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1216407

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	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	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 (a) support international students studying in the UK during the covid-19 pandemic and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) requesting providers to waive third-term tuition fees for those students and (ii) extending Tier 4 visas for those students.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62652
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2020 answer text <p>The department has been working closely with the higher education (HE) sector to ensure it provides essential support for international students who have decided to remain in the UK or have been unable to travel home due to COVID-19. Universities have an obligation to ensure that students have continued accommodation and access to essential services in the UK for the duration of their stay.</p><p>We are pleased to see that the sector is making every effort to enable students to continue their studies – including moving learning online either in the UK or in a student's home country – so that their teaching and assessment can proceed, and that universities are offering a range of support to students, including support for catering and cleaning.</p><p>The government also recognises that many students are facing, or will face, additional mental health challenges caused by the global outbreak. Many HE providers are bolstering their existing mental health services and adapting delivery to means other than face-to-face. Providers have responded quickly to transform mental health and wellbeing services, showing resourcefulness, and there are many examples of good practice.</p><p>The government has worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to help clarify that providers in England can draw upon existing student premium funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19 and international students qualify for this. Providers are able to use the funding – worth around £23 million per month for April, May, June and July – towards student hardship funds, including mental health support.</p><p>In addition, the OfS recently announced the Student Space platform, which seeks to bridge gaps in mental health support for students arising from this unprecedented situation. Funded with up to £3 million by the OfS and led by Student Minds, it is designed to work alongside existing mental health services.</p><p>Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees. In deciding to keep charging full fees, universities will of course want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and help students progress their qualifications. Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student.</p><p>The government is applying discretion under the current circumstances to ensure international students are not negatively impacted if they find themselves in a position where they cannot comply with certain visa rules. On 16 June, the Home Office updated their visa guidance to provide greater certainty for international HE students in the UK impacted by COVID-19; this guidance includes the latest information for those who might have questions around visa expiry, switching visa category within the UK and distance learning. It also provides reassurances regarding distance learning, confirming that students will be permitted to study partially online for the 2020/21 academic year, provided they transition to face-to-face learning as soon as circumstances allow, and that that those studying by distance/blended learning will be eligible to apply for the graduate route provided they are in the UK by 6 April 2021 (and meet other requirements of the route).</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 29/06/2020 15:38:11 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1220039

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Health Professions: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of abolishing student-funded tuition fees for (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) allied healthcare students from the academic year 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	67792
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2020 answer text <p>The current system for funding tuition fees for nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students has enabled us to open up the number of training places that universities can offer in these professions and to increase the amount of living costs support available.</p><p>From September 2020, eligible new and continuing nursing, midwifery and many allied health professional students on pre-registration courses at English universities will also receive an additional new non-repayable grant of £5,000 to contribute to their living costs. Funding up to a further £3,000 is also available for students who choose to study in an area or a specialism that is struggling to recruit students or for helping students with childcare costs. This funding is in addition to the support that students can already access through the student loans system and the existing learning support fund, which includes funding for childcare, travel and exceptional hardship.</p><p>The government has also recently announced that the maximum loan for living costs will be increased by 2.9% for the 2020/21 academic year. It will be up to £9,203 for eligible full-time undergraduate students living away from home and studying outside London (loan amounts are higher in London).</p><p>Maximum tuition fees for undergraduate courses, and the subsidised fee loans available from the government to pay them, will remain at £9,250 for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2020/21 academic year. This is the third year in succession maximum fees have been frozen.</p><p>Loans for tuition fees and living costs only need to be repaid from the statutory repayment date. For most undergraduate students, the statutory repayment date is the April after students finish their course. Monthly repayments are linked to income, not to interest rates or the amount borrowed. Repayments, which are calculated at 9%, are only on amounts earned over the repayment threshold, which is currently annually £26,575. Borrowers are protected, as their repayments decrease if their income decreases, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 67793 question first answered 10/07/2020 09:23:21 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1220040

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Health Professions: Training
	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 adequacy of the current system of tuition fees and maintenance grants for (a) nursing, (b midwifery and (c) allied healthcare students.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	67793
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2020 answer text <p>The current system for funding tuition fees for nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students has enabled us to open up the number of training places that universities can offer in these professions and to increase the amount of living costs support available.</p><p>From September 2020, eligible new and continuing nursing, midwifery and many allied health professional students on pre-registration courses at English universities will also receive an additional new non-repayable grant of £5,000 to contribute to their living costs. Funding up to a further £3,000 is also available for students who choose to study in an area or a specialism that is struggling to recruit students or for helping students with childcare costs. This funding is in addition to the support that students can already access through the student loans system and the existing learning support fund, which includes funding for childcare, travel and exceptional hardship.</p><p>The government has also recently announced that the maximum loan for living costs will be increased by 2.9% for the 2020/21 academic year. It will be up to £9,203 for eligible full-time undergraduate students living away from home and studying outside London (loan amounts are higher in London).</p><p>Maximum tuition fees for undergraduate courses, and the subsidised fee loans available from the government to pay them, will remain at £9,250 for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2020/21 academic year. This is the third year in succession maximum fees have been frozen.</p><p>Loans for tuition fees and living costs only need to be repaid from the statutory repayment date. For most undergraduate students, the statutory repayment date is the April after students finish their course. Monthly repayments are linked to income, not to interest rates or the amount borrowed. Repayments, which are calculated at 9%, are only on amounts earned over the repayment threshold, which is currently annually £26,575. Borrowers are protected, as their repayments decrease if their income decreases, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 67792 question first answered 10/07/2020 09:23:21 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1224903

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	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 he will reimburse the tuition fees paid by (a) nursing, (b) midwifery and (c) healthcare students to recognise their contribution during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	74755
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2020 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member for Coventry South to the answer I gave on 1 July 2020 to Question <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-23/63492/" target="_blank">63492</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 23/07/2020 16:53:07 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1246324

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
	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 ability of students to return home for Christmas in very high local covid-19 alert areas.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	107755
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>The government is committed to ensuring that students who wish to return home for the winter break, are able to do so. It is essential that measures are put in place to ensure this can happen as safely as possible for students, staff and the communities that they return to.</p><p>On 11 November, the department published guidance for providers on the plans for the end of the autumn term, available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term#specific-support-for-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term#specific-support-for-students</a>.</p><p>As outlined in the guidance, we expect higher education (HE) providers to support students to return home following the period of national restrictions, whilst mitigating the risk of transmission of the virus. We are asking that students return home once the national restrictions have been lifted, in a “student travel window” lasting from 3-9 December. This should be in line with specific arrangements put in place by their HE provider, which should include a staggered end to face-to-face provision, with learning being moved online by 9 December.</p><p>We are also working closely with universities and the Department for Health and Social Care to roll out mass testing for students and we will offer this to as many students as possible before they travel home, targeting this in areas of high prevalence of COVID-19. This will help to provide further confidence that students can leave safely if they test negative. If a student tests positive before their departure, they will need to remain in self-isolation, following the relevant guidance. Moving all learning online by 9 December allows enough time for students to complete the isolation period before returning home for Christmas.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 13/11/2020 15:06:21 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1247822

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2020
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing (a) financial support and (b) housing contract releases for (i) clinically vulnerable and (ii) other students during the November 2020 covid-19 lockdown.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	110261
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) and the wider community is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks of transmission in this unprecedented situation.</p><p>The government urges universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.</p><p>Students who are tenants with individual private landlords can discuss this issue with them. We encourage landlords, letting agencies and tenants to adopt a pragmatic, common-sense approach to issues that may arise in the current circumstances.</p><p>If students face financial hardship and struggle to pay their rent, support is available. Guidance for tenants and landlords in the context of COVID-19 available at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities</a>.</p><p>In the first instance, a student should speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty meeting a rental payment. In this unique context, tenants and landlords are encouraged to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme.</p><p>Many HE providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need, including emergencies. The expectation is that, where any student requires additional support, providers will support them through their own hardship funds.</p><p>We have worked closely with the Office for Students to clarify that HE providers can draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers were able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April to July this year and £256 million for the academic year 2020/21 starting from August towards student hardship funds.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 13/11/2020 15:26:20 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1300189

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2021
	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 merits of changing the postgraduate student loan funding guidelines to account for students with an existing Masters degree.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	164657
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2021 answer text <p>The funding available for student support is finite and it is necessary to put limits in place to ensure that all eligible students who wish to study a qualification for the first time can do so. Consequently, those who have already achieved a higher education qualification at postgraduate level do not qualify for support for a second postgraduate qualification which is equivalent or lower to the one they already hold. We are closely monitoring take up of the master’s loan and the response by students, the sector, and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 15/03/2021 15:49:07 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1305198

	registered interest
	date	23/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Turing Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of widening the scope of the Turing Scheme to include placements for (a) teaching staff, (b) college staff and (c) youth workers.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	174281
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/04/2021 answer text <p>Teaching and college staff mobility will not be funded as part of the Turing scheme in academic year 2021/22, as we are prioritising ensuring as many students, learners and pupils as possible have access to life-changing mobilities to support them in developing the skills they need to thrive. We will assess the impact of the scheme during its first year, and this will inform the scheme in future. Funding decisions for future years will be subject to future spending reviews.</p><p>International opportunities for the youth sector and young people outside of formal education settings are being considered as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media &amp; Sport-led Youth Review, which was commissioned by HM Treasury at the 2020 Spending Review.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 13/04/2021 11:26:38 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1331315

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the UKCISA analysis, Who pays home fees for higher education in England, published on 28 May 2021, if he will clarify the meaning of ordinarily resident in criteria c of the qualification for home fees as a family member of a UK national.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	13232
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Paragraph 1 (2A) of Schedule 1 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) provides that a person is not to be treated as ordinarily resident in a place unless that person lawfully resides in that place. Although not further defined in the Regulations, ‘ordinarily resident’ has been interpreted by the courts as lawful, habitual and normal residence from choice and for a settled purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or occasional absences. This means that a person must hold a valid status throughout the period of ordinary residence required when establishing their eligibility to student support.</p><p>There are no plans to remove the criteria which requires a person’s residence in the UK and Islands to not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. Student Finance England will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a person meets this requirement.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 13233 question first answered 14/06/2021 14:47:54 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1331316

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the UKCISA analysis. Who pays home fees for higher education in England, published on 28 May 2021, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing criteria d of the qualifications for home fees for family members of UK nationals.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	13233
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2021 answer text <p>Paragraph 1 (2A) of Schedule 1 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) provides that a person is not to be treated as ordinarily resident in a place unless that person lawfully resides in that place. Although not further defined in the Regulations, ‘ordinarily resident’ has been interpreted by the courts as lawful, habitual and normal residence from choice and for a settled purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or occasional absences. This means that a person must hold a valid status throughout the period of ordinary residence required when establishing their eligibility to student support.</p><p>There are no plans to remove the criteria which requires a person’s residence in the UK and Islands to not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. Student Finance England will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a person meets this requirement.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 13232 question first answered 14/06/2021 14:47:54 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana