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1727494

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Teachers: Vacancies
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address teacher shortages.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL771
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>​​​​​​​High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, but we must do more to ensure we have the workforce needed to provide the best possible education for every child in all parts of the country, which is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers with a focus on key shortage subjects.</p><p>​The first crucial step towards achieving this is to ensure teachers get the pay they deserve, which is why the department has accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from this September.</p><p>​The department wants to ensure teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession. It is committed to resetting the relationship with the teaching profession. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has already spoken to various stakeholders and teachers working at the front end and continues to do so. The department is now developing the Social Partnership to work more closely with the sector unions to ensure they have a stronger voice on policies that affect their work.</p><p>​Alongside teacher pay, financial incentives are one of the most effective ways to increase teacher supply, and we are continuing to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £28,000 and scholarships of up to £30,000 in shortage subjects. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, we are also offering a Targeted Retention Incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools.</p><p>​Recruiting more teachers is a key part of the department’s Opportunity Mission. This government is also committed to tackling long standing retention challenges to ensure teachers stay and thrive in the profession, including by addressing teacher workload and wellbeing, and supporting schools to introduce flexible working practices. The department has made key resources available to help teachers better manage their workload.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 18/09/2024 13:20:48 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1727213

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Children and Families: Protection
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the protection of families and young children, particularly in light of (1) the decrease in local authority spending on early intervention services, and (2) the rising number of children in residential care.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL732
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2024 answer text <p>The department recognises that there is a strong evidence base for early intervention to support families stay together and thrive. This will be at the heart of this government’s system reform of children’s social care.</p><p>Through the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the department is testing the implementation of intensive whole-family support in 10 pathfinder local authorities, where multi-disciplinary teams are providing targeted support to help families overcome challenges at the earliest opportunity, to prevent escalation, to keep children safe and help families to overcome challenges, stay together and thrive. The pathfinder is being independently evaluated. Early evaluation findings are expected in spring 2025.</p><p>The department recognises that there are increasing numbers of children in high cost, residential placements. Whilst many children benefit from high quality children’s homes, for too many children, residential placements do not meet their needs and are putting significant pressures on local authority budgets. This is why the department is committed to supporting alternatives to care for children who cannot stay with their birth parents, such as kinship arrangements. Through the Family’s First for Children pathfinder and Family Network Pilot, the department aims to make greater use of family networks, involving them in decision-making at an earlier stage, and providing practical and financial support via family network support packages to help keep children safe at home.</p><p>Furthermore, foster carers play a vital role in the care system, offering stable, nurturing, and loving family environments. However, in recent years the number of people applying to be foster carers has dropped significantly. The department is addressing this through a suite of measures. Key among these is the creation of a regional approach where 99 local authorities are working in 10 regional clusters, collaborating to recruit and retain foster carers.</p><p>This government is introducing a Children’s Wellbeing Bill to support these reforms, including through a strengthened multi-agency response. The department will also take targeted action on specific harms such as child criminal and sexual exploitation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 17/09/2024 15:27:02 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1727214

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that universities remain and do not close down despite financial difficulties.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL733
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2024 answer text <p>The department is committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities so they can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. The government has already started reviewing options to deliver a more robust higher education (HE) sector but it will take time to get it right.</p><p> </p><p>Sir David Behan has been appointed as interim Chair of the Office for Students (OfS) to oversee the important work of refocusing their role to concentrate on key priorities, including prioritising the financial stability of the HE sector.</p><p> </p><p>However, the government recognises the immediate financial strain that some providers are under and is working closely with the OfS to monitor any risks and to ensure students' best interests are protected.</p><p> </p><p>Ultimately, HE providers are independent from the government and therefore it is their responsibility to ensure they have a sustainable business model.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 17/09/2024 14:28:47 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1726479

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Private Education: Special Educational Needs
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many children with special educational needs are in independent schools.
	tabling member printed	Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
	uin	HL597
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>The department publishes annual figures on pupils with special educational needs (SEN) based on the January school census data. The most recent published figures, for January 2024, are available here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england</a>. The publication includes a breakdown of SEN by school type which is attached and available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/df44ab22-0874-49af-b4bb-08dccb80a395" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/df44ab22-0874-49af-b4bb-08dccb80a395</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Pupils with SEN may have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have SEN support in school without an EHC plan. The total number of pupils with SEN is the sum of these two groups.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 16/09/2024 15:51:35 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern attachment 1 file name HL597_ Number_pupils_in_all_schools_by_type_of_SEN_provision.xlsx title HL597_Table
	tabling member	1141 label Biography information for Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

1726483

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Private Education: Charities
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to remove charitable status from independent schools; and if so, what is their estimate of the impact this would have on the cost of nursery education.
	tabling member printed	Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
	uin	HL601
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>The government has not proposed to remove charitable status from independent schools.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 16/09/2024 15:46:49 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	1141 label Biography information for Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

1726515

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Health
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government which scientific criteria they apply in deciding whether an educational institution can describe itself as a Health Sciences University; whether these criteria could apply to an institution teaching homeopathy and other alternative therapies; and which peer-reviewed research or externally-assessed teaching the Office for Students relied upon in deciding to allow the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic and University College of Osteopathy to rebrand themselves as the Health Sciences University.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Birmingham
	uin	HL695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2024 answer text <p>When a provider requests to change its name, a strict criteria and assessment process is followed. The provider will already have undergone considerable scrutiny when being awarded Degree Awarding Powers (DAPs), including input from quality experts, drawn from the sector, to test the provider against multiple criteria. Indefinite DAP’s status is the main eligibility test for providers to be able to go through the title process.</p><p> </p><p>In this instance, the provider gained degree awarding powers in 2016 and so was able to apply for university title as per the rules set out in the Office for Students’ (OfS) ‘Regulatory advice 13: how to apply for university college and university title’, which is attached and also available at: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-advice-13-how-to-apply-for-university-college-and-university-title/#:~:text=and%20university%20title-,Regulatory%20advice%2013%3A%20How%20to%20apply%20for%20university%20college%20and,as%20part%20of%20their%20name" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-advice-13-how-to-apply-for-university-college-and-university-title/#:~:text=and%20university%20title-,Regulatory%20advice%2013%3A%20How%20to%20apply%20for%20university%20college%20and,as%20part%20of%20their%20name</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The department and the OfS were notified in September 2023 regarding the provider changing its name. When considering the proposed new name for a provider, the OfS must have due regard to the need to avoid names that are, or may be, confusing. In addition, in the instance of the newly named Health Sciences University, the OfS operated an open consultation on the proposed name. This ran from 22 February 2024 to 21 March 2024, and determined the regulator's final decision. The OfS approach is set out in their case report ‘Approval of proposed new name for AECC University College - Office for Students’, which is attached and can also be found at: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/approval-of-proposed-new-name-for-aecc-university-college/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/approval-of-proposed-new-name-for-aecc-university-college/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to the OfS process, regulations brought into force under the Companies Act 2006 means that the department has responsibility for confirming that it has no objection to the use of the sensitive word ‘university’ in a business name. The OfS published approval of the proposed new name from ‘AECC University College' to 'Health Sciences University’ in July 2024. The department then considered the request from the provider to change its name to ‘Health Sciences University’ and was satisfied that the use of the word ‘university’ was appropriate in this context. The department had no objection to the use of the term ‘university’ in the proposed business name ‘Health Sciences University’ and issued the provider with a non-objection letter on 18 July 2024.</p><p> </p><p>During this consultation the OfS did not receive any responses questioning the merit of the subject area(s) of the provider.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern attachment 1 file name Regulatory_advice_13_how_to_apply_for_university_college_and_university_title.pdf title Regulatory advice 13: how to apply for university 2 file name Approval_proposed_new_name_aecc_university_college.pdf title Approval of proposed new name for AECC University question first answered 19/09/2024 13:48:54 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	4924 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Birmingham

1726525

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Private Education: Fees and Charges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of additional places which will be required by local authorities to accommodate children forced to leave independent schools as a consequence of the imposition of VAT on education fees.
	tabling member printed	Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
	uin	HL602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy. While the impact of this policy is being fully considered, projections by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicate that the number of pupils who may switch schools as a result of these changes is likely to represent a very small proportion of overall pupil numbers in the state sector, less than 0.5%, with any displacement expected to take place over several years. This research can be found here: <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending" target="_blank">https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending</a> and in the attached report.</p><p>The department will be monitoring demand and capacity using our normal processes and working with local authorities to meet any pressures.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 16/09/2024 15:46:28 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern attachment 1 file name IFS Report - Tax private school fees and state school spending.pdf title HL602 attachment
	tabling member	1141 label Biography information for Lord Forsyth of Drumlean

1726569

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Skills England
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce the Skills England bill.
	tabling member printed	Lord Allen of Kensington
	uin	HL554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>The Skills England Bill will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to Skills England, and will be an important part of steps taken to establish Skills England in phases over the next 9 to 12 months.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 16/09/2024 14:38:00 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	4304 label Biography information for Lord Allen of Kensington

1726572

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	GCSE: Taiwan
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have investigated reports that China lobbied for the removal of references to Taiwan from material used in schools in connection with GCSE examinations.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2024 answer text <p>The content of textbooks is a matter for individual publishers. The department does not play a role in prescribing or authorising the books that schools can use. It is for schools to determine what curriculum resources they use, and to use their judgement in assessing their content.</p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 19/09/2024 13:46:14 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool

1726573

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Finance
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the independence of the UK higher education sector has been compromised by a reliance on funding from China.
	tabling member printed	Lord Alton of Liverpool
	uin	HL560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2024 answer text <p>The government has made significant strides to protect our values against those who do not respect the UK’s fundamental rights and freedoms, or whose strategic intent is hostile to UK interests. The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect our academic sector, in order to identify what more the department could or should be doing.</p><p> </p><p>The department recognises the potential for overseas interference in our higher education (HE) sector and we are committed to ensuring ways to increase transparency, improve HE providers’ overall resilience and economic security, whilst respecting the autonomy of universities.</p><p> </p><p>A key part of the department’s International Education Strategy is diversification. Our universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students, the regulator of HE in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Smith of Malvern question first answered 16/09/2024 14:56:39 answering member 269 label Biography information for Baroness Smith of Malvern
	tabling member	738 label Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool