Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the insolvency of Hadlow College, what steps he will take to ensure that the education administrator appointed will have a broad knowledge of the further education sector.
Answered by Anne Milton
Students are at the heart of the new education administration regime: its primary objective is to avoid or minimise disruption to the studies of existing students.
During the education administration, Hadlow College will continue to operate as usual and communications with students and staff have been a priority. The administrators have led communications with staff, including briefing sessions, a letter to all staff and a meeting with the University and College Union.
We understand from administrators that there are no student representatives other than the student governors. Therefore, in discussion with college management, the administrators have decided to communicate to students mostly through teachers as it was felt that this approach was least disruptive. College staff have been actively encouraged to update and answer questions from their students. The college also wrote to existing students, parents and guardians and prospective students to assure them that classes, exams and enrolments are continuing as normal. Students have been encouraged to submit queries either directly to the college communications team or via their teachers.
Earlier this year, we established a panel of insolvency practitioners to work on further education (FE) insolvencies, following a procurement process which, among other things, looked at FE sector experience. The firm appointed for Hadlow College’s insolvency is BDO, which has experience of the FE sector. Additionally, the administrators can draw on a wide range of other education expertise, including governors and staff at the college, the FE Commissioner’s team and the wider sector.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason Government funding was withdrawn for the Quality Assurance Agency's regulatory and Quality Assurance licensing of Access Validating Agency's for the new academic year 2019-20.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students cannot pay the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to regulate or quality assure Access Validating Agency’s or Access to Higher Education Courses beyond 31 July 2019.
The department has spoken with the QAA to discuss how it is adapting to the conclusion of these historic contracts and will hold further discussions later in the year.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to publish the Apprenticeship Pay Survey 2018.
Answered by Anne Milton
The timetable for this year's Apprenticeship Pay Survey has been adjusted to allow the survey to be merged with the department's Apprenticeship Evaluation Survey. Apprenticeship Pay Survey fieldwork has been completed, and reporting is underway. The government will publish results in due course.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives of (a) universities and (b) the education sector on sharing data on an applicant's (i) pupil premium status and (ii) ethnicity directly with universities for the purpose of widening access and participation in higher education.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Widening access and participation in higher education is a priority for this government. This means that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
We have made real progress in ensuring universities are open to all, with record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in higher education. However, we know that more needs to be done to maximise the potential of the talent of future applicants to higher education courses, so it is vital that we build on this progress.
Higher education providers need to use good quality and meaningful data to identify disadvantage in order to effectively address disparities in access and participation in higher education. We encourage institutions to use a range of measures to identify disadvantage, including individual-level indicators, area data (such as POLAR, Index of Multiple Deprivation or ACORN), school data, intersectional data such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's (UCAS) multiple equality measure and participation in outreach activities.
To this end, we are working with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector representatives to further explore how we can support universities to improve and enhance access to data.
We want institutions to consider a broad range of information in their offers, including the context in which a student’s results were achieved. We are committed to helping universities progress in their efforts to improve access and successful participation for under-represented groups.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with (a) the Office for Students and (b) UCAS on the transmission of data on an applicant's (i) pupil premium status and (ii) ethnicity directly to universities for the purpose widening access and participation in higher education.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Widening access and participation in higher education is a priority for this government. This means that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
We have made real progress in ensuring universities are open to all, with record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in higher education. However, we know that more needs to be done to maximise the potential of the talent of future applicants to higher education courses, so it is vital that we build on this progress.
Higher education providers need to use good quality and meaningful data to identify disadvantage in order to effectively address disparities in access and participation in higher education. We encourage institutions to use a range of measures to identify disadvantage, including individual-level indicators, area data (such as POLAR, Index of Multiple Deprivation or ACORN), school data, intersectional data such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's (UCAS) multiple equality measure and participation in outreach activities.
To this end, we are working with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector representatives to further explore how we can support universities to improve and enhance access to data.
We want institutions to consider a broad range of information in their offers, including the context in which a student’s results were achieved. We are committed to helping universities progress in their efforts to improve access and successful participation for under-represented groups.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of how additional indicators of a pupil's disadvantage and under-representation in higher education can be made accessible to universities in order to widen participation and help such pupils access work.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Widening access and participation in higher education is a priority for this government. This means that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
We have made real progress in ensuring universities are open to all, with record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in higher education. However, we know that more needs to be done to maximise the potential of the talent of future applicants to higher education courses, so it is vital that we build on this progress.
Higher education providers need to use good quality and meaningful data to identify disadvantage in order to effectively address disparities in access and participation in higher education. We encourage institutions to use a range of measures to identify disadvantage, including individual-level indicators, area data (such as POLAR, Index of Multiple Deprivation or ACORN), school data, intersectional data such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's (UCAS) multiple equality measure and participation in outreach activities.
To this end, we are working with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector representatives to further explore how we can support universities to improve and enhance access to data.
We want institutions to consider a broad range of information in their offers, including the context in which a student’s results were achieved. We are committed to helping universities progress in their efforts to improve access and successful participation for under-represented groups.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the extent to which sharing data on additional indicators of an applicant’s disadvantage and under-representation in higher education, including pupil premium status, free school meals eligibility and ethnicity can enable universities to make further progress on widening access and participation in higher education.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Widening access and participation in higher education is a priority for this government. This means that everyone with the capability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity to participate, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
We have made real progress in ensuring universities are open to all, with record rates of disadvantaged 18 year olds in higher education. However, we know that more needs to be done to maximise the potential of the talent of future applicants to higher education courses, so it is vital that we build on this progress.
Higher education providers need to use good quality and meaningful data to identify disadvantage in order to effectively address disparities in access and participation in higher education. We encourage institutions to use a range of measures to identify disadvantage, including individual-level indicators, area data (such as POLAR, Index of Multiple Deprivation or ACORN), school data, intersectional data such as the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service's (UCAS) multiple equality measure and participation in outreach activities.
To this end, we are working with the Office for Students, UCAS and sector representatives to further explore how we can support universities to improve and enhance access to data.
We want institutions to consider a broad range of information in their offers, including the context in which a student’s results were achieved. We are committed to helping universities progress in their efforts to improve access and successful participation for under-represented groups.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it remains the Government’s policy to guarantee (a) Erasmus+ bids approved in May 2019 and (b) cover students’ study costs for the academic year 2020-21 following the extension to the Article 50 process to October 2019.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government guarantee still stands. It will cover the payment of awards to UK applicants for all successful Erasmus+ bids submitted before the end of 2020 and it commits to underwrite funding for the entire lifetime of the projects. Successful bids are ones that are approved directly by the Commission or by the UK National Agency and ratified by the Commission.
In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the government will engage with the European Commission with the aim of securing the UK’s participation in Erasmus+ until the end of 2020.
If discussions with the European Commission to secure the continued ability of UK institutions to participate in the programme are unsuccessful, the government will engage with individual member states and key institutions to seek to ensure that UK participants can continue with their planned activity as far as possible on a bilateral basis.
In terms of participation beyond 2020, the UK government has repeatedly made clear that it values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain.
We are open to exploring participation in the successor scheme to the current Erasmus+ Programme and we will continue to be involved in discussions about that programme while we remain in the EU. Ultimately, our participation in that successor programme is a matter for negotiations to come about our future relationship with the EU.
The government will need to fully consider the balance between supporting international mobility and ensuring value for money for the tax payer.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussion (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with education sector stakeholders on a potential domestic alternative to the Erasmus+ Programme.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
We have made clear that we value international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of our vision for a global Britain. The White Paper on the Future Relationship between the UK and the EU proposed that the UK and EU should continue to give young people and students the chance to benefit from each other’s world leading universities.
Ministers and I meet with representatives of the education sector regularly to discuss the Department for Education agenda, and that has included the questions of the Erasmus+ programme and international mobility more widely.
Ultimately, participation in the future Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027) is a matter for negotiations to come about our future relationship with the EU and, as is the duty of a responsible government, we are preparing for a range of potential outcomes. This includes consideration of domestic alternative options for supporting international mobility outside Erasmus+. My officials have had observer status on work done by UK and members of the sector on what form a domestic alternative to Erasmus+ could take. We are listening to stakeholder views on this issue. Our stakeholder engagement will be ongoing.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether postgraduate (a) loans and (b) other financial assistance will be included in his Department's response to the review of post-18 education.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government’s review of post-18 education and funding is looking at how we can ensure there is choice and competition across a joined-up post-18 education and training sector. The review’s focus includes how we can encourage learning that is more flexible (for example, part-time, distance learning and commuter study options) and complements ongoing government work to support people at different times in their lives.
The independent panel will report shortly, and the government will then conclude the overall review later this year. We will not speculate about potential recommendations, as we do not wish to pre-judge the outcome of the review.