Analysis · No. 4 · Sectors
Education and skills: universities in Parliament, SEND in the contracts.
We sorted everything government published, bought, discussed and was asked about since the July 2024 election into 39 sectors. Education and skills is the second busiest.
We read 456,455 records across 24 sources. We placed each record in the sectors its words are about, with the same scorer that runs search on Seam. We measure activity in five strands: what government publishes, what it buys, who it meets, what Parliament asks, and who checks it. The method is at the end of the page.
Where education ranks
Education and skills is the second busiest of the 39 sectors, alongside health and social care and local government. It is strongest in “what it buys”, where it takes 10.4% of records, about 6 times the typical sector’s share, the highest of all 39 sectors (next is transport, at 9.8%).
The busiest sectors in government
Each sector’s share of activity in the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026), averaged across the five strands. It shows the top 12 of 39. The three busiest are darker, and Education and skills is darkest.
- Education and skills
- The other two busiest sectors
- Other sectors
- 1. Health and social care7.9%
- 2. Education and skills8.1%
- 3. Local government8.3%
- 4. Energy and utilities6.1%
- 5. Transport5.2%
- 6. Digital and telecoms4.7%
- 7. Justice and policing5.4%
- 8. Life sciences5.3%
- 9. Manufacturing3.9%
- 10. Small business3.7%
- 11. Housing3.9%
- 12. Construction3.3%
We order sectors by their average rank on three measures: the average strand share shown here, the middle (median) strand share, and the raw number of records. Ties go to the higher average share. The table shows all three.
Show the numbers
| # | Sector | Average share | Rank | Middle strand share | Rank | Records | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Health and social care | 7.9% | 3 | 8.6% | 1 | 22,613 | 1 |
| 2 | Education and skills | 8.1% | 2 | 7.9% | 2 | 22,370 | 2 |
| 3 | Local government | 8.3% | 1 | 6.0% | 3 | 13,388 | 7 |
| 4 | Energy and utilities | 6.1% | 4 | 5.5% | 4 | 15,165 | 5 |
| 5 | Transport | 5.2% | 7 | 4.5% | 7 | 17,494 | 4 |
| 6 | Digital and telecoms | 4.7% | 8 | 5.3% | 5 | 13,865 | 6 |
| 7 | Justice and policing | 5.4% | 5 | 5.2% | 6 | 10,366 | 10 |
| 8 | Life sciences | 5.3% | 6 | 3.4% | 12 | 18,079 | 3 |
| 9 | Manufacturing | 3.9% | 10 | 4.1% | 8 | 10,918 | 8 |
| 10 | Small business | 3.7% | 11 | 3.5% | 11 | 10,441 | 9 |
| 11 | Housing | 3.9% | 9 | 3.5% | 10 | 8,246 | 14 |
| 12 | Construction | 3.3% | 12 | 3.3% | 13 | 9,133 | 11 |
| 13 | Financial services | 3.2% | 13 | 3.7% | 9 | 8,066 | 15 |
| 14 | Environment | 2.9% | 15 | 2.9% | 14 | 8,254 | 13 |
| 15 | Employment | 3.1% | 14 | 2.7% | 17 | 8,299 | 12 |
| 16 | Children and families | 2.8% | 16 | 2.7% | 16 | 7,613 | 16 |
| 17 | Charities | 2.5% | 17 | 2.9% | 15 | 6,541 | 18 |
| 18 | Planning | 1.9% | 21 | 2.5% | 18 | 6,140 | 19 |
| 19 | Defence | 2.3% | 18 | 1.4% | 26 | 7,560 | 17 |
| 20 | Research and science | 1.8% | 23 | 1.8% | 20 | 4,498 | 24 |
| 21 | Tax and accounting | 2.2% | 19 | 1.0% | 30 | 5,661 | 20 |
| 22 | Farming and food | 1.8% | 24 | 2.2% | 19 | 4,403 | 26 |
| 23 | Media, culture and sport | 1.7% | 25 | 1.5% | 24 | 5,538 | 21 |
| 24 | govaffairs | 2.1% | 20 | 1.8% | 21 | 3,355 | 32 |
| 25 | Foreign affairs and trade | 1.9% | 22 | 1.3% | 28 | 4,651 | 23 |
| 26 | Aviation, maritime and ports | 1.6% | 27 | 1.6% | 22 | 4,165 | 27 |
| 27 | Welfare | 1.7% | 26 | 1.0% | 29 | 5,413 | 22 |
| 28 | Pensions | 1.5% | 28 | 1.5% | 25 | 4,134 | 28 |
| 29 | Retail | 1.5% | 30 | 1.5% | 23 | 3,743 | 30 |
| 30 | Water | 1.5% | 29 | 1.4% | 27 | 4,042 | 29 |
| 31 | Facilities and estates | 1.1% | 32 | 0.8% | 34 | 4,421 | 25 |
| 32 | Automotive | 1.0% | 33 | 0.9% | 31 | 3,413 | 31 |
| 33 | Immigration | 1.1% | 31 | 0.9% | 32 | 3,285 | 33 |
| 34 | Aviation | 0.8% | 34 | 0.8% | 33 | 1,946 | 35 |
| 35 | Artificial intelligence | 0.8% | 35 | 0.7% | 35 | 2,099 | 34 |
| 36 | Hospitality and tourism | 0.5% | 36 | 0.6% | 36 | 1,827 | 36 |
| 37 | Insurance | 0.3% | 37 | 0.3% | 37 | 998 | 37 |
| 38 | Semiconductors and compute | 0.2% | 38 | 0.2% | 38 | 668 | 38 |
| 39 | Gambling | 0.1% | 39 | 0.1% | 39 | 349 | 39 |
Where education shows up
Share of each strand’s records that affect education and skills, latest twelve months, against the typical (median) sector.
- Typical sector
- Education and skills
- What government publishesAnnouncements, policy papers, consultations, guidance, transparency releases, statistics, NHS England7.9%
- What it buysContract notices and awards10.4%
- Who it meetsMeetings ministers and senior officials hold with outside organisations8.4%
- What Parliament asksWritten and oral questions, debates, select committee letters and evidence, Holyrood and the Senedd7.8%
- Who checks itRegulators, the Information Commissioner, the public auditors, the RPC6.0%
A record can touch more than one sector, so shares across sectors add up to more than 100%.
Show the numbers
| Strand | Records in the strand | Education and skills | Typical sector | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What government publishes | 33,752 | 7.9% | 2.9% | 2.7× |
| What it buys | 98,295 | 10.4% | 1.7% | 6.1× |
| Who it meets | 11,870 | 8.4% | 1.6% | 5.2× |
| What Parliament asks | 102,894 | 7.8% | 2.6% | 3.0× |
| Who checks it | 7,018 | 6.0% | 1.5% | 4.0× |
How it has changed
Since the government’s first year, education’s share of “what it buys” has moved most upward (+2.8 points). Its share of “who checks it” has moved most downward (−0.8 points).
Then and now, strand by strand
Education and skills’ share of each strand in the government’s first year (Jul 2024–Jun 2025) and the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026).
- First year
- Latest twelve months: bigger share
- smaller share
- What government publishes+1.2 pts
- What it buys+2.8 pts
- Who it meets+1.3 pts
- What Parliament asks+0.8 pts
- Who checks it−0.8 pts
Show the numbers
| Strand | First year | Latest 12 months | Change, points |
|---|---|---|---|
| What government publishes | 6.7% | 7.9% | +1.2 |
| What it buys | 7.6% | 10.4% | +2.8 |
| Who it meets | 7.1% | 8.4% | +1.3 |
| What Parliament asks | 7.0% | 7.8% | +0.8 |
| Who checks it | 6.8% | 6.0% | −0.8 |
Month by month, in each strand
Education and skills’ share of each strand, averaged over three months to reduce the effect of single busy weeks. Each panel has its own scale. Hover over the line to see each month.
- Higher now than at the start
- Lower
What government publishes
6.7% → 7.9%
What it buys
7.6% → 10.4%
Who it meets
7.1% → 8.4%
What Parliament asks
7.0% → 7.8%
Who checks it
6.8% → 6.0%
Meetings appear a quarter or more late, so that panel stops earlier than the rest.
How much activity affects education, month by month
Records affecting education and skills each month, July 2024 to October 2026, coloured by strand. Hover over a column for the detail.
- What government publishes
- What it buys
- Who it meets
- What Parliament asks
- Who checks it
The busiest month was September 2026. Counts swing with the parliamentary calendar and with how sources publish (a council can post a hundred contract awards in a day). That is why the rest of this page uses shares.
Show the numbers
| Month | What government publishes | What it buys | Who it meets | What Parliament asks | Who checks it | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2024 | 93 | 8 | 79 | 239 | 59 | 478 |
| August 2024 | 102 | 12 | 49 | 76 | 26 | 265 |
| September 2024 | 132 | 25 | 100 | 227 | 36 | 520 |
| October 2024 | 133 | 22 | 153 | 577 | 59 | 944 |
| November 2024 | 166 | 17 | 133 | 475 | 38 | 829 |
| December 2024 | 126 | 15 | 100 | 394 | 37 | 672 |
| January 2025 | 103 | 17 | 79 | 606 | 35 | 840 |
| February 2025 | 95 | 39 | 101 | 534 | 38 | 807 |
| March 2025 | 132 | 176 | 91 | 637 | 44 | 1,080 |
| April 2025 | 114 | 211 | 126 | 558 | 38 | 1,047 |
| May 2025 | 95 | 231 | 146 | 518 | 52 | 1,042 |
| June 2025 | 129 | 283 | 159 | 718 | 36 | 1,325 |
| July 2025 | 138 | 510 | 154 | 558 | 63 | 1,423 |
| August 2025 | 91 | 658 | 83 | 170 | 16 | 1,018 |
| September 2025 | 139 | 558 | 138 | 353 | 46 | 1,234 |
| October 2025 | 125 | 529 | 141 | 728 | 36 | 1,559 |
| November 2025 | 133 | 504 | 144 | 583 | 35 | 1,399 |
| December 2025 | 145 | 437 | 111 | 456 | 27 | 1,176 |
| January 2026 | 174 | 511 | 146 | 719 | 37 | 1,587 |
| February 2026 | 188 | 495 | 158 | 742 | 40 | 1,623 |
| March 2026 | 251 | 579 | 134 | 764 | 50 | 1,778 |
| April 2026 | 195 | 421 | 91 | 594 | 28 | 1,329 |
| May 2026 | 201 | 465 | 82 | 562 | 44 | 1,354 |
| June 2026 | 274 | 554 | 126 | 1,153 | 36 | 2,143 |
| July 2026 | 316 | 898 | 0 | 563 | 36 | 1,813 |
| August 2026 | 241 | 2,095 | 0 | 383 | 30 | 2,749 |
| September 2026 | 303 | 1,759 | 0 | 680 | 40 | 2,782 |
| October 2026 | 233 | 1,515 | 0 | 871 | 18 | 2,637 |
What it is about
The biggest themes are universities, SEND and special schools and further education and colleges. Growing fastest: school transport, student finance and SEND and special schools. Fading: school food and breakfast clubs, school funding and buildings and teachers and school staff. Parliament drives school funding and buildings and school food and breakfast clubs. Contracts drive school transport and SEND and special schools.
What education activity is about
Share of education and skills records touching each theme, first year (Jul 2024–Jun 2025) against the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026). Sorted by the latest share.
- First year
- Latest twelve months: bigger share
- smaller share
- Universities15.4%
- SEND and special schools13.4%
- Further education and colleges9.3%
- Inspection and academies7.8%
- Teachers and school staff6.0%
- Apprenticeships and adult skills6.0%
- Curriculum and exams4.3%
- Early years and childcare2.6%
- School transport2.0%
- Student finance1.9%
- Attendance and behaviour1.3%
- School food and breakfast clubs0.9%
- School funding and buildings0.8%
A record can affect several themes, or none. 40% touch none of these, usually because the title says too little (“Lot 2”, “Provision of services”). The word lists are in the method box at the end of the page.
Show the numbers
| Theme | Records | First year | Latest 12 months | Relative change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 5,454 | 14.2% | 15.4% | +8% |
| SEND and special schools | 4,842 | 9.4% | 13.4% | +43% |
| Further education and colleges | 3,560 | 9.8% | 9.3% | −5% |
| Inspection and academies | 2,801 | 7.0% | 7.8% | +11% |
| Teachers and school staff | 2,493 | 8.6% | 6.0% | −30% |
| Apprenticeships and adult skills | 2,270 | 6.7% | 6.0% | −10% |
| Curriculum and exams | 1,631 | 4.7% | 4.3% | −9% |
| Early years and childcare | 1,032 | 2.9% | 2.6% | −10% |
| School transport | 598 | 0.8% | 2.0% | +150% |
| Student finance | 576 | 1.3% | 1.9% | +46% |
| Attendance and behaviour | 478 | 1.3% | 1.3% | 0% |
| School food and breakfast clubs | 452 | 1.9% | 0.9% | −53% |
| School funding and buildings | 344 | 1.3% | 0.8% | −38% |
The themes, quarter by quarter
Share of education and skills records touching each theme in each quarter, in per cent. We set the shading row by row. The darkest cell is that theme’s busiest quarter. Hover over a cell for the detail.
- Quietest quarter for the theme
- Busiest quarter
| Jul–Sep2024 | Oct–Dec2024 | Jan–Mar2025 | Apr–Jun2025 | Jul–Sep2025 | Oct–Dec2025 | Jan–Mar2026 | Apr–Jun2026 | Jul–Sep2026 | Oct2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universities | 15.7 | 14.1 | 14.0 | 13.9 | 11.6 | 13.0 | 17.1 | 19.3 | 12.3 | 15.4 |
| SEND and special schools | 9.1 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 8.7 | 18.6 | 12.1 | 8.4 | 7.5 | 22.4 | 11.4 |
| Further education and colleges | 9.7 | 10.8 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 10.4 | 9.9 | 8.2 | 10.0 |
| Inspection and academies | 11.2 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 8.6 | 9.7 |
| Teachers and school staff | 10.2 | 9.5 | 8.5 | 7.5 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 5.4 | 6.4 |
| Apprenticeships and adult skills | 6.4 | 5.1 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 4.8 | 6.7 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 9.2 |
| Curriculum and exams | 5.7 | 6.1 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.5 |
| Early years and childcare | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
| School transport | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 1.9 | 2.0 |
| Student finance | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 1.9 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.3 |
| School food and breakfast clubs | 0.9 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| School funding and buildings | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 |
| Education and skills records in the quarter | 1,263 | 2,445 | 2,727 | 3,414 | 3,675 | 4,134 | 4,988 | 4,826 | 7,344 | 2,637 |
The first quarter starts on 5 July 2024, the day after the general election. The last runs only to the end of October 2026. Read along a row, not down a column.
Where each theme comes from
Share of each theme’s records by strand, since July 2024. Sorted by how much comes from Parliament.
- What government publishes
- What it buys
- Who it meets
- What Parliament asks
- Who checks it
- School funding and buildings13%81%
- School food and breakfast clubs20%69%
- Student finance28%68%
- Attendance and behaviour18%20%55%
- Early years and childcare22%18%11%48%
- Curriculum and exams29%12%9%47%
- Universities24%17%44%
- Apprenticeships and adult skills19%33%43%
- Teachers and school staff34%15%40%
- SEND and special schools61%32%
- Further education and colleges14%29%25%27%
- Inspection and academies34%36%10%16%
- School transport85%12%
Themes near the top are what MPs and peers raise. Themes near the bottom are what government buys, publishes or is checked on.
Show the numbers
| Theme | What government publishes | What it buys | Who it meets | What Parliament asks | Who checks it | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School funding and buildings | 12.8% | 4.4% | 1.5% | 81.1% | 0.3% | 344 |
| School food and breakfast clubs | 8.8% | 20.4% | 1.3% | 69.2% | 0.2% | 452 |
| Student finance | 28.3% | 1.7% | 1.2% | 68.2% | 0.5% | 576 |
| Attendance and behaviour | 18.2% | 19.5% | 4.0% | 55.2% | 3.1% | 478 |
| Early years and childcare | 22.1% | 17.8% | 11.2% | 48.5% | 0.3% | 1,032 |
| Curriculum and exams | 29.3% | 12.1% | 9.3% | 46.8% | 2.4% | 1,631 |
| Universities | 5.9% | 24.0% | 17.2% | 44.1% | 8.8% | 5,454 |
| Apprenticeships and adult skills | 19.0% | 33.3% | 4.0% | 43.0% | 0.7% | 2,270 |
| Teachers and school staff | 34.1% | 15.4% | 8.2% | 40.2% | 2.1% | 2,493 |
| SEND and special schools | 4.4% | 61.3% | 2.0% | 31.5% | 0.7% | 4,842 |
| Further education and colleges | 13.8% | 28.8% | 25.2% | 26.8% | 5.4% | 3,560 |
| Inspection and academies | 33.5% | 36.3% | 10.5% | 16.5% | 3.2% | 2,801 |
| School transport | 1.8% | 84.9% | 0.3% | 12.2% | 0.7% | 598 |
Who is involved
Department for Education publishes most, Surrey County Council buys most, and Royal Academy of Engineering is the organisation ministers and officials meet most often on education.
Who is doing the education activity
The ten bodies with the most records in each strand since July 2024. Hover over a bar for the full name and count.
Who publishes most · 157 bodies
Who buys most · 1,507 buyers
Who ministers and officials meet most · 1,267 organisations
Which departments answer the questions
Contracts went to 7,501 different suppliers. The ten busiest won 6% of them. The meetings chart counts each organisation named on a return once per meeting. Surrey County Council alone accounts for 19% of the 13,544 contract records, so it moves the contract figures on its own.
What Parliament asks
Each party asks close to its usual share of education questions. Written questions here take a median 10 days to answer, against 8 across government.
Who asks about education
Share of written and oral questions on education and skills asked by each party, against its share of all questions, since July 2024.
- All questions
- Education and skills: more than its usual share
- less
- Labour33%
- Conservative31%
- Liberal Democrat23%
- Reform UK3%
- Independent4%
- Crossbench2%
- Green1%
- DUP3%
Based on 12,395 questions where the asking member’s party is recorded. Peers sit in the Lords. “Crossbench” members belong to no party.
Show the numbers
| Party | Education and skills | All questions |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 32.9% | 29.0% |
| Conservative | 30.8% | 39.9% |
| Liberal Democrat | 23.1% | 18.4% |
| Reform UK | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Independent | 4.4% | 3.7% |
| Crossbench | 1.9% | 1.1% |
| Green | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| DUP | 2.7% | 2.7% |
Where the money goes
13,544 contract notices and awards since July 2024. The typical (median) one is worth £102k, against £120k across all of government.
Contracts, quarter by quarter
Education and skills contract notices and awards each quarter. The figure above each column is its share of all contracts that quarter.
The last quarter runs only to the end of October 2026.
Show the numbers
| Quarter | Contracts | Share of all contracts |
|---|---|---|
| Jul–Sep 2024 | 45 | 9.9% |
| Oct–Dec 2024 | 54 | 8.7% |
| Jan–Mar 2025 | 232 | 7.6% |
| Apr–Jun 2025 | 725 | 7.4% |
| Jul–Sep 2025 | 1,726 | 12.0% |
| Oct–Dec 2025 | 1,470 | 9.5% |
| Jan–Mar 2026 | 1,585 | 8.3% |
| Apr–Jun 2026 | 1,440 | 7.8% |
| Jul–Sep 2026 | 4,752 | 12.8% |
| Oct 2026 | 1,515 | 11.1% |
How big the contracts are
Share of education and skills contract notices and awards in each value band, against all contracts, since July 2024.
- All contracts
- Education and skills: more common
- less common
- Under £10k3%
- £10k–100k46%
- £100k–1m33%
- £1m–10m13%
- £10m–100m4%
- £100m and over1%
Values are what the buyer published: an estimate for an open notice, the award for a closed one, and for a framework the ceiling across every buyer that might use it.
Show the numbers
| Value | Education and skills | All contracts |
|---|---|---|
| Under £10k | 2.6% | 5.9% |
| £10k–100k | 46.3% | 40.2% |
| £100k–1m | 32.8% | 33.1% |
| £1m–10m | 13.1% | 13.9% |
| £10m–100m | 3.9% | 4.9% |
| £100m and over | 1.2% | 2.0% |
On the record
The most recent policy papers and consultations that affect education, dated by when each consultation closed or each paper was last updated. Every one is on Seam with the rest of its source.
- Policy paper · last updated 26 October 2026 · National School of Government and Public ServicesNational School Evidence Centre Evaluation Strategy Summary: How we will evaluate the National School
- Consultation · closed 23 October 2026 · Security Industry AuthorityProposed changes to SIA licence-linked qualifications
- Policy paper · last updated 20 October 2026 · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and SportDigital and Technologies Jobs Plan
- Policy paper · last updated 19 October 2026 · Department for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeProfessional and Business Services Jobs Plan
- Consultation · closed 8 October 2026 · Ministry of JusticeIndependent statutory regulation of probation practitioners
- Consultation · closed 24 September 2026 · Department for EducationShaping the future of early years teaching
- Consultation · closed 18 September 2026 · Department for EducationSEND reform: education otherwise than at school
- Consultation · closed 18 September 2026 · Department for EducationUpfront funding for mainstream schools: creating a 'local SEND inclusion formula'
If you work in education and skills
- Know where your sector stands out. For education it is “what it buys”, at 6 times the typical sector’s share. That is where your sector stands out most against others.
- Follow the rising themes. Growing fastest: school transport, student finance and SEND and special schools. Watch these for new consultations, contracts and questions.
- Find the people already talking. The organisations in the meetings chart already have access to ministers.
How we did this: method and caveats
Data. The Seam search database: one row for every record in every source on the site. This piece uses everything dated from 5 July 2024, the day after the general election, to the end of October 2026: 456,455 records. We leave out directories (officials, bodies, councils, registers of interests) because they are lists, not activity. We also leave out ministers’ expenses, hospitality, gifts and travel. Meetings appear a quarter or more late, so the latest months hold fewer of them. Charts built on months or quarters use whole months only.
The five strands. What government publishes: announcements, policy papers, consultations, guidance, transparency releases, statistics, NHS England (62,441 records). What it buys: contract notices and awards (132,067 records). Who it meets: meetings ministers and senior officials hold with outside organisations (36,405 records). What Parliament asks: written and oral questions, debates, select committee letters and evidence, Holyrood and the Senedd (208,774 records). Who checks it: regulators, the Information Commissioner, the public auditors, the RPC (16,768 records).
Sectors. The scorer that ranks search results on Seam reads each record. It checks the record against the hand-written lexicon (word list) of 39 sectors: phrases and words for each, with words that argue against a sector. A record counts towards its strongest sector, and towards any other sector that scores at least half as much. If a record’s strongest sector scores below 2.5 (less than one decisive phrase), we leave the record unplaced. 74% of records are placed. We made three changes from the search pages, all because a count needs to be stricter than a search. First, we do not use the publisher, because a department’s name decided too many thin records on its own. Second, we switch off the machine-learned extra terms, because they placed records in sectors they were not about. Third, we remove boilerplate first, such as the “Senior official. Meetings” that ends every meeting record. We make one correction by hand. We take a record out of local government if its only “council” is the UN Security Council or a similar body.
Activity and rank. A sector’s activity is its share of each strand’s records, averaged across the five, so that no strand dominates. The biggest strand, what parliament asks, has 12 times as many records as the smallest. We rank sectors on three measures over the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026): that average, the middle (median) strand share, and the raw count of records. We then order them by their average rank across the three. Health and social care, Education and skills and Local government come third, second and first on the average share and first, second and third on the middle share. On the raw count they come first, second and 7th, because sectors heavy in contracts and written questions collect more records. We also tried the scorer with the publisher and the extra terms switched back on. The same sectors stayed near the top, but digital and telecoms rose sharply on meetings alone. That is the noise those changes remove.
Themes come from keywords in each record’s title and summary. For a meeting, that is its purpose and the organisation met. For a question, it is the question. The lists are below. They are a judgement, and they miss records whose titles say little.
Change over time compares the government’s first year (July 2024 to June 2025) with the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026). We compare shares, not counts, because the amount published swings with the parliamentary calendar.
Caveats. Counting records measures how much paper a subject generates, not how much it matters or what it costs. Some sources publish in bulk. One council that posts each school-taxi route as its own contract award can move a sector’s share of contracts on its own. The charts say so where one buyer accounts for 15% or more of a sector’s contract records. Contract values are as published. Frameworks carry their ceiling, which is why we use bands and medians, never totals.
The theme word lists
| Theme | Words and phrases in the title or summary |
|---|---|
| School funding and buildings | school (funding, budgets?, buildings?, rebuild, estate, capital), RAAC, condition improvement, pupil premium, national funding formula, falling rolls, school places |
| Teachers and school staff | teachers?, teaching, headteachers?, head teachers?, school (staff, leaders?, workforce), support staff, teacher (pay, recruitment, training, misconduct) |
| SEND and special schools | SEND, special educational, special schools?, EHCPs?, education,? health and care plans?, alternative provision, high needs |
| Attendance and behaviour | attendance, absence, truan, exclusions?, suspensions?, behaviour |
| Curriculum and exams | curriculum, GCSEs?, A levels?, A-levels?, exams?, examinations?, Ofqual, qualifications?, SATs, T levels?, grades, oracy, phonics |
| Early years and childcare | early years, childcare, nurser(y, ies), childminders?, funded hours, family hubs, best start, pre-?school |
| School food and breakfast clubs | free school meals, breakfast clubs?, school (food, meals, milk, catering) |
| School transport | home to school, school transport, SEND transport, passenger assistant, school (bus, taxi, run), pupil transport |
| Inspection and academies | Ofsted, inspect(ion, ions, ed, or, orate), report cards?, league tables, schools adjudicator, academy trusts?, multi-academy, academ(y, ies) |
| Universities | universit, higher education, Office for Students, OfS, tuition fees?, international students, vice-chancellor, undergraduates?, postgraduates? |
| Student finance | student (loans?, finance, support, maintenance), maintenance (loans?, grants?), Student Loans Company |
| Further education and colleges | further education, FE, colleges?, sixth forms? |
| Apprenticeships and adult skills | apprentic, skills england, skills (bootcamps?, gaps?, levy, funding, system), growth and skills levy, adult skills, lifelong learning, technical education, training providers?, NEETs?, youth guarantee |