Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the proportion of students who are international students in each of the past five years.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. These data are shared with the department and include a wide range of information on students in UK higher education providers (HEPs), including their country of domicile.
Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, the proportion of students who are international in UK HE has ranged from 22% in 2020/21, to a peak of 26% in 2022/23. Since this peak, the proportion has decreased year on year, to 24% in 2024/25.
Year on year detailed table available below. Note that data provided is for all UK HE providers. The data source link to the table is: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb273/figure-9.
Academic Year | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
Proportion of total that are International Students | 22% | 24% | 26% | 25% | 24% |
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department will take to ensure the Erasmus+ programme reaches less advantaged young people who are in further education or apprenticeships.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This iteration of Erasmus+ has a strong focus on inclusion, with diversity and inclusion set as a core priority. The UK’s association will support this commitment, continuing the ambition set by the Turing Scheme to prioritise mobilities involving participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The EU allocates dedicated budgets to support ‘people with fewer opportunities’ to take part in mobility activities, including those facing financial, social or health-related barriers. Grant rates are set out in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for each year of the programme.
The department is working closely with all relevant sectors to maximise take up, particularly among disadvantaged groups. A UK National Agency will be appointed to administer the programme, with a dedicated website and guidance issued well-ahead of the 2027 funding call. Alongside this, there will also be a broad range of sector outreach activities to increase awareness and engagement, such as webinars and targeted communications to eligible organisations.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide financial provision to respond to potential legal challenges by students who did not fully understand the implications for repayment of interest for their student loans.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
Given the inherited fiscal situation, the government is making tough but necessary decisions to protect both taxpayers and students. The government continuously reviews student finance to ensure it remains fair, sustainable, and supportive of students from all backgrounds.
Prospective students have access to a wide range of information across a range of platforms before they submit their loan application. Student loan terms and conditions make clear that the conditions of the loan may change in line with the relevant regulations and students sign these terms and conditions before any money is paid to them. Having access to this information early in the process enables prospective borrowers to seek independent advice if they feel they do not understand aspects of the student loan process, or to better understand the longer-term commitment of a student loan.
Asked by: Anna Dixon (Labour - Shipley)
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 including maintenance loans as part of a student loan on students from lower income backgrounds.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
We have future-proofed our maintenance offer by confirming that we will increase maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year. This will provide students with long-term financial certainty on the support they will receive while studying and ensure that students from the lowest income families receive the largest year-on-year cash increases in support. Maximum loans for living costs for undergraduate students will increase by 2.71% for the 2026/27 academic year.
From 2028/29, maintenance grants will support full-time students from low-income households studying courses aligned with the government’s missions. The grants will provide disadvantaged full-time students with up to £1,000 extra per year on top of existing maintenance loans, increasing cash for students without increasing their debt.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what specific mechanisms within Erasmus+ will be used to prioritise learners from disadvantaged backgrounds in a manner similar to the Turing Scheme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This iteration of Erasmus+ has a strong focus on inclusion, with diversity and inclusion set as a core priority. The UK’s association will support this commitment, continuing the ambition set by the Turing Scheme to prioritise mobilities involving participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The EU allocates dedicated budgets to support ‘people with fewer opportunities’ to take part in mobility activities, including those facing financial, social or health-related barriers. Grant rates are set out in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for each year of the programme.
The department is working closely with all relevant sectors to maximise take up, particularly among disadvantaged groups. A UK National Agency will be appointed to administer the programme, with a dedicated website and guidance issued well-ahead of the 2027 funding call. Alongside this, there will also be a broad range of sector outreach activities to increase awareness and engagement, such as webinars and targeted communications to eligible organisations.
Asked by: Ben Coleman (Labour - Chelsea and Fulham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether grant levels for students from low-income households under Erasmus+ will be comparable to those of the Turing Scheme.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This iteration of Erasmus+ has a strong focus on inclusion, with diversity and inclusion set as a core priority. The UK’s association will support this commitment, continuing the ambition set by the Turing Scheme to prioritise mobilities involving participants from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The EU allocates dedicated budgets to support ‘people with fewer opportunities’ to take part in mobility activities, including those facing financial, social or health-related barriers. Grant rates are set out in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide for each year of the programme.
The department is working closely with all relevant sectors to maximise take up, particularly among disadvantaged groups. A UK National Agency will be appointed to administer the programme, with a dedicated website and guidance issued well-ahead of the 2027 funding call. Alongside this, there will also be a broad range of sector outreach activities to increase awareness and engagement, such as webinars and targeted communications to eligible organisations.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers Ofsted have to respond where a school's SEN information report is not written in straightforward language that is accessible to young people and parents.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted’s school inspection toolkit makes clear that inspectors will consider the extent to which special educational needs (SEN) information reports are easily accessible when gathering evidence about special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
As set out in our proposals for SEND reform, schools will be required to detail the support they provide through a new duty to produce an inclusion strategy. This will ultimately replace the current duty to produce SEN information reports. Schools will be required to ensure this report is easily accessible, so that parents and local partners can understand how inclusion is being delivered.
Through its inspection framework, Ofsted will assess how leaders ensure the inclusion strategy is embedded in practice, and how staff are equipped to deliver it.
We have proposed the creation of new National Inclusion Standards for the first time, based on evidence, to inform best practice in identifying barriers and meeting needs. We will work with Ofsted to ensure that these standards inform its inspections in the future.
The consultation for these reforms is underway and we would encourage anyone with views on SEN information reports or our inclusion strategy proposals to participate.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 22 of her Department's consultation entitled SEND reform: Putting Children and Young People First, CP1509, when she plans to implement a fast-track route to support for children under five.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will work closely with colleagues at the Department for Health and Social Care and with parents and carers, to develop a fast-track route to support children under five years old with the most complex special educational needs to access the support they and their families need to achieve and thrive in early education. This will include exploring options to trial such a process ahead of legislation.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of additional powers for Ofsted to respond in cases where a school's SEN information report is not written in straightforward language that is accessible to young people and parents.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Ofsted’s school inspection toolkit makes clear that inspectors will consider the extent to which special educational needs (SEN) information reports are easily accessible when gathering evidence about special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
As set out in our proposals for SEND reform, schools will be required to detail the support they provide through a new duty to produce an inclusion strategy. This will ultimately replace the current duty to produce SEN information reports. Schools will be required to ensure this report is easily accessible, so that parents and local partners can understand how inclusion is being delivered.
Through its inspection framework, Ofsted will assess how leaders ensure the inclusion strategy is embedded in practice, and how staff are equipped to deliver it.
We have proposed the creation of new National Inclusion Standards for the first time, based on evidence, to inform best practice in identifying barriers and meeting needs. We will work with Ofsted to ensure that these standards inform its inspections in the future.
The consultation for these reforms is underway and we would encourage anyone with views on SEN information reports or our inclusion strategy proposals to participate.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria her Department uses to decide how much 16 to 19 Bursary funding is distributed to each a) Local Education Authority, b) Multi-Academy Trust and c) school within a Local Education Authority and Multi-Academy Trust.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department allocates the bulk of 16 to 19 bursary funding in advance for institutions to make discretionary bursary awards to students.
For mainstream schools and academies, allocations are made to individual institutions. Each local authority-maintained school, or academy within a multi-academy trust, will get its own allocation from the department. It is up to these organisations how to allocate this funding.
Calculations for an institution’s discretionary bursary funding are based on data around the financial needs and costs faced by its students. The methodology for calculating discretionary bursary allocations has two elements: