Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why a visa requirement for Columbian nationals travelling to the United Kingdom was reintroduced in November 2024.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
A visit visa requirement for Colombian nationals was reintroduced on 26 November 2024 due to the significant and sustained increase in individuals travelling to the UK for reasons other than those permitted under the Immigration Rules for Visitors following the lifting of the visa requirement in November 2022. In particular, there was a significant increase in Colombian nationals claiming asylum, with more asylum claims in every quarter of 2023 and 2024 than in the entire 10 years preceding the visa lift. Full reasons for the reintroduction of the visa requirement were provided in the Explanatory Memorandum to the changes in the Immigration Rules on 26 November 2024. This also set out details of the visa-free transition period for Colombian nationals holding travel bookings to the UK made prior to the reintroduction of the visa requirement.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for building Mandarin language skills within the workforce to meet the needs of the United Kingdom in (1) security, (2) diplomacy, and (3) trade.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will continue to fund the Mandarin Excellence Programme after its current funding expires in August 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Education will consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the security services before it makes a decision on the funding of the Mandarin Excellence Programme beyond August 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The government appreciates the benefits that studying Mandarin can bring to the workforce needs of the United Kingdom.
The government has recently confirmed funding for the Mandarin Excellence Programme until the end of this academic year, when the current contract ends. The department will work with all interested parties across government to consider the future approach to supporting Mandarin language learning beyond August 2025, to meet the UK’s varied needs for a pipeline of Mandarin language speakers.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to amend the Accessible Information Standard so that it is aligned with the recommendation of Healthwatch England to cover the needs of those who speak little or no English.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have no current plans to make such a change to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). The AIS aims to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss get information that they can access and understand. NHS England is responsible for the AIS and has completed a review as part of the revision of the standard.
Spoken and community languages are specifically excluded from the AIS and have not been included as part of its review due to the legislative basis of the AIS and its focus on meeting the needs of disabled people.
The General Medical Council’s guidance states that all possible efforts must be made to ensure effective communication with patients. This includes arrangements to meet patients’ communication needs in languages other than English. Where language is a problem in discussing health matters, NHS England and NHS Scotland’s guidance states that a professional interpreter should always be offered.
NHS England is aware of safety investigations and other issues relating to translation services and has completed a strategic review and options appraisal to identify if and how NHS England can support improvements in the commissioning and delivery of community language translation and interpretation services.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to issue guidance to schools on sponsoring visa applications for teachers of modern foreign languages from other countries, and (2) to better support those international recruits in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the cap of 175 recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship administered by the British Council to help meet their language teacher recruitment targets.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the eligibility rules for trainee language teachers so that graduates whose degree was only partially in the taught language can apply.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to reinstate the £10,000 relocation grant for teachers of modern foreign languages who have received a job offer from a school in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.
Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a visa waiver for teachers of modern foreign languages from other countries who have received a job offer from a school in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
This government wants to ensure that there are excellent teachers where we need them most, and international teachers and teacher trainees make an important contribution to this, particularly in the teaching of languages.
There is no cap in place for recipients of the Languages Teacher Training Scholarship. 175 is a notional target which enables the British Council to adequately plan recruitment and resourcing to meet the target. We closely monitor recruitment throughout the year and, should it look as though the target will be exceeded, we will engage with the British Council to discuss their capacity to meet any increase in demand.
The department produces guidance for schools on recruiting teachers from overseas, which is accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/recruit-teachers-from-overseas. This includes an overview on how to sponsor skilled worker visas and links to the appropriate Home Office (HO) guidance.
The government has no plans to introduce a visa waiver for language teachers. Language teachers are free to use the immigration system and should be able to obtain a skilled worker visa if they have a job offer from a school that has been approved by the HO, are able to speak, read, write and understand English, and are paid at least the minimum of the relevant teacher pay range.
Overseas nationals who relocate to England this academic year to take up a language, or physics, teaching job in a state-funded school, will still be eligible for the £10,000 International relocation payment (IRP), provided they meet the eligibility requirements. The 2024/25 academic year is the last year of a two-year pilot for the IRP. The department is currently evaluating the first year of the pilot and will make decisions on whether to offer the payment in future years in due course.
All qualified teachers in England are required to have a UK first degree or equivalent qualification. Legislation does not specify that teachers must have a degree in a particular subject or discipline and there are no statutory requirements for secondary trainee teachers to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet the teachers’ standards, including those that relate to subject and curriculum knowledge, by the end of their training.
Decisions relating to degree entry criteria ultimately lie with the accredited Initial Teacher Training provider to determine whether an applicant’s qualification meets the requirements. Candidates may also be eligible for subject knowledge enhancement courses to equip them with the subject knowledge required to teach languages in schools.