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Written Question
Students: Finance
Wednesday 24th June 2020

Asked by: Esther McVey (Conservative - Tatton)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding has been allocated by (a) his Department and (b) universities to support students during the (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19 and (iii) 2019-20 academic year.

Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

In the academic year 2017/18, the total amount paid/awarded through the Student Loans Company to students domiciled in England and students domiciled in the EU and studying in England was £16.5 billion [1]. This included grants, allowances and tuition fee and maintenance loans. The equivalent figure for 2018/19 was £17.1 billion. Equivalent figures are not yet available for the 2019/20 academic year.

The value of the government’s contribution via the Student Loans Company loans is contingent upon future repayments and interest rates.

The Office for Students (OfS) is responsible for distributing funding to the sector on behalf of the Department for Education. While the OfS distributes funding to higher education providers based on the academic year, the department allocates funding based on the financial year.

In the financial year 2017/18, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (the OfS’s predecessor) allocated £1.607 billion [2] in recurrent and capital teaching funding. The equivalent figures for 2018/19 and 2019/20 were £1.538 billion and £1.487 billion respectively. The 2019/20 allocation was published in February 2019.

The teaching grant is allocated to providers to support various activities, including high-cost subject funding, where tuition fees alone do not cover the full costs of provision, and the costs of supporting students most at risk of discontinuing their studies.

Information on the full range of financial support made available to students from their providers is not held by the department.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england-2019

[2] https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/guidance-from-government/


Written Question
Department for Education: EU Grants and Loans
Monday 16th April 2018

Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with (a) universities, (b) further education colleges and (c) Local Enterprise Partnerships on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and accessing such funding after the UK leaves the EU.

Answered by Anne Milton

The government's manifesto committed to create a new UK Shared Prosperity Fund to reduce inequalities between communities across the UK.

The Department for Education is committed to working with other government departments including the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions to achieve this.

The design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be widely consulted on in due course, as announced in the Industrial Strategy white paper. This will include engaging with key stakeholders such as universities, the further education sector and Local Enterprise Partnerships.


Written Question
Higher Education
Monday 24th October 2016

Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK leaving the EU does not have a deleterious effect on the operation of UK universities; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Robin Walker

​​The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK and Royal Academies. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.


We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly. The government has already announced that UK researchers can still apply for Horizon 2020 projects and the Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. Equally, EU students applying for a place at an English university or further education institution in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will continue to be eligible for student loans and grants – and will be for the duration of their course.


Written Question
Higher Education
Monday 24th October 2016

Asked by: Jim Cunningham (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what representations he has received from universities on the effect of the UK leaving the EU on those institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Robin Walker

​​The Department for Exiting the EU has engaged with a number of higher education institutions and groups including Universities UK and Royal Academies. Over the next few months the department will continue to engage with key stakeholders in business and civil society, including universities, through a series of roundtables, bi-laterals and visits across the UK.


We have been clear that we want to create an environment in which the UK as a whole can continue to be a world leader in research, science and the tertiary education sector more broadly. The government has already announced that UK researchers can still apply for Horizon 2020 projects and the Treasury will underwrite the payment of such awards, even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. Equally, EU students applying for a place at an English university or further education institution in the 2017 to 2018 academic year will continue to be eligible for student loans and grants – and will be for the duration of their course.


Written Question
Department for Education: EU Grants and Loans
Wednesday 16th March 2016

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, which organisations have received grants from the £71 million European Social Fund monies.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

The European Social Fund provides support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training, or who were at risk of being so, for the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015). This funding was awarded under contract following an open and competitive tendering process. The procurement process was administered by the Skills Funding Agency on behalf of the Education Funding Agency.

The list of organisations contracted to deliver this provision can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/294667/SFA_ESF_Programme_Summary_-_14-19_NEET.pdf


Written Question
Department for Education: EU Grants and Loans
Tuesday 15th March 2016

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, on what the £71 million European Social Fund monies have been spent.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), European Social Fund monies were used to support young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so to remain in or, re-engage in education, employment and training.

Providers who were contracted to deliver support to young people were required to do so through delivery of activities designed to help young people gain a greater understanding of their own abilities, learning needs and the range of opportunities available with the establishment of clear progression routes for the young people concerned. Providers were also required to deliver innovative programmes to give young people experience of success in learning and, increase their commitment and motivation to achieve.

The Skills Funding Agency which administered the funds on behalf of the Education Funding Agency is currently undertaking an evaluation of the above European Social Fund programme. The evaluation will be published later this year and will provide greater detail on the activities undertaken by young people.


Written Question
Department for Education: EU Grants and Loans
Tuesday 15th March 2016

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26338, on EU grants and loans, what assessment she has made of the effect of the £71 million European Social Fund monies on the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training or who were at risk of being so in the UK.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), European Social Fund monies provided support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so.

The Skills Funding Agency which administered the funds on behalf of the Education Funding Agency is currently undertaking an evaluation of the above European Social Fund programme. The evaluation will be published later this year and will provide greater detail on the impact of the provision for young people.


Written Question
Department for Education: EU Grants and Loans
Thursday 11th February 2016

Asked by: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the amount of EU funding her Department received in each of the last three years.

Answered by Sam Gyimah

For the period December 2013 to July 2015 (2007-2013 European Social Fund programme extended to 2015), £71 million of ring fenced European Social Fund monies was available to provide support for young people aged 14-19 who were not in education, employment or training or, who were at risk of being so. The funding was administered by the Skills Funding Agency on behalf of the Education Funding Agency.