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1687744

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Freedom of Expression
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of universities accepting funding from entities linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army on academic freedom.
tabling member constituency	South Swindon
tabling member printed	Sir Robert Buckland
uin	13269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards engagement with China and Chinese entities.</p><p>Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance, risk management procedures and policies in place, including on the acceptance of donations. HE providers will also have their own due diligence procedures which should consider reputational, ethical and security risks.</p><p>The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners. Guidance published by Universities UK advises HE providers how to engage in international collaborations safely and securely. This guidance also includes a recommendation that due diligence should be conducted on all international partnerships and it is available here: <a href="https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation" target="_blank">https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation</a>.</p><p>The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that HE providers in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. The Act will enable the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions and student’s unions, and to take appropriate action. Provisions in the Act dealing with overseas funding are expected to come into force from 1 September 2025.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 13/02/2024 16:36:13 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland

1687760

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
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 increase the availability of appointments for education, health and care plan assessments.
tabling member constituency	Stockport
tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
uin	13342
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have Special Educational Needs which require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. EHC plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. In 2022, there were 114,482 requests for an EHC needs assessment and 72,695 assessments took place. The number of assessments has been increasing year on year since EHC plans were introduced. As of January 2023, 517,049 children and young people have EHC plans.</p><p>Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with Special Educational Need and Disabilities (SEND), the department works with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors to address weaknesses. Stockport is one of a number of local areas where the department is monitoring their EHC plan performance. The department is working with Stockport to improve their EHC plan quality as one of the key actions in the Local Area Partnerships ‘Accelerated Progress Plan’ following their most recent Ofsted Care Quality Commission inspection.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/02/2024 12:54:07 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1687762

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of special educational needs training given to teachers and staff at comprehensive schools in Greater Manchester.
tabling member constituency	Stockport
tabling member printed	Navendu Mishra
uin	13344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The department does not perform teacher performance evaluation at the local level. The Teachers’ Standards sets out the minimum level of practice expected of teachers who are awarded qualified teacher status (QTS). To be awarded QTS at the end of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), trainees must demonstrate that they have met all the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. The standards are also used to assess the performance of all teachers with QTS under the School Teachers’ Appraisal Regulations (2012). Therefore, most teachers need to adhere to the standards throughout their careers.</p><p>All teachers are teachers of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. Consideration of SEND underpins both the ITT Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework (ECF), which were both produced with the support of sector experts. ITT courses and ECF-based programmes are designed so that new teachers can demonstrate that they meet the Teachers’ Standards at the appropriate level. This includes the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils.</p><p>To pass statutory teacher induction, early career teachers must demonstrate that they meet the Teachers' Standards through a formal assessment, signed off by their headteacher and independently checked by their appropriate body. Ofsted is responsible for inspecting ITT partnerships and ECF lead providers in line with published inspection frameworks.</p><p>Headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils. To further support the needs of pupils with SEND, particularly in mainstream settings where most of these learners are educated, the department has funded the Universal Services programme. The Universal Services programme, backed by almost £12 million in funding, will help the school and further education (FE) workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively.</p><p>National Standards will improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of needs, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will include clarifying the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will help families, practitioners and providers understand what support every child or young person should be receiving from early years through to FE, no matter where they live or what their needs are.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/02/2024 15:08:51 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4811 label Biography information for Navendu Mishra

1687820

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Greater London
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 work with (a) local authorities and (b) schools to (i) promote inclusion in schools and (ii) help ensure the adequacy of funding for SEND provision in London schools; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to mainstream school places for children in London with SEND.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	13370
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2024 answer text <p>In the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, the department set out a vision for an inclusive system characterised by high-quality mainstream provision where children and young people have their needs identified early and can access prompt, evidence-based, targeted support. The department is working with local authorities to create or strengthen local SEND and AP partnerships to bring together local authorities, health and education partners across local systems to strategically plan and commission support for children and young people with SEND.</p><p> </p><p>To support local authorities, the department is investing £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists and introducing a National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for special educational needs coordinators at leadership level.</p><p>​</p><p>Schools and Multi-Academy Trust leaders should promote collaborative working and drive inclusive practices across local areas. The department’s expectations for high-quality, inclusive education are set out in the High-Quality Trust Framework and enforced through the inspections under Ofsted’s 2019 education inspection framework</p><p> </p><p>The department is also investing in specific programmes designed to help schools develop their inclusive practice. For example, the Universal Services programme helps the schools and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively. As part of the programme, over 135,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training. And to support schools to create calm, safe and supportive environments for all pupils, the department has also invested £10 million in the Behaviour Hubs programme. No pupil should miss out on education because of concerns to safety, disruptions to lessons or if pupils’ needs are not identified and supported.</p><p> </p><p>Mainstream schools in London are to be allocated £7.48 billion in 2024/25, a cash increase of 1.6% per pupil compared to 2023/24, and an increase of 12.5% per pupil over the Spending Review period compared to 2021/22. For any cost of special educational needs support which is more than £6,000 per pupil, schools can access local authorities’ high needs budgets. Local authorities in London have been allocated high needs funding amounting to £1.9 billion in 2023/24. This is set to increase to £2 billion in 2024/25, which equates to a cumulative increase of 29% per head through the National Funding Formula over the three years since 2021/22 allocations. Within that London total, the London Borough of Lewisham’s allocation of high needs funding in 2024/25 is over £79 million, which is a cumulative increase of 27% since their 2021/22 allocations. Across England, by 2024/25 high needs funding will have increased by 60% over the five years since 2019/20 to a total of over £10.5 billion.</p><p><br> The department has published over £1.5 billion of High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years, of which local authorities in London have been allocated £325 million. This funding is allocated to support local authorities deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP. Local authorities can use it to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. This forms part of the department’s transformational investment of £2.6 billion in new high needs provision between 2022 and 2025 and is on top of its ongoing delivery of new special and AP free schools<em>.</em></p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 22/02/2024 17:50:16 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1687852

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of support available to postgraduate research students with the cost of childcare.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	13297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>Through the student loans company, the department offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study, which totals around £202 million per year.</p><p>The CCG offers parents support of up to 85% of their childcare costs up to a maximum of £183.75 a week for one child and £315.03 for two children.</p><p>CCG support is provided to individuals where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student parent’s partner is on a low income.</p><p>The government has no plans to extend CCG to postgraduate research students.</p><p>The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.</p><p>These loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.</p><p>Students studying on postgraduate courses can apply for loans towards their course fees and living costs of up to £12,167 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses, and up to £28,673 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate doctoral degree courses.</p><p>As postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HMRC, meaning that neither PhD students nor their university pay Income Tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend, stipends are therefore not counted as income from work. However, it remains the case that students are eligible for universal 15 hours childcare, which is available to all 3 and 4 yearolds, regardless of family circumstances and/or income.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 13298 13299 question first answered 13/02/2024 15:52:34 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1687853

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology on the potential merits of extending childcare grants to postgraduate research students.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	13298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>Through the student loans company, the department offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study, which totals around £202 million per year.</p><p>The CCG offers parents support of up to 85% of their childcare costs up to a maximum of £183.75 a week for one child and £315.03 for two children.</p><p>CCG support is provided to individuals where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student parent’s partner is on a low income.</p><p>The government has no plans to extend CCG to postgraduate research students.</p><p>The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.</p><p>These loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.</p><p>Students studying on postgraduate courses can apply for loans towards their course fees and living costs of up to £12,167 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses, and up to £28,673 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate doctoral degree courses.</p><p>As postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HMRC, meaning that neither PhD students nor their university pay Income Tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend, stipends are therefore not counted as income from work. However, it remains the case that students are eligible for universal 15 hours childcare, which is available to all 3 and 4 yearolds, regardless of family circumstances and/or income.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 13297 13299 question first answered 13/02/2024 15:52:34 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1687854

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Childcare: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend childcare grants to postgraduate research students.
tabling member constituency	Cambridge
tabling member printed	Daniel Zeichner
uin	13299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2024 answer text <p>Through the student loans company, the department offers a specific Childcare Grant (CCG) to support students with the costs of childcare whilst they are in study, which totals around £202 million per year.</p><p>The CCG offers parents support of up to 85% of their childcare costs up to a maximum of £183.75 a week for one child and £315.03 for two children.</p><p>CCG support is provided to individuals where both parents are students, the student is a lone parent, or the student parent’s partner is on a low income.</p><p>The government has no plans to extend CCG to postgraduate research students.</p><p>The government introduced new support packages for students starting postgraduate master’s degree courses from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and postgraduate doctoral degree courses from 2018/19 onwards.</p><p>These loans are not based on income and are intended as a contribution to the cost of study. They can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover the costs of fees and living costs including childcare. The new support packages have provided a significant uplift in support for postgraduate students while ensuring the student support system remains financially sustainable.</p><p>Students studying on postgraduate courses can apply for loans towards their course fees and living costs of up to £12,167 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate master’s degree courses, and up to £28,673 in 2023/24 for new students undertaking postgraduate doctoral degree courses.</p><p>As postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HMRC, meaning that neither PhD students nor their university pay Income Tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend, stipends are therefore not counted as income from work. However, it remains the case that students are eligible for universal 15 hours childcare, which is available to all 3 and 4 yearolds, regardless of family circumstances and/or income.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston grouped question UIN 13297 13298 question first answered 13/02/2024 15:52:35 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4382 label Biography information for Daniel Zeichner

1687855

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12581 on Apprentices, when her Department plans to publish the National Achievement Rate Tables for the 2022-23 academic year.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	13300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>I refer the honourable member to the answer of 20 October 2023 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-09-18/199983" target="_blank">199983</a>.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 19/02/2024 13:27:19 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1687857

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices completed their endpoint assessment (a) on the date of, (b) one to three months after, (c) three to six months after and (d) more than six months after completing their apprenticeship in each academic year since 2016-17.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	13301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The attached table shows achievers, rounded to the nearest 100, on apprenticeship standards in each academic year since 2019/20. Data is unavailable for the preceding years as the achievement date was not collected as part of the department’s individual learner records prior to the 2019/20 academic year.</p><p>To note, achievements totals may not match published standards achievements totals as the attached table does not include those where an invalid achievement date was entered.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 19/02/2024 14:17:54 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon attachment 1 file name 13301_table_attachment.xlsx title 13301_table_attachment
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1687881

registered interest
date	06/02/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people applied for an apprenticeship in each academic year since 2016-17.
tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
uin	13312
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>Apprenticeships offer a high-quality and popular route into nearly 700 occupations from entry level to expert roles. The table below shows the number of apprenticeship vacancies that were advertised and the number of apprenticeship applications that were submitted through the ‘Find An Apprenticeship’ (FAA) service in each academic year from 2016/17 to 2022/23. Due to the data protection policy in place prior to 2021/22, the department does not hold an accurate record of the number of applications submitted between 2016/17 and 2020/21.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Academic year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Vacancies advertised</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications submitted </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>185,160</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>173,520</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>151,720</p></td><td><p>7,950</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>98,530</p></td><td><p>16,990</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>134,460</p></td><td><p>360,100</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>189,430</p></td><td><p>681,090</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>148,720</p></td><td><p>669,450</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Employers can choose to advertise apprenticeship vacancies through their own websites, recruitment agencies or local job centre instead of, or in addition to, the FAA service. As a result, the actual number of apprenticeship vacancies and applications will be higher.</p><p>Apprenticeship vacancies can now be browsed on the University and Colleges Admissions Service website and later this year they will also be able to use the service to apply for apprenticeships. In January 2024, the department also launched the ‘It all starts with skills’ campaign which is encouraging people to find out more about the different apprenticeship and wider skills programmes available.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 13313 question first answered 19/02/2024 11:51:58 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra