Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department issues guidance to Departments on supporting candidates with autism through job recruitment boards.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions does not issue guidance to other departments on supporting candidates with autism through job recruitment boards. This falls within the remit of the Government People Group, within the Cabinet Office.
All candidates requiring a reasonable adjustment are able to request one during their application. There is also some general information on Reasonable Adjustments on the Civil Service Careers page, including the links to Disability Confidence Scheme and what the Reasonable Adjustment process via CS Jobs will involve.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of findings from a recent IDP Connect survey which found that nearly half of prospective students surveyed were reconsidering or unsure of their plans to study in the UK following changes in policy and rules regarding international students.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy while 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 our 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 10, and 17 in the top 100. 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, with 679,970 international students studying at a UK university in 2021/22.
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 the abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system. The department continues to work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
HE providers are autonomous bodies, independent of government. As such, they are responsible for their own admission decisions. The government takes a close interest in ensuring that the HE admissions system is fair and works closely with HE providers and sector bodies to make sure the system works well for students.
Asked by: Lord Sharkey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent data by Enroly published on 27 March which showed that issuance of certificates of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies has significantly reduced, with overall deposits down by more than a third on the same point in 2023.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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 our 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 10, and 17 in the top 100. 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 department 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.
HE providers are autonomous bodies, independent from government. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions. The government takes a close interest in ensuring that the HE admissions system is fair and works closely with HE providers and sector bodies to make sure the system works well for students.
Asked by: Lord Marlesford (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that individuals convicted of abuse of public office and given custodial sentences are not re-employed in central government departments or agencies of central government.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
All Civil Service recruitment is subject to the Baseline Personnel Security Standard. The Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard check is not a formal security clearance but is a recognised standard for pre-employment screening. These checks ensure departments comply with current legislation (e.g. Right to Work in the UK) and are essential to assure the integrity of our organisation and the safety of staff and individuals.
Once a job offer is made a Basic Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is undertaken. The certificate will contain details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
If the DBS check is returned with a positive marker (an unspent convention in a basic check, any conviction in a standard check), the vacancy holder/department undertakes a risk assessment to decide whether to make a final offer.
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 - Minister of State (Education)
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: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the estimated 33 per cent fall in overseas students on the financial viability of UK universities.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
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 its 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. 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.
Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department works closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, to understand the evolving landscape including on risks relating to international students.
It also continues to work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.
Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of enrolments of international students on the finances of universities.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
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 our 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 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 higher education 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 higher education providers.
Our 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: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the factors contributing to the average waiting time for Developed Vetting clearances; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle these factors.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.
In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.
Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.
The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.
Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.
In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Fifty-Third Report of Session 2022–23 of the Committee of Public Accounts entitled Performance of the UK Security Vetting service, HC 994, published on 12 May 2023, what steps his Department has taken to reduce delays in processing (a) Counter Terrorist Checks, (b) Security Checks and (c) Developed Vetting since the publication of that report.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.
In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.
Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.
The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.
Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.
In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Developed Vetting clearance times on the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of (i) civil service personnel in roles requiring high-level security clearance and (ii) other civil service personnel.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the performance of UK Security Vetting published in January 2023 and the subsequent Public Accounts Committee in February 2023 identified that United Kingdom Security Vetting’s (UKSV) performance was affected by a range of issues including rising customer demand. The demand increased as the employment landscape grew following national lockdowns. Societal pressures and wider events (including conflict in Ukraine) also added to the demand impact.
In 2023, UKSV implemented a stabilisation programme which included an increase in headcount. Under Ministerial direction, UKSV prioritised the recovery of initial Developed Vetting turnaround times, followed by Security Check and Counter Terrorist Check turnaround times. These first two targets were met on time and are now being processed within agreed timescales with a focus on supporting recruitment. UKSV is currently focussing efforts to maintain the performance of these and is making good progress to meet the third target to recover the turnaround times of Developed Vetting review cases.
Departments and relevant Ministers receive regular updates on UKSV’s performance through governance boards and from the UKSV Customer Management Team. Sponsored individuals undergoing a clearance application are able to obtain updates relevant to their own application from the UKSV helpdesk.
The security of our people, assets and information is a Government priority. UKSV are working with departments to better forecast demand and working on both efficiency and technology solutions to maintain long term stability. Furthermore, there is a clear and robust policy in place to support departments in ensuring their employees and contractors are security cleared to the appropriate level based on the information they need to access for their role.
Though often concurrent, National Security Vetting (NSV) is distinct from recruitment processes and only required in some roles.
In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.