provide their views on the proposal.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the surplus of school places in Walsall and Bloxwich constituency on the decision whether to proceed with the Swift Academy.

The criteria for the mainstream free schools pipeline review were set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 22 October 2024. The department assessed the local need for school places, value for money and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.The department has offered feedback to local authorities, trusts and MPs with a related pipeline free school project.We keep all pipeline projects under review to ensure that they meet a need for places and represent value for public money. This includes the use of annually published pupil place planning data, which informs ministerial decision‑making.In 2016, the previous government ran a central free school programme application wave, which was open to all trusts to submit proposals for new free schools. All applications received were assessed against the published selection criteria in the How To Apply Guidance.Local consultation is also undertaken prior to the opening of any new free school, enabling residents and other interested parties to provide their views on the proposal.

Pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2026 to Question 99790 on Free Schools, which trusts her Department invited in 2016.

The criteria for the mainstream free schools pipeline review were set out in the Written Ministerial Statement laid on 22 October 2024. The department assessed the local need for school places, value for money and whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools.The department has offered feedback to local authorities, trusts and MPs with a related pipeline free school project.We keep all pipeline projects under review to ensure that they meet a need for places and represent value for public money. This includes the use of annually published pupil place planning data, which informs ministerial decision‑making.In 2016, the previous government ran a central free school programme application wave, which was open to all trusts to submit proposals for new free schools. All applications received were assessed against the published selection criteria in the How To Apply Guidance.Local consultation is also undertaken prior to the opening of any new free school, enabling residents and other interested parties to provide their views on the proposal.

What criteria she used to determine which free schools should (a) be proceeded with and (b) not be proceeded with.

On 15 December 2025, a Written Ministerial Statement was laid setting out outcomes of the mainstream free school pipeline review.All free school projects in scope were evaluated in line with consistent criteria, focusing on assessing the local need for places and value for money. This included considering whether projects would provide a distinctive local offer or risk negatively impacting other local schools. The department reviewed evidence provided by trusts and local authorities, as well as latest published data on pupil place planning, to determine whether there is strong evidence of the continued need for additional places.We are proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges or offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it.In the Walsall and Bloxwich constituency, the decision has been taken to proceed with the Swift Academy, to address urgent local secondary sufficiency pressure.The department provides and retains responsibility for capital funding for the acquisition of sites and construction of free schools. The department also provides revenue funding, via project development grants, directly to proposers to cover essential non-capital costs prior to each school opening.In 2016, the department invited trusts to submit proposals for new free schools to be funded and delivered through the central free school programme as part of application Wave 12. Swift Academy (then called Blakenall Free School) was approved in April 2017 following an application from The Windsor Academy Trust. All applications were assessed against published selection criteria and geographical context.Local residents, interested parties and statutory bodies will be consulted prior to the school opening. As with all projects, Swift Academy will continue to be assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure it continues to meet the need for places and provides value for money.