Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) the international student target within the International Education Strategy.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030 for the last two years, and the government fully expects the UK to continue to be an attractive destination for international students.
The department is increasing fees across a range of immigration routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study, at a time of record high migration numbers. It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.
The government’s visa fees are competitive globally and there is little evidence that fee increases to date have significantly affected demand on work, study and tourism routes.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 13 July 2023, Official report, column 526, what the changes to immigration fees will be.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The cost of most work and visit visas will increase by 15%. The cost of study visas, certificates of sponsorship, settlement, citizenship, wider entry clearance and leave to remain visas, and priority visas will increase by at least 20%.
We will also equalise costs for students and for those using a priority service so people pay the same whether they apply from within the UK or from outside the UK.
We will lay Regulations in the Autumn that will set out the specific changes to immigration and nationality fees in more detail.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) numbers of international students and (ii) international student diversification in the UK.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards.
We will lay regulations and legislation in the Autumn to amend the immigration and nationality fees and the IHS levels, which will set out which immigration routes are impacted and will be accompanied by full economic impact assessments.
We keep fees and IHS levels under review.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Russell Group, (b) Universities UK and (c) other sector stakeholders on the potential impact of increasing the cost of (i) the immigration health surcharge and (ii) student visas on the higher education sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Home Office is increasing application fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes, including for people coming to live, work and study in the UK. Increasing application fees, together with the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), helps to fund vital services and allowing wider funding to be prioritised for public sector pay awards.
We will lay regulations and legislation in the Autumn to amend the immigration and nationality fees and the IHS levels, which will set out which immigration routes are impacted and will be accompanied by full economic impact assessments.
We keep fees and IHS levels under review.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the potential fiscal impact of increases of the (a) immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on the (i) number of international students, (ii) economy and (iii) higher education sector.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Regulations will be laid in Autumn to amend the Immigration Health Surcharge (Heath Charge) Order and a full economic impact assessment will be prepared.
The expectation of the Government is that migrants coming to the UK to work should be able to maintain and support themselves, reflecting the need to maintain the confidence of the general public that immigration brings benefits to our country.
The Immigration Health Surcharge rates have not increased since 2020, and the cost of providing public services has increased in that time. It is right that we keep the IHS level under review to ensure that it reflects the genuine cost to the NHS of providing healthcare to those who pay it.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete postgraduate research.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government continues to provide targeted funding to increase the accessibility of postgraduate research (PGR) to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and is committed to creating a New Deal of support for PGR students.
In 2022, the Office for Students and Research England announced funding for 13 projects to tackle persistent inequalities and barriers for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students to access PGR. In 2023, UKRI published results of a Call for Input on a PGR New Deal and will respond later this year.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with UKRI and the Department for Education to consider further steps to support access to and widen participation in PGR.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support postgraduate researchers with increases in the cost of living.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government recognises that postgraduate researchers (PGRs) are vital to the UK’s science and technology superpower ambitions.
The Government has funded UKRI to significantly increase the minimum stipend level for PGRs by nearly 20% in cash terms over two years (rising to £18,622 pa for the 2023/24 academic year), to help them with the current cost-of living. Around 20% of PGRs receive UKRI stipends, which are generally tax-free.
This financial support is part of the Government’s long-term work on reaching a New Deal for PGRs, to make the UK the best place for PGRs.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to bring the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 into force.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
The department is working closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to determine when provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will come into force.
The timeline will involve working in collaboration with the OfS on the creation of new registration conditions and a complaints scheme dedicated to handling freedom of speech complaints, which will be operated by the OfS. The OfS will also develop guidance on how to comply with these duties, in consultation with providers, constituent institutions and students’ unions.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Office for National Statistics includes Higher Education Innovation Funding in its estimate of total UK Research and Development spending.
Answered by George Freeman
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is an independent producer of official statistics.
Its annual publication “Research and development expenditure by the UK government” has figures for UK Government net expenditure on research and development (R&D) by department and for UK Government net expenditure on knowledge transfer by department, both separately and combined; it has also published experimental statistics on “UK public-funded gross regional capital and non-capital expenditure on research and development”.
I understand that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) provides ONS with expenditure data on Higher Education Innovation Funding to be included in these statistics.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187216, what proportion of NHS Bank Staff will receive a non-consolidated payment.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not held centrally. Bank staff are employed on locally managed contracts, the terms of which differ by individual trust. It is therefore not possible to determine how many will be eligible to receive the non-consolidated payments.