Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of people in South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency have not achieved a grade 4 in a) English and b) Maths by age 19.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The official statistics release 'Level 2 and 3 attainment age 16 to 25' includes numbers and proportions of those achieving GCSE English language and maths by age 19 for those who were recorded in mainstream state-funded schools in year 11, the final year of secondary school. The latest data available is for the 2023/24 academic year, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/level-2-and-3-attainment-by-young-people-aged-19/2023-24.
For South Basildon and East Thurrock constituency, the figures for those who have not achieved a grade 4 in a) English language and b) maths are provided in the table below.
Year | South Basildon and East Thurrock | England | |||
Academic year the young person turned 19 | Number in mainstream state-funded schools in year 11 | Proportion not achieved GCSE English language by 19 | Proportion not achieved GCSE maths by 19 | Proportion not achieved GCSE English language by 19 | Proportion not achieved GCSE maths by 19 |
2023/24 | 1,038 | 23.7% | 30.2% | 17.1% | 21.0% |
2022/23 | 1,052 | 25.0% | 27.4% | 15.9% | 19.2% |
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of graduates who were not in high-skilled roles 15 months after graduation remain outside high-skilled employment a) three years later and b) five years later.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not produce estimates of the proportion of graduates in high-skilled roles at three or five years after graduation.
Graduate Outcome survey data published by HESA shows that around 70% of UK domiciled students who graduated with an undergraduate degree from a UK higher education provider during the 2022/23 academic year were in high-skilled employment fifteen months after graduation. This survey data does not track graduates beyond fifteen months to outline details of graduate employment three or five years later.
While the department uses Longitudinal Educational Outcomes data to track graduate earning and employment outcomes at three and five years after graduation, this data does not include graduate occupation. The latest Graduate Outcomes survey data was published in July 2025 and can be found at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb272/figure-12.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has considered taking additional steps to facilitate further Parliamentary scrutiny of amending the terms of student loan repayments administrated by Student Finance England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Parliamentary scrutiny is occurring in relation to the student loan system. For example, there has recently been a Westminster Hall Debate, as well as through the various mechanisms of parliamentary questions.
It is worth remembering that these loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and the department is having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable. It is important that we have a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and the taxpayer. We will continue to keep the terms of the system under review to ensure this remains the case.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure [i] comparability of skills funding between mayoral combined authorities and non mayoral combined authorities and [ii] that skills funding is used to ensure the upskilling of local communities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Approximately 68% of the Adult Skills Fund is currently devolved to 11 strategic authorities, 1 local authority and the Greater London Authority. From August 2026, a further 4 strategic authorities and 3 local authorities will receive this funding, taking the proportion to around 73%. Where funding is not devolved, the Department for Work and Pensions continue to administer it.
The funding allocation methodology is the same for mayoral and non-mayoral strategic authorities. However, as set out in the English Devolution White Paper, areas with a mayor have a single consolidated pot of adult skills funding with no ringfences.
To ensure that devolved skills funding meets the needs of local economies, in devolved areas each strategic authority is expected to develop and deliver a Strategic Skills Plan. This plan is informed by the region’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and Local Growth Plan.
LSIPs set out the skills needs of an area and the changes required to better align skills provision with employer needs. In both mayoral and non-mayoral areas, the strategic authority works jointly with the designated employer representative body to develop and implement the plan.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the international student levy on university incomes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The International Student Levy will require higher education (HE) providers to pay a flat fee of £925 per international student per year. An impact analysis of the levy published in November 2025 estimated the income losses to the HE sector from the levy in isolation to be £270 million in its first year. The full impact analysis is available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/international-student-levy-unit/international-student-levy/supporting_documents/international-student-levy-impact-analysispdf.
HE providers are independent from government and as such are responsible for managing their own finances. The department has announced increases to tuition fee limits in line with forecast inflation for the 2025/26, 2026/27, and 2027/28 academic years. We will also legislate, when parliamentary time allows, to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years.
Over the next five years, tuition fee limit uplifts could generate an additional £6 billion for HE providers, significantly outweighing the currently projected less than £1 billion cost of the levy. This approach ensures the sector benefits from compounding annual increases, delivering growing resources to support quality education and innovation.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provides to the Royal Veterinary College; and whether her Department has oversight of the RVC’s funding of the Centre for Environmental Justice.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government provides funding to higher education (HE) providers in England on an annual basis through the Strategic Priorities Grant. This funding supports the teaching of expensive-to-deliver subjects such as science and engineering, access and participation of students from under-represented groups, and for world-leading specialist providers such as the Royal Veterinary College.
Through this funding, the Royal Veterinary College has been allocated £12.5 million for the current academic year, 2025/26. Providers are independent and autonomous from government and are responsible for determining how best to use their funding to support teaching and students. Oversight of HE providers in England is the responsibility of the Office for Students.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the net present value impact on the public finances of capping total interest on Plan 2 student loans at 20 per cent of the original principal.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold analysis on the impact on the public finances of capping total interest on Plan 2 student loans at 20% of the original principal value of the loan.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the value of interest repayments on Plan 2 student loans net of (a) the Government’s cost of financing student loan outlay, (b) expected write-offs and (c) administrative costs.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Repayments made against accrued interest are not separated from repayments made against the borrowed portion of the loan.
The department publishes an estimate of the subsidy portion of student loan outlay in the form of the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge. The RAB charge for Plan 2 outlay in England in 2024/25 was 32%.
The RAB charge is calculated as the present value of student loan outlay less expected future repayments, discounted by inflation plus the financial instrument discount rate. Expectations of interest, write offs and the government’s borrowing costs are factored into the fair value of student loans on issuance. In valuing the loan book at financial year end, estimated operational costs of servicing student loans are accounted for, in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Higher interest relative to inflation reduces the forecasted cost of the loan system due to increased future repayments.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the downward revaluation of the student loan book in the latest outturn reflects (a) revised graduate earnings and repayment assumptions and (b) changes in the discount rate used to value future repayments.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As of 31 March 2025, the fair value of the student loan book was £157.9 billion, representing a £6.9 billion increase on the opening balance of £151.0 billion.
The fair value loss in the 2024/25 financial year was £8.6 billion. Of this, the change in the discount rate brought about a £280 million gain. The residual loss was £6.7 billion, which was impacted by changes in macroeconomic determinants such as the Office for Budget Responsibility’s earnings outlook, which was more pessimistic than in the prior year.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2026 to Question 109541 on Jean Monnet Action: Finance, whether UK educational institutions will participate in the Jean Monnet Actions in relation to (a) supporting European Union studies, (b) the Jean Monnet Network on internal policy and (c) teacher training.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire to the answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 114071.