Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many tuition fee loans, and for how much in total, were provided to franchised delivery providers of education who are (1) registered with the Office for Students, and (2) non-registered, in the past three years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The attached table shows the number of students in receipt of a tuition fee loan and the total amount of tuition fee loans paid on behalf of students studying at franchised providers in England, split by whether the franchised provider is registered with the Office for Students. This covers tuition fees paid by Student Finance England for the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.
In franchising arrangements, tuition fees are paid directly to the lead provider, who often retains a portion before passing the remainder onto the franchised provider. The department does not collect data on the proportion of tuition fees retained by the lead provider. The tuition fee amounts presented in the table therefore overestimate the amount of tuition fee funding received by franchised providers.
Data captures loan payments made up to 31 August 2023 for the 2021/22 academic year and up to 31 August 2024 for the 2022/23 and 23/24 academic years. As the loan payment amounts for 2023/24 do not capture late payments, it is not appropriate to compare 2023/24 with previous years.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many colleges and institutions are registered as higher education providers with the Office for Students.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
There are currently 426 higher education providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) as of 28 March 2025. The full OfS register of providers is publicly available and can be found on the OfS website.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to abolish university tuition fees for nursing.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Currently, there are no plans to abolish tuition fees for nursing courses for the 2025/26 academic year. Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses qualify for non-repayable grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund. In addition, for the 2025/26 academic year, we will be increasing loans for living costs by 3.1%. This ensures that the most support is targeted at students from the lowest income families, while keeping the student finance system financially sustainable.
The higher education (HE) sector needs a secure financial footing to face the challenges of the next decade, and to ensure that all students can be confident they will receive the world-class HE experience they deserve. This is why, after seven years of frozen fee caps under the previous government, the department has taken the difficult decision to increase maximum tuition fee limits for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation.
In recognition of the increased investment students are being asked to make, the department expects the sector to deliver the very best outcomes, both for those students and for the country. We will publish our plan for HE reform in the summer, and work with the sector and the Office for Students to deliver the change that the country needs.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the closing date for submissions to their official transgender guidance for schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department understands that this is a complex and sensitive subject for schools to navigate. This is why we are developing guidance to support schools both in relation to transgender pupils and those who are questioning their gender. The guidance will be clear that, apart from in exceptional circumstances, schools should involve parents in any decision about their child.
To ensure the guidance is right, it is important that the department is able to consider a wide range of views. The department has committed to holding a full public consultation on the draft guidance prior to publication, to which anyone can respond.
The consultation will be live in due course, allowing those who wish to respond to it time to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government who will be consulted on the official transgender guidance for schools.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The department understands that this is a complex and sensitive subject for schools to navigate. This is why we are developing guidance to support schools both in relation to transgender pupils and those who are questioning their gender. The guidance will be clear that, apart from in exceptional circumstances, schools should involve parents in any decision about their child.
To ensure the guidance is right, it is important that the department is able to consider a wide range of views. The department has committed to holding a full public consultation on the draft guidance prior to publication, to which anyone can respond.
The consultation will be live in due course, allowing those who wish to respond to it time to do so.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much of the £320 million of PE and sport premium available for primary schools has been spent on children’s swimming.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department does not collect data from schools on how many pupils are able to swim 25 metres, but data from Sport England’s annual Active Lives Children Survey provides the government with a national picture. Data for the 2019-20 academic year shows that 77% of children in year 7 report they can swim 25 metres.
The physical education (PE) and sport premium can be used by primary schools to support swimming and water safety, for example, through ‘top-up’ lessons or additional teaching training. The department provides schools with the flexibility to decide how to spend their premium in line with the conditions of the grant and do not collect data on the proportion or the amount of spend for any given activity.
In addition to the PE and sport premium, schools are able to access new virtual water safety lessons from Oak National Academy and the department will be supporting the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in June 2021. The department has provided an additional £10.1 million to improve the use of school sport facilities, including swimming pools. New resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities to swim and knowing how to be safe in and around the water have been developed through the department’s Inclusion 2020 grant, which is led by the Youth Sport Trust. These resources are available on Swim England’s inclusion hub.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many primary school children have not been able to swim the statutory 25 metres in the 2019/20 academic year and what is their projection for this figure in 2020/2021.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department does not collect data from schools on how many pupils are able to swim 25 metres, but data from Sport England’s annual Active Lives Children Survey provides the government with a national picture. Data for the 2019-20 academic year shows that 77% of children in year 7 report they can swim 25 metres.
The physical education (PE) and sport premium can be used by primary schools to support swimming and water safety, for example, through ‘top-up’ lessons or additional teaching training. The department provides schools with the flexibility to decide how to spend their premium in line with the conditions of the grant and do not collect data on the proportion or the amount of spend for any given activity.
In addition to the PE and sport premium, schools are able to access new virtual water safety lessons from Oak National Academy and the department will be supporting the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in June 2021. The department has provided an additional £10.1 million to improve the use of school sport facilities, including swimming pools. New resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities to swim and knowing how to be safe in and around the water have been developed through the department’s Inclusion 2020 grant, which is led by the Youth Sport Trust. These resources are available on Swim England’s inclusion hub.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what help they are providing to primary schools to ensure that all children have the opportunity to learn to swim before moving on to secondary school.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department does not collect data from schools on how many pupils are able to swim 25 metres, but data from Sport England’s annual Active Lives Children Survey provides the government with a national picture. Data for the 2019-20 academic year shows that 77% of children in year 7 report they can swim 25 metres.
The physical education (PE) and sport premium can be used by primary schools to support swimming and water safety, for example, through ‘top-up’ lessons or additional teaching training. The department provides schools with the flexibility to decide how to spend their premium in line with the conditions of the grant and do not collect data on the proportion or the amount of spend for any given activity.
In addition to the PE and sport premium, schools are able to access new virtual water safety lessons from Oak National Academy and the department will be supporting the Royal Life Saving Society UK’s Drowning Prevention Week in June 2021. The department has provided an additional £10.1 million to improve the use of school sport facilities, including swimming pools. New resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities to swim and knowing how to be safe in and around the water have been developed through the department’s Inclusion 2020 grant, which is led by the Youth Sport Trust. These resources are available on Swim England’s inclusion hub.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether students studying in Northern Ireland will be eligible for the Turing Scheme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
Yes, the Turing scheme is UK-wide. Universities, colleges, and schools in Northern Ireland are eligible to bid for funding under the scheme, so that students in Northern Ireland can benefit from the opportunities of study and work placements abroad on the same basis as students elsewhere in the UK. The scheme is open for applications now.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many times in 2016 and 2017 the Education Funding Agency met Ofsted to discuss Durand Academy.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Education Funding Agency has not corresponded with Ofsted regarding Durand Academy in 2016 and 2017.
On 20th December, Ofsted formally notified the Department of Education on the outcome of their inspection of the Durand Academy and briefed the Regional School Commissioner and the Educational Funding Agency the following day.