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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the number of pupils recorded in the annual school census is who do not have English listed as their first language in (a) primary, (b) secondary and (c) special schools in each year since 2000; what the first language was of those pupils in each such category in each such year; and if she will provide the information by (i) local authority area and (ii) region.

Nick Gibb

The number and proportion of pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English in primary, secondary and special schools in England is available at the following links:

For years prior to 2010: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120504203418/http:/education.gov.uk/rsgateway/sc-schoolpupil.shtml

For years from 2010 onwards: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers

These tables contain figures for each local authority individually.

Information is not readily available on the first languages of pupils whose first language is not English. Data for the years requested for local authorities and regions could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost is to the public purse of school expenditure on supporting pupils who do not have English as their first language.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Under current funding arrangements, local authorities devise funding formulae through which to distribute funding to schools in their localities. One of the factors local authorities can include is an English as an additional language (EAL) factor. EAL funding is determined on the basis of census data which records whether or not a pupil’s first language is English. In 2015-16, a total of £267 million was allocated through this factor to school budgets. This figure does not represent the cost of supporting pupils with EAL; instead, it forms part of the school’s core budget. It is then for school leaders to determine how best to use their whole budget so that all pupils can reach their full potential.

We will introduce a national funding formula from 2017-18 so that funding is fair and matched to need. Our first consultation, which closed on 17 April, proposed that the formula should include an EAL factor. We are reviewing all the responses and will set out the precise detail of the formula in our second consultation, to be published later this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department’s risk register assesses risks to (a) the provision of education places and (b) changes in the level of the cost of providing education which result from immigration from (i) other EEA member states and (ii) countries from outside the EEA; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants who speak a language other than English to a native level of proficiency have a specific responsibility to provide support to pupils whose first language is not English.

Nick Gibb

The Department does not hold data on languages spoken by Teaching Assistants.

The deployment of Teaching Assistants, including any responsibilities for supporting pupils whose first language is not English, is a matter for schools to decide.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of immigration from (a) EEA member countries and (b) countries from outside the EEA on the level of demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.

Edward Timpson

Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of immigration from (a) EEA member states and (b) states from outside the EEA on the level of demand for children’s services in each year from 2016 to 2030.

Edward Timpson

The Department uses population projections published by the Office for National Statistics, which include migration, to plan for future demand on children’s services.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what modelling her Department has undertaken on the demand for school places in each year from 2016 to 2030.

Edward Timpson

Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places remains one of this Government’s top priorities. Pupil forecasts based on ONS population projections, which include migration, have been published up to 2024.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that there are sufficient school places to meet that need, and for determining precisely how many new places are needed in their area. We allocate funding for new school places to local authorities based on their own projections of local pupil numbers. These projections reflect all drivers of increased pupil numbers: rising birth rates, housing development and migration from within the UK and overseas. Any increase in need for places should be reflected in the local authority’s final basic need allocation – there is no shortfall between the number of places we fund and the number of places local authorities say they will need to create.

We have already committed to invest £7 billion on school places, which along with our investment in 500 new free schools we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021. We have also protected the schools budget so that as pupil numbers increase, so will the amount of money in our schools. Revenue allocations to local authorities are calculated by reference to pupil numbers and do not differentiate on the basis of immigration from other EEA member states or countries from outside the EEA.