Oral Answers to Questions

John Lamont Excerpts

Monday 6th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Vicky Ford)]

The Ofsted data from March shows a 4% dip in the number of childcare providers since 31 August, which is a fall largely driven by childminders and carers, not nursery settings. Sufficiency is the key measure and we have not had any reports of sufficiency issues in early years settings since they reopened in June 2020. We put £3.5 billion into our early years entitlements because we care about childcare.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

T6. What steps are the Government taking to promote the Turing student exchange scheme in Scotland?

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

The Turing scheme has exceeded expectations, with 40,000 placements across 150 locations. Ministers met Scottish journalists and education providers when applications opened. A total of 28 Scottish institutions have successfully applied for over £7.8 million in funding.