Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are offering to people from Hong Kong who have come to the UK under the British National Overseas (BNO) visa to help them take up teaching positions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
From 1 February 2023, teachers who are already qualified and recognised as teachers in Hong Kong are able to apply to have their qualification recognised with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England, without additional training. This means that they can apply for teaching roles that require QTS.
For those looking to train to teach in physics and languages, bursaries worth up to £27,000 and scholarships worth up to £29,000 are available, including to those with a British National (Overseas) visa.
For those who are considering coming to England, we have introduced an international relocation payment worth up to £10,000 to help overseas physics and language teachers and trainees, including those from Hong Kong, to relocate.
Schools looking to complete safeguarding checks in order to employ teachers from Hong Kong can currently provide assistance to these individuals with a letter which can be used to apply for a Certificate of No Criminal Conviction from the Hong Kong authorities. Our statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education, also sets out alternative safeguarding processes that schools can follow. This can be found attached.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress has been made to close Chinese Confucius Institutes in the UK, if any; and what estimate they have made of how much of the spending on Mandarin teaching at schools has been channelled through Confucius Institutes.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring the UK education sector engages with China in a way that reflects the UK's national security and values and takes account of concerns.
Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes should operate transparently and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. As with any international collaboration, education providers have a responsibility to ensure their partnerships with countries overseas are managed appropriately, ensuring the right due diligence is in place. This includes partnerships with Confucius Institutes. The department would encourage any providers with concerns to contact the government.
The government’s flagship Mandarin Excellence Programme for teaching Mandarin in state-funded schools in England is delivered by the University College London Institute of Education. Since 2016, when the programme first launched, approximately £20.4 million, excluding VAT, has been spent on the Mandarin Excellence Programme. Over 75% of this funding has gone directly to schools participating in the programme. The department does not currently monitor the level of funding spent on Mandarin teaching in schools through Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms.
The government continues to keep these arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact of overseas students being prevented from entering the UK for their (1) graduate, and (2) post-graduate, studies on UK universities’ reputation internationally.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The UK’s HE sector has a strong reputation globally. The department is committed to maintaining the UK as an attractive study destination for international students. As set out in the International Education Strategy, we are working closely with the higher education (HE) sector and other government departments to ensure international students are welcomed and supported.
The department works with colleagues across government to ensure up-to-date immigration advice is available to students to help with their student visa journey.
The department has met the International Education Strategy’s ambition to host at least 600,000 international students per year in the UK, nearly ten years early, with a total of 605,130 international students in the UK in the in the 2020/21 academic year.
Asked by: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on (1) the UK economy, and (2) the financial viability of Britain’s higher education sector, of overseas students being deterred from coming to the UK for their (a) graduate, and (b) post-graduate, studies.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
International students make an estimated contribution to the UK economy of at least £25.9 billion per year, with every part of the UK being financially better off because of international students. International students also make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, which is important for our universities and delivers growth at home.
The department continues to work to ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination to international students. The government looks forward to continuing to welcome international students to our world class HE institutions. We remain committed to the targets set out in the International Education Strategy to continue to host at least 600,000 international students in the UK per year, by 2030. With 605,130 international students in the UK hosted in the 2020/21 academic year, the government has met its International Students ambition for the first time, nearly ten years early.