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1719022

registered interest
date	17/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Schools: Veterans
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 17 April 2024 to Question 20857 on Schools: Veterans, what estimate her Department has made of the number of veterans that will take up the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary in 2024.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	26835
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/05/2024 answer text <p>The department does not forecast how many veterans will take up the undergraduate veteran teaching bursary. The bursary is paid to eligible veterans if they enrol on an eligible undergraduate initial teacher training course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 23/05/2024 14:14:54 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1680417

registered interest
date	08/01/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Veterans: Teachers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 4 of the Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022‑2024, published in January 2022, how many veterans have joined the teaching profession since the publication of that plan.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	8296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2024 answer text <p>The department supports Veterans into teaching in primary, secondary, and further education through its broad support services and bursaries. Since the publication of its commitments in the Veterans Strategy Action Plan 2022-2024, the department has tailored support and communications for the Veteran community including dedicated teacher training advisers, webpages, case study blogs on the Get Into Teaching website and information in Civvy Street publications. More information is available at the following weblinks:</p><p><a href="https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran" target="_blank">https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/funding-and-support/if-youre-a-veteran</a>.</p><p><a href="https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/blog/from-the-army-to-teacher-training" target="_blank">https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/blog/from-the-army-to-teacher-training</a>.</p><p><a href="https://civvystreetmagazine.co.uk/2023/05/bring-your-unique-perspective-to-the-classroom-get-into-teaching-2/" target="_blank">https://civvystreetmagazine.co.uk/2023/05/bring-your-unique-perspective-to-the-classroom-get-into-teaching-2/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Also available are bespoke webinars, and attendance at regional employer fairs with the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) and British Forces Resettlement Service (BFRS) and more information about these can be found by visiting the following weblinks:</p><p><a href="https://www.ctp.org.uk/job-finding/directory/get-into-teaching" target="_blank">https://www.ctp.org.uk/job-finding/directory/get-into-teaching</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.bfrss.org.uk/profiles/companies/986419/" target="_blank">https://www.bfrss.org.uk/profiles/companies/986419/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the department collects data to assess the impact of our commitments, it does not have reportable data on the number of veterans applying to initial teacher training. The department is currently exploring what opportunities it has to improve Veteran data capture as it remains committed to promoting opportunities for service leavers and supporting their journey into teaching.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 16/01/2024 12:33:39 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1582530

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps with local authorities to help reduce the number of moves made by children in the care system.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	136493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2023 answer text <p>The Department believes that every child should experience a stable loving home during their time in care. There are many factors that contribute to placement instability and we are now collecting data to help understand the reason for placement changes. The data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2</a>.</p><p>It is important to note that some placement moves are necessary, particularly when part of a plan to find a longer term or permanent home for a child. Planned moves are often in the best interests of the child. A first placement may be organised at short notice due to an emergency and may not be a perfect fit, or a child may need a short-term placement for specialist care.</p><p>To improve placement stability, the department has invested in the Mockingbird Family Model, which is an innovative approach to strengthening the delivery of foster care and reducing placement breakdown. Since 2014, the department has provided over £8 million to help a total of 58 local authorities across the country embed the Mockingbird programme. £1.7 million of this was provided as part of the Covid Regional Recovery Fund.</p><p>Recognising the urgency of action in placement sufficiency, the department will prioritise working with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This will include pathfinder local recruitment campaigns that build towards a national programme, to help ensure those carers approved are the right match for children coming into care and children have access to the right placements at the right time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 136494 question first answered 10/02/2023 14:21:12 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1582533

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children in Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to research by the charity Become on the number of children in the care system in England moved each day, what steps she is taking to improve the safety and stability of children in the care system.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	136494
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2023 answer text <p>The Department believes that every child should experience a stable loving home during their time in care. There are many factors that contribute to placement instability and we are now collecting data to help understand the reason for placement changes. The data is available at: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2</a>.</p><p>It is important to note that some placement moves are necessary, particularly when part of a plan to find a longer term or permanent home for a child. Planned moves are often in the best interests of the child. A first placement may be organised at short notice due to an emergency and may not be a perfect fit, or a child may need a short-term placement for specialist care.</p><p>To improve placement stability, the department has invested in the Mockingbird Family Model, which is an innovative approach to strengthening the delivery of foster care and reducing placement breakdown. Since 2014, the department has provided over £8 million to help a total of 58 local authorities across the country embed the Mockingbird programme. £1.7 million of this was provided as part of the Covid Regional Recovery Fund.</p><p>Recognising the urgency of action in placement sufficiency, the department will prioritise working with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This will include pathfinder local recruitment campaigns that build towards a national programme, to help ensure those carers approved are the right match for children coming into care and children have access to the right placements at the right time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho grouped question UIN 136493 question first answered 10/02/2023 14:21:13 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1505420

registered interest
date	06/09/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Higher Education: Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what ​recent assessment he has made of the (a) financial challenges being experienced by university students and (b) potential impact of those challenges on students' ability to undertake their studies.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	48214
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/09/2022 answer text <p>The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen and impacted students this year. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.</p><p>To support disadvantaged students and those in need of additional help, the department has confirmed in our guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on funding for the 2022/23 financial year that universities will continue to be able to support students in hardship through their own hardship funds and the student premium, for which up to £261 million is available for the 2022/23 academic year.</p><p>We have also worked closely with the OfS to clarify that English providers can draw upon this funding now, to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by cost-of-living pressures.</p><p>Maximum grants and loans for living costs have also been increased by 2.3% this 2022/23 academic year. 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>In addition, maximum tuition fees, and the subsidised loans available from the department to pay them remain at £9,250 for the 2022/23 academic year, in respect of standard full-time courses. The department is also freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. As well as reducing debt levels for students, the continued fee freeze will help to ensure that the HE system remains sustainable while also promoting greater efficiency at providers.</p><p>The Energy Price Guarantee announced on 8 September will save the average household at least £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October. This is in addition to the £400 energy bills discount for all households. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount.</p><p>As part of the package of support for rising energy bills, the government is also giving a council tax rebate payment of £150 to households that were living in a property in council tax bands A to D as their main home on 1 April 2022. This includes full-time students that do not live in student halls or in property that is not considered a House in Multiple Occupation for council tax purposes.</p> answering member constituency Morley and Outwood answering member printed Andrea Jenkyns grouped question UIN 48213 48417 48419 48420 48459 question first answered 21/09/2022 11:51:22 answering member 4490 label Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1458092

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the mechanism for determining student loan interest in light of the projected volatility of inflation rates.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	153740
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The mechanism for setting student loan interest rates is set out in legislation. The interest rate for Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans are set annually with reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March. The rates take effect from 1 September.</p><p>The March RPI figure this year is a demonstration of the unusual events currently affecting all aspects of the economy and our society. The government has not yet made a decision on what interest rates will be applied to student loans from September. We will be considering all options over the coming months and will confirm in due course the rates to apply from 1 September.</p><p>Student loans remove financial barriers to higher education (HE). Unlike commercial alternatives, student loans are available to all eligible students, regardless of background or financial history. Student loans offer unique protections to borrowers. Monthly repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold and do not change based on interest rates or the amount borrowed. If income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection.</p><p>Interest rates affect lifetime repayments only for those who will repay their loans in full within the loan term (or who come very close to doing so), principally high earners and/or those with small loan balances. Currently, only 23% of borrowers who enter full-time higher education next year are forecast to repay their loans in full.</p><p>To further protect borrowers the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. The government monitors student loan rates against the Bank of England’s data series for the effective interest rates on new and existing unsecured personal loans. It is misleading to compare student loan interest rates to rates for mortgages or other loans secured against assets.</p><p>We are determined that the cost of living should not deter those from less advantaged backgrounds from applying to and thriving at university a record number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds were accepted onto HE courses in 2021. Students can also benefit from many of the measures this government has taken to help with the cost of living, including raising the National Minimum Wage, reducing VAT, freezing alcohol and fuel duty, the Energy Rebate Scheme and capping the cost of energy.</p><p>We announced in February that we will be reducing interest rates for new borrowers and so from the 2023/24 academic year, new graduates will not, in real terms, repay more than they borrow. Alongside our wider reforms, this will help to make sure that students from all walks of life can continue to receive the highest-quality education from our world-leading HE sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 153741 153742 question first answered 25/04/2022 15:31:00 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1458093

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
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 effect of levels of interest on student loans on levels of enrolment at universities.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	153741
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The mechanism for setting student loan interest rates is set out in legislation. The interest rate for Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans are set annually with reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March. The rates take effect from 1 September.</p><p>The March RPI figure this year is a demonstration of the unusual events currently affecting all aspects of the economy and our society. The government has not yet made a decision on what interest rates will be applied to student loans from September. We will be considering all options over the coming months and will confirm in due course the rates to apply from 1 September.</p><p>Student loans remove financial barriers to higher education (HE). Unlike commercial alternatives, student loans are available to all eligible students, regardless of background or financial history. Student loans offer unique protections to borrowers. Monthly repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold and do not change based on interest rates or the amount borrowed. If income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection.</p><p>Interest rates affect lifetime repayments only for those who will repay their loans in full within the loan term (or who come very close to doing so), principally high earners and/or those with small loan balances. Currently, only 23% of borrowers who enter full-time higher education next year are forecast to repay their loans in full.</p><p>To further protect borrowers the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. The government monitors student loan rates against the Bank of England’s data series for the effective interest rates on new and existing unsecured personal loans. It is misleading to compare student loan interest rates to rates for mortgages or other loans secured against assets.</p><p>We are determined that the cost of living should not deter those from less advantaged backgrounds from applying to and thriving at university a record number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds were accepted onto HE courses in 2021. Students can also benefit from many of the measures this government has taken to help with the cost of living, including raising the National Minimum Wage, reducing VAT, freezing alcohol and fuel duty, the Energy Rebate Scheme and capping the cost of energy.</p><p>We announced in February that we will be reducing interest rates for new borrowers and so from the 2023/24 academic year, new graduates will not, in real terms, repay more than they borrow. Alongside our wider reforms, this will help to make sure that students from all walks of life can continue to receive the highest-quality education from our world-leading HE sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 153740 153742 question first answered 25/04/2022 15:31:00 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1458094

registered interest
date	14/04/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Students: Loans
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 implications of projected increases in student loan interest rates exceeding that paid by homeowners on mortgages.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	153742
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The mechanism for setting student loan interest rates is set out in legislation. The interest rate for Plan 2 and Plan 3 loans are set annually with reference to the Retail Price Index (RPI) from the previous March. The rates take effect from 1 September.</p><p>The March RPI figure this year is a demonstration of the unusual events currently affecting all aspects of the economy and our society. The government has not yet made a decision on what interest rates will be applied to student loans from September. We will be considering all options over the coming months and will confirm in due course the rates to apply from 1 September.</p><p>Student loans remove financial barriers to higher education (HE). Unlike commercial alternatives, student loans are available to all eligible students, regardless of background or financial history. Student loans offer unique protections to borrowers. Monthly repayments are calculated as a fixed percentage of earnings above the relevant repayment threshold and do not change based on interest rates or the amount borrowed. If income is below the relevant repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off after the loan term ends (or in case of death or disability) at no detriment to the borrower. There are no commercial loans that offer this level of protection.</p><p>Interest rates affect lifetime repayments only for those who will repay their loans in full within the loan term (or who come very close to doing so), principally high earners and/or those with small loan balances. Currently, only 23% of borrowers who enter full-time higher education next year are forecast to repay their loans in full.</p><p>To further protect borrowers the government, by law, must cap maximum student loan rates to ensure the interest rate charged on the loan is in line with market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans. The government monitors student loan rates against the Bank of England’s data series for the effective interest rates on new and existing unsecured personal loans. It is misleading to compare student loan interest rates to rates for mortgages or other loans secured against assets.</p><p>We are determined that the cost of living should not deter those from less advantaged backgrounds from applying to and thriving at university a record number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds were accepted onto HE courses in 2021. Students can also benefit from many of the measures this government has taken to help with the cost of living, including raising the National Minimum Wage, reducing VAT, freezing alcohol and fuel duty, the Energy Rebate Scheme and capping the cost of energy.</p><p>We announced in February that we will be reducing interest rates for new borrowers and so from the 2023/24 academic year, new graduates will not, in real terms, repay more than they borrow. Alongside our wider reforms, this will help to make sure that students from all walks of life can continue to receive the highest-quality education from our world-leading HE sector.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 153740 153741 question first answered 25/04/2022 15:31:00 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1386270

registered interest
date	08/12/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	BTEC Qualifications: Finance
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 impact of plans to remove funding for BTEC qualifications on students from (a) SEND backgrounds and (b) deprived areas.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	89505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>The department will continue to fund some BTECs and other qualifications in future 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. Qualifications such as BTECs will continue to play an important role for 16 to 19 year olds and adults, as they do now. This includes for students taking mixed programmes of A levels and other qualifications, and those taking qualifications such as BTECs as their full programme of study where there is no A level or T Level.</p><p>We have been clear that we expect our reforms to be generally positive as students will have access to higher quality qualifications in the future, including the new T Levels. T Levels have been developed with over 250 leading employers, have significantly longer teaching hours and include a meaningful nine-week industry placement that sets them apart from many current vocational qualifications. This will put students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and from disadvantaged backgrounds, in a stronger position to progress into skilled employment or further study.</p><p>Plans were announced on 15 November allowing an extra year before overlapping qualifications are removed. This extra year will allow the department to continue to work hard to support the growth of T Levels and gives more notice to providers, awarding organisations, employers, students and parents so that they can prepare for the changes.</p><p>We are committed to ensuring that T Levels are accessible to all young people and have introduced flexibilities for SEND students. The T Level Transition Programme will support young people who are not yet ready to progress to a T Level but have the potential to succeed on it after some further preparation.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart grouped question UIN 89504 question first answered 15/12/2021 11:38:24 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe