Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave, before deciding to increase tuition fees to £9,535 from September 2025, to using the powers in Schedule 2 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to limit the fee rise only to higher education providers that hold a high-level quality rating in order to ensure good value for money for students.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
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.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the conclusions of The symbolic violence of setting: A Bourdieusian analysis of mixed methods data on secondary students’ views about setting, published in 2018, that setting children by ability in schools is (1) “symbolic violence”, and (2) “incompatible with social justice approaches to education”; and whether they took these views into consideration when appointing the article’s co-author Professor Becky Francis as Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
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.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consistency of standards at English universities given that the proportion of students receiving a first-class degree was 7 per cent in 1997 and 29.5 per cent in 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
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.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they made of the degree of contact hours that were being provided to students on courses at higher education providers when deciding to increase tuition fees to £9,535 from September 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
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.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new blasphemy guidance being developed by the Home Office and the Department for Education will be legally binding upon schools; how they are planning to make schools aware of their new responsibilities under that guidance; and how that guidance will be enforced.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
In response to recent incidents, the Government has been clear that there is no blasphemy law in Great Britain. The Department has no plans to produce specific guidance on blasphemy for schools.
Head teachers are best placed to make the decisions on how to meet the needs of their pupils. In doing so, there are a range of considerations, supported by existing departmental guidance. This includes ensuring political impartiality and promoting respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and beliefs.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total apprenticeship budget allocated by HM Treasury to the Department for Education in each of the financial years (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, (3) 2018–19, (4) 2019–20, (5) 2020–21, and (6) 2021–22.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts for all employers in England, to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers, and apprentices.
The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT). The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total apprenticeships spend in England from the 2016/17 financial year to the 2021/22 financial year. This reflects the impact of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 on increasing investment in apprenticeships and shows that in the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the budget in England was spent, with only £11 million unspent. Apprenticeships are an employer-led programme, and as is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT, as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
The Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and total apprenticeships spend for the 2016/17 to 2021/22 financial years:
Year | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget (£million) | 1,808 | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 |
Total ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (£million) | 1,649 | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 |
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they spent on apprenticeships in total in each of the financial years (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, (3) 2018–19, (4) 2019–20, (5) 2020–21, and (6) 2021–22.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts for all employers in England, to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers, and apprentices.
The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT). The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total apprenticeships spend in England from the 2016/17 financial year to the 2021/22 financial year. This reflects the impact of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 on increasing investment in apprenticeships and shows that in the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the budget in England was spent, with only £11 million unspent. Apprenticeships are an employer-led programme, and as is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT, as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
The Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and total apprenticeships spend for the 2016/17 to 2021/22 financial years:
Year | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget (£million) | 1,808 | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 |
Total ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (£million) | 1,649 | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 |