Every parliamentary written question tabled by Saqib Bhatti this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 316 · this parliament
What steps she is taking to help Multiverse improve its Ofsted rating.
Ofsted is the single national inspectorate for further education and skills providers, ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to evaluating training quality across the sector. All organisations delivering apprenticeships must operate within the Appre...
What recent discussions her Department has had with Multiverse following its recent Ofsted rating.
Ofsted is the single national inspectorate for further education and skills providers, ensuring a consistent and rigorous approach to evaluating training quality across the sector. All organisations delivering apprenticeships must operate within the Appre...
If she will publish data in relation to teacher retention and recruitment by (a) constituency, (b) Local Authority and (c) region.
Information on the school workforce in England, including teacher recruitment and retention, is published annually in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical release, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/...
What the cost is of her Department’s marketing campaign with Gemma Collins.
No payments, fees, gifts, hospitality, or any other benefits are being made from the department to Gemma Collins or TM Media PR or any other agent or representative on her behalf.
If she will publish a breakdown of her Department’s marketing and advertising expenditure in (a) 2024-25 and (b) 2025-26.
The department's marketing and advertising expenditure for 2024/2025 is shown below. Final outturn data for the most recent financial year are not yet available.The total marketing spend will be published in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts in ...
Whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on removing VAT from the Music and Dance Scheme Settlement Grant.
The Music and Dance Scheme provides means-tested bursaries so high achieving students in music and dance can secure world-class specialist training regardless of financial circumstances, including at eight private schools. Since 1 January 2025, the standa...
What consideration her Department has given to removing VAT charged on the MDS Settlement Grant for a) MDS Schools and b) parents.
The Music and Dance Scheme provides means-tested bursaries so high achieving students in music and dance can secure world-class specialist training regardless of financial circumstances, including at eight private schools. Since 1 January 2025, the standa...
What steps her Department is taking to support student provision under the Music and Dance Settlement Grant.
The department has already committed to a continuation of the Music and Dance Scheme.The department has been considering multi-year funding for the scheme to support future planning by all the providers, including the eight private schools. Further announ...
What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of short notice funding decisions on Music and Dance Scheme schools’ ability to plan for future cohorts of students.
The department has already committed to a continuation of the Music and Dance Scheme.The department has been considering multi-year funding for the scheme to support future planning by all the providers, including the eight private schools. Further announ...
What notice her Department plans to provide to Music and Dance Scheme Schools of funding decisions for the next academic year.
The department has already committed to a continuation of the Music and Dance Scheme.The department has been considering multi-year funding for the scheme to support future planning by all the providers, including the eight private schools. Further announ...
Media and Sport, what estimate her Department has made of the number of projects supported by the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme that would have proceeded as planned without the Scheme; and what comparative assessment she has made between this estimate and the findings of section 2.3.2 of Harlow Consulting's Evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Scheme, published on 22 January 2026.
The Department commissioned Harlow Consulting to conduct an independent evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. The Department has not made a separate internal estimate, and uses Harlow’s comprehensive independent assessment to understand the Scheme’s impact and additionality.The evaluation used survey data from Scheme beneficiaries to determine how much of the activity was truly "additional" versus how much would have occurred anyway. It established that 80% of respondents indicated they would have done the work without the rebate. Section 2.3.2 of the evaluation provides a further breakdown of this figure, indicating that the Scheme had an impact on the timing and quality of the work. 51% of all Scheme users reported that the grant increased the timeliness of repairs. Likewise, 31% of users were enabled to carry out more extensive works or works of a higher standard.
What support will be available for children with dyslexia under the Experts at Hand programme.
The Experts at Hand offer will support schools and settings with expert advice and guidance to help them identify and meet a range of special educational needs, including dyslexia. This includes strengthening early identification and supporting more effective, inclusive practice. Through the offer, settings will have earlier and easier access to specialist expertise from educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and other appropriate professionals.Experts at Hand is additional to existing statutory provision and does not replace established school-led approaches or specialist one-to-one services.
How many Speech and Language Therapy Advanced Practitioners will be hired (a) in England and (b) in each Integrated Care Board geographical area.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
If she will make a statement on parental rights upon the implementation of SEND reforms outlined in the Schools White Paper.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Whether funding has been directed from other departments' budgets to the budget of the Department for Education, as she outlined on the 1st December 2025.
The usual practice to transfer budgets between government departments is via budget cover transfers (BCTs), which occur twice a financial year through the Estimates process. The most recent Estimates Memo for the department is available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/52047/documents/288898/default/.
How many SEND pupils will have left school entirely before single ECHP reform takes place.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What accountability measures is she implementing for local area partnerships that perform under the required standard.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of extending joint and several liability for payroll taxes within umbrella company arrangements on recruitment agencies supplying temporary staff to public sector bodies, including the NHS.
Umbrella companies are a type of employment intermediary that engages workers on behalf of recruitment agencies and end client organisations. Although many umbrella companies operate diligently, others are used to facilitate non-compliance including tax avoidance and fraud. From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client organisation. The rules apply regardless of the sector in which workers are engaged. The new rules are intended to drive behavioural change in the temporary labour market, increasing the amount of assurance undertaken by organisations that use umbrella companies to force non-compliance umbrella companies out of the market. This change is forecast to protect around £2.7 billion across the scorecard period up to and including 2030-31. It is right that organisations that choose to use umbrella companies to engage workers should take steps to make sure that they are compliant. HMRC has published extensive guidance to support organisations that use umbrella companies to undertake assurance checks.
What assessment HMRC has made of the risk of unpaid employer National Insurance contributions within labour supply chains providing temporary staffing to the NHS following the Ducas tax dispute; and whether she plans to introduce a statutory (a) accreditation and (b) licensing regime for umbrella companies operating in the labour market.
Umbrella companies are a type of employment intermediary that engages workers on behalf of recruitment agencies and end client organisations. Although many umbrella companies operate diligently, others are used to facilitate non-compliance including tax avoidance and fraud. From 6 April 2026, recruitment agencies are responsible for ensuring that Pay As You Earn and National Insurance contributions obligations are met when they choose to use an umbrella company to engage a worker. Where these obligations are not met, HMRC will recover underpayments from the recruitment agency. If there is no recruitment agency involved in an arrangement with an umbrella company, this responsibility will fall to the end client organisation. The rules apply regardless of the sector in which workers are engaged. The new rules are intended to drive behavioural change in the temporary labour market, increasing the amount of assurance undertaken by organisations that use umbrella companies to force non-compliance umbrella companies out of the market. This change is forecast to protect around £2.7 billion across the scorecard period up to and including 2030-31. It is right that organisations that choose to use umbrella companies to engage workers should take steps to make sure that they are compliant. HMRC has published extensive guidance to support organisations that use umbrella companies to undertake assurance checks.
What discussions his Department has had with NHS England and NHS workforce framework providers on ensuring compliant payroll practices within the agency staffing supply chains for the NHS.
The Department, alongside NHS England, collaborates with framework providers like the NHS Workforce Alliance and HealthTrust Europe to ensure compliant payroll practices. Key actions include mandatory auditing, IR35 compliance, adherence to National Health Service employment checks, and enforcing agency price caps.NHS England continues to monitor agency spending and works to reduce reliance on off-framework staffing, which is crucial for compliant, high quality, and cost-effective staffing.