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1695047

registered interest
date	11/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Antisemitism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-Semitism in higher education institutions in the South East.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	17860
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2024 answer text <p>Antisemitism, intimidation, and threats of violence must never be tolerated on university campuses. The Community Security Trust 2023 annual report highlights the unprecedented increase in antisemitic incidents in higher education (HE). This unacceptable rise is deeply concerning. All antisemitism is abhorrent, and universities should have robust systems to deal with incidents of support for unlawful antisemitic abuse and harassment. The department will not tolerate unlawful harassment or the glorification of terrorism.</p><p>Ever since the October 7 attacks, the department has actively intervened to ensure that universities, including those located in the South East, act swiftly and appropriately to deal with incidents of antisemitism. I have reached out to many Vice Chancellors personally when a concern has been raised about antisemitism on their campus.</p><p>Furthermore, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and I wrote to all universities on 11 October 2023, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and to actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. I wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November 2023, emphasising that they must use disciplinary measures wherever appropriate, highlighting the importance of police engagement, and reiterating that student visas could be suspended where a foreign national is found to have committed or incited acts of racial hatred. This was one of the key actions set out in the five point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November 2023. The plan also involves:</p><ul><li>Calling for visas to be withdrawn from international students who incite racial hatred. Visas are a privilege, not a right, and the government won’t hesitate to remove them from people who abuse them.</li><li>Logging specific cases and sharing them with the Office for Students for their consideration.</li><li>Continuing to make it clear in all discussions that acts that may be criminal should be referred to the police.</li><li>Establishing a Tackling Antisemitism Quality Seal, which will be an award available to universities who can demonstrate the highest standards in tackling antisemitism.</li></ul><p> </p><p>On 22 November, the government announced in the Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over three years to tackle antisemitism in education. The Quality Seal will be the cornerstone of this package for universities, providing a framework of measures that will make clear what good practice is in tackling antisemitism in HE, and making sure that our universities are a safe and welcoming space for Jewish students and staff, as for all students and staff.</p><p>The department will not hesitate to take further action across education to stamp out antisemitism and harassment of Jewish pupils, students and staff.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 18/03/2024 17:19:44 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1685538

registered interest
date	29/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many companies have received training subsidies from the apprenticeship levy in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	11721
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2024 answer text <p>The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. The levy has supported the government to increase investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year and supports employers of all sizes to boost the skills of their workforces.</p><p> </p><p>Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. Since April 2021, all non-levy paying employers hiring new apprentices have accessed funds through apprenticeship service accounts.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of employer accounts on the apprenticeship service that have accessed funds for apprenticeship training and assessment in each of the last three academic years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Academic Year</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of employer accounts accessing funds</p></td><td><p>64,410 *</p></td><td><p>106,786</p></td><td><p>118,516</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*To note that this data does not include employers who started an apprenticeship prior to April 2021 with a training provider who held a contract with the Education and Skills Funding Agency. As non-levy paying employers started accessing funding via the Apprenticeship Service from January 2020, this means that the figure above for 2020/21 will significantly underrepresent the total number of employers accessing funding.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 06/02/2024 12:58:52 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1679151

registered interest
date	19/12/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Havering
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote the take-up of degree-level apprenticeships in the London Borough of Havering.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	7507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2024 answer text <p>Degree level apprenticeships offer excellent opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds. Employers have designed over 170 high quality, degree level apprenticeship standards to support them in developing the skilled workforces they need.</p><p>It is great to see that there were 46,800 degree level apprenticeship starts in the 2022/23 academic year, which is an increase of 8.2% on 2021/22, of which 260 starts were by learners living in the Havering local authority area.</p><p>The department would like to further accelerate the growth of higher and degree apprenticeships and encourage higher education providers to expand their existing offers or develop new ones. An additional £40 million is being invested over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and to help more people access this provision, on top of the department’s £8 million investment in 2022/23.</p><p>Apprenticeships are also continually being promoted in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme. The programme had a reach of 640,000 interactions with young people in over 2,400 schools in 2022/23 and is supported by £3.2 million of funding annually.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 08/01/2024 17:01:35 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1669051

registered interest
date	09/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Logistics: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support pathways are available in (a) schools and (b) other educational establishments for students who wish to enter the warehousing sector.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	1056
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2023 answer text <p>The department’s skills reforms in England provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to get good jobs and progress in their careers. The department is building a skills system that is employer focused, high quality and fit for the future, and is flexible enough to lead to more people completing high quality courses that meet employers’ needs in all sectors.</p><p> </p><p>This ambitious skills agenda is backed by £3.8 billion of investment over this Parliament. The department is using this to expand and strengthen higher and further education (FE), ensuring skills training is aligned to the needs of employers to enable communities to thrive.</p><p> </p><p>With this investment, the department is putting employers at the heart of the skills system, which is why the department is working with industry to shape our training offers, creating more routes into skilled employment in key economic sectors.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s high quality apprenticeships support individuals of all ages in earning and learning the skills needed to start or advance a career in the warehousing sector. Through the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge programme, the department actively promotes these opportunities in schools and FE colleges by providing a free, bespoke package of information and support to students about apprenticeships. Furthermore, the department has the funding rate for the Level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative has recently increased from £3,000 to £5,000, supporting training providers to deliver high quality apprenticeships in the sector.</p><p> </p><p>The Free Courses for Jobs offer, which was launched in April 2021, gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. This offer includes a qualification in warehousing and storage and allows eligible learners to access a high-value Level 3 qualification for free, to gain higher wages and access new job opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>Skills bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion. To help address the shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers across the country, skills bootcamps in HGV driving provide more opportunities for people to train as drivers, gain their licences and launch new careers in the sector.</p><p> </p><p>The Careers &amp; Enterprise Company (CEC) is supporting schools and colleges to embed best practice in the delivery of careers information, advice, and guidance, so that young people are aware of the full range of training and careers available to them and have access to a broad range of employers and workplaces, including those in the warehousing sector. For example, CEC partner with industries and sector bodies to support them in developing their talent and skills pipeline by providing them with a clear means for them to engage with schools and colleges.</p><p> </p><p>The National Careers Service (NCS) provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England to all people aged 13+. In particular, those aged 13-18 can access information and advice through the NCS website, including through webchat and the telephone helpline which is supported by local community-based career advisers. The NCS website gives customers access to a range of digital tools and resources to support them. This includes ‘Explore Careers’ which provides information on a broad range of industry sectors and more than 800 job profiles. Job profiles include information regarding entry routes, skills and knowledge requirements, key tasks, and potential progression routes for each respective role. Regarding the warehousing sector, there are currently job profiles for roles such as order picker, warehouse worker, and warehouse manager. The content team regularly researches and updates content and welcomes updates from industry to ensure content is accurate and up to date.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 15/11/2023 16:33:52 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1666324

registered interest
date	20/10/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Medicine: Higher Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help encourage students from lower-income families to (a) consider a career in medicine and (b) apply for medical school.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	203660
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2023 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 26/10/2023 10:59:42 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1658664

registered interest
date	06/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	University Technical Colleges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve the training and (b) increase the funding provided to technical colleges in (i) Romford, (ii) London borough of Havering and (iii) Essex.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	198016
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>The government is committed to creating a world leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives, and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education.</p><p>This additional funding will help providers such as those in Romford, Havering and Essex to deliver high-quality education and training.</p><p> </p><ul><li>New City College at the Havering Campus offers a wide range of vocational courses for people of all ages. In 2020, it opened a new £15 million Construction Trades Skill Centre. It has received Capital funding of £2.2 million through the Strategic Development Fund, £6.5 million through the further education (FE) Capital Transformation and £625,000 for T Levels.</li><li>Barking and Dagenham College offers a wide range of vocational courses for people of all ages including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, construction and digital skills. The East London Institute of Technology (IoT) is based at the College and offers a range of science and technology, construction and infrastructure, advanced engineering and robotics courses. It has received Capital funding of £2.95 million for the IoT, £1.2 million through the FE Capital Transformation Fund and £1.05 million for T Levels.</li><li>Havering Adult College in Romford and Barking and Dagenham Adult Colleges offer a wide range of vocational qualifications.</li><li>USP College (Unified Seevic and Palmers), based in Benfleet and Grays in Essex, has a wide-ranging post-16 vocational offer. In 2023, it opened a state of the art digital and creative media training centre. It has received Capital Funding of £2.4 million through the FE Capital Transformation Fund and £785,000 for T Levels.</li><li>Colchester Institute offers a wide range of vocational provision. It has received Capital Funding of £1.26 million through the FE Capital Transformation Fund and £246,000 for T Levels.</li><li>South Essex College in Basildon, offers a full range of FE provision. South Essex IoT is also based at the College. It has received Capital Funding of £1.61 million through the FE Capital Transformation Fund, £1.14 million for T Levels and £3.25 million for the IoT.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Apprenticeships are crucial in driving growth and social mobility; they boost skills across the economy and improve people's earnings and career opportunities nationwide. Since 2010, there have been 130,790 apprenticeship starts in Essex, 22,390 in London Borough of Havering and 9,080 in Romford constituency, and the department wants to ensure that this number continues to grow. To support this, the government is increasing its investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.</p><p>The department is implementing major reforms to technical education to equip people with the technical skills that employers demand.</p><p>The department has introduced T Levels which will equip more young people with the skills, knowledge and experience to access skilled employment or further study. They represent a real shift in the quality of technical education and the department has invested heavily to support providers in their implementation. From September 2023, 18 T Levels will be available, being delivered through nearly 300 providers across all regions of the country. T Levels are being delivered widely by providers in Romford, Havering and Essex in subjects such as Engineering &amp; Manufacturing, Digital, health and science.</p><p>The department plans to invest approximately £300 million to establish 21 IoTs across the country. The 21 IoTs include the East London IoT and the South East IoT. IoTs are partnerships between FE colleges, higher education and employers and provide access to industry standard facilities. They focus on the technical training needs of employers and learners in their local areas.</p><p>The department has introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme which enables eligible adults to gain a qualification for free. Residents in Romford, Havering and Essex can access provision that is delivered through colleges and training providers in the area across a range of sector subject areas. In addition, the department has also introduced Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 15/09/2023 13:17:42 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1658666

registered interest
date	06/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Adult Education: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to amend the adult education budget funding procurement process in the next six months.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	198017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>The department has recently concluded a procurement exercise to award around £65 million of adult education budget (AEB) and £12 million of free courses for jobs (FCFJ) funding to 56 providers in non-devolved regions. These contracts are for a minimum of one year, with the option to extend for up to an additional three years. The department has no plans to amend the AEB procurement process in non-devolved regions for AEB or FCFJ in the next six months.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 15/09/2023 13:18:28 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1655890

registered interest
date	01/09/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Further Education: Low Incomes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to make tertiary education more accessible to students from low-income families.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	195767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2023 answer text <p>As at Results Day 2023, an English 18-year-old from a disadvantaged background is 73% more likely to go to university than at the same point in 2010. This year, 22,540 English 18-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds secured a university place on Results Day, compared to 18,960 at the same point in 2019.</p><p>In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that better supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to access and succeed in higher education (HE). As a result, all approved (fee cap) providers who are intending to charge fees above the basic amount, are required to fully rewrite their Access and Participation plans to be in place for September 2025.</p><p>This work aims to drive up standards in education and focus on genuine social justice by making getting on at university as important as getting in.</p><p>We want to see universities working with schools to drive up standards and encourage aspiration and attainment, supporting students through paths that benefit them the most, including traditional undergraduate degrees, but also apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications.</p><p>The department has provided Uni Connect with £30 million funding for 2023/24, to bring together partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to offer activities, advice and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college, broadening the horizons of students in areas of low HE progression.</p><p>In March 2023, the OfS launched its Equality of Opportunity Risk Register (EORR). This will empower providers to deliver interventions for groups of students least likely to experience equal opportunity in HE settings by highlighting 12 key sector risks and the groups most likely to experience these. The department welcomes the EORR as a key marker for social justice that will help ensure that students from disadvantaged backgrounds continue to be supported once they have started their chosen course.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 15/09/2023 17:28:50 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1649729

registered interest
date	03/07/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: British Overseas Territories
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage more students from Overseas Territories to study at UK universities.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	192035
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2023 answer text <p>Since 2007, persons who have settled status on arrival in the UK, and who come to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories, have been eligible for home fee status.</p><p>Since 2022/23, the department has extended this offer so that those starting designated full time and part time undergraduate courses, are also now eligible for tuition fee loans in England if they meet the residency requirements. This requires that they have been ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and/or specified British Overseas Territories throughout the three year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course, with at least part of that period having been spent in the British Overseas Territories.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 11/07/2023 11:42:39 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1645035

registered interest
date	15/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	University of Gibraltar: British Students Abroad
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to encourage UK students to study at the University of Gibraltar.
tabling member constituency	Romford
tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
uin	189767
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2023 answer text <p>The department encourages prospective students to choose to study at an institution that best meets their needs and interests. The department understands that there are UK students who have chosen to study at the University of Gibraltar, either funded privately or on a scholarship. The department is currently exploring whether it would be possible to finance English students to study in Gibraltar, whilst ensuring that those students receive an education and benefit from safeguards which are broadly comparable with those in England.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 23/06/2023 10:17:12 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell