Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of StandWithUs UK’s Voice of Students 2025/26 Report about antisemitism at UK universities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
StandWithUs UK’s report provides a shocking account of the experiences of Jewish students at UK universities, reporting incidents of antisemitism ranging from verbal abuse and intimidation to threats and assaults.
All students should feel safe on campus. Harassment, intimidation and racial hatred, including antisemitism, have no place in universities or anywhere else.
The government is working with universities to tackle antisemitic abuse and improve student safety. Through the Tackling Antisemitism in Education programme, we are investing £7 million to help school, college and university staff prevent and respond to antisemitism effectively.
We have committed to strengthening accountability through greater regulatory scrutiny and enhanced oversight of Prevent compliance. Working across government, we are driving a coordinated response to rising antisemitism. My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has been clear that universities must take robust action, including enforcing disciplinary measures, improving transparency, publishing data on antisemitic incidents, and setting out steps to prevent future occurrences.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with University Vice Chancellors on tackling antisemitism on campuses.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of significant disruption for the Anglo Portuguese School of London and its pupils since the original contractor entered administration. A new contractor, Kier, was quickly appointed but identified various issues which needed to be addressed before works could continue. Progressing works at the school is a priority, but it is complex and has taken longer to resolve than we would ideally have liked.
To address the urgent need for additional facilities, the department authorised early construction work which commenced in June. The additional classroom space will be completed for September 2026. Construction of the play-deck will take longer as it involves essential fire protection work.
We are working at pace so the remaining school facilities, including the kitchen, can be delivered as quickly as possible.
Departmental officials will continue to push for a resolution. We would like to thank teachers and school leaders for their resilience and collaborative approach to delivering education during this time.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) her Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its public bodies has spent on lanyards since 4 July 2024; what designs of lanyards have been purchased; and what the cost and number of each lanyard design purchased was.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The information requested is not held centrally.
The building landlord (usually the Government Property Agency) would be responsible for ensuring lanyards are available for security passes.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which modern foreign languages are available as GCSE and A level qualifications in England; which European languages are not available as GCSE and A level qualifications; and what criteria are used by her Department and awarding bodies in determining whether a language qualification should be offered at GCSE and A level.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
French, German and Spanish are the most widely taught modern foreign languages at GCSE and A level. In addition, qualifications are available in up to 15 languages at GCSE and 15 languages at A level. The table below outlines the languages that are taught at GCSE (or equivalent) level and/or at A level:
Language | GCSE and Equivalent | A level |
Arabic | Yes | Yes |
Bengali | Yes | Yes |
Chinese | Yes | Yes |
French | Yes | Yes |
German | Yes | Yes |
Gujarati | Yes | Yes |
Italian | Yes | Yes |
Japanese | Yes | Yes |
Modern Greek | Yes | Yes |
Modern Hebrew | Yes | Yes |
Persian | Yes | Yes |
Polish | Yes | Yes |
Portuguese | Yes | Yes |
Punjabi | Yes | Yes |
Russian | Yes | Yes |
Spanish | Yes | Yes |
Turkish | Yes | Yes |
Urdu | Yes | Yes |
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by the four independent awarding organisations: AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC. These organisations may develop qualifications based on subject content set by the department. In deciding whether to offer a qualification in a particular language, awarding organisations consider a range of factors, including the cohort size expected to take exams each year (rather than the size of the speaking population), demand from schools and colleges, and the long‑term viability of the qualification.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39574 on Katharine Birbalsingh, when the final note was shared.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
In line with Cabinet Office guidance on circulating minutes, published under the previous administration, meeting notes should be shared in the days following the meeting. The meeting with Katharine Birbalsingh followed this approach.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reasons the National Vocational Qualification for Pilots was removed in 1999 and what consideration has been made of introducing a new qualification that is not subject to VAT for pilot training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Decisions around qualifications taken in 1999 were made by a previous government and the department has no further information to add to that made available at the time.
The First Officer Pilot Apprenticeship Standard, developed by industry, was introduced in 2019 with a funding band of £27,000, but is currently paused for starts due to low take-up. While National Vocational Qualifications continue to exist at levels 2 and 3 in certain sectors, the first officer apprenticeship is a level 6 standard. Skills England will keep the standard under review and remain open to lifting the pause should industry present evidence of demand.
VAT policy is the responsibility of His Majesty’s Treasury. The government keeps all taxes under regular review, and any proposals to amend the tax system must be considered in the context of wider public finances.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 120022 from the hon. Member for Twickenham.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The response to this Written Parliamentary Question has been issued.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 121472 from the hon. Member for Newport West and Islwyn.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 120510 from the hon. Member for North East Hampshire.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The responses to these Written Parliamentary Questions have been issued.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 March 2025 to Question 39574 on Katharine Birbalsingh, when the final note was shared.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.