Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of trends in the level of interest on student loans on people repaying those loans during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Robert Halfon
No student loan borrower will be paying more per month as a result of changes to interest rates. Monthly repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold and do not change based on interest rates or the amount borrowed.
The mechanism for setting student loan interest rates is set out in legislation. Interest rates for post 2012 (Plan 2) and Postgraduate (Plan 3) loans are set annually with reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March. The rates take effect from 1 September each year.
Student loans offer unique protections to borrowers. Monthly student loan repayments are calculated by income rather than by interest rates, or the amount borrowed. If income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection.
To further protect borrowers, the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. The government monitors student loan rates against the Bank of England’s data series for the effective interest rates on new and existing unsecured personal loans.
In June 2022 the government set interest rates at a maximum ceiling of 7.3%, for the duration of the 2022/23 academic year, in line with forecast market rates, to protect student loan borrowers on Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans. The government confirmed that should the actual Prevailing Market Rate (PMR) turn out to be lower than forecast, a further cap would be implemented to reduce student loan interest rates accordingly. From 1 September 2022 to 30 November 2022, reflecting a lower than forecast PMR, the maximum interest rate is set at 6.3% for all Plan 2 and Plan 3 borrowers.
On 9 November it was further announced that from 1 December 2022 to 28 February 2023 the maximum interest rate will be set at 6.5% for all Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans, reflecting the most recent PMR.
From the 2023/24 academic year, student loan borrowers starting new courses will benefit from interest rates of RPI only. This change ensures that, under the new Plan 5 loan terms, new borrowers will not repay more than they originally borrowed, when adjusted for inflation.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the age limit for student loans for master’s degrees to 70 years old.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The student finance system has to be both fair and sustainable, and ensure that costs are split fairly between graduates and the taxpayer.
In determining the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.
The upper age limit of 60 years old was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan. The department believes that the current age restriction strikes the right balance between addressing the repayment challenge of older students and encouraging a broad range of individuals to undertake postgraduate study.
The department is closely monitoring take up of the loan and the response by students, the sector and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria or undertake any impact assessments.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the age limit for student loans for master's degrees on the ability of people over the age of 60 to (a) pursue their interests and values in their career and (b) contribute to (i) society, (ii) culture and (iii) the economy.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The student finance system has to be both fair and sustainable, and ensure that costs are split fairly between graduates and the taxpayer.
In determining the current postgraduate master’s loan eligibility criteria, the department consulted widely on the proposed terms of the new loan and considered its duty under the Equality Act 2010. A copy of that analysis can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/526274/bis-16-289-postgraduate-masters-loans-equality-analysis.pdf.
The upper age limit of 60 years old was put in place to ensure that the overall scheme remains affordable to the taxpayer and offers value for money. The age limit is designed to restrict eligibility to those statistically most likely to continue in long-term employment and be able to repay the loan. The department believes that the current age restriction strikes the right balance between addressing the repayment challenge of older students and encouraging a broad range of individuals to undertake postgraduate study.
The department is closely monitoring take up of the loan and the response by students, the sector and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria or undertake any impact assessments.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that Black history is taught in schools all year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Teaching a knowledge-rich, well-sequenced history curriculum means that black history can be taught at all Key Stages of the curriculum. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies, and how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain. This can include the voices and experiences of black people in Britain.
The freedom and flexibility in the history National Curriculum means that teachers can include black history as a natural part of the themes and eras in the curriculum, both in terms of British and world history, and their interconnection.
The Department published a blog on Black History Month in October, where it was emphasised that there is scope in the curriculum to teach black history all year round. References to high quality curriculum resources were included and it highlighted how important it is to celebrate the contribution black communities and individuals have made over the centuries in shaping the dynamic and diverse country we have today. The blog can be accessed at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/10/03/black-history-month-how-black-history-is-taught-in-our-schools-2/.
The Department is developing a Model History Curriculum to support teaching a history curriculum which reflects the diversity in history. This will be published in early 2024.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment the Government has made of the impact of the current Education Bill on local communities’ democratic input to the (a) governance and (b) curriculum of their local state schools.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government has undertaken detailed assessments of the policies within the Schools Bill, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1074679/Schools_Bill_impact_assessment.pdf.
The Department knows that a high proportion of academy trusts already have some form of local governance arrangement. As set out in the recent Schools White Paper, the Department is continuing to discuss options with the sector to ensure all trusts benefit from local input.
Academies and free schools have greater freedom in how they operate for areas such as the curriculum, but they are expected to teach a curriculum that is comparable in breadth and ambition to the national curriculum. Therefore, it is up to schools themselves to arrange opportunities for parents and the local community to input into the school curriculum.
The Department expects all schools to be transparent about their curriculum. All schools are required to publish information in relation to the content of their curriculum on their websites annually, including how parents can obtain further information about that curriculum. The Department also plans to write to schools to clarify what the law permits regarding sharing curriculum materials with parents.
The Academies Regulation and Commissioning Review is ongoing and is looking at the overall regulatory and accountability framework for multi-academy trusts in a fully trust-led system, including transparency.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Education Bill on church schools.
Answered by Jonathan Gullis
The Government has engaged regularly with the Church of England, the Catholic Church, and other faith groups regarding the Schools Bill.
The Bill includes academy specific legislation to ensure that academies with a religious character have, as far as possible, equivalent statutory protections as those that currently apply to maintained schools.
The published Schools Bill: impact assessment can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-bill-impact-assessment.
This provides an assessment of the policy and equalities impacts of the measures in the Bill.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to increase Government funding for early years providers.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on its early education entitlements and the government will continue to support families with their childcare costs.
In the 2021 Spending Review, we announced additional funding of £160 million in the 2022/23 financial year, £180 million in the 2023/24 financial year and £170 million in the 2024/25 financial year, compared to the 2021/22 financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers and reflects cost pressures and changes in the number of eligible children anticipated at the time of the Spending Review.
For the 2022/23 financial year, the department has increased the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 21p an hour for the 2-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 17p an hour for the 3 and 4-year-old entitlement.
Over the summer, the department is consulting on proposals to update the formulae used to deliver the early years entitlements funding. This will ensure the funding system remains fair, effective and responsive to changing levels of need across different areas.
The department expects to announce the early years funding rates for local authorities for the 2023/24 financial year in the autumn in the normal way.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to increase the size of student loans in line with the rate of inflation.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The department is currently reviewing options for uprating maximum grants and loans for the 2023/24 academic year.
Maximum grants and loans for living costs were increased by 3.1% this academic year, and the department has announced that they will increase by a further 2.3% in the 2022/23 academic year.
In addition, we are freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years.
The 2022/23 financial year guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) confirms universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through the student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance letter to the OfS asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in cash terms for the 2022/23 financial year.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to (a) include anti-racism teaching in the national curriculum and (b) introduce anti-racism training for Ofsted school inspectors.
Answered by Robin Walker
The department condemns and strives to tackle all forms of racial discrimination, prejudice, and harassment. Under the Equality Act 2010, schools have a duty to take steps to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations across all protected characteristics, including between people of different ethnic backgrounds.
As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, pupils should be taught about different societies. This includes learning how different groups have contributed to the development of Britain, and can include experiences and voices of people from all backgrounds. The curriculum offers many opportunities for schools to do this, notably through citizenship education and relationships education. The history curriculum also gives teachers the flexibility to include the contribution of black and minority ethnic history into lessons. This aligns with the school’s duty to promote and foster good relations across all characteristics, including race.
Relationships education is now compulsory in all schools. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum has a strong focus on equality, respect, the harmful impact of stereotyping, as well as on the importance of valuing difference. Guidance on the implementation and teaching of RSHE curriculum can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-relationships-sex-and-health. The national curriculum content for citizenship can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.
Part B of the parliamentary question is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of including the Ukraine Holomodor in the National Curriculum.
Answered by Robin Walker
The national curriculum is a framework which sets out the content the department expects schools to cover in each subject. The department believes teachers should use their expertise to determine how they teach their pupils, and to make choices about what they teach.
Pupils can be taught about the Holodomor in the 1930s as part of the history curriculum, which gives teachers the freedom to use specific examples when teaching about the history of Britain and the wider world. For example, the Holodomor could be taught as part of the statutory key stage 3 theme, ‘challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day’.