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1641590

registered interest
date	02/06/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Multiple Births
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 support parents of twins and other multiples with the cost of (a) childcare and (b) other costs associated with raising children.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	187548
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2023 answer text <p>In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, and the economy. By 2027/28, the government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.</p><p>The department’s reforms include:</p><ul><li>Providing over £4.1 billion by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare for children over the age of nine months.</li><li>Investing £204 million from September 2023, rising to £288 million in 2024/25 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements.</li><li>Increasing the supply of wraparound care through £289 million start-up funding.</li><li>Attracting more people to childminding through an up to £7.2 million start-up grant fund.</li><li>Giving providers more flexibility by changing staff-to-child ratios to 1:5 for two-year-olds in England.</li><li>Launching a consultation on further measures to support reform of the childcare market, to explore further flexibilities for providers.</li></ul><p> </p><p>In the past five years the department has spent more than £20 billion supporting families with the cost of childcare. Hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are registered for a 30 hours place, saving eligible working parents up to £6,000 per child per year. Expanding this entitlement will help even more working parents with childcare costs.</p><p>The government is also taking action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. We are increasing support for these parents by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts up to £951 for one child and £1,630 for two or more children, a rise of 47% from the previous limits.</p><p>Additionally, Tax-Free Childcare is available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.</p><p>There is no maximum limit, so regardless of the number of children claimed for, the parent can benefit provided they meet the criteria.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 12/06/2023 16:47:46 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1604051

registered interest
date	14/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Overseas Students: Fees and Charges
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 merits of making people who are not British citizens but are resident in the UK eligible for home fee status for the payment of tuition fees.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	165460
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/03/2023 answer text <p>To qualify for home fee status in the UK, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the UK. This includes people who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office.</p><p>Additionally, in 2016 the department introduced a new category for those who can demonstrate a substantial connection to the UK by virtue of their long residence. Students may be eligible for home fee status if they are:</p><ul><li>under the age of 18 and have lived in the UK through-out the seven-year period preceding the first day of the first academic year of the course; or</li><li>aged 18 years and above who have spent half their life or at least twenty years in the UK preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course.</li></ul><p>Those applying under the long residency category also need to demonstrate three years’ ordinary lawful residence in the UK immediately preceding the beginning of the first academic year of their course, in line with most other students.</p><p>Where a student does not meet the criteria for automatic home fee status, a provider has the discretion to waive, or reduce the fees where they consider it appropriate.</p><p>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 22/03/2023 16:05:38 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1601392

registered interest
date	06/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Apprentices: Higher Education
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 ensure that apprenticeship degrees are provided in Coventry.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	159039
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2023 answer text <p>Employers have designed over 155 high-quality degree level apprenticeship standards to support them in developing the skilled workforces they need. There were over 43,000 starts at levels 6 and 7 in the 2021/22 academic year, which is an increase of 10.3% on the previous year. Of those, 240 apprenticeship starts at levels 6 and 7 in the 2021/22 academic year were by learners living in the Coventry local authority area. The department is working to expand these opportunities further, so that they are accessible to more people across England, including in Coventry.</p><p>The department has made £8 million available in the 2022/23 financial year to higher education (HE) institutions through the Strategic Priorities Grant, to enable them to grow degree level apprenticeship provision and form new employer partnerships. As part of this, Coventry University has been awarded over £200,000 this year to develop degree apprenticeship provision, and a further £62,000 for Level 4 and 5 provision.</p><p>All university Vice-Chancellors have been contacted with details on how the HE sector can drive forward the government’s ambitious skills agenda through the expansion of degree level apprenticeships.</p><p>The department has worked with employers across the country to help them showcase higher and degree level apprenticeship vacancies. During National Apprenticeship Week, we published a listing featuring hundreds of vacancies that are available for people to apply for now, including in the West Midlands. This listing is available at: <a href="https://amazingapprenticeships.com/app/uploads/2022/11/Higher-Degree-Listing-FEB-2023.pdf" target="_blank">https://amazingapprenticeships.com/app/uploads/2022/11/Higher-Degree-Listing-FEB-2023.pdf</a>.</p><p>In addition, the department continues to work on a programme of ‘simplification’, exploring ways we can remove unnecessary bureaucracy, complexity, and barriers to engagement for apprentices, employers, and providers. We recognise that universities are already subject to significant regulation, and are working with the University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) and HE institutions to identify and remove barriers to universities offering more degree apprenticeship programmes.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 14/03/2023 17:21:24 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1585864

registered interest
date	09/02/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Cost of Living
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to support students with the cost of living; and if she will make it her policy to implement the NUS’ recommendations to (a) tie student maintenance support with inflation, (b) reform Universal Credit to include fair access for students, (c) cap rents to prevent a student homelessness crisis, (d) provide funding to education providers to deliver improved hardship funds and (e) adjust maintenance loan thresholds to reflect changes to family income.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	143894
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2023 answer text <p>The government reviews the support provided to cover students’ living costs on an annual basis.</p><p>The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have impacted students.</p><p>On 11 January 2023, the department announced a one-off reallocation of funding to add £15 million to this year's student premium to support additional hardship requests. There is now £276 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students. This extra funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department works with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.</p><p>In the 2022/23 academic year, there has been an increase of 2.3% in loans for living costs, and there will be a further increase of 2.8% for the 2023/24 academic year. Decisions on student finance have had to be taken alongside other spending priorities to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of higher education are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2022/23 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.</p><p>Loans for living costs are a contribution towards students’ living costs while attending university. The highest levels of support are targeted at students who need it the most, such as students from low-income families.</p><p>The Primary source of financial help for students is provided through the student support system. As such, students on full-time higher education courses cannot normally satisfy the entitlement conditions for Universal Credit. Exceptions are only made where students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, for example, they are responsible for a child. Further details on claiming Universal Credit as a student which includes a list of students who may qualify for Universal Credit can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students</a>.</p><p>The government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. We encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart. This includes making accommodation available at a range of affordable price points where possible.</p><p>More widely, Government does not support the introduction of rent controls in the private rented sector to set the level of rent at the outset of a tenancy. The White Paper, ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’, published on 16 June outlines our proposed reforms which will help prevent unfair rent increases for tenants, while ensuring landlords can continue to make necessary changes to rent. The measures include only allowing increases to rent once per year, ending the use of rent review clauses, and improving tenants’ ability to challenge excessive rent increases through the First Tier Tribunal.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 21/02/2023 11:33:52 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1547686

registered interest
date	02/12/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Educational Psychology: Labour Turnover and Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure educational psychologists' pay is increased in line with inflation; what steps her Department is taking to help ensure local councils recruit and retain sufficient numbers of educational psychologists to support children with special educational needs and disabilities; and if she will take steps to help ensure that the pay of public sector jobs relating to her Department's remit is increased in line with inflation.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	101805
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2022 answer text <p>In November 2022, the department announced an investment of £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists. The first cohort of trainees will start their courses in 2024, graduate and enter the workforce in 2027, continuing the supply of educational psychologists into local authorities. This is in addition to £10 million announced earlier this year, which will train over 200 more educational psychologists beginning their courses in September 2023, and graduate and enter the local authority workforce in 2026.</p><p>The specific employment terms for educational psychologists, including pay, are governed by the education psychologist’s contract of employment with their employer.</p><p>The department recognises the concern faced by educational psychologists in the context of cost of living challenges.</p><p>The government has announced further support for next year designed to target the most vulnerable households, providing them with £12 billion direct support in 2023/24.This is on top of the £37 billion of cost of living support provided by the Government this year, including help for workers to keep more of what they earn through changes to the personal tax system and providing eligible households with a £400 discount on their energy bill this autumn and winter.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 07/12/2022 16:39:34 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1545879

registered interest
date	28/11/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	T-levels
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure that students on T-level work placements are (a) paid for their labour in line with the national living wage and (b) have opportunities to develop relevant skills and experience on such placements.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	97662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The department is committed to ensuring students have access to high quality T Level industry placements. Industry placements provide young people with the knowledge and experience needed to open the door into skilled employment, further study, or a higher apprenticeship.</p><p>T Level industry placements are about providing students with high-quality, meaningful training, rather than providing job roles. As the placement is forming part of a course of further education, there is no legal requirement or expectation to pay students on industry placements. However, employers can optionally choose to pay students, or fund students’ travel and subsistence, if they would like to.</p><p>The department has provided an extensive programme of employer and provider support to help with the delivery of high-quality placements where students can develop relevant skills and experiences for their T Level and beyond. The support offers providers and employers tailored advice, guidance, and hands-on support to deliver high-quality placements at scale. We have invested over £240 million over the past 4 years to help providers build their capacity and relationships with employers and have developed a comprehensive package of advice and guidance to support providers to deliver placements, as well as networking opportunities to share best practice.</p><p>To provide a strong pipeline of employers across all sectors and areas of the country, the department is engaging directly with employers of all sizes throughout the UK, via the department’s employer engagement teams, to promote the benefits of T Levels and of hosting industry placements. We have a T Level Ambassador Network that is continuing to recruit T Level advocates across key industries to inspire engagement in the T Level programme, and in January this year we launched our ‘Join the Skills Revolution’ campaign, which promotes government’s training and employment schemes, including T Levels, to employers.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 01/12/2022 16:47:15 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1545025

registered interest
date	23/11/2022
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, with reference to the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice's submissions to the SEND review: right support, right place, right time, if he will publish a response to that organisation's questions and recommendations on the SEND Green Paper.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	94877
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2022 answer text <p>The department is aware of the submission from the Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) and the recommendations it sets out for the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, including strengthening accountability measures to ensure that every child and young person has access to support that meets their needs.</p><p>The SEND and alternative provision (AP) green paper set out our proposals for how the department will improve the SEND system, so that it delivers better outcomes, improved experiences, and financial sustainability.</p><p>The department received extensive feedback on these proposals during the consultation period and we will publish a SEND and AP Improvement Plan that will set out the consultation feedback and our next steps.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 28/11/2022 17:54:27 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1519116

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Free School Meals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the increased rate of inflation and rising food prices, (a) on what basis the rate paid to schools for providing free school meals is calculated, (b) when she next plans to review that rate, (c) what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the increased price of food on (i) the ability of schools to provide free school meals and (ii) overall school budgets, (d) if she will make it her policy to increase the rate in line with inflation and (d) if she will make it her policy to extend free school meal provision to all pupils in order to help prevent a rise in food poverty.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	59221
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2022 answer text <p>Schools pay for the provision of free school meals (FSM) from their core funding allocations. Overall, core schools funding, including funding for both mainstream schools and high needs, is increasing by £4 billion in 2022/23 compared to the previous year, representing a 7% increase in cash terms per pupil.</p><p>The core allocations schools attract through the national funding formula (NFF) include funding in respect of the FSM factor. The FSM factor is intended to broadly reflect the costs schools face in providing school meals. Following extensive consultation when the NFF was first introduced, schools attracted £440 per pupil through the FSM factor in 2018/19 and 2019/20.</p><p>Each year, the department has set the NFF factor values to be used in the forthcoming funding year. Since the introduction of the NFF, the per pupil FSM rate has increased in line with forecast inflation in every year, as measured by the latest GDP deflator at the time.</p><p>The FSM factor is worth £470 per eligible pupil in 2022/23. This will increase to £480 in 2023/24. The factor values for each year are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-for-schools-and-high-needs. In reviewing future FSM rates, many factors will be taken into consideration, including cost of living pressures and inflation.</p><p>The department also spends around £600 million on Universal Infant Free School Meals each year. The per meal rate has been increased from £2.34 to £2.41, and backdated to 1 April 2022, in recognition of increased costs.</p><p>The department continues to monitor the situation surrounding the rising cost of living whilst working with other government departments on support surrounding this issue. The department thinks it is right that provision is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, those out of work or on the lowest incomes. We do not have any plans to extend universal provision, but we will continue to review FSM eligibility to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 18/10/2022 11:44:01 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1507156

registered interest
date	20/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	BTEC Qualifications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of phasing out BTEC qualifications on the number of (a) young people and (b) young people from (i) working class and (ii) marginalised backgrounds choosing to begin further education; and whether it is taking steps to address concerns on phasing out those qualifications raised by the Protect Student Choice campaign.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	52017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/09/2022 answer text <p>Qualifications such as BTECs continue to play an important role for 16 to 19-year-olds and adults. The qualifications review will ensure that these qualifications are approved for funding, where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that A levels and T Levels cannot provide, and where they meet new quality standards.</p><p>An assessment of the potential equalities impacts of the removal of funding for level 3 qualifications, which includes some BTECs, was carried out as part of the impact assessment published alongside the July 2021 policy statement on level 3 qualifications. This is available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reforms-to-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-in-england</a>. Overall, the department expects the impact of our reforms to be positive. Students will have clearer choices and access to higher quality qualifications in future, including new T Levels. This will put students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a stronger position to progress into further study or skilled employment.</p><p>The department is committed to supporting students to progress onto level 3 qualifications in future. This is why we have launched the T Level Transition Programme for those who are not yet ready to progress to a T Level, but have the potential to succeed on it after some further preparation. Additionally, in our recent consultation on qualifications at level 2 and below, the department confirmed our intention to pilot an Academic Progression Programme to support students who may have the potential to take an academic programme at level 3, but who are not ready to do so when entering post-16 education.</p><p>We expect to publish the government response to the consultation in due course.</p> answering member constituency Morley and Outwood answering member printed Andrea Jenkyns question first answered 27/09/2022 10:40:50 answering member 4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1491712

registered interest
date	21/07/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs: Hearing Impairment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National Deaf Children’s Society policy briefing on the SEND review, published on 4 July 2022, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of that briefing's findings and proposals.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	42254
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2022 answer text <p>Over the course of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review, and throughout the consultation period on the department’s SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, the department has spoken to many children and young people, their families, and those working in the SEND sector to understand more about the challenges facing the system. This includes meetings with the National Deaf Children’s Society.</p><p>The consultation on the Green Paper has recently closed and the department is carefully considering the responses we have received. This includes considering reports such as the one from the National Deaf Children’s Society. The department has committed to publishing the department’s response to the consultation alongside a national SEND and AP implementation strategy later this year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 06/09/2022 08:27:26 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana