Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case of Majeed al-Zeer, a British citizen resident in Germany, whom the US has designated a Hamas fundraiser; whether he is registered as a director of the Palestinian Return Centre; and if so, what impact the US designation has on his status as director.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the legal relationship between NHS England and the NHS Muslim Network; and how much the NHS spent or committed to spend in supporting the work of the NHS Muslim Network in (1) 2023–24, and (2) 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the National NHS Muslim Network’s New Muslim guidance in August to "help new Muslims navigate through the early stages of their journey", whether it is their policy to produce similar documents for all faiths.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

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.