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1144149

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Registration
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what access a college which has been refused registration by the Office for Students has to an independent appeals process.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL17637
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) sets out the procedure under which the Office for Students (OfS) refuses registration applications should a higher education provider not meet one or more of the OfS initial conditions of registration. The OfS will inform a provider to tell it they are minded to refuse its application. The provider then has an opportunity to make representations to the OfS, and it is only after considering these representations that the OfS takes a final decision. A provider may subsequently seek to challenge the decision through judicial review.</p><p> </p><p>While the OfS took on some of the responsibilities of the Higher Education Funding Council for England following its closure, the OfS was set up as a new organisation with a new remit and responsibilities. The OfS regulatory framework and its guidance to providers sets out how applications for registration are assessed. The department is unable to comment on individual cases related to the OfS registration process. Neither the department nor our ministers can intervene in judicial reviews of the decisions of the OfS.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS considers the impact on both current and prospective students before taking registration decisions. A decision to refuse is not taken lightly, but HERA is clear that a provider which does not meet the OfS initial conditions of registration must be refused. Circumstances for current students will vary at different providers. However, the OfS will always seek to work with the provider to ensure that students are supported to complete their studies – either at their current provider where existing students can continue to access student support for the purposes of teach out, or at a new provider. Higher education providers should have systems and policies in place to offer appropriate mental health support and signposting to specialist help where necessary.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL17638 HL17639 question first answered 09/09/2019 16:50:12 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

1144150

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Registration
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have received about the reasons for the Office for Students refusing registration of institutions that have been operating successfully under the previous Higher Education Funding Council for England regulatory framework, including its financial sustainability test, such as Spurgeon’s College, despite the circumstances of an institution remaining unchanged.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL17638
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) sets out the procedure under which the Office for Students (OfS) refuses registration applications should a higher education provider not meet one or more of the OfS initial conditions of registration. The OfS will inform a provider to tell it they are minded to refuse its application. The provider then has an opportunity to make representations to the OfS, and it is only after considering these representations that the OfS takes a final decision. A provider may subsequently seek to challenge the decision through judicial review.</p><p> </p><p>While the OfS took on some of the responsibilities of the Higher Education Funding Council for England following its closure, the OfS was set up as a new organisation with a new remit and responsibilities. The OfS regulatory framework and its guidance to providers sets out how applications for registration are assessed. The department is unable to comment on individual cases related to the OfS registration process. Neither the department nor our ministers can intervene in judicial reviews of the decisions of the OfS.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS considers the impact on both current and prospective students before taking registration decisions. A decision to refuse is not taken lightly, but HERA is clear that a provider which does not meet the OfS initial conditions of registration must be refused. Circumstances for current students will vary at different providers. However, the OfS will always seek to work with the provider to ensure that students are supported to complete their studies – either at their current provider where existing students can continue to access student support for the purposes of teach out, or at a new provider. Higher education providers should have systems and policies in place to offer appropriate mental health support and signposting to specialist help where necessary.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL17637 HL17639 question first answered 09/09/2019 16:50:12 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

1144151

	registered interest
	date	03/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Registration
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions and alternative finance arrangements are being put in place to support students who have been affected by the Office for Student's decision to refuse registration of their educational institutions; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such refusals on student mental health.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL17639
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) sets out the procedure under which the Office for Students (OfS) refuses registration applications should a higher education provider not meet one or more of the OfS initial conditions of registration. The OfS will inform a provider to tell it they are minded to refuse its application. The provider then has an opportunity to make representations to the OfS, and it is only after considering these representations that the OfS takes a final decision. A provider may subsequently seek to challenge the decision through judicial review.</p><p> </p><p>While the OfS took on some of the responsibilities of the Higher Education Funding Council for England following its closure, the OfS was set up as a new organisation with a new remit and responsibilities. The OfS regulatory framework and its guidance to providers sets out how applications for registration are assessed. The department is unable to comment on individual cases related to the OfS registration process. Neither the department nor our ministers can intervene in judicial reviews of the decisions of the OfS.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS considers the impact on both current and prospective students before taking registration decisions. A decision to refuse is not taken lightly, but HERA is clear that a provider which does not meet the OfS initial conditions of registration must be refused. Circumstances for current students will vary at different providers. However, the OfS will always seek to work with the provider to ensure that students are supported to complete their studies – either at their current provider where existing students can continue to access student support for the purposes of teach out, or at a new provider. Higher education providers should have systems and policies in place to offer appropriate mental health support and signposting to specialist help where necessary.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL17637 HL17638 question first answered 09/09/2019 16:50:13 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

1146305

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Office for Students: Registration
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how long, on average, it takes for an application by an institution for registration with the Office for Students to be processed; and what has been (1) the longest, and (2) the shortest, time taken for such an application, broken down by institution type.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
	uin	HL17800
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>There is no meaningful average time for higher education establishments receiving an outcome on their Office for Students (OfS) registration application. This is because the time taken from initial receipt of the application to a final registration decision is dependent on a number of factors.</p><p> </p><p>These factors include the completeness of the application initially submitted, the scale of the clarificatory information requested by the assessor during the assessment process and the length of time taken by the provider to respond to such information requests. In addition, other factors include the time taken for the provider’s access and participation plan to be negotiated and approved and the likelihood of the provider to breach its ongoing conditions of registration, including the ways in which that would impact its students. Furthermore, consideration is also given to the overall readiness of the provider to be regulated.</p><p> </p><p>Cases where decisions that have been reached more quickly often relate to circumstances where the provider has submitted a near-complete application or where queries during the assessment have been minimal. More timely decisions can be made where the risk assessment suggests that the provider is unlikely to breach any of its ongoing conditions of registration.</p><p> </p><p>Cases that have taken longer to assess have typically involved several attempts to obtain relevant information from the provider.</p><p> </p><p>The risk assessment may also suggest either that the provider does not satisfy one or more initial conditions of registration (in which case the provider may make representations against the proposed decision to refuse registration), or that the provider may be at increased risk of breaching one or more of its ongoing conditions of registration, once registered.</p><p> </p><p>In these cases, the OfS is likely to conclude that the interests of students are best protected by taking regulatory action with which the provider must comply, such as applying specific conditions of registration or enhanced monitoring arrangements. Such occurrences would lengthen the timeframe for a decision on an application.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS will be publishing an analysis of the key themes that arose during the initial registration process in the autumn.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 07/10/2019 11:44:55 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

1148439

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that UK universities stay competitive with universities elsewhere in the world.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
	uin	HL18042
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>The UK has a world-class reputation, with globally renowned teaching and cutting-edge research and innovation. We want to deliver better outcomes and value for students, employers and taxpayers who underwrite the system.</p><p>The Office for Students (OfS) is now fully operational and puts students and student choices at the heart of the higher education (HE) sector and its regulation. By encouraging diversity and innovation in high quality provision, the government is supporting the sector to meet the needs of all students in HE, whatever their background or study choices, as well as opening up the sector to greater competition.</p><p>The OfS has formally adopted the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) as its scheme for assessing the quality of HE provision in England. Participation in the TEF is a condition of registration for English HE providers with more than 500 undergraduates. Participation is voluntary for smaller HE providers and for those in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The TEF encourages excellent teaching to flourish by re-balancing the priority given to teaching and learning compared to research.</p><p>The TEF will provide strong incentives to HE providers to prioritise the student learning experience. In due course we will lay before Parliament the report of the independent review of the TEF, which has been conducted by Dame Shirley Pearce.</p><p>In August 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new fast-track immigration route aimed at allowing a wider pool of scientific talent to come to the UK. This route will ensure that those with specialist skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects can come to the UK and make an important contribution to our leading science and research sectors, significantly enhancing the intellectual and knowledge base of the UK. The route will be uncapped, ensuring that those with the required skill set can secure places.</p><p>The UK is a great place for research, accounting for 4% of the world's researchers, 11% of all citations, 14% of the world’s most highly cited articles and 4 of the world’s top 10 universities. The government recognises the important contribution of our universities to research, innovation and working with business. This contribution is critical to achieving the ambitions of our modern Industrial Strategy, including delivering 2.4% spend of GDP on research and development by 2027. In the autumn, the government will set out plans to significantly boost public funding on research and development, provide greater long-term certainty to our scientific and research community and accelerate our ambition to reach 2.4% of GDP.</p><p>Additionally, on 11 September, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new graduate immigration route that provides an opportunity for international students who have been awarded their degree to stay and work in the UK at any skill level for 2 years. This represents a significant improvement in our offer to international students and will help ensure that our world-leading HE sector remains competitive internationally.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 08/10/2019 16:13:41 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1149757

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Overseas Students: Hong Kong
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent supporters from mainland China bullying and intimidating fellow students from Hong Kong in British universities who are carrying out legitimate activities in support of those demonstrating in Hong Kong in favour of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
	tabling member printed	Lord Pendry
	uin	HL50
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2019 answer text <p>Universities have a duty of care to all students, domestic and international, and must take reasonably practicable steps to ensure freedom of speech, within the law, is secured for staff, students and visiting speakers.</p><p> </p><p>Studying for a degree gives students from different backgrounds and perspectives the freedom to explore contrasting views and the skills to evaluate information, including that about the current situation in Hong Kong. It is critically important that we protect this freedom. That is why we extended the existing freedom of speech duty to all providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) through the Higher Education and Research Act. The approach of the OfS is to implement regulation as outlined in their regulatory framework, as attached.</p><p> </p><p>We expect all institutions to ensure that freedom of speech is not restricted as a result of bullying or intimidation.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 24/10/2019 15:44:46 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	457 label Biography information for Lord Pendry

1149764

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Sexual Offences
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to increase the amount of support offered to university students who have been victims of sexual assault.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL57
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2019 answer text <p>The government takes any form of violence and sexual harassment, including in Higher Education (HE), extremely seriously.</p><p>As independent and autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students. The legal obligation for ensuring that students do not face discrimination, harassment or victimisation rests with the HE providers. They should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, and to investigate and swiftly address sexual misconduct.</p><p>The Office for Students and its predecessor provided £2.45m funding for 63 projects tackling sexual misconduct in 2017 and 2018.</p><p>A recent survey of universities by Universities UK shows that progress is being made to address sexual misconduct in HE. However, the government acknowledges that there is much further to go to combat the culture of harassment. We urge all university leaders to take ownership and prioritise a zero tolerance culture to all harassment and hate crime.</p><p>The government will continue to prioritise tackling of all forms of harassment and hate crime in HE.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 24/10/2019 16:55:15 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1149786

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Erasmus+ Programme
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to fund a UK-wide replacement for the Erasmus+ scheme if the UK cannot associate with the next programme in 2021–27.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL78
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2019 answer text <p>The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with academic institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.</p><p>If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in specific EU programmes as a third country. While the regulations for future EU programmes are still in the process of being developed, the draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation. Officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange. These include potential domestic alternatives to the Erasmus+ programme for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, should we need them.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL79 question first answered 24/10/2019 15:19:12 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1149787

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Erasmus+ Programme
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, in the event of a no-deal Brexit, to guarantee funding for student exchanges for the 2020/21 academic year to bring it in line with the funding that would have been provided by the Erasmus+ scheme.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL79
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2019 answer text <p>The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with academic institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.</p><p>If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in specific EU programmes as a third country. While the regulations for future EU programmes are still in the process of being developed, the draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and the negotiation of general terms of participation. Officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange. These include potential domestic alternatives to the Erasmus+ programme for the 2020/21 academic year and beyond, should we need them.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL78 question first answered 24/10/2019 15:19:12 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1151161

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2019
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	EU Grants and Loans
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commit to funding (1) the Erasmus+, and (2) the Horizon research, programme beyond 2020.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
	uin	HL238
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/10/2019 answer text <p>The government places great value upon international exchange and collaboration in education and training. It is also committed to continuing to back UK researchers and innovators by supporting measures to enable world-class collaborative research and innovation. This will continue to be the case after we leave the EU and establish new relationships with institutions across Europe and the rest of the world.</p><p>If it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU programmes as a third country. While the regulations for future EU programmes are still in the process of being developed, the draft Political Declaration envisages the possibility of UK participation in EU programmes like Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe post-2020. Officials are preparing for all eventualities and are considering a wide range of options with regard to the future of international exchange and cooperation in education and research.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 30/10/2019 17:58:38 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
	tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton