Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following several recent school closures resulting from cyberattacks, what steps they are taking to ensure (1) schools, and (2) other public services, have good cyber resilience.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department recognises that cyber security is a concern for many schools and academy trusts. To support schools with this, the Department released Cyber Security Standards in October 2022, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/cyber-security-standards-for-schools-and-colleges. These standards provide a base level requirement for good cyber security practices in schools, helping to raise resilience across the sector and make schools harder targets. Many of the areas suggested for improvement are low cost or free to implement.
The Department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) has more than 9,500 member schools, which constitutes 43% of eligible schools in England, and includes cover for cyber incidents as standard from the 2022/23 membership years. In the event of a cyber incident, RPA members have access to a 24/7 incident response service. Since September 2022, cyber cover has been available to multi academy trust RPA members, provided they meet the required criteria.
Jisc is the UK digital, data and technology agency focused on education, research and innovation. The Department continues to fund Jisc to provide quality connectivity and cyber security to Further Education colleges in England. In addition to network cyber security measures, Jisc provides advice, guidance, and training on cyber security, including alerts and information on identified security risks. This support includes access to a Cyber Security Incident Response Team. Jisc offers similar support to Higher Education, funded by the Office for Students.
The Department also continues to work closely with the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) to identify incidents and conduct analysis to monitor and identify emerging cyber threats.
Schools can access cyber security training for staff from the NCSC and the NCSC Active Cyber Defence tools are now available to all schools. These assist in protecting schools from a range of attacks. Further advice can be found on the NCSC schools’ website at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/cyber-security-schools.
In the event of a cyber attack, the Department has a cyber security team who can provide advice and guidance to assist with recovery. To report an incident and receive support, schools can contact: sector.incidentreporting@education.gov.uk. Schools are also encouraged to report all cyber incidents to Action Fraud via their reporting site here: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/.
The Department will continue to develop the support and tools offered to schools and academy trusts to improve their cyber security and resilience. This will help to streamline reporting and data capture and improve mutual understanding between the Department and schools.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how the financial aid available through the Turing scheme compares to that available through the Erasmus+ scheme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Turing Scheme will be backed by £110 million to support international projects and activities during the 2021/22 academic year. This will provide funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges, and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, a similar number as under Erasmus+.
This was set out in a one year Spending Review, but the government has a clear aim to use this scheme as part of our long-term ambitions for a Global Britain. The benefits of the exchanges will be assessed and used to build on the scheme. Funding decisions for subsequent years will be subject to future spending reviews.
Grants available through the Turing Scheme are comparable with Erasmus+ for the most part, but there is also new support available for disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities which was not available through Erasmus+. All participating students will receive grants dependent on their destination country to contribute towards their cost of living. The grant support available under the Turing Scheme is currently slightly higher than that under Erasmus+. Under the Turing Scheme, we will provide a grant of £335–£380 per month, plus a disadvantaged supplement of £110 per month. With Erasmus+, under current exchange rates, students received a grant equivalent to £315–£360, with a disadvantaged supplement of £100. Students can continue to apply for student finance.
For schools and colleges, all participants will receive travel funding, whereas Erasmus+ only provided travel support to higher education participants who travelled to Partner Countries, which was around only 3% of UK participants. With the Turing Scheme, we are introducing funding for travel costs for disadvantaged higher education students to all destinations. Additionally, we are providing funding for visas, passports, and related travel insurance for disadvantaged participants in all sectors.
For participants with special educational needs and disabilities, the scheme will fund up to 100% of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs, as Erasmus+ did, with the new addition of preparatory visits for staff to carry out risk assessments and ensure their students will be able to access and take part in all elements of a placement equally. More information on funding available can be found at: www.turing-scheme.org.uk.
For all students participating in the Turing Scheme, we expect tuition fees to be waived by host institutions, as under Erasmus+. This is a matter for individual institutions to agree, and something that universities do as a matter of course when they form exchange partnerships with international providers.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of students likely to make use of the Turing scheme each year from its launch until 2030.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Turing Scheme will be backed by £110 million to support international projects and activities during the 2021/22 academic year. This will provide funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges, and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, a similar number as under Erasmus+.
This was set out in a one year Spending Review, but the government has a clear aim to use this scheme as part of our long-term ambitions for a Global Britain. The benefits of the exchanges will be assessed and used to build on the scheme. Funding decisions for subsequent years will be subject to future spending reviews.
Grants available through the Turing Scheme are comparable with Erasmus+ for the most part, but there is also new support available for disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities which was not available through Erasmus+. All participating students will receive grants dependent on their destination country to contribute towards their cost of living. The grant support available under the Turing Scheme is currently slightly higher than that under Erasmus+. Under the Turing Scheme, we will provide a grant of £335–£380 per month, plus a disadvantaged supplement of £110 per month. With Erasmus+, under current exchange rates, students received a grant equivalent to £315–£360, with a disadvantaged supplement of £100. Students can continue to apply for student finance.
For schools and colleges, all participants will receive travel funding, whereas Erasmus+ only provided travel support to higher education participants who travelled to Partner Countries, which was around only 3% of UK participants. With the Turing Scheme, we are introducing funding for travel costs for disadvantaged higher education students to all destinations. Additionally, we are providing funding for visas, passports, and related travel insurance for disadvantaged participants in all sectors.
For participants with special educational needs and disabilities, the scheme will fund up to 100% of actual costs for support directly related to their additional needs, as Erasmus+ did, with the new addition of preparatory visits for staff to carry out risk assessments and ensure their students will be able to access and take part in all elements of a placement equally. More information on funding available can be found at: www.turing-scheme.org.uk.
For all students participating in the Turing Scheme, we expect tuition fees to be waived by host institutions, as under Erasmus+. This is a matter for individual institutions to agree, and something that universities do as a matter of course when they form exchange partnerships with international providers.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have provided to universities and higher education providers about steps to take in relation to students attending from areas where local lockdowns are in place.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety and wellbeing of university staff and students is always our priority, and we are confident that universities are well prepared for the return of students, having taken measures to reduce the risk of transmission such as introducing social distancing on campus, limiting travel requirement for classes, and staggering teaching across extended days to reduce numbers on site. To help providers make informed decisions, the government has issued guidance on reopening campuses and buildings, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.
We support face-to-face teaching only where possible and if safety guidelines are followed but expect providers to reopen with a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition as they consider appropriate in line with public health advice. Providers are required to carry out risk assessments, modelled on a range of scenarios including where students are mixing across settings, and develop appropriate mitigations in response.
We are about to publish updated guidance on reopening higher education institutions – including face coverings, local lockdowns, and test and trace – based on the most up-to-date advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). Everyone should be following basic guidance on COVID-19, including social distancing and maintaining good hand and respiratory hygiene.
We have also released guidance for landlords and tenants on renting and the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out necessary public health measures to protect the health of students living together and those staff assisting them. We expect universities and other higher education providers to prioritise the health and safety of their staff and students and put in place measures that apply to their individual circumstances. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to assist with additional track and trace facilities at universities (1) located in areas, and (2) with students arriving from, areas under local lockdown.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety and wellbeing of university staff and students is always our priority, and we are confident that universities are well prepared for the return of students, having taken measures to reduce the risk of transmission such as introducing social distancing on campus, limiting travel requirement for classes, and staggering teaching across extended days to reduce numbers on site. To help providers make informed decisions, the government has issued guidance on reopening campuses and buildings, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.
We support face-to-face teaching only where possible and if safety guidelines are followed but expect providers to reopen with a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition as they consider appropriate in line with public health advice. Providers are required to carry out risk assessments, modelled on a range of scenarios including where students are mixing across settings, and develop appropriate mitigations in response.
We are about to publish updated guidance on reopening higher education institutions – including face coverings, local lockdowns, and test and trace – based on the most up-to-date advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). Everyone should be following basic guidance on COVID-19, including social distancing and maintaining good hand and respiratory hygiene.
We have also released guidance for landlords and tenants on renting and the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out necessary public health measures to protect the health of students living together and those staff assisting them. We expect universities and other higher education providers to prioritise the health and safety of their staff and students and put in place measures that apply to their individual circumstances. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have provided to universities located in areas under local lockdown areas about (1) teaching plans, and (2) measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety and wellbeing of university staff and students is always our priority, and we are confident that universities are well prepared for the return of students, having taken measures to reduce the risk of transmission such as introducing social distancing on campus, limiting travel requirement for classes, and staggering teaching across extended days to reduce numbers on site. To help providers make informed decisions, the government has issued guidance on reopening campuses and buildings, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.
We support face-to-face teaching only where possible and if safety guidelines are followed but expect providers to reopen with a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition as they consider appropriate in line with public health advice. Providers are required to carry out risk assessments, modelled on a range of scenarios including where students are mixing across settings, and develop appropriate mitigations in response.
We are about to publish updated guidance on reopening higher education institutions – including face coverings, local lockdowns, and test and trace – based on the most up-to-date advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). Everyone should be following basic guidance on COVID-19, including social distancing and maintaining good hand and respiratory hygiene.
We have also released guidance for landlords and tenants on renting and the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out necessary public health measures to protect the health of students living together and those staff assisting them. We expect universities and other higher education providers to prioritise the health and safety of their staff and students and put in place measures that apply to their individual circumstances. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what guidance they have made available relating to the management of student shared accommodation in areas (1) where there is a high prevalence of COVID-19, and (2) in local lockdown.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The safety and wellbeing of university staff and students is always our priority, and we are confident that universities are well prepared for the return of students, having taken measures to reduce the risk of transmission such as introducing social distancing on campus, limiting travel requirement for classes, and staggering teaching across extended days to reduce numbers on site. To help providers make informed decisions, the government has issued guidance on reopening campuses and buildings, which is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.
We support face-to-face teaching only where possible and if safety guidelines are followed but expect providers to reopen with a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition as they consider appropriate in line with public health advice. Providers are required to carry out risk assessments, modelled on a range of scenarios including where students are mixing across settings, and develop appropriate mitigations in response.
We are about to publish updated guidance on reopening higher education institutions – including face coverings, local lockdowns, and test and trace – based on the most up-to-date advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). Everyone should be following basic guidance on COVID-19, including social distancing and maintaining good hand and respiratory hygiene.
We have also released guidance for landlords and tenants on renting and the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out necessary public health measures to protect the health of students living together and those staff assisting them. We expect universities and other higher education providers to prioritise the health and safety of their staff and students and put in place measures that apply to their individual circumstances. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are planning to ensure that students registered at universities for the 2020–21 academic year who undertake courses through remote learning have (1) sufficient contact hours with tutors, and (2) effective learning support.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
English higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions – this means they have the freedom to determine the way their courses are taught, supervised, and assessed. However, providers that are registered with the Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of registered HE providers in England, must ensure that all students, from admission through to completion, have the support that they need to succeed in and benefit from HE. The government’s expectation is that quality and academic standards must be maintained, and the OfS has made it clear that all HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes, and that standards are protected.
The OfS has published information and guidance for providers and students, and the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has also published a series of guides to support providers in securing academic standards and supporting student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
HE providers have indicated that they will deliver a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition in the autumn term that they consider appropriate and which is in line with public health advice. If students have concerns, there is a process in place for them to pursue them. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint. Notwithstanding the ongoing uncertainty, we expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate, and timely information they need to make informed decisions. This includes making them aware of any potential for changes at the earliest opportunity.
The government is aware of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic will have on some students. We have already worked closely with the OfS to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding within the current academic year to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students affected by COVID-19, including the purchase of IT equipment and mental health support. We have also allocated £100 million to support remote education, including to provide routers and laptops to vulnerable students, prioritising care leavers, including those at university.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of (1) the overall funding gap, and (2) the shortfall in income from apprenticeships and other vocational courses, for further education colleges in (a) 2020/21, and (b) 2021/22.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Working closely with the FE college sector we will receive a light touch financial return at the end of the 19/20 academic year setting out the year-end financial position for 19/20 and forecast for 20/21. On a voluntary basis, colleges can also provide information on 21/22. The return is designed to minimise the administrative burden on the sector during this time and therefore focuses on the finances at institutional level and does not provide the level of detail to assess the impact at individual funding lines such as apprenticeships. The intention is to continue to monitor the impact and receive further submissions during 20/21. These returns will enable FE colleges with current or forecast financial issues to be identified.
In regard to the funding gap, the 20/21 return will allow us to make an overall assessment of the difference between income and costs for colleges.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial losses and impact on the Higher Education sector should the UK fail to agree continued participation in the Erasmus+ programme.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK’s participation in the next Erasmus+ programme (2021–2027) is a matter for our ongoing negotiations with the EU. The government remains open to considering participation in elements of the next Erasmus+ programme, provided that the terms are in the UK’s interests. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of those negotiations.