Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the potential reductions to university mathematics departments including Birkbeck University on the UK’s status in science and technology.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Higher education (HE) providers are independent, autonomous institutions responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research.
The department will continue to work closely with the Office for Students (OfS) and various parties including a variety of HE providers across the sector, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the HE sector. The OfS collects financial data from HE providers, and analyse this to ensure they have an up to date understanding of the sustainability of the sector. Where the OfS identifies concerns about the financial viability of an HE provider, they will implement enhanced monitoring of that provider.
The government is committed to securing the UK’s status as a science and technology superpower, and in doing so, levelling up across the country. To achieve this, the department is investing in programmes that aim to achieve this at all levels of education, such as the Prime Minister’s recently announced mission to ensure all pupils study some form of maths up to the age of 18. Additionally, the department is investing in science, technology, engineering and maths in higher education, with an additional £750 million over the next three years to support high quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade. Several government strategies are also in place to support the science and technology superpower ambition and levelling up aims, including the UK Innovation Strategy (2021), the National AI Strategy (2021), and the UK Digital Strategy (2022). These strategies set out how we will strengthen our reserves of talent and skills in order to drive success.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
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 potential cuts to the Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics at Birkbeck, University of London, on higher education opportunities for (a) mature and (b) BAME students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Overall, there are higher proportions of mature students and students from Black, Asian, Mixed or Other backgrounds at Birkbeck College than within the higher education (HE) sector as a whole.
HE providers are independent, autonomous institutions, responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research.
The department’s access and participation reforms announced in November 2021 are playing a key role in ensuring individuals can get the support they need to make decisions that are right for them, regardless of their age, ethnicity, geographical region or socio-economic background.
The government has issued guidance to the Office for Student asking it to refocus the entire access and participation regime to create a system that supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds by ensuring students are able to make the right choices, accessing and succeeding on high quality courses which are valued by employers and lead to good graduate employment. This work aims to drive up standards in education and focus in on genuine social justice.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with representatives of Birkbeck, University of London, on potential cuts to its Department of Economics, Mathematics and Statistics.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Overall, there are higher proportions of mature students and students from Black, Asian, Mixed or Other backgrounds at Birkbeck College than within the higher education (HE) sector as a whole.
HE providers are independent, autonomous institutions, responsible for their own decisions on staffing issues, including how they structure themselves to deliver research and teaching priorities. Where it is necessary to reshape their activities, it is important that universities carefully consider the impact of job losses on staff and students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research.
The department’s access and participation reforms announced in November 2021 are playing a key role in ensuring individuals can get the support they need to make decisions that are right for them, regardless of their age, ethnicity, geographical region or socio-economic background.
The government has issued guidance to the Office for Student asking it to refocus the entire access and participation regime to create a system that supports people from disadvantaged backgrounds by ensuring students are able to make the right choices, accessing and succeeding on high quality courses which are valued by employers and lead to good graduate employment. This work aims to drive up standards in education and focus in on genuine social justice.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the widest possible access to education in the UK.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government is investing £1.6 billion through the National Skills Fund over the next three years, to help adults gain the skills that are sought by employers. The fund will make sure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential and transform their lives.
As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level who are unemployed or earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a level 3 qualification for free.
Those who want to upskill in their role, are looking for a job, or are changing career, can take part in Skills Bootcamps. Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. Skills Bootcamps are currently available across England, offering training in digital, technical (including engineering and manufacturing), construction, logistics (HGV driving), and green skills (including heat pump engineer and electric vehicle charging point installation), and have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers.
We are on track to deliver 16,000 Skills Bootcamps training places in the 2021/22 financial year. The department will continue to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps further following the announcement of up to £550 million additional funding across financial years 2022 to 2025, including up to £150 million in financial year 2022/23.
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. In the academic year 2022/23 this funding totals £1.34 billion.
Apprenticeships are accessible to people of all ages and can support people to re-train and upskill throughout their lives. We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25.
In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students, tasking them to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. Higher education providers should be working meaningfully with schools to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged and supported to achieve the highest possible grades to succeed, whether that be an apprenticeship or higher technical qualification, or a course at another university.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support lifelong learning and access to education in the UK.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government is investing £1.6 billion through the National Skills Fund over the next three years, to help adults gain the skills that are sought by employers. The fund will make sure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential and transform their lives.
As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level who are unemployed or earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a level 3 qualification for free.
Those who want to upskill in their role, are looking for a job, or are changing career, can take part in Skills Bootcamps. Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. Skills Bootcamps are currently available across England, offering training in digital, technical (including engineering and manufacturing), construction, logistics (HGV driving), and green skills (including heat pump engineer and electric vehicle charging point installation), and have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers.
We are on track to deliver 16,000 Skills Bootcamps training places in the 2021/22 financial year. The department will continue to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps further following the announcement of up to £550 million additional funding across financial years 2022 to 2025, including up to £150 million in financial year 2022/23.
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. In the academic year 2022/23 this funding totals £1.34 billion.
Apprenticeships are accessible to people of all ages and can support people to re-train and upskill throughout their lives. We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25.
In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students, tasking them to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. Higher education providers should be working meaningfully with schools to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged and supported to achieve the highest possible grades to succeed, whether that be an apprenticeship or higher technical qualification, or a course at another university.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Working Together to Safeguard Children' guidance, updated on 1 July 2022, whether he plans to make changes to that guidance so that local authorities are required to notify his Department following the death of a care-leaver.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
The latest figures on the number of deaths of care leavers were published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions-methodology#content-section-4-content-11. The table shows rounded data between 2019 and 2021 for care leavers who have died aged between 17 and 21. A young person will be recorded in more than one year, for example, if a young person died in the year they turned 20, then they will also be reported in the figures the following year for those aged 21.
The department is considering a revision to the statutory ‘Working together to safeguard children (2018)’ guidance as part of the detailed and ambitious implementation strategy that will be published later this year in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, national review into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the Competition and Markets Authority study. The guidance currently places a duty on local authorities to notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel when a child dies or is seriously harmed, and neglect or abuse is known or suspected. In addition, local authorities are also required to notify the department and Ofsted of the death of a looked after child, regardless of neglect or abuse being known or suspected. The department will consider whether to revise the requirement on local authorities to include the notification of the death of a care leaver as part of this consultation process.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to release publicly accessible data on deaths of care-leavers in addition to deaths of children in care already published.
Answered by Brendan Clarke-Smith
The latest figures on the number of deaths of care leavers were published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/methodology/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions-methodology#content-section-4-content-11. The table shows rounded data between 2019 and 2021 for care leavers who have died aged between 17 and 21. A young person will be recorded in more than one year, for example, if a young person died in the year they turned 20, then they will also be reported in the figures the following year for those aged 21.
The department is considering a revision to the statutory ‘Working together to safeguard children (2018)’ guidance as part of the detailed and ambitious implementation strategy that will be published later this year in response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, national review into the deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the Competition and Markets Authority study. The guidance currently places a duty on local authorities to notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel when a child dies or is seriously harmed, and neglect or abuse is known or suspected. In addition, local authorities are also required to notify the department and Ofsted of the death of a looked after child, regardless of neglect or abuse being known or suspected. The department will consider whether to revise the requirement on local authorities to include the notification of the death of a care leaver as part of this consultation process.