Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to strengthen the home learning environment to support literacy in early years and school-age children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 08 July 2025 to Question 60798.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of promoting a culture of reading for pleasure in the home learning environment on the development of early years and school-age children.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government recognises the significant benefits of promoting a culture of reading for pleasure in the home learning environment. Reading for pleasure supports the development of early language, literacy and cognitive skills, and is strongly associated with improved educational outcomes and emotional wellbeing. Through our national campaign ‘Little Moments Together’ we encourage parents and carers to chat, play and read with their children, helping to foster a love of books and stories from the earliest years. This complements our wider investment of £10.7 million in home learning environment services through Family Hubs, which provides families with the tools and support to create language-rich, nurturing settings. These efforts are part of our broader ambition, set out in the Plan for Change, to ensure every child has the best start in life and develops strong foundations for lifelong learning and success.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider teaching Ukrainian to GCSE and A-level standards in some schools and commit to overcoming any obstacles preventing this from happening.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Decisions about which languages to offer at GCSE in England are taken by the four independent awarding organisations, AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC, rather than by central government. Awarding organisations are free to produce a GCSE in any modern language, including Ukrainian. This decision would be informed by several factors, including the level of demand from schools and the proportion of the population in the UK speaking the language.
The government stands steadfast behind the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government. The department is proud to support children and families from Ukraine during their transition to a new life and to do our part to support the Ukrainian people. The department launched the UK-Ukraine School Partnerships Programme in January, which supports UK-based Ukrainian students’ cultural ties to Ukraine and builds cross-cultural understanding among our pupils.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Ukrainian children are currently receiving an education in primary and secondary schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Information about the nationality or country of birth of children in schools in England is not collected by the department.
However, ad hoc surveys of admission officers were conducted in 2022 and are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-placements-for-children-from-outside-of-the-uk.
This shows that, between 1 September 2021 and 27 September 2022, when adjusted for non-response, there had been an estimated 22,100 applications for school places for children from Ukraine. 13,100 of these were for primary school places and 9,100 were for secondary school places.
Of these 22,100 applications, 20,500 offers had been made at that point in time. This figure is also adjusted for non-response. This represents 92% of applications. 12,300 of these were for primary school places and 8,100 were for secondary school places.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following a letter from Baroness Smith of Malvern to Hong Kong Watch on 3 October, in which it was suggested that Hong Kong British National (Overseas) students who cannot afford international university fees could appeal to have their fees waived, what assessment they have made of the number of international students that have successfully waived their fees, in whole or part, due to financial shortcoming.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Higher education (HE) institutions in England are autonomous bodies and it is for them to assess whether applications for fees which do not meet the criteria for automatic home fee status should be reduced or waived in line with individual circumstances. The department has not made an assessment on the number of international students that have successfully had their fees waived.
There are a range of resources and support for international students looking for scholarships, which can be found on the UK Council for International Student Affairs website and the British Council’s Study UK page.
Many HE institutions in the UK offer a range of bursaries and scholarships to international students and the department encourages students to contact their institution to find out what support may be available. We have not carried out an assessment of the number of university scholarships or bursaries available to prospective students on British National (Overseas) visas.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of university scholarships or bursaries available to prospective students on British National (Overseas) visas to help them afford international fees for tuition.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Higher education (HE) institutions in England are autonomous bodies and it is for them to assess whether applications for fees which do not meet the criteria for automatic home fee status should be reduced or waived in line with individual circumstances. The department has not made an assessment on the number of international students that have successfully had their fees waived.
There are a range of resources and support for international students looking for scholarships, which can be found on the UK Council for International Student Affairs website and the British Council’s Study UK page.
Many HE institutions in the UK offer a range of bursaries and scholarships to international students and the department encourages students to contact their institution to find out what support may be available. We have not carried out an assessment of the number of university scholarships or bursaries available to prospective students on British National (Overseas) visas.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have investigated reports that China lobbied for the removal of references to Taiwan from material used in schools in connection with GCSE examinations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The content of textbooks is a matter for individual publishers. The department does not play a role in prescribing or authorising the books that schools can use. It is for schools to determine what curriculum resources they use, and to use their judgement in assessing their content.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the independence of the UK higher education sector has been compromised by a reliance on funding from China.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has made significant strides to protect our values against those who do not respect the UK’s fundamental rights and freedoms, or whose strategic intent is hostile to UK interests. The department has committed, in the Integrated Review Refresh, to review the full set of legislative and other provisions designed to protect our academic sector, in order to identify what more the department could or should be doing.
The department recognises the potential for overseas interference in our higher education (HE) sector and we are committed to ensuring ways to increase transparency, improve HE providers’ overall resilience and economic security, whilst respecting the autonomy of universities.
A key part of the department’s International Education Strategy is diversification. Our universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country. The Office for Students, the regulator of HE in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Amnesty International report published on 13 May “On my campus, I am afraid": China's Targeting of Overseas Students Stifles Rights; and what action they are taking with allies to protect Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad who are subject to intimidation and surveillance from Chinese agents.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government’s International Education Strategy and its recent update make clear that the internationalisation of the higher education (HE) sector cannot come at any cost. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risk.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the HE sector and regularly assess the risks facing staff and students.
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards engagement with China and Chinese entities.
Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK, or on campuses abroad, will not be tolerated. This is an insidious threat to democracy and fundamental human rights.
The department passed the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 to further protect the UK’s campuses from interference and other threats to lawful freedom of speech. The Act strengthens existing freedom of speech duties placed upon HE providers in England and creates new routes of redress if these duties are breached.
The department has made the Commencement Regulations to ensure the main provisions of the Act are in place for 1 August 2024.
Where providers are operating campuses abroad, they must take, and should already be taking, reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law on those campuses.
HE providers are independent autonomous organisations and therefore responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place when accepting donations. The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Hong Kong Watch report, Tuition Fees for BNO Visa Holders: The Case for Home Fee Status, and the impact of the cost of international fees on the ability of young British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders to attend university; and whether they will follow the Scottish Government in introducing home fees status for BNO visa holders after three years of residency in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
To qualify for home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or ’a recognised connection’ to the UK. A recognised connection includes persons who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. There are also requirements associated with ordinary residence in the UK.
Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong BN(O) status holders will be able to qualify for home fee status and student finance once they have acquired settled status in the UK (usually after 5 years). Education is fully devolved, and administrations are able to make their own arrangements for accessing home fee status.