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1135834

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Graduates: Average Earnings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of ensuring universities publish potential earnings returns for all degree courses.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	271402
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>Students’ ability to make informed choices is at the heart of the higher education reform agenda. The government is taking steps to improve the quality of information provided to students and how it is presented. We want to equip prospective students with the information to make the right choice for them about where and what to study.</p><p> </p><p>The value of higher education is about more than just economic returns. It provides wider benefits such as employability, social impact and important cultural value, which enriches our society. However, data shows that there are disparities between the outcomes seen from the same subject at different institutions, highlighting universities that need to improve and maximise the potential of their courses.</p><p> </p><p>The Unistats website is an official site that allows prospective students to search for and compare data and information on university and college courses across the UK, and it is available at: <a href="https://unistats.ac.uk/" target="_blank">https://unistats.ac.uk/</a>. It is owned and operated by The Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland, The Office for Students, The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and The Scottish Funding Council and contains subject and course level data for each higher education provider. The information currently available includes average earnings 6 months after graduation, which has been taken from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, and average earnings 3 years after graduation which has been calculated from the Department for Education’s Longitudinal Education outcomes dataset. We expect that the Office for Students will launch a new information resource tool to replace Unistats in autumn 2019.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 08/07/2019 11:56:52 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1135844

registered interest
date	01/07/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools and Universities: Admissions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the June 2019 Sutton Trust and Social Mobility Commission report Elitist Britain 2019: the educational backgrounds of Britain's leading people, what steps he is taking to tackle social segregation in schools; and whether he plans to introduce contextual recruitment and admissions practices for entry to the UK's top universities.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	271404
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>The gap between state-funded schools and independent schools has never been smaller. 85% of state-funded schools are now rated good or outstanding, compared to 68% in 2010. This has been driven by a range of reforms focusing on levelling the playing field and strengthening education from the bottom up.</p><p>Phonics is helping early literacy. More pupils leave primary school meeting the expected standards in maths and English. Our reformed GCSEs make sure 16-year-olds have the knowledge parents expect. The department is also encouraging good independent schools to provide means-tested bursaries, which broadens their intake to include pupils that would not otherwise be able to attend. Furthermore, the department is seeking to increase the number of partnerships between state-funded schools and good independent schools.</p><p>Universities are independent, autonomous bodies. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions. We are aware that many of them already adopt contextual admissions practices, to encourage increased numbers of applications from disadvantaged students with the potential to succeed at university and we support such initiatives.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 04/07/2019 15:33:25 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1130151

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Post-18 Education and Funding Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Post-18 Education and Funding Review, whether he plans to increase the teaching grant that follows disadvantaged students.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	260573
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Access and successful participation remain a priority for this government and is enshrined in the Higher Education and Research Act (2017). Everyone with the ability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity, regardless of their background or where they grew up.</p><p>The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 260574 question first answered 10/06/2019 15:12:04 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1130152

registered interest
date	05/06/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Post-18 Education and Funding Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Post-18 Education and Funding Review, what criteria his Department will use to determine whether a student is disadvantaged; and what level of support will be made available to those students.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	260574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Access and successful participation remain a priority for this government and is enshrined in the Higher Education and Research Act (2017). Everyone with the ability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity, regardless of their background or where they grew up.</p><p>The government will consider the panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore grouped question UIN 260573 question first answered 10/06/2019 15:12:04 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1126953

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: EU Countries
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress his Department has made to ensure reciprocal arrangements on student fees with EU partners after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	254753
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>Entitlement to student finance and home fees status in the UK after the implementation period for those outside the scope of the Withdrawal Agreement is under consideration by the UK government and the devolved administrations.</p><p>For EU students already enrolled on courses in the UK, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the UK government has already provided certainty. Students from the EU starting courses in England in the 2019/20 academic year will continue to be eligible for ‘home fee status’, meaning they will be charged the same tuition fees as UK students and have access to tuition fee loans for the duration of their studies.</p><p>More broadly, the UK government has been engaging directly with their EU counterparts on a range of issues, including securing citizens’ rights reassurances. These span a number of areas including on access to education.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 20/05/2019 15:41:11 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1124695

registered interest
date	03/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Graduates: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that universities develop courses in consultation with industry professionals to enable graduates to develop adequate skills for the workplace.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	250751
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>It is important that universities focus on ensuring that their graduates have the skills needed, including technical, vocational and transferable skills, to gain a positive outcome from their degree. The primary aim of the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator, is to ensure that higher education delivers positive outcomes for students and that it has a regulatory focus to ensure that students are able to progress into employment or further study.</p><p> </p><p>Collaboration between universities and business is increasingly important, both in the development of work-ready, highly skilled graduates and in contributing to local and regional economic growth. There is already a strong track record of collaboration. For example, Teesside University’s Digital City innovation initiative is helping local small and medium-sized enterprises to place graduate interns in their businesses by providing recruitment support and a 50% contribution towards their salary.</p><p> </p><p>The government is supporting greater collaboration between businesses and universities in a number of ways:</p><ul><li>The OfS, through its Industrial Strategy and Skills Challenge Competition is funding providers (including in collaboration with employers) to develop and implement projects to improve outcomes for graduates who seek employment in their home region. Details of which can be found here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/ofs-challenge-competition-industrial-strategy-and-skills-support-for-local-students-and-graduates/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/ofs-challenge-competition-industrial-strategy-and-skills-support-for-local-students-and-graduates/</a>.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>Similarly, the UK Research and Innovation 'Strength in Places Fund' is a competitive fund for collaborative bids between research institutions and businesses to support significant regional growth through research and innovation. Details can be found here: <a href="https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/" target="_blank">https://www.ukri.org/funding/funding-opportunities/strength-in-places-fund/</a>.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The OfS is providing £20 million for the Institute of Coding which will target a skills gap in digital skills and involves collaboration between education providers and industry. This includes working together to create core content and introducing flexible ways to learn.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>The government also partially funds the National Centre for Universities and Business which promotes, develops and supports university and business collaboration across the UK.</li></ul><p> </p><p>It is important to remember, however, that universities are autonomous institutions and, as such, that they are responsible for the courses that they develop and that the government does not prescribe that certain content needs to be included.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 09/05/2019 16:45:21 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1124698

registered interest
date	03/05/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Graduates: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to data in the Office for National Statistics's quarterly Economic Review published on 2 May 2019, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding that 31 per cent of graduates had more education than was required for the job they were doing in 2017; and what steps the Government is taking to make more effective use of graduates' skills and education.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	250754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>Employment outcomes for graduates are strong. The recently published Graduate Labour Market Statistics 2018 shows that the employment rate of working-age graduates was 87.7% in 2018, which is 0.3% higher than 2017. This employment rate is 16.1% higher than the rate for non-graduates (71.6%). 65.4% of working-age graduates were employed in highly skilled roles, compared with 22.9% of non-graduates.</p><p> </p><p>The government’s Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost productivity by backing businesses to create good jobs and increase the earning power of people throughout the UK by investing in skills, industries and infrastructure. Through this plan, £120 million was provided to fund collaboration between businesses and universities to stimulate local innovation through the Strength in Places Fund.</p><p> </p><p>The primary aim of the Office for Students’ (OfS), the higher education regulator, is to ensure that higher education delivers positive outcomes for students and that it has a regulatory focus to ensure that students are able to progress into employment or further study. The OfS supports graduate employment outcomes in a number of ways. This includes a Challenge Competition, which aims to boost local employment outcomes, and the Institute of Coding, which aims to boost UK digital skills and graduate outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>The government has been improving the information available to students to help them make informed choices when making decisions on higher education providers and subject choice. For example, Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Frameworks, Longitudinal Education Outcomes data and the Higher Education Open Data Competition all provide information to prospective students.</p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 14/05/2019 09:25:24 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1123939

registered interest
date	30/04/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: EU Nationals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether non-UK EU students will be able to take out loans with the Students Loans Company after the UK leaves the EU.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	249238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2019 answer text <p>We recognise how important it is that students and institutions have information on eligibility for student support before applications for courses open.</p><p>Applications for courses starting in academic year 2020/21 do not open until September 2019. Eligibility and fee arrangements for prospective EU students who apply for tuition fee loans and student finance support in that academic year via the Student Loans Company is under consideration.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 07/05/2019 16:43:10 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1082366

registered interest
date	05/03/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Languages: Higher Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help halt the decline in people studying modern languages at university.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	228655
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2019 answer text <p>The institutional autonomy of English Higher Education (HE) providers is protected by the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. This includes autonomy over which courses to offer and which students to admit. The role of government is to create the right conditions and incentives so that HE providers are able to help respond to our economic and strategic priorities. We also want to enable students to make informed choices, and for student demand to influence the decisions providers make on what to offer.</p><p>In England, we agree that learning foreign language is important and believe that building the skills and demand for degree courses starts in schools. That is why we are taking a number of steps to support schools in encouraging uptake of language qualifications.</p><p>This includes:</p><ul><li>Introducing the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure in 2010 to halt the decline in the number of pupils taking GCSEs in the core academic subjects. The reformed national curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in key stage 2.</li><li>Promoting the value of language qualifications to students who are choosing their GCSEs and to their parents. We recently published and promoted a guidance leaflet for parents, which explains why studying a language, as part of the EBacc, broadens opportunities in both education and employment. Additionally, in February we drew attention to the benefits of studying a language among 13-14 year olds through a social media campaign.</li><li>Supporting schools to increase languages take up through the £10 million Mandarin Excellence Programme and through a £4.8 million modern foreign languages pedagogy pilot programme, which will improve uptake and attainment in languages at key stages 3 to 4, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.</li></ul> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 13/03/2019 16:56:43 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1077590

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Visual Impairment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support visually impaired students to (a) study and (b) live independently in higher education.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	226070
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/03/2019 answer text <p>Higher Education providers have legal responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to support disabled students, including those with visual impairments, for example, by making reasonable adjustments. The responsibility to support students should include communicating what support and services are available. Alongside this, eligible students can receive support through Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), which can help with the costs of additional learning-related equipment, personal support and travel disabled students may incur. Visually impaired students eligible for DSAs receive specialist professional support, for example in making the best use of specialist equipment and in modifying learning materials into accessible formats.</p><p>I recently met organisations who represent visually impaired students, and agreed that the department will work with them to ensure the support available through DSAs continues to enable visually impaired students to participate fully in higher education.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kingswood answering member printed Chris Skidmore question first answered 05/03/2019 11:26:30 answering member 4021 label Biography information for Chris Skidmore
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly