Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions have been had with the Overseas Territories about making British Overseas Territories eligible for student maintenance loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have worked with the British Overseas Territories to clearly set out our position on eligibility for student finance.
Persons who have settled status in the UK, and who have come to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories, are eligible for home fee status if they meet the requirement of three years’ ordinary residence in the UK, and/or the specified British Overseas Territories.
Eligibility for student support is based on residency and immigration status, not nationality, targeting resources on students who are likely to stay in the UK indefinitely and contribute to the economy.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support university (a) staff and (b) students who raise concerns about breaches of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom. We commenced provisions from the Higher Education (HE) (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 on 1 August 2025 including strengthened provider duties to secure and promote the importance of free speech and academic freedom, and a requirement to put in place effective free speech codes of practice. The Office for Students’ Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom continues to work with the HE sector to offer advice and share best practice, so providers themselves are more effectively protecting free speech and academic freedom.
Our commitment to the complaints scheme was clearly set out last year: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-future-of-the-higher-education-freedom-of-speech-act-2023. Students can continue to report their free speech complaints to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of universities at fulfilling their Prevent duty obligations, in the context of levels of support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The situation in the Middle East is deeply troubling, and the escalating violence highlights the importance of universities’ Prevent duty responsibilities to safeguard students from radicalisation.
To comply with the Prevent duty, universities must have effective policies in place and regularly assess risks; this may include updating their risk assessments to remain alert to any increased vulnerability among students, considering recent events.
The Office for Students (OfS) monitors how higher education providers are complying with the Prevent duty and ensures that appropriate measures are in place to protect students from radicalisation. Current OfS monitoring shows that providers are broadly meeting their responsibilities.
The department continues to work closely with the OfS to review compliance and support providers in maintaining high standards.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to monitor the consistency of Prevent duty implementation across higher education providers in England.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The situation in the Middle East is deeply troubling, and the escalating violence highlights the importance of universities’ Prevent duty responsibilities to safeguard students from radicalisation.
To comply with the Prevent duty, universities must have effective policies in place and regularly assess risks; this may include updating their risk assessments to remain alert to any increased vulnerability among students, considering recent events.
The Office for Students (OfS) monitors how higher education providers are complying with the Prevent duty and ensures that appropriate measures are in place to protect students from radicalisation. Current OfS monitoring shows that providers are broadly meeting their responsibilities.
The department continues to work closely with the OfS to review compliance and support providers in maintaining high standards.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the provision of physical exercise for (a) primary and (b) secondary school pupils; and whether her Department is working with School Sport Partnerships.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is this government’s mission is to break down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child benefits from high-quality PE and school sports. The new PE and School Sport Partnerships, announced last June by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, will ensure that all children have equal access to high-quality PE by bringing together primary and secondary schools, local clubs, and national governing bodies to target funding and support where it is most needed.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the decision made to remove funding for Specialist Assessments for adopted children and children under special guardianship orders, and in the context of long waiting times experienced by constituents in Brighton Pavilion constituency for assessments through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), if she will publish details of how CAMHS will be supported to provide these specialised services.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Up to £2,500 of Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) funding may still be used for children to access a specialist assessment. ASGSF-funded assessments are not intended as an alternative to the specialised mental health services available through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
The current consultation ‘Adoption support that works for all’ includes proposals for a higher quality approach to assessing the needs of adoptive and eligible kinship families. This includes improved multi-disciplinary assessments and greater linkages between social care, health, and education practitioners to ensure every child gets the right support.
For 2026/27, NHS mental health spending will rise to £16.1 billion, a real terms increase of around £140 million, to support service improvements, including CAMHS. The mental health investment standard means spending must at least keep pace with inflation, supporting local systems to maintain and improve specialist services for children.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness and funding for (a) materials and mining programmes of study and (b) science and engineering apprenticeships and qualifications in the quarrying sector.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government supports education and skills training in the minerals, mining and quarrying sectors through:
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assistance is being provided to businesses to help them offer work placements to undergraduates.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to give the next generation the opportunities to thrive.
The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2 billion of investment in the skills system by 2028/29.
Higher education providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for designing and delivering their own courses. This includes decisions on whether to offer internships, work placements or industrial secondments.
It is for individual universities to work with businesses to develop and manage these opportunities in ways that best meet the needs of their students, employers and academic staff.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what programmes are available to encourage businesses to provide industrial secondments to university lecturers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Economic growth is the central mission of this government and is vital to give the next generation the opportunities to thrive.
The government encourages work experience through various initiatives spanning various departments. The Department for Business and Trade published the UK’s Industrial, Trade and Small Business Strategies, which were developed in partnership with business, with positive feedback from leading business organisations. For example, the Industrial Strategy will provide an additional £1.2 billion of investment in the skills system by 2028/29.
Higher education providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for designing and delivering their own courses. This includes decisions on whether to offer internships, work placements or industrial secondments.
It is for individual universities to work with businesses to develop and manage these opportunities in ways that best meet the needs of their students, employers and academic staff.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact to the public purse of (a) changing the student loan repayment rates for existing borrowers and (b) changing the income threshold at which student loans are repaid for existing borrowers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Reducing the repayment rate for existing student loan borrowers would reduce expected future repayments and therefore be a cost to the public purse. Increasing the income threshold at which student loans are repaid for existing borrowers would also reduce expected future repayments.
To support the long-term sustainability of the student loan system, we announced at the Autumn Budget 2025 that the Plan 2 repayment threshold will be increased to £29,385 in April 2026 and then frozen at that level for three years beginning April 2027.