Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of potential merits of making people with British National (Overseas) visas eligible for student finance.
Answered by Robert Halfon
To qualify for student finance in the UK, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the UK.
Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders will be able to qualify for student finance once they have acquired settled status, which is usually after five years, and have three years of ordinary residence in the UK.
The government believes that it is right that the support provided by the taxpayer should be targeted at those who have a history of a lawful and substantial residence in the UK. There are no plans to review BN(O) status holder’s access to student finance.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to meet with the National Education Union on teachers pay.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government and the teacher and head teacher unions, the National Education Union (NEU), the Association of School and College Leaders, the National Association of Head Teachers, and the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, took part in a period of intensive talks between 17 March and 23 March 2023. Following the talks, an in-principle offer was made by the Government on pay and non-pay related measures. The trade unions rejected this offer, and teacher pay for the 2023/24 academic year is now being determined through the independent pay review process. In line with this process, the School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations to the Government and we are considering the recommendations and will publish our response in due course. The NEU announced further strikes on 5 and 7 July 2023. These strikes will only cause further disruption for pupils and parents.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to publish the School Teachers’ Review Body report.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As part of the normal pay round process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its report and recommendations on teacher pay for 2023/24 to the Government. The Department is considering the recommendations and will publish its response and the report in due course.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Confucius Institutes on UK universities.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes should operate transparently and with a full commitment to the department’s values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately and that the right due diligence is in place. We encourage any providers with concerns to contact the department.
The government will continue to review its measures as appropriate.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in higher education (HE) in England, without reducing the ability of our world-class universities to work with global partners.
The Bill will empower the Office for Students (OfS) to require registered HE providers to report certain overseas funding, including of educational partnerships, such as arrangements with Confucius Institutes. The Bill will also allow the OfS to take appropriate action, including issuing penalties, if there is evidence that an HE provider has breached its freedom of speech duties.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprentices have been funded by the Government in each of the last seven years.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Government-funded apprenticeship participation from the 2015/16 academic onwards is shown in the table below:
Academic Year | Learner Participation |
2015/16 - Full Year | 899,390 |
2016/17 - Full Year | 908,660 |
2017/18 - Full Year | 814,790 |
2018/19 - Full Year | 742,390 |
2019/20 - Full Year | 718,950 |
2020/21 - Full Year | 712,990 |
2021/22 – August 2021 to April 2022, reported to date | 692,920 |
1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10
2) Participation is a count of learners that participated at any point during the year. Learners undertaking more than one apprenticeship in a year will only be counted once.
Further information on apprenticeship participation can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication. This can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to increase salaries in the Further Education sector.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
Further education (FE) providers are responsible for setting pay rates in FE, and the department plays no direct role in this process.
The department recognises the fundamental role that the FE provider workforce plays in delivering valuable skills to young people, to help them progress in the labour market and support productivity. This is why we are increasing the funding available for FE and investing in workforce support and professional development.
The department is making an extra £1.6 billion available for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with 2021/22. This is in addition to the £291 million extra for 16-19 education in 2021/22, and the £400 million that the government provided in 2020/21. The department is also investing nearly £52 million in the FE workforce in 2022/23, to continue to support the sector with the recruitment, retention, and development of teachers. This includes tax-free bursaries worth up to £26,000, which are available to support FE teacher training in priority subject areas for 2022/23.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) availability and (b) affordability of early years education and childcare.
Answered by Will Quince
In terms of the availability of childcare spaces, we know from findings from the Childcare and early years providers survey 2021 that there is some spare capacity in the system. 7 in 10 (70%) group-based providers reported having spare places in their full day provision and almost half of childminders (49%) reported having spare capacity on average across the week. The Childcare and early years providers survey 2021 can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021.
The department continues to monitor sufficiency of childcare places and liaise regularly with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any substantial sufficiency or supply issues.
In terms of affordability, this government provides a substantial offer to parents regarding childcare. All 3 and 4-year-olds and disadvantaged 2-year-olds can benefit from 15 hours free early education, and eligible working parents can access an additional 15 hours (also known as ‘30 hours’), which can help save families over £6,000 per child a year. In 2021, 328,700 children had a government-funded early education entitlement place for 30 hours.
The tax-free childcare offer is also available for working families. This scheme means that for every £8 parents pay their provider via an online account, the government will pay £2, up to a maximum contribution of £2,000 per child each year (up to £500 every 3 months). Additionally, Universal Credit Childcare reimburses up to 85% of childcare costs for working parents on a low income. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1108 for two or more children, payable in arrears.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department monitors the activities of Confucius Institutes in English schools and universities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
A number of education providers in England host Confucius Institutes (higher education) or Confucius Classrooms (schools) and they are responsible for ensuring their partnerships are managed appropriately with the right due diligence in place.
The department does not monitor the activities of these partnerships but takes seriously any concerns regarding the operation of international organisations at UK education providers. We will continue to support education providers to promote mutually beneficial international collaborations. We will look carefully at this important issue and if any provider has concerns regarding their international collaborations, they should inform the government.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the IOE Confucius Institute as a provider of the Mandarin Excellence Programme in English schools.
Answered by Robin Walker
The aim of the department’s Mandarin Excellence Programme (MEP) is to ensure that a high number of pupils in schools in England are on track to fluency in Mandarin, providing an increased pipeline of speakers to meet the future business and economic needs of the country.
In April 2021, the department considered tenders as part of a procurement for a new contract to run the MEP from September 2021 onwards. University College London’s Institute of Education (UCL IOE) Confucius Institute met the requirements of the department’s specifications and was awarded the contract in July as the successful bidder. UCL IOE delivers the MEP in partnership with the British Council.
UCL IOE has had a successful track record in delivering the MEP since its inception in 2016. The programme has grown from 14 schools in 2016 to 75 in 2022. There are currently over 7,800 pupils on the programme and over 8,000 pupils have benefitted from the programme since it began. In 2021, the first cohort sat their GCSEs in the language, with UCL reporting that 97% achieved at least Level 5 and 73% achieved either Level 8 or Level 9.
The department continues to monitor the provider and the programme closely through regular, on-going contract management.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the National School Breakfast Programme contract for provision up to July 2023 reaches children most at risk of hunger.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The government is committed to continuing support for school breakfast clubs and we are investing up to £24 million to continue our national programme for the next two years. This funding will support around 2,500 schools in disadvantaged areas meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts.
The focus of the programme is to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country, including the department’s Opportunity Areas. Schools’ eligibility for the programme is based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) – a nationally recognised indicator of need – to ensure provision is directed where it is most needed. Schools will be eligible for the programme if they have 50% or more pupils within bands A-F of the IDACI scale.
When schools join the programme, they will sign a partnership agreement that requires them to identify and target those children that are most in need of support. Our provider, Family Action, will monitor attendance data at each participating school and will support those schools with their targeting where needed. This will ensure that the programme benefits those most in need of support.