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1241955

registered interest
date	08/10/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help pupils from low income backgrounds who have missed out on schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL8913
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/10/2020 answer text <p>The closure of schools to all but our most vulnerable children, and those from keyworker families, was a regrettable but necessary measure. Now it is a national priority for all pupils to enjoy full-time education at school as this is the best place to improve their well-being and development. We have put in place a range of measures to help schools address the time lost; this is especially important for disadvantaged pupils who have been affected most by time away from school.</p><p>Our £100 million support for remote education distributed 220,000 laptops and 57,000 internet connections to disadvantaged pupils, to enable them to continue learning at home, as well as supporting the foundation of the popular Oak Academy. The £1 billion COVID catch-up package, announced in June, includes the National Tutoring Programme. This will provide up to £350 million of targeted support for disadvantaged pupils who are most at risk of falling further behind. From November, this investment will give schools in all regions access to subsidised tuition supplied by approved tuition partners. The programme will support schools in the most deprived areas to use in-house academic mentors to give small groups intensive catch-up tuition, small group tuition for 16-19-year olds and the improvement of early language skills in reception classes.</p><p>To complement the National Tutoring Programme, our £650million catch-up premium is enabling schools to target funding at specific pupil needs. The £1 billion package helps schools take immediate action to address the lost learning pupils are facing as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and is in addition to the £14.4 billion 3-year investment for schools announced last year.</p><p>We continue to provide pupil premium funding, worth £2.4 billion, that allows school leaders to design support reflecting their disadvantaged pupils’ changing needs.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 21/10/2020 11:29:42 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1230846

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with universities regarding accommodating the demand for places on courses following the withdrawal of A-level results based on algorithms; and what additional resources are being made available to universities as a result of the change of policy.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL7611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, has written directly to all Vice Chancellors and has set up a Higher Education Taskforce so that the government can work with the sector to build capacity, harness expert views and tackle challenges. Together, we have agreed that all students who achieved the required grades will be offered a place at their first-choice university, wherever possible.</p><p>We have taken a number of steps to support this commitment. We have announced that, subject to parliamentary approval, we will completely remove temporary student number controls to help ensure there are no additional barriers to students being able to progress to higher education.</p><p>We have announced that we will lift caps on domestic medicine and dentistry courses in the next academic year. We will support providers to offer places to as many students who have met the grades for their current offer as they have capacity for, and where there are clinical placements available, through additional grant funding to support the costs of this provision.</p><p>We will also provide additional teaching grant funding to increase capacity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and other high-cost subjects, which are vital to the country’s social needs and economy. The Office for Students (OfS) will consult the sector on the details of how the allocations are made.</p><p>Providers will also be eligible to bid for a share of up to £10 million in funding to support capital expenditure. This funding will be used to support the infrastructure required to accommodate additional students recruited as a result of the changes to policy on A level grades.</p><p>The fund will be administered by the OfS, and providers will be eligible to bid for projects that support expansion in 2020/21.</p><p>We will continue to monitor the situation and to consider the effects that deferrals will have on future years. Funding decisions for future years will be taken at the Spending Review.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 10/09/2020 12:51:37 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1230847

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	GCE A-level: Assessments
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they had with devolved authorities about co-ordinating the approach to the awarding of A-levels and equivalent qualifications in the summer of 2020; and what plans they have to publish details of those discussions.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL7612
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>Ministers have had discussions throughout the year with their counterparts from the devolved administrations about the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including about summer 2020 grading. In addition, officials and regulators have been in regular contact to discuss co-ordination of approaches on grading, taking into account the differing features of the educational systems across the UK. There are no plans to publish details of these discussions. The department will continue to work with the devolved administrations on plans for examinations in summer 2021.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 16/09/2020 11:08:43 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1226167

registered interest
date	20/07/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Coronavirus
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 children, in particular those from low-income families, are not negatively affected by missed schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic and can catch-up on lessons.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL6997
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2020 answer text <p>Education recovery lies at the heart of our national mission as we emerge from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. On 19 June we announced a £1 billion COVID-19 catch-up package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time.</p><p>£650 million will be shared across state primary, secondary and special schools over the 2020/21 academic year. This one-off grant to support pupils recognises that all young people have lost time in education as a result of the outbreak, regardless of their income or background.  School leaders will have discretion over how to use the funding, but we expect it to focus on the most effective approaches. The Education Endowment Foundation has published guidance to help schools make good decisions about how to use the money effectively.</p><p> </p><p>Separately, a National Tutoring Programme worth £350 million will increase access to high-quality tuition for children and young people from deprived backgrounds. This will help to accelerate their academic progress and tackle the attainment gap between them and their peers.  We published guidance on both parts of the package on 20 July, which is available here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium</a>.</p><p> </p><p>This £1 billion package is on top of the £14.4 billion core funding increase over three years announced last year, and the £2.4 billion pupil premium funding which schools continue to receive to support their disadvantaged pupils.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 29/07/2020 15:52:05 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1197204

registered interest
date	19/05/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the higher education sector concerning the next academic year, in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL4673
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2020 answer text <p>The department engages regularly with representative bodies covering all types of higher education provider, encompassing all locations, as well as receiving representations in person and by correspondence from individual providers on a range of issues including the next academic year 2020-21.</p><p>The government announced a package of measures in May to protect students and the higher education sector from the impact of COVID-19. This has been discussed extensively with the sector, including through ministerial roundtables and letters. The package included a range of measures for next academic year. To ensure a fair, structured distribution of students across providers, temporary student number controls have been put in place for full-time, undergraduate domestic and EU students for academic year 2020/21 (with certain specific exemptions). The Government has also pulled forward tuition fee payments, expected to be worth £2.6 billion, for providers so that they receive more cash in the first term of academic year 2020/21. Through the proposals from the government and the sector, students will also benefit from a new proactive and personalised UCAS Clearing process this summer.</p><p>The government is working with higher education (HE) providers to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies to the best of their abilities this academic year and next.</p><p>Whilst recognising universities are autonomous institutions, we will shortly publish guidance to support them to make informed decisions on making university buildings and campuses accessible again, while minimising risks to students and staff</p><p>Furthermore, the HE sector is already working hard to prepare learning materials for the autumn term. This includes the government working with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator in England, to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value. The OfS has published guidance for registered providers about how the OfS will approach the regulation of quality and standards during the COVID-19 outbreak. This guidance is clear that standards must be maintained - further details are available at <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/guidance-for-providers-about-quality-and-standards-during-coronavirus-pandemic/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/guidance-for-providers-about-quality-and-standards-during-coronavirus-pandemic/</a>. Actions that providers are taking now may continue to be required in the 2020- 21 academic year if the disruption as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak is prolonged.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 12/06/2020 12:47:34 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1193315

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the higher education sector.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL3856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2020 answer text <p>In 2018-19, there were 2.38 million students studying at UK higher education providers. This includes 143,000 students from the EU and 343,000 students from other countries.</p><p> </p><p>The total UK sector income in 2018/19 was £40.8 billion. Almost 50% of this income was from tuition fees, around 15% comes from research grants and contracts and around 6% comes from residences, catering and conferences.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises that the Covid-19 outbreak will have an unparalleled impact on all elements of the global and UK economy. The higher education sector, including student recruitment, is no exception.</p><p>On 4 May, my right honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to stabilise university admissions this autumn and to ensure sustainability in higher education at a time of unprecedented uncertainty. My right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to all Honourable Members with full details of the package, details of which have also been published on GOV.UK: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-support-package-for-universities-and-students</a>.</p><p>The government is doing all that it can to keep staff and students at our universities safe in this unprecedented situation whilst mitigating the impact on education. In March, my right hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, wrote to students at higher education institutions to outline the support available. We continue to work closely with the sector, putting student wellbeing at the heart of these discussions.</p><p>Our latest guidance on the impact of Covid-19 is set out below:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings</a><em>.</em></p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 20/05/2020 13:24:10 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1189851

registered interest
date	23/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the promotion of distance learning courses at universities and colleges in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL3362
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/05/2020 answer text <p>Despite the significant disruption being felt across the higher education sector, students deserve appropriate support and recognition for their hard work and dedication. I welcome the way in which many universities and colleges have moved rapidly to develop new ways of delivering courses through online teaching and alternatives to traditional end-of-course exams.</p><p> </p><p>We expect providers to consider how their response to the current situation will affect all students and those who might be most vulnerable to disruption. This includes students suffering from COVID-19 or who need to self-isolate, international students, and students unable or less able to access remote learning for whatever reason, together with care leavers, those estranged from their families, and students with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for Students (OfS) has recently published guidance setting out the actions it will take to support providers to maintain standards and teaching quality. The guidance highlights flexible models for teaching, learning, assessment that will most likely satisfy OfS quality and standards conditions. The clear expectation is that providers should make all reasonable efforts to enable students to complete their studies, for achievement to be reliably assessed, for qualifications to be awarded securely. Providers are already be making these arrangements. On 23 March, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education published the first in a series of good practice guidance notes that are available to all UK higher education providers. We know higher education providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body, as well as how to develop the services needed to support it.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises the Open University plays an important role as the largest provider of part-time higher education in this country and has brought opportunities to engage in higher education to people across the country who would not have had that chance otherwise. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 placed a duty on OfS to have regard for part time study, and to promote choice and opportunity in the provision of higher education. The OfS targets an element of the Teaching Grant to recognise the additional costs of part-time study and the Open University receives funding through this.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL3363 question first answered 06/05/2020 16:28:45 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1189852

registered interest
date	23/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Open University: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and promote the Open University during the COVID-19 pandemic.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL3363
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/05/2020 answer text <p>Despite the significant disruption being felt across the higher education sector, students deserve appropriate support and recognition for their hard work and dedication. I welcome the way in which many universities and colleges have moved rapidly to develop new ways of delivering courses through online teaching and alternatives to traditional end-of-course exams.</p><p> </p><p>We expect providers to consider how their response to the current situation will affect all students and those who might be most vulnerable to disruption. This includes students suffering from COVID-19 or who need to self-isolate, international students, and students unable or less able to access remote learning for whatever reason, together with care leavers, those estranged from their families, and students with disabilities.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for Students (OfS) has recently published guidance setting out the actions it will take to support providers to maintain standards and teaching quality. The guidance highlights flexible models for teaching, learning, assessment that will most likely satisfy OfS quality and standards conditions. The clear expectation is that providers should make all reasonable efforts to enable students to complete their studies, for achievement to be reliably assessed, for qualifications to be awarded securely. Providers are already be making these arrangements. On 23 March, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education published the first in a series of good practice guidance notes that are available to all UK higher education providers. We know higher education providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body, as well as how to develop the services needed to support it.</p><p> </p><p>The government recognises the Open University plays an important role as the largest provider of part-time higher education in this country and has brought opportunities to engage in higher education to people across the country who would not have had that chance otherwise. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 placed a duty on OfS to have regard for part time study, and to promote choice and opportunity in the provision of higher education. The OfS targets an element of the Teaching Grant to recognise the additional costs of part-time study and the Open University receives funding through this.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge grouped question UIN HL3362 question first answered 06/05/2020 16:28:45 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1189657

registered interest
date	21/04/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide financial assistance to international Higher Education students in England to assist with any increase in the cost of returning to their home countries at the end of the 2019–20 academic year.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL3175
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2020 answer text <p>The government has been working closely with the sector to ensure that international higher education students who have remained in the UK have continued accommodation and access to essential services for the duration of their stay. In addition to continuing to provide accommodation for those who cannot travel home or have no alternative residence, providers are also offering a range of other services to international higher education students, including support for catering and cleaning, and support for mental health. International higher education students are encouraged to speak to their provider if they have any specific concerns about financial hardship.</p><p> </p><p>Before an international student considers returning to their home country, they should seek advice from their home country’s embassy or consulate in the UK. Students planning to travel should adhere to Public Health England advice while in the UK to ensure they are travelling safely. Students should not travel if they, or anyone else in their household, has symptoms of COVID-19.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 05/05/2020 15:49:04 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1187911

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Food
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to provide meals to students resident at hostels in the higher education sector who are unable to return to their home countries.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL2925
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2020 answer text <p>The government is grateful for the huge amount of work being done across the higher education sector to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on our students and institutions.</p><p>There will be many students – international students, along with students estranged from their parents and care leavers, among others – who remain in university-owned, or private university accommodation at present, particularly now government advice is for students to remain in their current residence, and not to return home. Higher education (HE) providers should aim to ensure that sufficient institutional accommodation is available to these students</p><p>In addition, the government has reminded HE providers of their responsibility to support services for students who remain on campus. This includes practical support to ensure students can access sufficient food and medical and cleaning supplies. HE providers have been asked to ensure catering staff are available to support on halls management, even in the event of wider university closure.</p><p>It is particularly important that universities who rely on outsourced staff, such as catering, who maintain the delivery of critical services and infrastructure, take appropriate measures to protect the health, safety and welfare of their staff.</p><p>The government is also working to improve joint continuity planning between HE providers and Local Resilience Forums to consider how to ensure availability of supply of food and medicines.</p><p>We stand ready to support HE providers in any discussion that is needed to ensure they have access to the right resources to care for their students. It is essential that students are reassured that their provider will continue to support them through these difficult and unsettling times.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 07/04/2020 14:54:41 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth