Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards they have in place to ensure that predicted grades replacing A-level exams this year are awarded fairly; and whether they plan to introduce an appeals system.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write to the noble Lord and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessment they undertook of the decision to cap student numbers from England studying at universities in Wales; what consultation they had with the Welsh government; and what response was received to any such consultation.
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 Welsh ministers, and ministers from all of 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 are a direct response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They are designed to minimise the impact of the financial threat to higher education institutions that is posed by the COVID-19 outbreak. They also form a key part of the package of measures to stabilise the higher education admissions system.
These controls are a temporary measure and will be in place for one academic year only. Student number controls for higher education 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, and these controls are set at a level which will allow every institution to take more first year English students than they took last year. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter, and it is right and fair that this policy should apply as consistently as possible 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: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a replacement for the Erasmus+ student exchange programme; and whether this has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government remains open to participation in some elements of the next Erasmus+ programme. This will be subject to our ongoing negotiations with the EU.
We are, in parallel with the negotiations, developing a domestic alternative to Erasmus+, to ensure we are prepared for every eventuality as the government remains committed to international exchanges in education, both with the EU and beyond.
We are working closely with the devolved administrations as we develop the alternative scheme, as our intention is that this will be UK-wide, and are consulting with a range of stakeholders.
The development of the scheme has not been affected by COVID-19.
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 bring forward legislation relating to the finance and governance arrangements of further education colleges in England.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education recently set out (to the Education Select Committee) that we are working on a White Paper aimed at delivering ambitious reform in our vital further education (FE) sector.
The FE sector is playing a pivotal role in making sure more people can access the high-quality education and training they need to progress and will support our economic recovery following the COVID-19 outbreak. Our reforms will build on and strengthen the excellent work already happening across the country and will ensure the FE sector is at the heart of every community.
We have been working very closely with the sector on the development of the reform programme from the start and will continue to do so. We will outline further details in due course.
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 financial impact on UK universities of restrictions on travel from overseas students in the (1) current academic year, and (2) 2020/21 academic year.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
In the 2018/19 academic year, tuition fees from international students at UK higher education providers accounted for around £6.9 billion of sector income. The government recognises that the COVID-19 outbreak will have an unparalleled impact on all elements of the global and UK economy. The higher education sector, including student recruitment, is no exception. We have been working closely with the sector to monitor the likely impacts of COVID-19, on international student numbers, including restrictions on travel. We understand the coronavirus outbreak and a possible reduction in the number of international students poses significant challenges and stand ready to help the sector with various mitigations.
The government is working to ensure existing rules and regulations, including visa regulations, are as flexible as possible for international students under these unprecedented circumstances. Higher education providers will also be flexible in accommodating applicants’ circumstances where possible, including if they are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of the academic year.
On 4 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced the package of measures to stabilise university admissions this autumn and ensure sustainability in higher education at a time of unprecedented uncertainty. My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to all Honourable Members on 4 May, with full details of the package, which have also been published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students.
The new graduate route, due to be launched in summer 2021, provides an opportunity for international students who have been awarded their degree to stay and work in the UK at any skill level for two years. This represents a significant improvement in our offer to international students and will help ensure our world-leading higher education sector remains competitive internationally.
The International Education Strategy,?published in March 2019,?by the Department for Education and the Department for International Trade, set out a commitment to review progress following its publication.??The review? will? ensure the International Education Strategy?responds to this new context and the challenges that are ?posed.
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 act to ensure that no UK university will become (1) insolvent, and (2) unable to operate, as a result of restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic; and if not, why not.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government recognises that the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing very significant financial challenges to the higher education (HE) sector and we have been working closely with the sector to monitor the likely impacts.
On 4 May 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to ensure sustainability in HE at a time of unprecedented uncertainty.
We will stabilise the admissions system and reprofile tuition fee payments, expected to be worth £2.6 billion, for providers so that they receive more cash in the first term of the 2020/21 academic year. This will have no impact on students but will allow providers to better manage financial risks over the autumn. This will be available to all providers across the UK. In reprofiling these payments, we are clear in our expectation that providers should use the cashflow benefits appropriately, taking significant steps to improve efficiencies and manage their finances in order to avoid cashflow problems in the future. Reprofiling in this way is a one-off intervention for the autumn term only, to help providers take all necessary steps now to prepare for the future.
In England, we will also be bringing forward £100 million of quality-related research funding for providers to the current academic year to help to address some of the immediate pressures faced by university research activities.
We are reminding providers, as part of existing programmes and using established procedures, that the department will consider purchasing land and buildings where they can be used for new or expanding schools and colleges in England. This financial year (across purchases from all suitable vendors, including but not limited to HE providers), we have budgeted up to £100 million to acquire sites for planned projects in England. Details are available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students.
We expect that access to the business support schemes, reprofiling of public funding and student number controls should be sufficient to help stabilise most providers’ finances and that this should be the first port of call for providers.
Should that not be sufficient, such that a HE provider finds themselves at risk of closure, we will only intervene further where we believe there is a case to do so and only where we believe intervention is possible and appropriate and as a last resort.
In such instances, we will work with providers to review their circumstances and assess the need for structured transformation solutions and any attached conditions. The department will be working with HM Treasury and other government departments to develop this restructuring regime, as well as with the devolved administrations, to ensure that it aligns with their respective approaches.
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 impact on the finances of UK universities of students being based at home and not using university accommodation for the (1) current academic year, and (2) 2020/21 academic year. [T]
Answered by Baroness Berridge
As 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.
According to the latest statistics published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency, total sector income from residential operations (excluding catering and conferencing operations) was £1.92 billion in 2018/19. This represents nearly 5% of total income for the UK higher education sector, although this figure varies across providers.
The government has announced a range of measures to protect students and the higher education sector from the impact of coronavirus, bringing together collective action from the government and sector organisations. Details are on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the annual spend on free school meals in each year since 2015.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Schools pay for benefits-related free school meals from their core funding. The department includes a factor value in the national funding formula (£440 per pupil), but both local authorities and schools have the freedom and flexibility to apply their own local formulae. Last year, around 1.3 million children benefitted from this important provision.
For universal infant free school meals (UIFSM), schools receive funding through a separate grant. The department spends around £600 million each year ensuring 1.4 million infants receive a free meal through this programme.
UIFSM allocations since 2015, can be found at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-2019-to-2020.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pupils took up free school meals in England and Wales in each year since 2015.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Department for Education publishes figures for the number of pupils taking a free school meal on the day of the January census in schools in England. The figures from 2014/15 to 2018/19 are shown in the table below. All infant pupils are eligible for free school meals (FSM) under the Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) policy. Meals delivered under the universal eligibility are presented separately in the table. ‘FSM eligible meals taken’ includes those infant pupils who would already have been eligible for FSM under the income-related criteria.
| FSM | UIFSM | |
Academic year | FSM eligible | FSM taking a meal on census day | UIFSM meals taken |
2014/15 | 1,195,600 | 1,000,200 | 1,375,300 |
2015/16 | 1,142,000 | 926,600 | 1,417,700 |
2016/17 | 1,128,400 | 899,000 | 1,466,200 |
2017/18 | 1,106,600 | 872,700 | 1,472,900 |
2018/19 | 1,270,900 | 1,000,900 | 1,433,700 |
Free school meals provision in Wales and the associated data is the responsibility of the administration in Wales.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any review of the apprenticeship levy will prioritise the employer-led element of the current system.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The apprenticeship levy underpins our reforms to raise apprenticeship quality and supports employers to make long-term, sustainable investments in the skills they need to grow. Income from the levy is used to fund apprenticeships in all employers, both those who pay the levy and those who do not.
We value the employer-led element of apprenticeships and are receptive to their concerns of businesses about the apprenticeship levy. We are committed to ensuring the apprenticeship programme continues to provide opportunities for people of all backgrounds, whilst meeting the needs of employers of all sizes and delivering for the economy more broadly.
In response to employers we have already introduced the flexibility for levy-payers to transfer up to 25 per cent of their funds, enabling them to support apprenticeship starts in their supply chains or to meet local skills needs. In January, we extended the use of transfers to cover the full cost of training for 16 to 18-year-olds and eligible 19 to 24-year-olds in employers with fewer than 50 employees.