Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking to help stop the mis-selling of university courses to young people.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Universities are responsible for their own advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority has produced guidance to the sector on their responsibilities under consumer protection law, including what material information about courses they should provide prospective students. A new partnership, announced on 24 November, between the higher education (HE) regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), and National Trading Standards includes tackling misleading precontract information that students rely on when choosing their course. We are also working with the sector to agree ways in which they might incorporate key pieces of data into their course advertising, so that students better understand what outcomes they might expect from courses at the point at which courses are being sold to them.
The department is clear that universities should be transparent about the content of their courses and the likely outcomes that students can expect from them. Discover Uni is a tool, which is owned and operated by the four UK HE funding and regulatory bodies. It is the official, authoritative source of information and guidance to HE courses in the UK and is designed to help prospective students make the right choices about what and where to study, by allowing users to search for and compare information and data for individual undergraduate courses across the UK. The OfS sets the expectation that HE providers will display a link to the Discover Uni website on their course website pages to help prospective students make informed decisions about the courses they sign-up to.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help students make sustainable financial decisions when at university.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has worked with the Office for Students (OfS) and Student Minds to provide Student Space, a mental health and wellbeing online platform designed to bridge any gaps in support for students, which will work alongside existing services. Student Space provides advice and information on student finances, including advice on how to budget whilst at university. This service can be found here: https://studentspace.org.uk/wellbeing/how-to-make-a-student-budget.
Student Space is funded with up to £3.6 million by the OfS and the HE Funding Council Wales. It has now received a funding commitment of £262,500 annually for three years to extend this provision of online mental health and wellbeing support to all students in England and Wales until 2026.
This online platform is complemented by a wide range of budgeting advice available directly from Higher Education (HE) providers, as well as other sources online.
The department has also made £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged HE students who need additional help. The department has worked with the OfS to ensure universities support students in hardship using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.
Living costs support has also been increased by 2.3% for maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for the current academic year, 2022/23. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.
The government is reviewing options for uprating maximum loans and grants for the 2023/24 academic year and an announcement will follow shortly.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure young people are supported in choosing the type of undergraduate qualification and courses suitable to their needs.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is funding careers in schools and colleges through the Careers and Enterprise Company with up to £30.6 million during the financial year 2022/23, to support them to implement the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Careers Guidance. The Gatsby Benchmarks provide a framework for the delivery of high-quality careers guidance. This includes encounters with further and higher education to help all pupils understand the full range of learning opportunities that are available to them.
Young people aged 13 and above can also access direct careers advice through the National Careers Service via a dedicated helpline and webchat, as well as through a national website. The government is also delivering the ‘Get the Jump’ campaign, designed to promote the full range of post-16 and post-18 education and training opportunities available to young people.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to increase student finance in line with inflation in the 2023-24 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government is reviewing options for uprating maximum loans and grants for the 2023/24 academic year and an announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has held discussions with the National Union of Apprenticeships on raising the apprentice minimum wage to the national living wage in the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is committed to supporting more people into high-quality apprenticeships. We want to ensure that apprentice minimum pay rates support learners of all ages and backgrounds to enter and complete apprenticeships.
The independent Low Pay Commission advises the government on minimum pay rates, including the apprentice national minimum wage rate. Its recommendations follow public consultation, which stakeholders are able to feed into.
The Low Pay Commission will shortly set out its recommendations on minimum pay rates from April 2023.
Most employers pay their apprentices more than the minimum. The Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2021 data shows that the median basic hourly pay for apprentices in 2021 was £8.23 for Intermediate (Level 2) and £9.09 for Advanced (Level 3) apprentices, £12.51 for Level 4 and 5 apprentices and £14.48 for Level 6 and 7 apprentices.
The department continues to offer bursaries and additional payments to support eligible individuals, such as 16 to 24-year-old care-leavers, into apprenticeships.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had recent discussions with the National Union of Teachers on proposals in the Schools Bill and their potential effect on the membership of that union.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The aims of the measures in the Schools Bill are to deliver a stronger and fairer school system that works for every child and to deliver essential safeguarding measures to ensure that more children receive a suitable and safe education. We have had extensive engagement on the provisions in the Schools Bill with many representative bodies and unions, including the National Education Union (NEU). NEU was formed from the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers and Association of Teachers and Lecturers in 2017.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to encourage schools to install HEPA filters in classrooms.
Answered by Will Quince
The department has published guidance, Building Bulletin 101 (BB101), which provides guidelines on indoor and outdoor air quality in new and refurbished schools. More information on BB101 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
To support schools, the department provided over 8,000 air cleaning units with HEPA filters as a temporary measure while any identified, underlying ventilation issues were addressed. More information can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/delivery-of-air-cleaning-units.
Indoor air pollutants can be managed using mechanical or natural ventilation systems. Air cleaning units are not a substitute for ventilation and should never be used as a reason to reduce ventilation. They are not necessary in spaces that are adequately ventilated.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has had discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart on the Ukrainian Books for Ukrainian Children scheme.
Answered by Will Quince
The department stands with Ukraine and continues to work across government to ensure we are supporting all Ukrainians in the UK to give them the same access to education and childcare as a UK citizen.
The scheme referred to is known as the Books Without Borders project. Backed by the First Lady of Ukraine, it is led by the Ukrainian Embassy, Publishers Association and Publishers’ Licensing Services. The purpose is to publish Ukrainian books in the UK which can be freely given to Ukrainian children and young people. Department officials are working closely with all involved to ensure the initiative is as successful as possible.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make enquiries with officials in his Department on how his Department might support the Ukrainian Books for Ukrainian Children scheme to transfer children's books from Ukraine to the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The department stands with Ukraine and continues to work across government to ensure we are supporting all Ukrainians in the UK to give them the same access to education and childcare as a UK citizen.
The scheme referred to is known as the Books Without Borders project. Backed by the First Lady of Ukraine, it is led by the Ukrainian Embassy, Publishers Association and Publishers’ Licensing Services. The purpose is to publish Ukrainian books in the UK which can be freely given to Ukrainian children and young people. Department officials are working closely with all involved to ensure the initiative is as successful as possible.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to support the Ukrainian Books for Ukrainian Children initiative that seeks to transfer children's books from Ukraine to the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The department stands with Ukraine and continues to work across government to ensure we are supporting all Ukrainians in the UK to give them the same access to education and childcare as a UK citizen.
The scheme referred to is known as the Books Without Borders project. Backed by the First Lady of Ukraine, it is led by the Ukrainian Embassy, Publishers Association and Publishers’ Licensing Services. The purpose is to publish Ukrainian books in the UK which can be freely given to Ukrainian children and young people. Department officials are working closely with all involved to ensure the initiative is as successful as possible.