Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy not to amend the (a) status of existing grammar schools and (b) right of local areas to operate academic selection.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
There are 163 grammar schools in England that are located across 35 local authority areas. The government does not plan to allow any new grammar schools to open nor to legislate to remove the right of existing grammar schools to select by ability.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the decision to stop implementation of the Higher Education (Free Speech) Act 2023, whether she received representations that informed that decision (a) on the potential impact of that Act on universities' (i) operations and (ii) revenues in non-democratic states and (b) from academics or academic groups on matters relating to academic freedoms; and if she will publish the (A) minutes of meetings and (B) written representations received relating to that matter.
Answered by Janet Daby
The decision to pause the implementation of the Higher Education (Free Speech) Act 2023 took account of views from across the higher education (HE) sector, including universities and academics, who felt that the Act is disproportionate, burdensome and damaging to the welfare of students and that it would expose HE providers to costly legal action, and that the fear of sanction could push providers to overlook the safety and wellbeing of minority groups.
The government does not routinely publish details of meetings and correspondence that inform policy making, as this risks undermining the ability of Ministers to hear free-spoken views.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will take steps to support children who receive bursaries and scholarships at independent schools who are adversely affected by the introduction of VAT on such schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department is not expecting these changes to have a significant effect on bursaries across the private school sector as a whole. The department expects that charitable schools across the UK will want to continue to demonstrate wider public benefit through the provision of means-tested bursaries and through partnerships with state-funded schools after these changes are made.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to to encourage students to take up (a) nursing apprenticeships and (b) other vital vocational apprenticeships following the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Apprenticeships will be more important than ever in helping businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need to recover and grow in light of COVID-19.
To help employers offer new apprenticeships, as part of the government's Plan for Jobs, they are now able to claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25, and £1,500 for new apprentices aged 25 and over. As set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at Spending Review, we have extended the eligibility period for these incentives until 31 March 2021, continuing our support for employers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nursing apprenticeships offer a high-quality work-based route into the profession, in addition to the established higher education route. There is now a complete apprentice pathway from entry-level through to postgraduate-level from Nursing Associate at Level 5 to Registered Nurse at Level 6. Other standards available include District Nurse and Community Public Health Nurse. A full list of apprenticeship standards can be found here: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/?.
In the first quarter of the 2020/21 academic year, there have been 560 starts on the ‘Registered Nurse – Degree’ apprenticeship standard and 1,660 starts on the ‘Nursing Associate’ apprenticeship standard.
In August 2020, the government announced a new financial package worth £172 million, to support employers to increase participation in nursing degree apprenticeships over the next four years. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) estimate this will enable 2,000 nurse degree apprentice starts in the 2020/21 academic year.
We are working closely with DHSC, employers and stakeholders to make sure the NHS is fully supported to recruit the apprentices it needs to deliver high-quality care.
To encourage students to consider nursing and other vital vocational apprenticeships, we are promoting apprenticeships in schools through our Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme. This free service provides schools and teachers with resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeships.