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1307144

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Assessments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of universities that have implemented no detriment policies in each of the academic years (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21; and what estimate he has made of the number of students that have been affected by those policies.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	179334
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.</p><p>The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.</p><p>I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.</p><p>However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.</p><p>Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 178709 179335 question first answered 20/04/2021 09:32:51 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1307149

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on graduate teaching assistants of reductions in university funding as a result of the covid-19 outbreak in the academic year 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	179336
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>This continues to be an incredibly difficult time, and our entire higher education (HE) sector has a key role to play during these unprecedented times. I wrote to HE providers on 26 March 2020, asking that they pay particular attention to the additional financial hardships that are being faced by hourly paid and student staff who have been reliant on income from campus-based jobs at this time.</p><p>In the letter, I was clear that I expected that in most circumstances universities would continue paying staff as usual but, where this is not the case, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) had been developed as part of a package of support from Her Majesty's Treasury to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment.</p><p>However, HE providers are independent, autonomous bodies and are responsible for decisions about who they employ and the terms and conditions of employment they offer. HE providers should make decisions according to their own operational needs and the needs of their wider staff and student community. This includes decisions about whether to access the range of government support on offer, including the CJRS. We expect universities to comply with their obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the way their employment practices affect different sections of their communities and staff at different stages of their careers.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 20/04/2021 11:31:50 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1307147

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Students: Assessments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the average number of credits not taken per student as a result of no detriment policies implemented by universities in the 2019-20 academic year.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	179335
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.</p><p>The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.</p><p>I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.</p><p>However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.</p><p>Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan grouped question UIN 178709 179334 question first answered 20/04/2021 09:32:51 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1307148

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Universities: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the provision of course modules at universities being delivered as advertised.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	178711
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>I have been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that consumer law continues to apply, and statements by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirm this. Providers need to ensure they have regard to guidance about their consumer protection obligations.</p><p> </p><p>This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure that all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there have been some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality learning.</p><p> </p><p>I welcome the huge amount of resource universities and higher education (HE) providers have given to ensuring blended teaching is of the high-quality expected by the government and the Office for Students (OfS). The government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely.</p><p>I wrote to the OfS on 13 January, outlining the government’s expectations of the HE sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to providers’ Accountable Officers, setting out the actions that they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance with existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions. This letter is available here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/928ddbfc-7d48-4a7b-853e-411c34d6202f/ao-letter-regulation-during-the-current-phase-of-pandemic-14-jan-2021.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/928ddbfc-7d48-4a7b-853e-411c34d6202f/ao-letter-regulation-during-the-current-phase-of-pandemic-14-jan-2021.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>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. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint. Due to the individualised nature of student contracts and student circumstances, the process which is in place ensures that institutions have the opportunity to consider student complaints effectively and offers them an opportunity for early resolution of complaints with students. This is particularly important in situations where remedies other than refunds would be more helpful or beneficial to a student.</p><p>If there are concerns, the OfS has the powers to act. It is an OfS registration condition that providers must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience for all students and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS does not get involved in individual student complaints, that is for the relevant HE provider and potentially the OIA. Students can, however, notify the OfS of issues that may be of regulatory interest to it. These are called ‘notifications’. The OfS uses this information as part of its regulatory monitoring activity and keeps HE providers under review to ensure that they comply with the ongoing conditions of registration. The OfS has produced a guide for students to support them in this process. This is available via the following link: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/ofs-and-students/notifications/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/ofs-and-students/notifications/</a>. The OIA website is available via the following link: <a href="https://www.oiahe.org.uk/" target="_blank">https://www.oiahe.org.uk/</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The CMA has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available via the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/consumer-protection-review-of-higher-education" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/consumer-protection-review-of-higher-education</a>. This includes publishing a restatement on 30 November 2020 on their views on Consumer Protection Law. This is available at: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc4bab98fa8f5474e63ab0b/HE_restatement_.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc4bab98fa8f5474e63ab0b/HE_restatement_.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available via the following link: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/coronavirus/provider-guide-to-coronavirus/student-and-consumer-protection/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/coronavirus/provider-guide-to-coronavirus/student-and-consumer-protection/</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 20/04/2021 11:09:19 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1458452

	registered interest
	date	19/04/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Asylum: Rwanda
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the £120 million economic development program in Rwanda will be paid for using the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget; and whether that funding will be in addition to the 0.5 per cent of GNI ODA target.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	155873
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The funding for the Migration and Economic Development Partnership with Rwanda is separate from the Official Development Assistance budget.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 25/04/2022 16:58:49 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 65271 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1467818

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring travel companies to align their policies on passport expiry dates from date of travel with the policy of the country that the customer is travelling to.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	13219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2022 answer text <p>This relates to travel overseas so is not a matter where the Home Office has responsibility, therefore no assessment has been made by the Home Office.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 21/06/2022 09:20:49 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 6261 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1467817

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2022
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Passports: Applications
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a waiting list system for people seeking an appointment for an urgent passport renewal.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	13218
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/06/2022 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Passport Office continues to implement a range of measures to help support people seeking to use its urgent services. This work has led to the recent opening of an eighth public counter offering urgent service appointments, and further increasing appointment availability to help support those people who need their passport more quickly.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster question first answered 08/06/2022 16:05:45 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1586254

	registered interest
	date	17/02/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Independent Office for Police Conduct: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has approved a 2 per cent pay award for the Independent Office of Police Conduct staff.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	147138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2023 answer text <p>Yes, Ministers have agreed the 2022-23 pay award for staff of the Independent Office of Police Conduct.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 27/02/2023 16:09:05 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1338162

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2021
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Deportation: India
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has (a) had discussions with relevant stakeholders and (b) set a target for the number of Indian nationals to be deported in talks with India on the Migration and Mobility Partnership MoU.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	18551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2021 answer text <p>The Home Secretary signed the UK-India Migration and Mobility Partnership (MMP) on 4 May. We continue to discuss implementation arrangements with Government of India counterparts. Whilst the agreement contains a number of mutually beneficial provisions including measures that will improve the speed and efficiency of returns processes we have no targets pertaining to the return of Indian nationals and no deportation targets.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 25/06/2021 14:50:52 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1645755

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2023
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Quad Bikes: Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is taking steps to prevent people who have been found to have used quad bikes illegally from purchasing another quad bike.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
	tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
	uin	190222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2023 answer text <p>The licensing and regulatory framework for quad bikes and other forms of transport is a matter for the Department for Transport.</p><p>The Home Office does not have a role in relation to the buying and selling of privately owned vehicles such as quad bikes.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 27/06/2023 13:49:46 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill