Lord Godson

The guidance published on 14 May remains in place.

We are carefully reviewing the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy programme in the context of the new Government’s trade and industrial strategies. The House will be notified of any appointments in due course.

The government recognises that UK higher education (HE) creates opportunity, is an engine for growth in our economy and supports local communities. In making the tough decision to increase tuition fee caps, after seven years of frozen fee caps under the previous government, the department’s immediate priority is helping all providers manage the financial pressures they are facing.

However, if the department is to maintain and enhance our national and international reputation, we need a culture that accepts nothing less than high standards, and that requires continuous improvement from all providers. This requires a rigorous approach to improving quality and supporting improvement. The department expects all providers to raise the bar further on teaching standards to maintain and improve our world-leading reputation and to drive out poor practice.

Following Sir David Behan’s review, the department will work closely with a re-focused Office for Students (OfS) as it develops its new approach to assessing quality. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has already taken the crucial first step of appointing Sir David as interim Chair of the OfS to oversee this important work.

The department expects the sector to deliver the very best outcomes, both for students and for the country. The department will publish its plan for HE reform by summer 2025 and will work with the sector and the OfS to deliver the change that the country needs.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review and its recommendations will be driven by evidence and a commitment to high standards for all young people, irrespective of background. Professor Francis OBE was appointed due to her professional expertise including as Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation.

Higher education (HE) providers must be transparent about the way courses are advertised and delivered, to give students the information they need to make informed decisions. This should include information about the number and type of contact hours that students can expect, such as the balance between teaching that is delivered face-to-face and online.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of HE in England. The OfS regulates through conditions that apply to registered providers. Whilst the conditions of registration do not include a ratio of face-to-face to online teaching, they specify how providers must ensure that students receive a high-quality academic experience. For example, students must receive effective engagement, up-to-date resources, and sufficient support whilst undertaking their courses. The OfS can investigate providers where it has concerns that they are not providing the high-quality teaching students should expect.

If students are not happy with the quality of education they are getting, they should complain directly to the university or college first. If they are not happy with the outcome, they can escalate the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.

Virtual learning can be of huge benefit to students, but it must support and not detract from the quality of a student’s learning experience. The OfS published its Blended Learning Review report in October 2022. It called on providers to make sure students have clear information about what they can expect when applying for courses and to work with their students to evaluate their experiences of blended learning.

Unjustifiable increases in the proportion of top degrees being awarded threaten to undermine the value of degrees. Data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, now a part of Jisc), shows in the past two years the proportion of top degrees being awarded has begun to return to pre-Covid levels. In 2022/23, 30% of students of UK higher education (HE) providers qualified with a first class honours first degree, down from 32% in 2021/22 and 36% in 2020/21. This is still an increase on the 22% qualifying with a first class honours first degree in 2014/15.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of HE providers in England. The department is working with the OfS to ensure vigilance about any concerns over grade irregularities which would damage the reputation of HE in England.

​​In 2022/23, the OfS opened 14 investigations into providers based on regulatory intelligence relating to quality. It has to date published 11 reports on these assessments. The investigations to examine the reasons for sharp increases in the rates of students being awarded first class and upper second class honours degrees at three providers are ongoing. The OfS also publishes an annual report of degree classifications over time, which analyses graduate attainment rates and uses statistical modelling to assess to what extent the increases and decreases in these rates could be statistically accounted for by changes in the prior attainment of, and distribution of subjects studied by, graduate populations.

This document is owned by the NHS Muslim Network, which is one of several staff networks which have formed within the National Health Service. Other staff networks include the Jewish Staff Network and the Care Experienced Staff Network.

Staff networks make materials for their members with no input from NHS England or the Department, and the networks determine policies useful for their network members.

The NHS Muslim Network supports Muslim colleagues, allies, and friends, by providing a forum for Muslim staff to share their experiences and to raise issues faced by this staff group. There is no legal relationship between NHS England and the NHS Muslim Network, and this is the same for NHS England and all staff networks in the National Health Service.

Staff networks are not allocated budgets but can apply for funding to support activities which improve staff experience or patient outcomes. In 2023/24, NHS England spent £2,655 supporting the NHS Muslim Network activities. So far in 2024/25, NHS England has not spent or committed any funding to support the NHS Muslim Network activities.

We do not comment on individual cases. The UK continues to work closely with our partners to identify further opportunities to disrupt Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad's financial networks, including cutting off access to funding being used to carry out atrocities. This work is ongoing, alongside our work to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.

The Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) War Crimes Team, hosted by SO15, is a small team that has national responsibility for investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is funded directly by CTP and operates across the UK. The CTP War Crimes Team, which is hosted within the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, has received around 170 referrals relating to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict since 7 October. It would not be appropriate to comment on the specific nature of each and every referral, or the referrer, but each case is reviewed in line with War Crimes/Crimes Against Humanity Referral Guidelines, jointly agreed by police and the Crown Prosecution Service. The operational independence of policing is integral to this process. At this time, there is no UK-based investigation into any matters relating to this particular conflict.