Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure Muslim students are able to access student loans without contradicting their religious beliefs on interest.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I refer the hon. Member for Leeds North East to the answer I gave on 9 June 2021 to Question 10312.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding from the taxpayers purse was spent on Military Ethos programmes in each year since 2013.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Military Ethos in Schools Programme was launched by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in 2012. It comprised of three distinct work strands: the Cadet Expansion Programme, which was run jointly with the Ministry of Defence to create new cadet units in state schools; Troops to Teachers, to attract ex-service personnel into teaching; and military ethos alternative provision, which aimed to raise educational attainment and improve behaviour and attendance for children and young people at risk of exclusion.
The Department funded the Troops to Teachers and military ethos alternative provision work streams. The Troops to Teachers programme was replaced in 2018 by the Troops to Teachers undergraduate initial teacher training (ITT) bursary. This bursary offers undergraduate service leavers £40,000 over two years to train as a secondary school teacher in mathematics, physics, computing or modern foreign languages. It should be noted that graduate service leavers can complete postgraduate ITT, therefore data regarding expenditure on the Troops to Teachers undergraduate ITT bursary does not encompass all service leavers entering teaching.
The Cadet Expansion Programme was funded jointly by the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence between 2012 to 2015. From 2015 to 2020, the Government used £50 million of the London Inter-bank Offered Rate funding to further increase the number of cadet units in schools.
A yearly breakdown starting from the financial year 2012/13, detailing all three Military Ethos in Schools Programmes, is provided in the attached table.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government's decision to remove home student status from Cypriot students will not deter Cypriots from attending university and further education in the UK.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
International students make a vital contribution to UK universities. Our institutions thrive on being global institutions and will always be open to international students – this includes the thousands of highly valued Cypriot students, as well as EU students, who study at UK universities each year.
The government will also be implementing the new graduate route in summer 2021 to support providers in attracting overseas students. This will allow international students in the UK who are on a Tier 4 visa at the time it is introduced the options to stay and work in the UK at any skill level for 2 years.
EU citizens and their family members who start courses in England in the 2020/21 academic year or before will remain eligible for undergraduate and postgraduate financial support or an Advanced Learner Loan from Student Finance England as well as further education funding for students aged 19 and over for the full duration of their course provided that they meet the residency requirements.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Government's decision to remove home student status from EU students will not adversely affect UK universities income.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
As a consequence of EU exit, the UK will no longer have a justification to provide home fee status and student support to EU nationals. It is therefore right that EU students, other than those from Ireland, should in future be treated the same as other international students. Students from Ireland will be able to access student support on a reciprocal basis through the Common Travel Area arrangement. We now look forward to being truly open to the rest of the world.
EU citizens and their family members starting courses in England in the 2020/21 academic year or before will remain eligible for undergraduate and postgraduate financial support for the duration of their course.
International students make a vital contribution to UK universities. Our institutions thrive on being global institutions and will always be open to international students, including the thousands of highly valued EU students that study at UK universities each year.
The government is committed to continuing to improve our UK’s world-class offer to international students, which is why we have announced the new graduate route, to be introduced in summer 2021. The graduate route will be simple and light-touch and will permit graduates at undergraduate and masters level to remain in the UK for 2 years and PhD graduates to remain in the UK for 3 years after they have finished their studies and to work or look for work at any skill level - a significant improvement in our offer.
The UK’s new International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith, will assist with opening up export growth opportunities for the whole UK education sector, which will include attracting EU students to UK universities. The government is also working alongside stakeholders to support students and the UK higher education (HE) workforce to manage the transition period. This involves working to solidify existing and establish important new global relationships and promoting an open and welcoming message to all international – EU and non-EU – students wishing to come to the UK to study at our world-class education institutions.
The government has acted to help HE providers deal with the financial impacts of COVID-19 through the combination of the HE stabilisation package announced on 4 May which reprofiled public funding and introduced measures to stabilise admissions, the broader government-backed business support schemes and the research stabilisation package announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 27 June.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance the Government is giving landlords of student accommodation on collecting rent on unoccupied accommodation.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.
We expect universities to communicate clearly with residential students on rents for this period and to administer accommodation provision in a fair manner.
While it is for universities and private accommodation providers to make their own decisions about charging rents to absent students, we encourage them to consider the fairness of doing so and to clearly communicate their policies to students. We are aware that a number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.
Students who are tenants with individual private landlords can discuss the possibility of an early release from their lease. If they face financial hardship and struggle to pay their rent, support is available: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-support-available-for-landlords-and-renters-reflecting-the-current-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. In the first instance, a student should speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty meeting a rental payment, and in this unique context, tenants and landlords are encouraged to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme.
Information published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gives guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak’s effects on consumer contracts and may be helpful to students, including those who have already paid deposits for accommodation: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.
The guidance sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly. Students may be entitled to refunds from certain accommodation providers depending on the terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. If students need help, organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and support.
If a student thinks their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/; https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.
To support landlords who are experiencing a temporary loss of income, mortgage lenders have agreed to offer payment holidays of up to 3 months where this is needed due to COVID-19-related hardship, including for buy-to-let mortgages. On 2 June, the Financial Conduct Authority confirmed that borrowers can apply for an extension to any holiday already taken while extending the window for new applications to 31 October. Landlords should contact their lender at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss if the payment holiday is a suitable option for them.
We have also amended the COVID-19 regulations to make clear that people who wish to move home can do so. Landlords can now advertise and let properties where they are empty or where the current tenants have agreed to move. Landlords are also encouraged to contact their local authority homelessness departments or private rented sector procurement team who can discuss renting their property to a homeless household, which may guarantee an income during this time.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Government is providing to students who are no longer occupying their accommodation but who are still being required to pay rent.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19. We expect universities to communicate clearly with residential students on rents for this period and administer accommodation provision in a fair manner.
Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current 2019/20 academic year. Many higher education (HE) providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need, including emergencies. The expectation is that, where any student requires additional support, providers will support them through their own hardship funds. As part of the HE stabilisation package, the government has worked closely with the Office for Students to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. Providers are able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April through to July, towards student hardship funds, including for the purchase of IT equipment and mental health support as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans.
A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts. Students who are tenants with individual private landlords can discuss the possibility of an early release from their lease. If they face financial hardship and struggle to pay their rent, support is available: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-support-available-for-landlords-and-renters-reflecting-the-current-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. In the first instance, a student should speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty meeting a rental payment, and in this unique context tenants and landlords are encouraged to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme. If a student thinks that their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/; https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and: https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.
Information published by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gives guidance on the COVID-19 outbreak’s effects on consumer contracts and may be helpful to students, including those who have already paid deposits for accommodation: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.
The guidance sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and to help businesses treat their customers fairly. Students may be entitled to refunds from certain accommodation providers depending on the terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. If students need help, organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and support.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what accountability process is in place to ensure that academies implement SEND children's Education, Health and Care Plans.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
All schools, including academies, have a duty under the Children and Families Act 2014 to identify and support the special educational needs and disabilities of pupils, whether or not they have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.
Where a child has an EHC plan, the local authority that issued it has a statutory duty to ensure that the specified special educational provision is delivered by the named school, which could be an academy. If a parent believes a school is not delivering the support specified for their child in an EHC plan, they can take this up with the school through its published complaints procedure or directly with the local authority.
If this does not resolve the parent’s concerns, either the parent or the local authority is able to ask the Department for Education for a determination on whether the school has failed to carry out a statutory duty or has done so in an unreasonable way. Where officials find that a school has failed to carry out a statutory duty or has done so in an unreasonable way, they can make an order on behalf of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education requiring the school to put matters right, if this would be expedient.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the Government decided not to provide VAT rebates for sixth form colleges along with VAT rebates for sixth forms in state schools as well as academies and other free school variants.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Sixth form colleges (SFCs) do not qualify for VAT refunds as they are not part of local government, nor are they academies. The VAT treatment of SFCs is determined by their classification, which is designated by the Office for National Statistics. Colleges, including SFCs, have been liable for VAT since they ceased to be part of the local government sector in 1993. In order for SFCs to be classified differently significant changes to their governance, accountability and administration (i.e. in the direction of greater central government control) would be required, which may not be a route that SFCs wish to take. At the end of any such restructuring, the ONS would review how to reclassify the SFC. There is the possibility that, even after such changes, the ONS would not necessarily change their classification to one where it was possible for them to reclaim VAT.
Decisions regarding future 16 to 19 funding will be subject to the outcome of the next spending round where this decision may be revisited.