Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to identify the nationalities and ethnicities most associated with (a) childcare grant fraud and (b) student loan fraud.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is resolute in its commitment to protecting public money, including all types of student funding. We are working closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) and other bodies across government to tackle fraudulent behaviour as swiftly as possible and improve controls.
Eligibility for student finance, including Childcare Grant (CCG), is set out within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, which detail a number of provisions which a student must meet to receive funding. These include being registered on a designated course of study, together with requirements relating to immigration status and residency requirements. The intention is to ensure that resources are focused on students who are most likely to contribute positively to the UK economy.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly receives information from the SLC, and other organisations, on suspected and actual fraud cases. This information is used to inform departmental policy and engagement with the higher education sector. The analysis received includes assessment of CCG.
Abuse of student funding is not tolerated. Investigations into suspected student loan fraud, including CCG fraud, are routinely carried out by the SLC. These investigations utilise a range of prevention and detection methods but do not target based on nationality or ethnicity. However, from the SLC’s analysis of recent investigations, as well as intelligence from external partners, we have become aware that some nationalities are disproportionately involved in some cases of exploitation of the student finance system. This relates to both student loans and CCG.
The SLC will always act to stop funding for a childcare provider where fraud or exploitation of public money is identified. The SLC CCG is linked to the Ofsted registration and can only be used for childcare that meet Ofsted’s registration requirements. The department works across government to share intelligence and develop policy, processes and systems that minimise fraud exposure. We are also working with the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to help better understand and respond to emerging threats.
The government is aware that cases of confirmed student funding fraud occur disproportionately among students in franchised provision. The National Audit Office reported that, in 2022/23, 53% of the £4.1 million fraud detected by the SLC by value was at franchised providers, although students at franchised providers made up only 6.5% of the total number of SLC-funded students. The National Audit Office report is available at: : https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/investigation-into-student-finance-for-study-at-franchised-higher-education-providers.pdf.
We are increasing regulatory oversight of this provision, and any franchised provider with 300 or more students will now be subject to direct regulation by the Office for Students as a condition for access to student finance. This requirement will be brought in for the 2028/29 academic year, with the first decisions on designation being made in September 2027. We have published information on GOV.UK to support providers in understanding what they need to do to implement this requirement.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of childcare grant fraud linked to student loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is resolute in its commitment to protecting public money, including all types of student funding. We are working closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) and other bodies across government to tackle fraudulent behaviour as swiftly as possible and improve controls.
Eligibility for student finance, including Childcare Grant (CCG), is set out within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, which detail a number of provisions which a student must meet to receive funding. These include being registered on a designated course of study, together with requirements relating to immigration status and residency requirements. The intention is to ensure that resources are focused on students who are most likely to contribute positively to the UK economy.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly receives information from the SLC, and other organisations, on suspected and actual fraud cases. This information is used to inform departmental policy and engagement with the higher education sector. The analysis received includes assessment of CCG.
Abuse of student funding is not tolerated. Investigations into suspected student loan fraud, including CCG fraud, are routinely carried out by the SLC. These investigations utilise a range of prevention and detection methods but do not target based on nationality or ethnicity. However, from the SLC’s analysis of recent investigations, as well as intelligence from external partners, we have become aware that some nationalities are disproportionately involved in some cases of exploitation of the student finance system. This relates to both student loans and CCG.
The SLC will always act to stop funding for a childcare provider where fraud or exploitation of public money is identified. The SLC CCG is linked to the Ofsted registration and can only be used for childcare that meet Ofsted’s registration requirements. The department works across government to share intelligence and develop policy, processes and systems that minimise fraud exposure. We are also working with the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to help better understand and respond to emerging threats.
The government is aware that cases of confirmed student funding fraud occur disproportionately among students in franchised provision. The National Audit Office reported that, in 2022/23, 53% of the £4.1 million fraud detected by the SLC by value was at franchised providers, although students at franchised providers made up only 6.5% of the total number of SLC-funded students. The National Audit Office report is available at: : https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/investigation-into-student-finance-for-study-at-franchised-higher-education-providers.pdf.
We are increasing regulatory oversight of this provision, and any franchised provider with 300 or more students will now be subject to direct regulation by the Office for Students as a condition for access to student finance. This requirement will be brought in for the 2028/29 academic year, with the first decisions on designation being made in September 2027. We have published information on GOV.UK to support providers in understanding what they need to do to implement this requirement.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to identify the proportion of the student loan book used for fraudulent activity by students, franchised and non-franchised HE providers and intermediaries.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is resolute in its commitment to protecting public money, including all types of student funding. We are working closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) and other bodies across government to tackle fraudulent behaviour as swiftly as possible and improve controls.
Eligibility for student finance, including Childcare Grant (CCG), is set out within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, which detail a number of provisions which a student must meet to receive funding. These include being registered on a designated course of study, together with requirements relating to immigration status and residency requirements. The intention is to ensure that resources are focused on students who are most likely to contribute positively to the UK economy.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly receives information from the SLC, and other organisations, on suspected and actual fraud cases. This information is used to inform departmental policy and engagement with the higher education sector. The analysis received includes assessment of CCG.
Abuse of student funding is not tolerated. Investigations into suspected student loan fraud, including CCG fraud, are routinely carried out by the SLC. These investigations utilise a range of prevention and detection methods but do not target based on nationality or ethnicity. However, from the SLC’s analysis of recent investigations, as well as intelligence from external partners, we have become aware that some nationalities are disproportionately involved in some cases of exploitation of the student finance system. This relates to both student loans and CCG.
The SLC will always act to stop funding for a childcare provider where fraud or exploitation of public money is identified. The SLC CCG is linked to the Ofsted registration and can only be used for childcare that meet Ofsted’s registration requirements. The department works across government to share intelligence and develop policy, processes and systems that minimise fraud exposure. We are also working with the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to help better understand and respond to emerging threats.
The government is aware that cases of confirmed student funding fraud occur disproportionately among students in franchised provision. The National Audit Office reported that, in 2022/23, 53% of the £4.1 million fraud detected by the SLC by value was at franchised providers, although students at franchised providers made up only 6.5% of the total number of SLC-funded students. The National Audit Office report is available at: : https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/investigation-into-student-finance-for-study-at-franchised-higher-education-providers.pdf.
We are increasing regulatory oversight of this provision, and any franchised provider with 300 or more students will now be subject to direct regulation by the Office for Students as a condition for access to student finance. This requirement will be brought in for the 2028/29 academic year, with the first decisions on designation being made in September 2027. We have published information on GOV.UK to support providers in understanding what they need to do to implement this requirement.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to connect information on (a) childcare grant and (b) student loan claims with regulatory information about childcare providers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is resolute in its commitment to protecting public money, including all types of student funding. We are working closely with the Student Loans Company (SLC) and other bodies across government to tackle fraudulent behaviour as swiftly as possible and improve controls.
Eligibility for student finance, including Childcare Grant (CCG), is set out within the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011, which detail a number of provisions which a student must meet to receive funding. These include being registered on a designated course of study, together with requirements relating to immigration status and residency requirements. The intention is to ensure that resources are focused on students who are most likely to contribute positively to the UK economy.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education regularly receives information from the SLC, and other organisations, on suspected and actual fraud cases. This information is used to inform departmental policy and engagement with the higher education sector. The analysis received includes assessment of CCG.
Abuse of student funding is not tolerated. Investigations into suspected student loan fraud, including CCG fraud, are routinely carried out by the SLC. These investigations utilise a range of prevention and detection methods but do not target based on nationality or ethnicity. However, from the SLC’s analysis of recent investigations, as well as intelligence from external partners, we have become aware that some nationalities are disproportionately involved in some cases of exploitation of the student finance system. This relates to both student loans and CCG.
The SLC will always act to stop funding for a childcare provider where fraud or exploitation of public money is identified. The SLC CCG is linked to the Ofsted registration and can only be used for childcare that meet Ofsted’s registration requirements. The department works across government to share intelligence and develop policy, processes and systems that minimise fraud exposure. We are also working with the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to help better understand and respond to emerging threats.
The government is aware that cases of confirmed student funding fraud occur disproportionately among students in franchised provision. The National Audit Office reported that, in 2022/23, 53% of the £4.1 million fraud detected by the SLC by value was at franchised providers, although students at franchised providers made up only 6.5% of the total number of SLC-funded students. The National Audit Office report is available at: : https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/investigation-into-student-finance-for-study-at-franchised-higher-education-providers.pdf.
We are increasing regulatory oversight of this provision, and any franchised provider with 300 or more students will now be subject to direct regulation by the Office for Students as a condition for access to student finance. This requirement will be brought in for the 2028/29 academic year, with the first decisions on designation being made in September 2027. We have published information on GOV.UK to support providers in understanding what they need to do to implement this requirement.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to her Department was of the recent campaign starring Gemma Collins.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
No payments, fees, gifts, hospitality, or any other benefits are being made from the department to Gemma Collins or TM Media PR or any other agent or representative on her behalf.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department paid to Gemma Collins for her appearance in its recent communications campaign.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
No payments, fees, gifts, hospitality, or any other benefits are being made from the department to Gemma Collins or TM Media PR or any other agent or representative on her behalf.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many providers registered have no children signed up but have live childcare grant claims.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the Rt Hon. Member for Windsor, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many childcare providers registered have no children signed up.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the Rt Hon. Member for Windsor, and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing transitional protection for students who enrolled on university courses since found to have been wrongly classified for student finance purposes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the uncertainty being faced by students affected by the misclassification of weekend courses and that the support offered has not, in all cases, yet been delivered with the consistency or urgency these circumstances require by their institutions.
We have therefore instructed the Student Loan Company to recover overpaid loan funding through the student loan repayment system as normal, and to pause recoveries of overpaid grants until at least September while we consider next steps.
We have been clear that the responsibility for the classification of courses for student finance purposes rests with higher education providers. The department provides clear guidance on eligibility requirements, including the distinction between in‑attendance and weekend‑only courses. We are continuing to insist that all new maintenance funding for students enrolled on ineligible weekend-only courses must stop.
The Office for Students is also looking closely at this issue, and we expect it to take robust action where necessary to address any regulatory breaches.
In parallel, we are strengthening oversight and assurance to ensure course classifications are applied consistently, transparently, and in a way that cannot be misused or inadvertently misapplied in ways that misleads students and risk public funds.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Student Loan Company recovery action following the misclassification of weekend courses as in-attendance courses for the purposes of student finance on students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recognises the uncertainty being faced by students affected by the misclassification of weekend courses and that the support offered has not, in all cases, yet been delivered with the consistency or urgency these circumstances require by their institutions.
We have therefore instructed the Student Loan Company to recover overpaid loan funding through the student loan repayment system as normal, and to pause recoveries of overpaid grants until at least September while we consider next steps.
We have been clear that the responsibility for the classification of courses for student finance purposes rests with higher education providers. The department provides clear guidance on eligibility requirements, including the distinction between in‑attendance and weekend‑only courses. We are continuing to insist that all new maintenance funding for students enrolled on ineligible weekend-only courses must stop.
The Office for Students is also looking closely at this issue, and we expect it to take robust action where necessary to address any regulatory breaches.
In parallel, we are strengthening oversight and assurance to ensure course classifications are applied consistently, transparently, and in a way that cannot be misused or inadvertently misapplied in ways that misleads students and risk public funds.