Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what level of funding he plans to allocate for higher education courses in music and arts.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The Strategic Priorities Grant plays an important role in supporting providers and students to develop the skills and knowledge needed locally, regionally, and nationally to support the economy.
The government has asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for 2021-22. These reforms include the reallocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs, as well as the removal of the London Weighting element of the grant.
One of our proposals is for a 50% reduction in the rate of high-cost subject funding, which is one element of the wider Strategic Priorities Grant, for some subjects in order to enable this reprioritisation.
Under current proposals, outlined in the OfS’ consultation on recurrent funding for 2021-22, the high-cost subject funding rate for arts and music courses will be set at £121.50 in 2021-22, down from £243 in 2020-21. This fall is equivalent to a reduction of around 1% in combined funding (on a per-student basis) from a £9,250 tuition fee and OfS grant funding. The OfS’ methodology for calculating funding allocations, which are done at subject price group-level rather than on an individual subject basis, means that the total amount of high-cost subject funding cannot be calculated for individual subjects such as music.
It is important to note that the Strategic Priorities Grant accounts for a relatively small proportion of the total income of higher education providers today. For the providers losing funding due to this reallocation, the income lost would account for approximately 0.05% of their estimated total income, based on the latest data available.
This important reprioritisation of taxpayers’ money does not mean this government is devaluing the arts or social sciences. High-quality provision in a range of subjects is critical for our workforce, and our public services, and is culturally enriching for our society.
That is why, as part of the same reform programme, we have asked the OfS to invest an additional £10 million in our world-leading specialist providers, many of which specialise in arts provision. We want to ensure that our specialist providers receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to effectively support students.
The OfS has now publicly consulted on these proposals, and responses from universities, students and others will be taken into account before any final decisions on allocations are made.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish details of the PE and Sport Premium for the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is aware of the importance of giving schools as much notice as possible of future funding. We will confirm arrangements for the primary physical education and sport premium for the 2021/22 academic year as soon as possible.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allow an appeals process which takes into account pupil-specific data for schools to challenge GCSE grades awarded during the covid-19 outbreak in 2020.
Answered by Nick Gibb
This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sally Collier, to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: William Wragg (Independent - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Written Statement of 29 June 2020, HCWS319, on Capital Update, whether capital funding for further education can be used for information technology upgrades on college campuses.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
In March this year, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor, announced that we are going to transform further education colleges across the country, investing £1.5 billion of new capital over the next five years, starting in 2021. On 29 June, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the Department for Education will bring forward £200 million of this capital funding this year to further education colleges in England. This will enable colleges to undertake immediate remedial work in this financial year to upgrade the condition of their estates and infrastructure. We will announce further details about how this funding will be allocated in due course.