Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what period of time is meant by the phrase “in a generation” in their Plan for Change published on 5 December 2024.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The use of the term “in a generation” in the Plan for Change is consistent with language used in other government documents to indicate ambitious reform. Milestones for this Parliament have been clearly set out.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will define the term "directing mind" in relation to Great British Railways.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Railways Bill will set out Great British Railway's statutory functions, as the directing mind for the railway. In general terms Great British Railways (GBR) will manage cross-network planning and operations for current and future customer needs. With oversight by the Secretary of State and where necessary Scottish Ministers, GBR will make informed trade-offs between different uses of the railway, which is as crucial for the efficiency of freight operations as it is for passenger services.
Passengers and taxpayers expect a consistent service across the rail network, and the majority support the move to a publicly owned-rail network, as outlined in a YouGov survey from 2024.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 30 May (HL7441), what assessment have they made of whether making adjustments in the assessment and marking of work by students who self-declare the conditions referenced is "reasonable" when compared to those who do not.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department does not directly influence how universities assess a student's work. Universities have autonomy over their assessment methods and academic standards.
The Office for Students (OfS), established under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, regulates higher education providers in England. It ensures that universities meet certain standards for teaching quality, student outcomes and financial sustainability. While the OfS sets the regulatory framework, universities retain the freedom to design and implement their own assessment methods.
The OfS requires universities to meet certain standards for accessibility and support for disabled students. This includes making reasonable adjustments in assessments to ensure that disabled students are not disadvantaged. These adjustments can include alternative formats for exams, extended deadlines, and other accommodations tailored to individual needs.
While universities retain autonomy over their specific assessment methods, they must comply with these broader regulatory requirements to ensure fair and equitable treatment of disabled students. This is also supported by guidance provided as part of the Disabled Student Commitment scheme launched by the Disabled Students' Commission.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to develop (1) cultural, and (2) trade, links with Tunisia.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Tunisia share ambitions to build the bilateral relationship across trade, culture and other areas. Bilateral trade is currently £753 million (Q4 2024) an increase of 8.7 per cent from Q4 2023. There are UK-Tunisia cooperation opportunities in sectors such as agri-food and technology, particularly fintech. The UK will welcome a Tunisian delegation and ten Tunisian tech startups to London Tech Week 2025, bringing together innovators and investors.
Through the British Council's work, the UK supports a growing number of Tunisian artists, arts organisations and civil service organisations to benefit from UK partnerships. Recent collaborations include festival partnerships, youth training and capacity building, and cultural heritage preservation.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Tunisia about the security situation in the southern Mediterranean littoral.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Tunisia enjoy a long, enduring and positive defence and security relationship. The UK continues to support the modernisation of the Tunisian military both bilaterally and multilaterally through the delivery of an ambitious NATO Defence Capacity Building package to Tunisia as a Mediterranean Dialogue country and key partner in NATO's southern neighbourhood. During the Defence Senior Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa's (DSAME) visit to Tunisia, discussions were held around strengthening cooperation moving forwards and other areas of common interest.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 May (HL6802), how many higher education students self-assessed as having a learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, AD(H)D, social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment, or an autistic spectrum condition in each year since 2015; and how many assessment results took these conditions into account, in each year since 2015.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The numbers of students declaring the conditions referenced are published in detail on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15.
The ways in which higher education providers (HEPs) best support these students is based on the individual needs of the student.
HEPs have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students. Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HEPs. They are also entitled to reasonable adjustments in the assessment and marking of their work to ensure that they are not disadvantaged. Students should discuss their needs, provide any appropriate evidence and work with the university's support services to identify and implement suitable adjustments.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for eligible students in addition to the reasonable adjustments made by HEPs for the provision of more specialist support, such as ergonomic equipment and assistive software. To be eligible for DSA, students must be eligible for higher education student finance and must have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what visits have been made by Royal Navy vessels (1) to ports in Tunisia, and (2) through Tunisian waters, since 2020.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Royal Navy surface vessels have visited Tunisian ports and waters on four occasions since 2020. The visits took place in September and October 2020, April 2021 and November 2022.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 14 April (HL6368), what estimate they have made of the number of university students who self-identify as neurodivergent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
There is no set category for ‘neurodivergence’, so included in this figure are higher education (HE) student enrolments flagged as ‘Learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D’ and ‘Social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment or an autistic spectrum condition’.
Across all levels and modes of study and all domiciles, 245,810 HE student enrolments self-assessed in this way for the 2023/24 academic year across all UK HE providers.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the use of artificial intelligence to cheat during university examinations in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has not made an assessment of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to cheat during university examinations in England. The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for universities.
Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for designing their own policies regarding the use of AI and for taking steps to prevent academic misconduct.
As the independent regulator for higher education (HE) in England, the OfS places conditions of registration on HE providers that are designed to protect students. Condition B4 covers fair and effective assessments, as well as tackling academic misconduct.
Where it detects that a provider is at risk of breaching its conditions of registration, the OfS has the power to investigate and impose sanctions where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Office for Students in protecting the interests of university students self-identifying as neurodivergent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England and aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of HE that enriches their life and career.
The OfS is committed to supporting an inclusive experience of HE for disabled students and uses a range of regulatory tools in order to identify issues and support continuous improvement.
The OfS uses access and participation plans to support and challenge the HE sector to improve equality of opportunity. These are agreements that set out how universities and colleges will improve equality of opportunity for disadvantaged groups, including learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, to access, succeed in and progress from HE.
In the summer, we will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect HE providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all disadvantaged students.