Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many international students are currently studying in English universities, and what is the total amount these pupils will pay in tuition fees this academic year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education (HE), including on international student numbers and tuition fee income.
In the 2022/23 academic year there were 630,005 international students studying at English universities and other HE providers, generating a total tuition fee income of £10.1 billion.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what data they have on the number of international students studying in English universities who attended English independent schools, and what assessment they have made of any potential loss of income for English universities as a result of levying VAT on independent school fees.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The department does hold some information on the type of school attended by students prior to entering higher education in the UK. However, this is only mandatory for UK domiciled students and is optional for providers to complete for international students. Therefore, the information held by the department is of unreliable quality and Higher Education Statistics Agency publish this information for UK domiciled students only.
HM Treasury will publish a Tax Information and Impact Note that considers the impact of these tax changes at Budget on 30 October.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government has no plans to make changes to the VAT regime for independent schools. The VAT regime does not treat school fees differently based on whether schools have charitable status or not. All school fees are exempt from VAT.
The government has made no assessment of the scope under existing law for levying VAT on the fees charged by independent schools with charitable status. Other organisations, including EDSK, Baines Cutler Consulting, and Oxford Economics have published their own assessments related to this issue.
It is also worth noting that in practice, VAT on school fees would be passed on to parents. Schools would be required to pay the difference between the VAT they have charged to parents and the VAT they have themselves paid to other businesses.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Berridge on 15 September 2020 (HL7666), how many school playing fields were sold in the years (1) 2020, and (2) 2021.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The number of school playing fields disposed of in 2020, either by way of sale or grant of a long lease was 21. The number of playing fields disposed of in 2021, either by way of sale or grant of a long lease was 14.
Further disposals that meet specific criteria can be made under a General Consent Order (GCO). GCOs can be used for transactions that represent no net loss of playing field land to the school estate or where the loss is temporary. Disposals made under a GCO are not published by the department and are not included in the figures above.
In instances of schools wishing to sell playing fields, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, requires applicants to demonstrate a sporting and/or playing benefit as part of any mitigation measures, and that any loss has been minimised both in quantum and quality of the land disposed of. No open school has been allowed to sell all its playing fields.
The Secretary of State for Education is keen to protect school playing fields. Schools are only able to sell or otherwise dispose of playing fields when they can demonstrate to the Secretary of State that they have explored all possible alternatives to the disposal, and that the disposal does not adversely impact upon the school’s curriculum.
The department periodically updates a playing field disposal list, accessible here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals.
The next update to this will be in May 2022. The list was last updated in July 2021. The department is currently collating data for this update.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 24 February (HL Deb col 340), what plans they have to involve independent schools in the National Tutoring Programme.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The National Tutoring Programme is delivered using high-quality tutoring organisations that have been selected against a robust set of criteria, including ‘safeguarding’, ‘understanding schools working and challenges’, and ‘excellence in delivery’, following applications from hundreds of organisations. Further information on these criteria is available here: https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/tuition-partners/.
As well as working through established tutoring providers, the programme is happy to accept applications from other organisations, for example, associations of independent schools, who meet the necessary criteria.
Following feedback from schools, funding has also been provided directly to state-funded schools so that they can use their own staff for tutoring. Potential tutors are required to be qualified teachers or undertake bespoke training. Schools may engage tutors from their local networks, including from independent schools through new or pre-existing partnership arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Berridge on 21 June (HL Deb, col 14), what is the average annual cost of a place in a (1) children’s home, and (2) boarding school.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
A summary of a project commissioned by the department to understand fees paid by local authorities for children’s homes in England was published in November 2020. It can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analytical-associate-pool-summary-of-projects.
This reports a mean average fee for children’s homes of £3,962 per week.
The department does not collect data on the cost of boarding schools for children in care.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what restrictions will apply to camps for schoolchildren this summer under COVID-19 regulations.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Since 17 May, all out of school settings, which includes youth residentials and summer camps, have been able to undertake residential visits for children. From 21 June, these settings have been able to do so in groups of 30 children, in line with the position for school residential visits. The Department has provided updated guidance on ‘Protective measures for holiday or after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings for children’, which sets out how providers can conduct residential visits safely. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened carefully to the views of the scientific community, in particular from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and its subgroups, when taking decisions on the best way to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. Gathering in larger groups, including as part of residential visits, does increase the risk of transmission. COVID-19 spreads more easily indoors, especially over prolonged periods, for example in shared sleeping arrangements, which increases the risk of residential visits. The Department continues to keep these restrictions under constant review and will ensure they remain proportionate to the threat to public health posed by COVID-19.
It is important that education and childcare settings continue to be supported with appropriate guidance on safety measures. The Department remains committed to ensuring that schools and colleges can effectively manage risks, create an inherently safer environment, and that we can maximise face-to-face education wherever possible. As new evidence or data emerges, the Government will act accordingly to ensure that all settings have the right safety measures in place.
The advice on residential visits will be reviewed again in advance of Step 4.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to give schools in the Crown Dependencies access to the Department for Education's Barred List Checking Service Sign-in portal.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The regulations that are used to determine the eligibility for access to the Department for Education's Barred List Checking Service apply to England only.
The School Staffing (England) Regulations 2009 are for maintained schools and can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2680/regulation/24/made.
The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 are for academies, free schools and alternative provision academies, and can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/pdfs/uksi_20143283_en.pdf.
The Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and The Further Education (Providers of Education) (England) Regulations 2006 can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/728/contents/made and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/3199/contents/made.
The Department has no plans to give schools in the Crown Dependencies access to the replacement service for Teacher’s Pension Online, the Children’s Barred List Status Check. Teacher’s Pensions Online hosted the standalone barred list check service until 31 March 2021. The replacement service transferred to the Teaching Regulation Agency on 1 April 2021. Schools in the Crown Dependencies should contact the Disclosure and Barring Service directly to obtain an Enhanced plus Barred List information check for those employed in regulated activity.
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Berridge on 1 March (HL Deb, col 1002), how the education recovery schemes they are designing will operate; and what opportunities independent schools will have to contribute to any such schemes.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government is committed to helping all children and young people make up learning lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
This is why the government has invested £1.7 billion to give education settings support to help pupils get back on track, including additional funding, tutoring, early language support and summer schools. We will provide further guidance to schools on the operation of new education recovery programmes shortly.
In January 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, committed to work with parents, teachers and pupils to develop a long-term plan to help pupils make up their learning over the course of this parliament. We have appointed Sir Kevan Collins as the Education Recovery Commissioner to advise on this broader plan. The objectives of the Education Recovery Commissioner, as outlined in the Terms of Reference, are to advise on the design and implementation of potential interventions that will help students catch up learning lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Education Recovery Commissioner will be expected to engage with a range of education experts and settings to improve implementation and refine proposals to improve the effectiveness of the delivery of outcomes.
Independent schools have been actively involved in cross-sector partnerships, forming impactful and mutually beneficial partnerships with state school colleagues across several areas including curriculum development, quality of teaching, school leadership, and other school improvement initiatives. Independent schools are also involved in the Broadening Educational Pathways programme aimed at increasing the support of the sector for vulnerable children. All of this is consistent with the department’s joint understanding with the Independent Schools Council, which outlines how independent schools can work in partnership with state schools to help raise attainment and, in particular, help pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. I would very much like to see this spirit of collaboration extended to our COVID-19 recovery efforts.
The terms of reference for the Education Recovery Commissioner is published here (and can be viewed in the attached document):
Asked by: Lord Lexden (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Independent Schools Council’s Partnership Week 2020.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We are delighted to celebrate the success of cross-sector partnerships and welcome the hard work that has gone into promoting this work across our country by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and others such as the Schools Together Group.
The department continues to encourage and support new partnerships between independent and state-funded schools. In line with the department’s joint understanding with the ISC, we want to see more schools forming impactful and mutually beneficial collaborations across the areas of curriculum development, teaching quality, governance and leadership, and other targeted forms of school improvement.
As disruptive as COVID-19 has been, we hope that more schools will see the opportunity to work together to find solutions to common problems and to build a more collaborative system. Partnerships Week and other forms of promotion, such as the ISC’s recently published Celebrating Partnerships booklet, are key to ensuring that more schools hear about the good work already happening in this field and encourage more to join.