Oral Answers to Questions

Felicity Buchan Excerpts

Monday 1st March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Gillian Keegan]

It is important to spell out that the money we are talking about is not the only money that goes into further education. As well as the base rate, we have invested another £7 billion this academic year to ensure that there is a place for everybody in education and training, and an extra £83 million in capital funding to ensure that we can accommodate the demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds that the hon. Gentleman mentioned. On top of that, we have £1.5 billion in capital funding, T-level funding going up to £500 million a year and more funding for apprenticeships and skills boot camps. There is a whole plethora of additional funding, not just the base rate.

[Felicity Buchan (Kensington) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support university students facing financial hardship as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

What financial support he has provided to students affected by the covid-19 lockdown.

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

We are making available an additional £70 million of student hardship funding this financial year. This money is in addition to the £256 million of assisting higher education funding that providers can draw upon in the academic year to support students in hardship.

[Felicity Buchan]

I thank my hon. Friend for doing a Zoom call with my Kensington students and those at Imperial College. A number of students raised concerns that they were not getting value for money out of their tuition and accommodation during the pandemic. Will my hon. Friend address those concerns?

[Michelle Donelan]

This has been a really challenging and difficult time for students. The Government expect that quality is maintained, and the Office for Students has been clear that all higher education providers must continue to comply with the registration conditions relating to quality and standards. Accommodation providers are autonomous, but the Government urge all large providers to have students’ interests at heart and provide refunds; we thank the plethora of universities that have already done so, including—but not limited to— Nottingham, Sheffield, London School of Economics, Bath and Essex, to name a few.