Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with parties involved in the sale of the City & Guilds of London Institute prior to the sale of its charitable assets in October 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
City & Guilds of London Institute is an independent organisation. The government has no role in its governance or commercial decisions, including the sale of its charitable assets in October 2025.
The department did not hold discussions with parties involved in that sale prior to it taking place.
Following the sale of City and Guilds Ltd, the organisation has confirmed they will continue to deliver qualifications within the further education sector and work constructively with providers as usual.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many additional educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, funded by the special educational needs and disabilities plan announced on 23 February, they expect to complete training in (1) 2026–27, (2) 2027–28, (3) 2028–29, and (4) 2029–30.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Experts at Hand will be delivered through a blend of existing specialist capacity and new staff brought in over time, ensuring the expertise available grows sustainably as the offer develops.
We recently announced £26 million investment to train at least 200 educational psychologists per year, starting their training in 2026 and 2027, followed by further investment from 2028 to train even larger cohorts, subject to a future spending review. This builds on £31 million already being invested since 2023 to train around 200 educational psychologists per year.
The educational psychology doctorate is a three-year course and those who began their training in 2023 will graduate and enter the workforce in 2026/27. Together, these investments will result in approximately 200 trained educational psychologists graduating each year, in 2026/27, 2027/28, 2028/29, and 2029/30 respectively.
We also announced an investment of over £15 million in speech and language therapists (SaLTs). This is to upskill more SaLT support workers and to establish new SaLT advanced practitioners to ensure more therapists and support workers are working with education settings to support additional children and young people. We will also promote the Level 6 SaLT degree apprenticeship to boost the pipeline.
Asked by: Lord Wei (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) opinion: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill impact assessment, issued on 31 January 2025, when collective agreement for the relevant regulatory provisions was obtained; on what grounds the legislation was judged sufficiently urgent to proceed before the RPC had issued an opinion; and whether ministers were informed prior to Second Reading on 8 January 2025 that the RPC had not yet completed its scrutiny.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is a key step towards delivering the government’s Opportunity Mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success.
The Bill’s impact assessments were submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) on 5 November 2024, in accordance with the Better Regulation Framework. Collective agreement was provided for measures in the Bill by the Home and Economic Affairs Committee and Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee in advance of the Bill’s introduction, as required.
The department published the Bill’s impact assessments on 30 January 2025, ahead of the RPC’s final opinion being published on 31 January 2025. The RPC gave the Bill’s impact assessments a green-rating, finding them fit for purpose. Ministers were kept updated throughout.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's immigration criteria on the number of international students attending universities in (a) the UK and (b) York.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy reflects the positive impact of international students. It confirms our continued commitment to welcoming students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The system must, however, ensure that international students make a positive contribution to the communities in which they study. The ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ White Paper contains measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, whilst maintaining the UK’s globally competitive position and boosting our skills base.
The department expects the UK to remain an attractive study destination. The most recent data shows that applications from Sponsored Study visa main applicants in the year ending January 2026 were 2 per cent higher than the previous year. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026.
Whilst we recognise international students’ value, reliance on international fee income is a risk to some providers' income. HE providers must ensure their business models provide long-term sustainability.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the impact of her policies on the supply of international students for Higher Education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy reflects the positive impact of international students. It confirms our continued commitment to welcoming students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The system must, however, ensure that international students make a positive contribution to the communities in which they study. The ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ White Paper contains measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, whilst maintaining the UK’s globally competitive position and boosting our skills base.
The department expects the UK to remain an attractive study destination. The most recent data shows that applications from Sponsored Study visa main applicants in the year ending January 2026 were 2 per cent higher than the previous year. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026.
Whilst we recognise international students’ value, reliance on international fee income is a risk to some providers' income. HE providers must ensure their business models provide long-term sustainability.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Home Office decisions on the finances of universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy reflects the positive impact of international students. It confirms our continued commitment to welcoming students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The system must, however, ensure that international students make a positive contribution to the communities in which they study. The ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ White Paper contains measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, whilst maintaining the UK’s globally competitive position and boosting our skills base.
The department expects the UK to remain an attractive study destination. The most recent data shows that applications from Sponsored Study visa main applicants in the year ending January 2026 were 2 per cent higher than the previous year. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026.
Whilst we recognise international students’ value, reliance on international fee income is a risk to some providers' income. HE providers must ensure their business models provide long-term sustainability.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of total university fee income has been derived from international students in each of the past five years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy reflects the positive impact of international students. It confirms our continued commitment to welcoming students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The system must, however, ensure that international students make a positive contribution to the communities in which they study. The ‘Restoring control over the immigration system’ White Paper contains measures that will achieve a reduction in net migration, whilst maintaining the UK’s globally competitive position and boosting our skills base.
The department expects the UK to remain an attractive study destination. The most recent data shows that applications from Sponsored Study visa main applicants in the year ending January 2026 were 2 per cent higher than the previous year. The data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026/monthly-entry-clearance-visa-applications-january-2026.
Whilst we recognise international students’ value, reliance on international fee income is a risk to some providers' income. HE providers must ensure their business models provide long-term sustainability.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of recent uncertainty about the future of the ASGSF, what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistent, high quality therapeutic support for adopted children and their families and Regional Adoption Authorities (RAAs) is continued beyond 2028.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has carefully considered the impact of changes to adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) funding as part of the wider Spending Review process. That is why we have confirmed continued funding through to 2027/28, alongside consultation on reform, to ensure families continue to receive support while we improve how it is delivered.
The current consultation, available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/adoption-and-special-guardianship-support-fund-team/adoption-support-that-works-for-all/supporting_documents/adoption-support-that-works-for-all-consultation-document-feb-2026pdf recognises that while many adopted and kinship children thrive, support can be slow, fragmented and inconsistent when needs arise. It sets out a vision for a more predictable and joined-up system, with universal and targeted early help, clearer support pathways and stronger multi‑disciplinary working across social care, health and education where people need more intensive support. The consultation is also a key opportunity for stakeholders to share their views on what support is effective for children. A report on the outcomes of the consultation, together with next steps, will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Garden of Frognal (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of commissioning an inquiry by Ofqual into the sale of the City & Guilds of London Institute, given the implications for the qualifications system.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
City and Guilds of London Institute is an independent organisation. The government has no role in its governance or commercial decisions, including the sale of its charitable assets in October 2025.
Following the sale of City and Guilds Ltd, the organisation has confirmed they will continue to deliver qualifications within the further education sector and work constructively with providers as usual.
Ofqual remain actively engaged with City and Guilds Ltd.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many private schools have closed since 1 September 2024, or have announced that they will close at the end of this academic year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of private school closures is publicly available from the ‘Get Information about Schools’ website. Where local circumstances show that converting a private school into a state funded school would meet local demand for school places, the conversion may be considered through the established legal process.