Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost to the public purse was for providing language translators in schools in each year since 2013.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
School funding is distributed by the department fairly, based on schools’ and pupils’ needs and characteristics. It is then for school heads and governors to decide how this money is spent, in line with their school’s context.
The department does not hold the cost and spending for translating school materials into non-English languages or providing language translators in schools. Such professional services are procured by individual schools and local authorities. Local authorities can ‘de-delegate’ funding from maintained schools in their area to meet the costs to improve the performance of underperforming pupils from ethnic minority groups and meeting the specific needs of bilingual pupils, and local authorities submit data on this spending as part of their annual returns to the department. ‘De-delegated’ funding is spent centrally by local authorities to meet costs faced by maintained schools in their area.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated by the Education and Skills Funding Agency in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2019.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is able to provide the schools National Funding Formula (NFF) allocations for schools in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency from the 2020/21 financial year. This covers mainstream schools funding only. The schools NFF determines school revenue funding for all mainstream schools in England, although schools’ actual allocations are based on local authorities’ local funding formulae. Constituency figures are based on an aggregate of schools’ NFF allocations.
Pupil premium provides additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils. Allocations are calculated based on the number of eligible pupils in each school, and so, are also available at constituency level.
South Holland and the Deepings’ NFF and pupil premium allocations can be found in the attached spreadsheet.
Other funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average funding allocation per pupil was in mainstream schools in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire in the 2023-24 financial year; and what the projected funding allocation per pupil in such schools is for the 2024-25 financial year.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Through the schools national funding formula (NFF), the department calculates and publishes notional funding allocations for each mainstream school. These are aggregated up at local authority level and, following an update in pupil numbers, are used to calculate each local authority’s dedicated school grant (DSG) allocations. Each local authority then determines individual schools’ final funding allocations through their own local formula.
In 2023/24, through the DSG and Mainstream Schools Additional Grant (MSAG) combined, the average per-pupil funding for mainstream schools in Lincolnshire is £5,778. In 2024/25, through the DSG, the average per-pupil funding for Lincolnshire will be £5,904, a 2.2% increase from this current financial year. These are actual funding allocations.
In 2024/25, based on the notional NFF allocations, South Holland and The Deepings’ average per-pupil funding will be £5,874, which is a 1.9% increase from the £5,766 they attracted through the NFF and MSAG combined in 2023/24. However, final allocations for South Holland and The Deepings will depend on the local authority’s local formula.
The figures above do not include the additional funding the department is providing through the Teachers Pay Additional Grant, which is being provided on top of the DSG in both 2023/24 and 2024/25, or through other grants, such as the Pupil Premium.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the contribution to the economy of (a) foreign students at UK universities and (b) their dependents.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government recognises the significant economic and cultural contribution that international students make to the UK’s higher education (HE) sector.
According to a report from the HE Policy Institute report in 2023, a cohort of first-year international students enrolled at UK universities in the 2021/22 academic year had an estimated net economic impact of £37.4 billion across the duration of their studies. The net economic impact per student was estimated to be £98,000 per ‘typical’ international student in the 2021/22 cohort. This means that every 10 international students generate around £1 million worth of net economic impact for the UK economy over the duration of their studies. This report highlights the significant economic benefit international students have on the UK economy.
The department does not hold any data on the economic contribution of dependants of international students who study at UK universities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many international students were enrolled in UK universities in the 2022-23 academic year.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Statistics on enrolments and qualifications obtained at UK higher education providers are collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Latest statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year, and information specifically referring to students’ location of domicile prior to study is available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from.
Statistics for 2022/23 will be published in 2024.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure school children are provided with age-appropriate (a) discussions and (b) materials on gender self-identification.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Relationships and Sex and Health Education (RSHE) statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
It is for schools to make decisions about the content they teach and the materials they use when teaching RSHE. However, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been concerned to hear reports of inappropriate materials being used in schools and that contested topics are being taught as fact. This is why the department has brought forward the first review of the RSHE statutory guidance, including appointing an independent panel to provide expert advice on what is appropriate to be taught in RSHE and at what age. Details of the independent review panel are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/relationships-health-and-sex-education-independent-review.
In March 2023, the Secretary of State for Education wrote to schools to remind them that copyright law does not prevent them sharing external resources with parents. In October 2023, she wrote again to clarify that any contractual clause that prevents schools from sharing materials is void and unenforceable, and to provide practical advice on how to share materials with parents in a way that is in line with copyright legislation. The department will ensure that the updated guidance fully reflects this very clear position. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-letter-to-schools-about-sharing-curriculum-resources-with-parents.
A draft of the amended guidance will be published for consultation, at the earliest opportunity, in the new year.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many youth apprenticeship starts there have been in South Holland and the Deepings constituency in each year since 2010.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Under 19 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and the Deepings constituency can be found via the following links:
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with local authorities to reduce the time taken to adopt children in the care system.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is providing £19.5 million between 2022/2025 to regional adoption agencies to develop high-quality adoption services so that children waiting to be adopted can be placed with a loving family as quickly as possible. This includes £5 million dedicated to developing national matching activities that will help speed up the process of matching adopters with children. In addition, £1.5 million is being used for national campaigns to recruit the adopters needed who are willing to take the children who wait the longest to be adopted. The department has seen a decrease since 2020 in waiting times for those children who wait the longest. Those who wait 18 months since placement order have dropped from 390 in 2020 to 250 in 2023.
The full range of work is set out in the government’s national adoption strategy, ‘Achieving Excellence Everywhere’, which was published in 2021. The strategy can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adoption-strategy-achieving-excellence-everywhere.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to help adults with poor literacy skills.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department recognises the importance of good literacy skills, both in work and everyday life. That is why the department has taken steps to support adults to have the essential skills they need for life, work and further study, including literacy. Through our legal entitlement, the department provides the opportunity of fully funded study for adults who do not have essential literacy skills up to the equivalent of a GCSE grade 4/C or higher. In the 2021/22 academic year, around 239,000 learners participated in an English course funded through the entitlement. Further details can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-november-2022.
The department also supports all adults for whom English is not their first language to secure the English language skills they need. Adults are fully funded or co-funded to study English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses and qualifications up to and including GCSE 4/C equivalent. The number of learners participating in ESOL courses and qualifications continues to grow, with around 123,000 learners in the 2021/22 academic year and the department has already seen around 139,000 learners participate in the first three quarters of this academic year. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-november-2022.
The department also recognises that community learning within the adult education budget (AEB) can play a valuable role in helping individuals improve their English, particularly for learners where a qualification is not the most appropriate first step.
Currently 60% of the AEB has been devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and delegated to the Mayor of London (working where appropriate through the Greater London Authority). These authorities are responsible for the provision of adult education and allocation of the AEB in their local areas, including funding of English and maths statutory entitlements. The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges and other training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB to best meet the needs of their communities.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on reform of the Apprenticeship Levy to support training needs in the road haulage sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
This department continues to work closely with the Department for Transport and across government to ensure that the road haulage sector has access to the skills training that employers need. This engagement has led to important improvements to apprenticeships and skills bootcamps. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has not met with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss reform of the apprenticeship levy.
The apprenticeship levy has enabled the department to increase investment to a total of £2.7 billion by 2024/25, which will support apprenticeship starts across every sector, including road haulage. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education regularly reviews the funding for apprenticeship standards. The department has recently increased funding for the heavy goods vehicle service and maintenance technician apprenticeship standard by 33% (from £15,000 to £20,000), the large goods vehicle apprenticeship standard by 14% (£7,000 to £8,000) and the motor vehicle service technician apprenticeship standard by 7% (£15,000 to £16,000). These increases are supporting providers deliver essential training across the sector.
In response to supply issues for driver training and testing in the transport sector, the department also introduced temporary arrangements through the apprenticeship system, so that more providers could deliver training and testing for the acquisition of a driving license.
Skills bootcamps are also providing opportunities for people to train as drivers, gain their licenses and launch new careers in road haulage sector. The department has invested up to £32 million to create up to 11,000 HGV driver training places, with further funding being allocated to support this training offer in the 2023/24 financial year.