Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted the (1) Northern Irish, (2) Scottish, and (2) Welsh, governments about their proposals to cap the number of English students who can be admitted to universities elsewhere in the UK; if not, why not; on what date the relevant ministers of those governments were informed of Her Majesty's Government's proposals; and what representations they have received from such ministers about those proposals. [T]
Answered by Baroness Berridge
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, have regular meetings with ministers from all the devolved administrations about higher education issues. These discussions have included the development of student number controls policy. The department’s officials also have regular meetings and discussions with their counterparts.
Student number controls for institutions in the devolved administrations only apply to the number of English-domiciled entrants who will be supported with their tuition fees through the Student Loans Company. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter, and it is right and fair that this policy should apply consistently wherever they are studying in the UK.
Ministers will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on strengthening and stabilising the higher education system following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the registration process for independent higher education providers has been suspended by the Office for Students; and when they plan to recommence registrations.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The registration process for higher education providers is managed by the Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education in England.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the current unprecedented circumstances, the OfS has decided to suspend new registration applications. This is due to a reprioritisation of resources that enables the OfS to focus on urgent COVID-19 response work.
The OfS is responsible for deciding when to resume new registrations and will do so as soon as circumstances allow. The OfS is continuing to process applications already submitted for both registration and degree awarding powers and has offered to discuss with individual potential providers wherever there might be exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to offer emergency hardship grants to university students from low income households
Answered by Baroness Berridge
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.
Higher education (HE) providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body, as well as how to develop the services needed to support it. HE providers need to consider how they support all students, particularly the most vulnerable, to achieve successful academic and professional outcomes.
Many 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.
We have worked closely with the Office for Students to enable providers to draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers will be able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April and May, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment, and mental health support, as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans.
Students with a part-time employment contract should speak to their employer about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been set up to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional financial support to universities during the COVID-19 pandemic; what guidance they have provided to universities about dealing with requests for refunds of fees; and what plans they have to provide compensation to universities to cover the costs of such refunds.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government has announced a UK-wide range of support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and various business support packages, to assist businesses whose viability is threatened by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility. If they need this support, higher education providers that meet the published criteria for the loan and financing schemes should approach their bank and begin to apply for the relevant scheme.
We are working closely with higher education providers and the regulator for the higher education sector in England, the Office for Students (OfS), to ensure that we maintain an up-to-date understanding of the financial risks and implications the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing to bear on the sector. The OfS has stated that one of its key priorities during the pandemic is to support the financial sustainability of the sector. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity.
The OfS has produced guidance on practical ways in which students can complete their studies whilst ensuring quality and standards are upheld during this difficult time. Providers are already making these arrangements and we are in close contact with the sector. There are some fantastic and innovative examples of high-quality distance and online learning being delivered by institutions across the UK, and the sector is already working hard to prepare learning materials for the summer and autumn terms. Students ordinarily should not expect any fee refund if they are receiving adequate online learning and support.
However, the government has made it clear that if institutions are unable to facilitate adequate online tuition then it would be unacceptable for students to be charged for any additional terms as, effectively, they would be charged twice. ?Whether an individual student is entitled to a refund of their fees will depend on specific contractual arrangements between the higher education providers and the student.
In the first instance, students should speak to their university. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by institutions to resolve any concerns. Students who are not satisfied with their institution’s final response can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint if their institution is based in England or Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional financial support they plan to provide to universities to deal with increased pressures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government has announced a UK-wide range of support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and various business support packages, to assist businesses whose viability is threatened by the COVID-19 outbreak. These include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility. If they need this support, higher education providers that meet the published criteria for the loan and financing schemes should approach their bank and begin to apply for the relevant scheme.
We are working closely with higher education providers and the regulator for the higher education sector in England, the Office for Students (OfS), to ensure that we maintain an up-to-date understanding of the financial risks and implications the COVID-19 outbreak is bringing to bear on the sector. The OfS has stated that one of its key priorities during the pandemic is to support the financial sustainability of the sector. Providers with concerns about their financial viability or sustainability have been encouraged to contact the OfS at the earliest opportunity.
The OfS has produced guidance on practical ways in which students can complete their studies whilst ensuring quality and standards are upheld during this difficult time. Providers are already making these arrangements and we are in close contact with the sector. There are some fantastic and innovative examples of high-quality distance and online learning being delivered by institutions across the UK, and the sector is already working hard to prepare learning materials for the summer and autumn terms. Students ordinarily should not expect any fee refund if they are receiving adequate online learning and support.
However, the government has made it clear that if institutions are unable to facilitate adequate online tuition then it would be unacceptable for students to be charged for any additional terms as, effectively, they would be charged twice. ?Whether an individual student is entitled to a refund of their fees will depend on specific contractual arrangements between the higher education providers and the student.
In the first instance, students should speak to their university. We expect student complaints and appeals processes to be operated flexibly, accessibly and sympathetically by institutions to resolve any concerns. Students who are not satisfied with their institution’s final response can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint if their institution is based in England or Wales.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that university courses which supply (1) health workers, (2) teachers, and (3) other core public sector workers, are (a) protected, and (b) expanded, following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The department recognises these public services are vitally important in such a challenging time and appreciate that this is an uncertain time for all prospective students, and we want to ensure that they are not negatively impacted by disruption to the sector.
For those students receiving A-Levels this summer, results awarded will be formal results, with the same status as results awarded in any other year, and therefore students should continue to receive conditional offers from providers for all courses.
Students accepted on to teaching courses are already eligible for additional bursaries designed to support increased supply and from September this year we are introducing new grants of £5,000 for nurses, midwives and other health professionals to support increased recruitment into these professions. We are also looking at further work with Office for Students to increase capacity in the sector.
The government also contributes to the costs of higher education by providing teaching grant (T-Grant) funding to eligible higher education providers that have opted to be subject to tuition fee caps. This includes high-cost subject funding, which supplements the costs of teaching where tuition fees are insufficient to meet the entire costs of provision, such as for medicine, engineering and some nursing courses. Additional funding is being made available for the expansion of medical school places.
We are committed to supporting our world-class higher education institutions, so will continue working closely with the sector to manage the impact of coronavirus and secure the stability and sustainability of the sector at this difficult time.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to encourage more international and EU students to study at UK universities following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The UK looks forward to continuing to welcome international and EU students in the future. They enrich UK higher education culturally, socially, and economically and are one of the reasons why our higher education sector remains world-class. The government has provided a number of reassurances for international higher education students already in the UK, as well as for those planning to study at a UK higher education provider from autumn 2020.
On 20 April, the government published bespoke guidance that brings together a number of visa concessions for international students in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. The guidance is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-tier-4-sponsors-migrants-and-short-term-students.
The visa mitigations in this guidance, which will be kept under regular review, ensure that international students can extend existing visas, engage in online learning, and switch visa categories where needed in order to start new courses in the autumn.
The visa guidance published on 20 April also recommits to the new Graduate Immigration Route which, as previously announced, will be launched in the summer of 2021. Any eligible student who graduates in the summer of 2021 or after this date will be able to apply for the Graduate Immigration Route. This includes students who have already started their courses even if, due to COVID-19, they have needed to undertake some of their learning remotely.
To address the longer-term impact of COVID-19, officials at the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade will consider how the International Education Strategy can be updated to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to seek programme country status in relation to Erasmus after 2021.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The UK’s approach to negotiations with the European Union, as set out in the ‘Future Relationship with the European Union’, is clear that we remain open to participation in elements of Erasmus+, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial implications of reducing the UK’s relationship with Erasmus after 2021 to that of partner status.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The UK’s approach to negotiations with the European Union, as set out in the ‘Future Relationship with the European Union’, is clear that we remain open to participation in elements of Erasmus+, on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what level of future involvement for the UK in Erasmus and Horizon programmes they hope to establish after leaving the EU; what has been the financial contribution by the UK to those specific programmes in each of the last five years; and how much has been awarded, in total, to the UK from those programmes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
This government values the strong collaborative partnerships that we have across Europe in the areas of science, education, research and innovation and want to continue to support these opportunities.
The terms of the Withdrawal Agreement mean that the UK will continue to participate in EU Programmes financed by the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) until their closure. Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+ are EU programmes financed during this MFF period.
UK organisations, scientists, researchers and businesses will be able to continue in these programmes and receive EU grant funding until the end of 2020 and for the lifetime of individual projects.
We will continue to collaborate with the EU on scientific research and education and we’ve been clear that where it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU programmes, such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus+. The Political Declaration agreed with the EU in October 2019 demonstrates a shared intent between UK and EU leaders to agree a framework that supports collaboration in science and innovation.
The shape and content of EU programmes post-2020, including Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, are currently being negotiated in the EU Institutions and have not yet been finalised. These EU programmes must be adopted by the EU before any potential formal negotiations on association could begin.
As a Member State, the UK does not contribute financially to specific programmes. Member States pay for participation in EU framework programmes through the general UK contribution to the EU Budget.
The following table indicates the amount of Horizon 2020 funding awarded to UK organisations:
Year (grant signature) | Horizon 2020 funding awarded (excl. Euratom Research & Training)[1] |
2014 | € 394 million |
2015 | € 1,477 million |
2016 | € 1,344 million |
2017 | € 1,074 million |
2018 | € 1,069 million |
2019 | € 820 million |
Total | € 6,179 million |
[1] Data source: European Commission, https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/horizon-dashboard - accessed 14/01/2019. Accessed 14/01/2019
Please note totals of the table will not be accurate due to rounding.
With regards to Erasmus+, the most up-to-date information on funding results is held by the UK National Agency which is attached and can be found at the following link under ‘Statistics for the UK 2014-2018’: https://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics.