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1688185

	registered interest
	date	07/02/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities for teaching for 2024-25 sufficiently enables institutions to support their students.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	13574
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) is funding which is supplied by the government on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE). This funding also includes subjects that are expensive to deliver, such as science and engineering, students who are at risk of discontinuing their studies, and world-leading specialist providers.</p><p> </p><p>​The department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This is to support high-quality teaching and facilities including funding for science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023/24 financial year, over half of the total £1,454 million SPG recurrent funding budget is being directed towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (for example, medicine and dentistry), science, engineering, and technology subjects, and specific labour market needs.</p><p> </p><p>There is also £276 million of Student Premium and mental health funding available this academic year, 2023/24, to support students who need additional help, including disadvantaged students. This funding complements the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department is now making a further £10 million of one-off support available to support student mental health and hardship funding. It will continue to liaise with the Office for Students on the impacts of cost-of-living pressures.</p><p> </p><p>Over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25, the department is also providing £450 million in capital funding to invest in teaching and learning facilities which meet the government’s strategic priorities.</p><p> </p><p>The next SPG allocations will be announced ahead of the 2024/25 academic year.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 13575 question first answered 19/02/2024 16:59:08 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1688186

	registered interest
	date	07/02/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that funding allocated to universities for teaching for 2024-25 enables institutions to provide high quality education that meets national skills needs.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	13575
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) is funding which is supplied by the government on an annual basis to support teaching and students in higher education (HE). This funding also includes subjects that are expensive to deliver, such as science and engineering, students who are at risk of discontinuing their studies, and world-leading specialist providers.</p><p> </p><p>​The department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25. This is to support high-quality teaching and facilities including funding for science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.</p><p> </p><p>In the 2023/24 financial year, over half of the total £1,454 million SPG recurrent funding budget is being directed towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (for example, medicine and dentistry), science, engineering, and technology subjects, and specific labour market needs.</p><p> </p><p>There is also £276 million of Student Premium and mental health funding available this academic year, 2023/24, to support students who need additional help, including disadvantaged students. This funding complements the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes. The department is now making a further £10 million of one-off support available to support student mental health and hardship funding. It will continue to liaise with the Office for Students on the impacts of cost-of-living pressures.</p><p> </p><p>Over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25, the department is also providing £450 million in capital funding to invest in teaching and learning facilities which meet the government’s strategic priorities.</p><p> </p><p>The next SPG allocations will be announced ahead of the 2024/25 academic year.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 13574 question first answered 19/02/2024 16:59:08 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1653878

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Overseas Students: Surcharges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of increasing the cost of (a) the immigration health surcharge and (b) student visas on (i) the international student target within the International Education Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	194746
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2023 answer text <p>The department has been successful in delivering our International Education Strategy ambition of hosting at least 600,000 students per year by 2030 for the last two years, and the government fully expects the UK to continue to be an attractive destination for international students.</p><p>The department is increasing fees across a range of immigration routes, including for people coming here to live, work and study, at a time of record high migration numbers. It is the government’s policy that those who use and benefit most from the immigration system should contribute towards the cost of operating the system, reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.</p><p>The government’s visa fees are competitive globally and there is little evidence that fee increases to date have significantly affected demand on work, study and tourism routes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 04/09/2023 13:44:17 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1648913

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to bring the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 into force.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	191789
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2023 answer text <p>The department is working closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to determine when provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will come into force.</p><p>The timeline will involve working in collaboration with the OfS on the creation of new registration conditions and a complaints scheme dedicated to handling freedom of speech complaints, which will be operated by the OfS. The OfS will also develop guidance on how to comply with these duties, in consultation with providers, constituent institutions and students’ unions.</p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 07/07/2023 10:43:55 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1605225

	registered interest
	date	17/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to produce an updated version of the Student Income and Expenditure Survey.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	168040
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2023 answer text <p>The Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) 2021 to 2022 has been commissioned and the report will be published in due course.</p><p>The last published SIES survey (2014 to 2015) can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2014-to-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2014-to-2015</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 27/03/2023 15:06:42 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1604891

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Free School Meals: Disadvantaged
	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 extend the eligibility criteria for free school meals to cover all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit and equivalent benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	167087
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2023 answer text <p>Since 2010, the number of pupils receiving a free school meal (FSM) has increased by more than two million. This increase in provision is due to the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals and generous protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM, compared with one in six in 2010.</p><p>The Department believes that the current eligibility threshold level, which enables children in low income households to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one. The Department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for FSM, but will continue to keep eligibility under review to ensure that these meals are supporting those who most need them. The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments to provide support to disadvantaged families.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bognor Regis and Littlehampton answering member printed Nick Gibb question first answered 24/03/2023 14:26:07 answering member 111 label Biography information for Nick Gibb
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1601996

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2023
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Energy Bills Support Scheme: Students
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that university students in private rental accommodation (a) are receiving or (b) have received payment from the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	160256
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2023 answer text <p>The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and impacted students.</p><p> </p><p>All households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount.</p><p> </p><p>The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide £400 support to those households without a direct relationship to a domestic electricity supplier in England, Scotland, and Wales, who have faced increased energy bill costs since 1 October 2022. This will include students in privately rented accommodation, where they receive their energy from an intermediary, such as a landlord or letting agency, who holds a commercial electricity contract.</p><p> </p><p>The Energy Prices Act passed on 25 October 2022 includes the provision which requires landlords to pass any benefits they receive from energy price support onto end users, as appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>Tenants should not need to take action to receive this benefit as the obligation is on intermediaries, such as landlords, to pass through the benefit and provide the information necessary to do so. If a student believes this obligation has not been met, they are advised to contact their landlord or an intermediary to resolve this in the first instance. Within the regulations, there is also scope to pursue enforcement through civil proceedings.</p><p> </p><p>Further guidance on the pass-through requirement can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-in-great-britain-provided-to-intermediaries" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-provided-to-intermediaries/guidance-on-the-pass-through-requirements-for-energy-price-support-in-great-britain-provided-to-intermediaries</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Students in purpose-built student accommodation are not eligible to receive support under the scheme. With fixed rental fees set ahead of the academic year, these students have not been exposed to unexpectedly higher energy bill costs this winter.</p><p> </p><p>For students living in university or private halls, businesses, including those providing student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>The Energy Bill Relief Scheme will provide a price reduction to ensure that all businesses and other non-domestic customers, including universities and private purpose-built student accommodation providers, are protected from high energy bills this winter.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 15/03/2023 17:56:24 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1582925

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2023
	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, with reference to the letter of 26 January 2023 sent by the Office for Students to accountable officers at registered higher education providers, which states that £10 million which had been set aside for preparation for the Lifelong Loan Entitlement is no longer needed for the purpose originally identified, what progress has been made on implementing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	137805
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2023 answer text <p>The Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) will be introduced from 2025. The government has already introduced key legislation as part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022.Building on these measures, on 1 February 2023 the government introduced the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill as a further step towards delivery of the LLE from 2025.</p><p>As part of the pathway towards the LLE, we will stimulate the provision of high-quality higher technical education (Levels 4 and 5) and have introduced pilots to inform future flexible and modular provision. As of the start of the 2022/23 academic year, we are trialling loan-funded access to tuition fees for over 100 short courses at Levels 4 to 6 at 22 providers across England. This will help us build and test towards the LLE, and will allow students to study and build up the skills they need more flexibly.</p><p>On 6 May 2022, the department concluded its consultation on the LLE, as part of the planned pathway to delivery from 2025. This consultation and other ongoing sector engagement is a critical part of delivering a transformation of student finance. We are carefully considering the contributions and will publish our response in due course.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 06/02/2023 12:57:35 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1462133

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	National Curriculum Tests
	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) educational value and (b) impact on children and schools of proceeding with SATS in the 2021-22 year in the context of disruption resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	723
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>The department recognises that pupils will have missed a critical period of their learning due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Statutory assessments at the end of key stage 2 are an important part of our primary education system. Assessments provide vital information to parents about their child’s attainment and help schools identify where additional support is best targeted to individuals. The school performance measures generated from these assessments play an important role in supporting schools to improve, helping us to hold primary schools to account for the education they provide.</p><p>This year, the data from the assessments will help parents, schools, and the department to understand more clearly the impact of the pandemic on pupils and how this varies between particular groups of pupils, schools and local authorities. The decision to return to a full programme of primary assessments in the 2021/22 academic year was considered carefully and in taking this decision, we discussed our plans with a range of stakeholders, including teachers, school leaders and unions.</p><p>The department knows that the pandemic has impacted the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and will have an impact in the longer-term. The department expects leaders and teachers to consider their pupils’ mental health and wellbeing as a priority and identify those who may need additional support.</p><p>Although schools should encourage all pupils to work hard and achieve well, the department does not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessment, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. Schools should support a culture of wellbeing amongst staff and pupils.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Worcester answering member printed Mr Robin Walker question first answered 20/05/2022 13:03:42 answering member 4091 label Biography information for Mr Robin Walker
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1421343

	registered interest
	date	09/02/2022
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Pupils: Hearing Impairment
	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 May 2021 to Question 493 on Pupils: Hearing Impairment, what recent assessment he made of the potential merits of providing clear facemasks to enable lip reading for deaf children in schools during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	121737
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2022 answer text <p>The use of face coverings may have a particular impact on those who rely on visual signals for communication. Those who communicate with visual signals, or provide support to those who do, are exempt from any recommendation to wear face coverings in education and childcare provision.</p><p>Face to face education for all students continues to be our top priority. Our guidance is clear that face coverings in classrooms are no longer required. In circumstances where face coverings are temporarily and exceptionally advised by directors of public health, transparent face coverings can also be worn. Transparent face coverings may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19. However, the evidence to support this is currently very limited.</p><p>Face visors or shields can be worn by those exempt from wearing a face covering, but they are not an equivalent alternative in terms of source control of virus transmission. They should only be used after carrying out a risk assessment for the specific situation and should always be cleaned appropriately.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 24/02/2022 17:20:05 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield