Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the revised international education strategy will measure the contribution of transnational education in relation to schools.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is reviewing the UK’s International Education Strategy to ensure it continues to reflect the priorities of the entire education sector, including transnational education for schools. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the growth of exports across the education sector, including schools. The strategy will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a revised international education strategy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is currently reviewing its International Education Strategy to ensure that it continues be an effective tool in increasing the value of education exports across the UK and reflects the priorities of the education sector. The strategy will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of overseas pupils studying at independent schools in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department estimates that overseas pupils at UK independent schools contributed approximately £0.98 billion to the UK economy in 2022.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the revised international education strategy will include an assessment of the overall contribution of overseas pupils studying at independent schools; and whether the strategy will aim to increase the number of pupils studying at independent schools in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government is reviewing the UK’s International Education Strategy to ensure it continues to reflect the priorities of the entire education sector, including schools. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the growth of exports across the education sector, including schools. The strategy will be published in the coming months.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an impact assessment of proposals to increase charges payable by independent schools for Ofsted inspections; and if so, whether they will publish that assessment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department launched an 8 week consultation on 25 September 2025 on the subject of reducing the subsidy for Ofsted inspection fees. The consultation document is publicly available and sets out how Ofsted-inspected private schools will be affected by the proposed fee increases.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on UK conservatoires of the proposal to introduce a levy on fees that higher education institutions charge overseas students, set out in the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May (CP 1326).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.
We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.
We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.
We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received about the impact on the UK's creative economy of the proposal to introduce a levy on fees that higher education institutions charge overseas students, set out in the White Paper Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May (CP 1326).
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down the barriers to opportunity through the department’s Plan for Change.
We will set out further details on the international student levy and targeted means-tested maintenance grants at the Autumn Budget.
We are committed to engaging the sector on the design of the international student levy and want to understand specific concerns providers have as early as possible.
We have received representations from a group of specialist institutions regarding the impact of the levy on the creative industry, to which the government replied on 13 October.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of state-funded schools had no applications for (1) GCSE music, and (2) A level music, in 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department does not hold information regarding the number of applications for individual subjects. However, the number of entries into each subject in each school and college can be downloaded from the Compare School and College Performance website: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 27 May (HL6984), whether they will name the schools visited by ministers in the Department for Education since July 2024, including whether each school is state-funded or fee paying.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider Ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools, in both their capacities as ministers and as Members of Parliament. The Ministerial team prioritise visits to state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England. In addition to the visits that Ministers undertake in their official capacity, Ministers undertake a range of visits to education settings in their role as Members of Parliament organised by constituency and Parliamentary offices, therefore any list provided would not provide the full picture of all activity undertaken.
Asked by: Lord Black of Brentwood (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many independent schools have been visited by Ministers at the Department for Education since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 6 May 2025 to Question 46839.