Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on implementing the aims of the International Education Strategy to (a) increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year by 2030 and (b) increase the total number of international students choosing to study in the UK higher education system each year to 600,000 by 2030.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department remains committed to progressing the implementation of the International Education Strategy and has published regular updates, most recently in May 2023, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-education-strategy-2023-update. The strategy sets out progress to date, including total UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity, estimated to be £25.6 billion in 2020, and meeting the international student ambition two years running (2020/21 and 2021/22). Since 2010, the estimated UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity has risen by 61.2% in current prices.

The UK’s International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith, continues to promote the UK’s education system in key markets, addressing barriers and creating opportunities for education exporters across the sector.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many certificates of sponsorship were issued to (a) the NHS, (b) local authorities and (c) independent or charitable organisations in each of the last three years.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on these matters; however, we have recently deployed an IT change which introduces a new compulsory field for required mandatory information which enables defined Certificate of Sponsorship applications to move more expediently through the system.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken to process applications for certificates of sponsorships was in the latest period for which data is available; and what steps his Department has taken to reduce time take to process those applications.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not routinely publish data on these matters; however, we have recently deployed an IT change which introduces a new compulsory field for required mandatory information which enables defined Certificate of Sponsorship applications to move more expediently through the system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to increase uptake in the use of monitoring technologies by patients with diabetes.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently issued clinical guidelines in relation to the management of insulin dependent diabetes, covering patients living with type 1 and insulin dependent type 2 diabetes. This includes devices to support blood glucose monitoring. These recommendations are now being implemented by integrated care boards (ICBs).

On 19 December 2023, NICE published its final recommendation on the hybrid closed loop system for people with type 1 diabetes. NICE has agreed with NHS England that all children and young people, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, and those people who already have an insulin pump will be first to be offered a hybrid closed loop system as part of a 5-year roll-out plan. NHS England has set out priorities for access, to help reduce healthcare inequalities through their implementation plan.

Responsibility for the delivery of services and the implementation of NICE recommendations rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner. As diabetes care is commissioned by local ICBs, they are responsible for developing commissioning policies. ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the notice by UK Export Finance entitled Category A project supported: INEOS Project One, Belgium, published on 14 April 2023, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of that decision on the development of (a) energy generation and (b) energy production sites in the UK.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has not made an assessment of the potential impact on the development of (a) energy generation and (b) energy production sites in the UK.

In its role as the United Kingdom’s export credit agency, UKEF has issued a guarantee to commercial lenders who are funding the project. That support will help to secure new export opportunities for UK businesses that otherwise may not have been possible.

As with every transaction that it supports, UKEF conducted rigorous due diligence in line with the government’s policies and obligations to inform its decision-making on Project One. This included consideration of environmental and climate impacts.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.5 of Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Second report from Session 2023-24, HC 78, published 8 March 2024, how much and what proportion of funding to tackle RAAC concentrate in schools will come from (a) existing and (b) additional budget funding.

Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Government is funding the removal of RAAC present in schools and colleges either through grants, or through the School Rebuilding Programme. A list of education settings with confirmed RAAC and the funding route to remove RAAC was published on 8 February, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-raac-management-information.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of pension inequality among armed forces veterans.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

Pension schemes develop over time in response to changing circumstances, but the Armed Forces Pension Schemes are designed to be generous, fair and equitable. It is a principle of public service pensions policy, upheld by successive Governments, that improvements to public service pension schemes should not be applied retrospectively.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many certificates of sponsorship which have been (a) suspended and (b) revoked have been successfully appealed in each year for which data is available.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office do not suspend or revoke Certificates of Sponsorship, therefore we do not hold the requested data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many certificates of sponsorship have been (a) suspended and (b) revoked in each year for which data is available.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office do not suspend or revoke Certificates of Sponsorship, therefore we do not hold the requested data.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment her Department has made of the planned increase in the cost of first class stamps on the affordability of the postal service.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to ensure that the universal postal service is affordable for customers as well as being efficient and financially sustainable. Royal Mail must work within Ofcom's regulatory framework, including the current price cap that prevents second class post rising above inflation, to ensure the availability of a basic affordable universal service.

Ofcom recently reviewed the safeguard caps and announced on 24 January 2024 that it would retain the safeguard cap on second class standard and large letters and not allow the safeguard cap to rise higher than CPI inflation.

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