Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of on-campus accommodation at higher education institutions for this academic year; and if she will publish details of institutions at which there is insufficient supply of such accommodation.
Answered by Robert Halfon
As universities and landlords are private, autonomous bodies, the government has no role in the provision of student accommodation, nor a remit to intervene in how it is allocated.
We expect universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart. This includes making accommodation available at a range of affordable price points where possible.
The department cares about the experience of students in their accommodation and has created three landlord Codes of Practice to ensure standards are maintained and students have a route for any complaint.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on the (a) finances and (b) reputation of individual universities of not having participated in the Horizon programme for two years; and if she will publish details of the 10 most affected universities.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government has maintained a lifeline for UK researchers and businesses, by guaranteeing the funding of bids into the Horizon Europe programme.
The Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme has meant no UK researchers have been left out of pocket. It has issued over 2,600 grant offers worth £1.39 billion to the end of September 2023.
On 7 September 2023 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a new UK- EU agreement on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe. This means that UK businesses and researchers can participate confidently in the world’s largest programme of research cooperation. Information on the UK’s Horizon Deal can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/overwhelming-support-for-uks-horizon-deal.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for the higher education sector in England, and is responsible for monitoring and reporting on its financial sustainability. The Secretary of State, departmental officials and I continue to work closely with the OfS and various parties including mission groups, providers, and other government departments as appropriate, to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact on the finances of universities of not having participated in the Horizon programme for two years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government has maintained a lifeline for UK researchers and businesses, by guaranteeing the funding of bids into the Horizon Europe programme.
The Horizon Europe Guarantee scheme has meant no UK researchers have been left out of pocket. It has issued over 2,600 grant offers worth £1.39 billion to the end of September 2023.
On 7 September 2023 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced a new UK- EU agreement on the UK’s association to Horizon Europe. This means that UK businesses and researchers can participate confidently in the world’s largest programme of research cooperation. Information on the UK’s Horizon Deal can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/overwhelming-support-for-uks-horizon-deal.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for the higher education sector in England, and is responsible for monitoring and reporting on its financial sustainability. The Secretary of State, departmental officials and I continue to work closely with the OfS and various parties including mission groups, providers, and other government departments as appropriate, to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of non-continuation rates at higher education institutions; and whether her Department has analysed the reasons for the proportions of students who do not complete degree courses; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Figures on non-continuation following year one of entry to higher education (HE) are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for full-time first-degree entrants starting courses between 2015/16 and 2019/20. Further information is available in Table T3 at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/performance-indicators/non-continuation.
More recent information on continuation rates (which are the inverse of non-continuation) for first year full-time degree entrants entering HE are published by the Office for Students (OfS). This is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/.
For further information on the percentage of students that dropped out of the first year of their university course between 2015 and 2023, I refer the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington to the answers of 13 September to Questions 197774 and 197775.
Limited sources of research are available highlighting reasons for non-continuation for students within HE. However, some older research covering this issue was released in 2014 and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learning-from-futuretrack-dropout-from-higher-education.
This study suggests that most students who drop out of university cite ‘personal’ reasons, while others say they have decided they do not want to go to university.
The government believes every student should receive education of high quality, equipping them for future careers. Continuation rates are an important indicator of quality, alongside completion and progression to professional employment or further study. Since October 2022, the OfS has monitored whether HE courses at registered providers are meeting new minimum thresholds for student outcomes, including course continuation and completion rates, as part of the B3 condition of registration. The OfS examines the data to identify courses which fail to meet the minimum expected standards for student outcomes. It has launched 18 investigations to consider whether there have been breaches of condition B3 and we expect the results to be published in the near future. These investigations consider the reasons for providers' data. On 17 July, we announced a package of reforms aimed at improving the quality of HE provision across the sector. The Prime Minister said then, and in his speech to the Conservative Party Conference, that the government will stop universities offering low value ‘rip-off degrees’.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of (a) changes in the level of the cost of living for students in the (i) last and (ii) next 12 months and (b) the rate of inflation for students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students. The Government publishes Equality Impact Assessments of changes to student finance each year. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-student-finance-2023-to-2024-equality-analysis.
The department has not directly assessed the impact of changes in the cost of living on higher education (HE) students, but closely monitors the evidence produced by other organisations and uses this to inform decision-making. For example, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published research from interviews with students named ‘ONS student voices research’ and Wonkhe, along with Pearson, have published research on connections between students' financial struggles, wellbeing, and academic progress titled ‘Financial struggles make it harder for students to connect and engage in their university community’. A link to the latter publication can be found here: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/financial-struggles-make-it-harder-for-students-to-connect-and-engage-in-their-university-community/.
Having considered reports such as these, the department has made available £276 million of Student Premium and Mental Health funding for the 2023/24 academic year, to support students who need additional help including disadvantaged students. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.
We have frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years to deliver better value for students and to keep the cost of higher education under control. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.
Additionally, the Government has continued to increase living costs support each year with a 2.8% increase for the 2023/24 academic year. Decisions on student finance had to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of HE is shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.
The government is considering options for loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2024/25 academic year and will be making an announcement in due course.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Warwickshire have solar panels installed on their roof.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Those responsible bodies for school buildings, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and diocesan bodies, must ensure that buildings with a total floor area of 250m2 have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).
DECs present the annual energy use and typical energy use of the assessed building. DECs are publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.
The Department is currently working closely with an academic partner on an energy model for the school estate using a variety of available data to establish future investment approaches to achieving net zero and reducing running costs for schools. In December 2022, the Department published guidance on reducing energy for schools alongside additional funding of £447 million aimed at supporting schools with energy reduction measures.
In November 2021, the Department launched its first specification to deliver schools that are net zero carbon in operation. All schools that are procured under this specification will not only be net zero in operation but will also incorporate a wider range of measures to tackle climate change. The Department’s full specification can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-design-and-construction#output-specification.
The Department does not hold the information or collect the data requested with regard to solar panels in Warwickshire, or the average energy consumption of a primary school.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the average energy consumption of a primary school.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Those responsible bodies for school buildings, which includes Local Authorities, academy trusts and diocesan bodies, must ensure that buildings with a total floor area of 250m2 have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC).
DECs present the annual energy use and typical energy use of the assessed building. DECs are publicly available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.
The Department is currently working closely with an academic partner on an energy model for the school estate using a variety of available data to establish future investment approaches to achieving net zero and reducing running costs for schools. In December 2022, the Department published guidance on reducing energy for schools alongside additional funding of £447 million aimed at supporting schools with energy reduction measures.
In November 2021, the Department launched its first specification to deliver schools that are net zero carbon in operation. All schools that are procured under this specification will not only be net zero in operation but will also incorporate a wider range of measures to tackle climate change. The Department’s full specification can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-design-and-construction#output-specification.
The Department does not hold the information or collect the data requested with regard to solar panels in Warwickshire, or the average energy consumption of a primary school.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of classes exceed 30 pupils in (a) primary and (b) secondary state schools in Warwick and Leamington constituency; and what information his Department holds on those figures for private schools in that constituency.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department publishes figures on class sizes for state funded primary and secondary schools in England. The most recent figures are for January 2023 and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics.
Despite an increase of more than a million pupils in state funded primary and secondary schools since 2010, at secondary level, average class sizes remain low at only 22.4 pupils, whilst the average primary class has remained broadly stable at 26.7 pupils.
The average class size in Warwick and Leamington constituency is 28.3 in state funded primary schools, and 22.2 in state funded secondary schools.
15.5% of state funded primary school classes and 13.8% of state funded secondary school classes in Warwick and Leamington constituency had more than 30 pupils in them, compared to 10.4% and 10.2% in England. Nationally, most pupils in classes over 30 are in classes of 31 or 32.
The Department does not collect information on class sizes in independent schools.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the regulatory framework for higher education in England at ensuring that there is adequate monitoring of (a) completion, (b) continuation and (c) progression rates.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Office for Students’ (OfS) approach to regulation is underpinned by the functions, duties and powers given to it in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. This risk-based approach focuses regulatory attention on providers that are at greatest risk of breaching their conditions of registration.
The OfS sets minimum thresholds for three student outcome metrics, course continuation, course completion, and progression to graduate employment or further study.
Following extensive consultation, the OfS announced new minimum thresholds for student outcomes in October 2022. It has since undertaken 18 investigations into compliance with student outcomes requirements, the outcomes of which are due to be published in due course.
The department will review the outcome reports with interest to understand the regulatory decisions the OfS has made, and what action is being taken in response. The department has confidence in the OfS to ensure that all students benefit from high quality, world-leading higher education that leads to excellent outcomes.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Turing Scheme on the future (a) academic and (b) employment outcomes of participants.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The second year of the Turing Scheme has provided funding for placements in the 2022/23 academic year. Mobility data will be available after the end of the second year of the programme. This includes the proportion of mobilities that are study or work placements, as well as the duration of placements. The department intends to publish this data as soon as possible, following receipt of final reports from participating organisations in the Turing Scheme and requisite analysis and quality assurance of the data.
Currently published information on the placements funded in the last two years by the Turing Scheme is available at: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/.
The Turing Scheme aims to have a positive impact on the outcomes of its participants. One of the scheme’s objectives is developing key skills, so that participants develop the skills sought by employers. Applications are assessed on how well they will deliver on this objective.
The department will shortly publish an independent evaluation of the Turing Scheme from its first year of operation, the 2021/22 academic year. This includes an assessment on the short-term benefits students experience in their studies in the coming months. Previous studies show that graduates who have studied or worked abroad are more likely to obtain a first-class honours or an upper second-class degree, have a job six months after graduating, and have higher earnings than their non-mobile peers. Information about this is available at: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/UUKi%20reports/Gone-Intl-2019.pdf.