The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has confirmed that it wishes to step down from the Designated Quality Body role at the end of March 2023. Arrangements for consulting the sector on the de-designation of the QAA will be confirmed imminently.<\/p>
On 14 October 2022, the Office for Students (OfS) published an update on arrangements for assessing quality and standards from 1 April 2023.This update confirmed that the OfS will undertake a number of assessment activities that are currently delivered by the QAA on an interim basis from 1 April 2023. These include quality and standards reviews for providers seeking OfS registration, standards assessments for the purpose of assessing initial condition B8 of the OfS regulatory framework, and assessments for degree awarding powers.<\/p>
The department has been working closely with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the OfS on plans to deliver external quality assurance of end-point assessments for integrated and higher degree apprenticeships.<\/p>
The department is also working closely with the OfS on ensuring these responsibilities are fulfilled effectively, and that they will continue to ensure the world-class standard of our higher education institutions is maintained.<\/p>
The Secretary of State for Education will receive advice from officials and the OfS on permanent arrangements for the assessment of quality and standards. There are currently a number of options for future designation arrangements under consideration.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4490", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dame Andrea Jenkyns"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Morley and Outwood"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrea Jenkyns"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2022-10-25", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "67162"} , {"_value" : "67163"} , {"_value" : "67164"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2022-10-25T16:02:41.43Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2022-10-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Designated Quality Body in England"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in the context of the QAA decision of 20 July that it will no longer consent to be the Designated Quality Body in England after 31 March 2023, if he will make an assessment of how effectively the provisions in section 25 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 can be implemented after 31 March 2023.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4617", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Matt Western"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Warwick and Leamington"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Matt Western"} ], "uin" : "67161"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1364947", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1364947/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Allegations of rape made by female Service personnel under the age of 18 increased from one case in 2016 to two cases in 2021. Service Complaints alleging sexual harassment from within the same group decreased from one case to zero over the same period.<\/p>
Sexual offending is not tolerated in the Armed Forces, and anyone failing to meet the standards required will be dealt with robustly, including being subject to police investigations and dismissal. Earlier this year, I announced an intention to publish a Defence-wide strategy for dealing with rape and serious sexual offences in the Service Justice System (SJS). The strategy will aim to reduce the prevalence and impact of rape and other serious sexual offending in the Armed Forces and improve the handling of those cases in the SJS.<\/p>
The Ministry of Defence continues to tackle unacceptable behaviour. We are implementing the recommendations from the Wigston Review into inappropriate behaviour, and those made in the 2020 progress review led by Danuta Gray, which concluded that good progress had been made.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4600", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Leo Docherty"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Aldershot"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Leo Docherty"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-04T16:33:58.85Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Armed Forces: Sexual Offences"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made in the increase in the number of (a) sexual harassment and (b) rape complaints from girls under the age of 18 in the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4243", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dan Jarvis"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Barnsley Central"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dan Jarvis"} ], "uin" : "67161"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 2, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }