Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential financial impact of trends in the level of enrolments of international students on universities.
Answered by Luke Hall
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.
The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.
However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.
The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
Universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
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 tuition fees on the social mobility of young people.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The introduction of tuition fees has not resulted in fewer people going into Higher Education (HE). The 18-year-old entry rate for disadvantaged students from England increased from 14.4% in 2011 to 25.1% in 2022, and in 2022 we saw record numbers of disadvantaged 18-years-olds going to HE.
Disadvantaged entry rate - English 18-year-olds
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Disadvantaged entry rate | 14.4% | 14.4% | 15.6% | 17.0% | 18.0% | 18.9% | 19.9% | 20.2% | 21.7% | 24.0% | 24.5% | 25.1% |
Notes: Disadvantage measured using POLAR, a measure of educational disadvantage.
Source: UCAS End of Cycle Resources, available at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2022.
From August 2023, interest rates for new student loan borrowers will be reduced to RPI only. Under these new terms, no one will repay more than they originally borrowed when adjusted for inflation.
Degree apprenticeships also offer a unique opportunity for people to earn while they learn, achieving degrees from some of our best universities without incurring tuition fees. We’ve seen year-on-year growth of degree-level apprenticeships (Levels 6 & 7) with over 185,000 starts since their introduction in 2014/15 academic year.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the end of the transition period on (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The department is considering all aspects of how exiting the EU might affect further and higher education. This includes consideration of participation in EU-funded programmes, future arrangements for migration and for access to student finance support. We are committed to ensuring the country is prepared for every eventuality.
My officials also regularly engage with sector stakeholders on a range of issues, including leaving the EU and the Transition Period.