Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department made of the adequacy of (a) laboratory facilities, (b) equipment and (c) classrooms used for STEM subjects in secondary schools.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Department does not organise or hold assessments of facilities for the provision of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the responsibility of individual schools to assess the laboratory facilities, equipment and classrooms that they need for teaching STEM subjects, and to decide how to use their budgets accordingly.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take steps to adjust maintenance fees for students in line with inflation.
Answered by Robert Halfon
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 (HE) under control. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.
The government is considering options for maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2024/25 academic year and will be making an announcement in due course.
Decisions on student finance have been 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 recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that are impacting students. For the 2023/24 academic year we have made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available to support successful outcomes for students including disadvantaged students. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on developing a science and technology skills dashboard.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Department’s Unit for Future Skills (UFS) is working to improve the quality of jobs and skills data, which will support a better understanding of current skill mismatches and future demand across key sectors, including those related to science and technology. More information on the UFS is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/unit-for-future-skills.
As part of cross-government work to cement the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower by 2030, the UFS is developing a Department for Education Skills Dashboard to understand the supply and demand of science and technology skills. More information on cross-government work is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-science-and-technology-framework/the-uk-science-and-technology-framework.
This dashboard will be publicly available by the end of 2023.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to produce a strategy on increasing entrepreneurship among STEM higher education students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Government has established a supportive framework to empower universities in equipping students with the essential skills required for success.
The department is investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels to ensure students have access to high-quality STEM teaching and STEM career opportunities. The department is investing approximately £750 million of additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 in high-quality teaching and facilities. This includes additional funding in science and engineering, in subjects that support the NHS, and in degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education (HE) sector in over a decade to support students and improve teaching.
The Higher Education Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey showed that the number of graduate start-ups increased by 5% (from 4,528 in 2020/21 to 4,735 in 2021/22), which is the highest annual figure in the survey's history.
The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice, and guidance on careers, skills, and the Labour Market in England. The service provides support to individuals studying STEM subjects in HE, and helps industry sectors to disseminate key information and updates.
Students and taxpayers invest tens of thousands of pounds in HE. This must lead to good quality qualifications, which equip students with the skills they need to achieve their potential.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the Government spent on encouraging (a) girls and (b) people from BAME backgrounds to pursue STEM careers in (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23.
Answered by Robert Halfon
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help encourage entrepreneurship amongst STEM higher education students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government has established a supportive framework to empower universities in equipping students with the essential skills required for success.
The department is investing in STEM education at all levels to ensure people have access to high-quality STEM teaching and can access STEM career opportunities We are investing around £750 million of additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 in high-quality teaching and facilities, including in science and engineering, in subjects that support the NHS, and in degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the higher education (HE) sector in over a decade and will support students and teaching.
The National Careers Service also provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice, and guidance on careers, skills, and the Labour Market in England. The service provides support to individuals studying STEM subjects in HE, relating to entrepreneurship and helps industry sectors, including STEM sectors, to disseminate key information and updates to ensure careers advisers in the community are up to date with the latest information when supporting customers.
The HE Business and Community Interaction (HE-BCI) survey showed that the number of graduate start-ups increased by 5% (from 4,528 in 2020/21 to 4,735 in 2021/22), the highest annual figure in the survey's history[1].
[1] Chart 1 - Spin-offs and start-up companies 2014/15 to 2021/22 | HESA
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of per-pupil funding on educational outcomes for pupils in areas with deprived neighbourhoods outside London.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The National Funding Formula (NFF) continues to distribute funding fairly based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. In 2023/24, the Department has targeted a greater proportion of schools NFF funding towards deprived pupils than ever before. Over £4 billion (9.8%) of the formula has been allocated according to deprivation, while over £7 billion (17.4%), has been allocated to additional needs overall. As a result, schools with the highest levels of deprivation, on average, attract the largest per pupil funding increases. This additional funding is provided on the same basis for disadvantaged pupils wherever they are in the country, both inside and outside of London.
On top of this core funding, Pupil Premium funding rates have increased by 5% in the 2023/24 financial year to a total of almost £2.9 billion. This increase in funding is on top of £1 billion of recovery premium funding in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years, which was allocated to deliver evidence based approaches to support educational recovery for disadvantaged pupils, and over £300 million delivered in 2021/22. Both Pupil Premium and recovery premium funding is distributed at the same rates to pupils in and outside London.
Alongside the NFF, the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funds schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, more than £1 billion has been made available to support tutoring. From November 2020 to July 2023 nearly 4 million tutoring courses have been started. Over 1.3 million courses were started during the 2022/23 academic year up to May. Around 208,000 (16%) of those courses took place in London, while a third of those courses took place in the North of England (the North West, North East, and Yorkshire and The Humber).
In addition, at a regional level, the Department has identified 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) with the lowest attainment outcomes. There are 55 Education Investment areas and 24 Priority Education Investment Areas, all of which are located outside of London. The Department is targeting its intensive investment at areas where there is the highest need and most entrenched barriers to school improvement. In these areas, the Department is providing £86 million for Trust Capacity funding, up to £150 million for Connect the Classroom, and extra funding for Levelling Up Premium retention payments.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the (a) National Tutoring Programme and (b) recovery premium funding per eligible pupil went to pupils in (i) the North East and (ii) England in each year of which the funding has been available.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The proportions of the total allocations for the 2021 to 2023 academic years for the Recovery Premium (RP) and National Tutoring Programme (NTP) (school led) for Local Authorities in the North East can be found in the table below, as well as the proportion of the school age population.
Allocations for the 2023/24 academic year are due to be published shortly.
| School Age Population | 2021/22 NTP | 2021/22 RP | 2022/23 NTP | 2022/23 RP |
North East proportion | 4.6% | 6.1% | 6.1% | 6.1% | 5.9% |
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to help schools support children in disadvantaged circumstances in the North of England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils has been a Departmental priority underpinning all the Department’s education reforms since 2010. The attainment gap narrowed by 9% at secondary school level and by 13% at primary school level between 2011 and 2019.
For over a decade, the Department has consistently taken a range of steps to give priority support and deliver programmes that help disadvantaged pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, and providing targeted support where needed. The Department knows that disadvantaged children have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The widened gap is not acceptable, and the Department is working to reduce this.
At a national level, the Department delivers a number of core policies to support disadvantaged pupils, such as free school meals (FSM) that support 1.9 million children, the Holiday Activities and Food Programme where the Department is investing over £200 million a year for the next 2 years and support for 2,500 breakfast clubs and family hubs. Additionally, the Department is also ensuring better targeting of deprivation factors through the National Funding Formula (over 9% of all funding), as well as record amounts of pupil premium funding, £2.6 billion in the 2022/23 financial year and £2.9 billion in 2023/24.
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) funds schools based on rates of disadvantage. Since the launch of the NTP in November 2020, more than £1 billion has been made available to support tutoring. From November 2020 to the 2023/24 academic year nearly 4 million tutoring courses have been started (up to July 2023). By 2024, the Department will have embedded tutoring across schools in England. The Department expects tutoring to continue to be a staple offer from schools, with schools using their core budgets, including the Pupil Premium, to fund targeted support for those pupils who will benefit.
At a regional level, the Department has identified 55 Education Investment Areas (EIAs) with the lowest attainment outcomes, 27 of which are in the North. In these areas, the Department is providing £86 million for Trust Capacity funding, up to £150 million for Connect the Classroom, and extra funding for Levelling Up Premium retention payments and to support schools with two or more Requires Improvement inspection reports.
Furthermore, 24 EIAs have been identified as Priority Education Investment Areas, 13 of which are in the North. These areas face low attainment at Key Stage 2 and entrenched disadvantage. They receive additional investment including £42 million of Local Needs Funding, £86 million for Connect the Classroom and over £2 million for attendance mentoring pilots.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle potential regional disparities in school absence rates.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government understands how important regular school attendance is for pupils' education, wellbeing and life chances. The Department has a national strategy for tackling absence and is providing targeted support to reduce regional disparities.
In 2022, the Department published stronger expectations of schools, trusts, governing bodies and Local Authorities in the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance. Schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy, appoint an attendance champion, and use data to identify and then support pupils at risk of becoming persistently absent. This guidance will ensure there is greater consistency for managing attendance across all schools and different Local Authority areas. The Department has deployed 10 expert attendance advisers to work with all 155 English Local Authorities to review practices, develop plans to improve and meet expectations set out in the guidance. The aim of this work is to improve the quality of attendance support in all areas across the country.
The Secretary of State and I co chair the ‘Attendance Action Alliance’ of system leaders to work to remove barriers to attendance and reduce absence through delivering pledges of specific actions to tackle the problem. The Department has also made available £5 billion nationally for education recovery, helping pupils to recover from the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic. This funding includes up to £1.5 billion on tutoring and nearly £2 billion of direct funding to schools so they can deliver evidence based interventions based on pupil needs.
The Department is also providing direct support and funding in specific areas. The Department announced 24 Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIAs) who will receive up to £42 million to fund bespoke interventions to improve attainment at Key Stages 2 and 4. Where poor attendance has been identified as a key issue in an area, specific attendance initiatives are also being funded to address this.
The Department has also launched a £2.32 million attendance mentor pilot which aims to deliver intensive one to one support to persistently and severely absent pupils in 5 PEIAs. This is alongside our 10 new attendance hubs who are sharing their effective practice for attendance with up to 600 partner schools, reaching hundreds of thousands of pupils. Schools in PEIAs also have priority access to support from hubs.