Asked by: Lord Stevens of Birmingham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the Minister for Higher and Further Education on 24 February regarding their response to Dr Philip Augar's Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, published in May 2019, what proportion of their modelled overall reduction in future costs to taxpayers from student loans arises from (1) the new proposals themselves, (2) changes to the discount rate, or (3) other factors.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The fiscal impacts of the student loan reforms announced on Thursday 24 February 2022 are detailed in full in the equality impact analysis (EIA) published alongside the announcement, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Updates to the Resource, Accounting, and Budgeting (RAB) charge, that result from the change to the discount rate, announced by the government on 13 December 2021, are provided in Annex B of the EIA linked to above. The proportion of loan outlay issued is not expected to be repaid in present terms. Forecasts of the savings that will result from the reforms, set out in Tables 11 and 12 of the EIA, use the updated RAB as a baseline, meaning the discount rate change does not account for any of these savings.
The forecast savings are wholly attributable to the two-year tuition fee freeze and changes to student loan repayment terms, as set out on page 13 of the higher education policy statement & reform consultation, and do not incorporate other elements of the reform package. The consultation is attached.
The savings do include the changes to the Plan 2 repayment threshold for 2022/23 financial year, announced on 28 January 2022, prior to the announcement of the whole reform package.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Birmingham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government by what date they expect British universities to have a definitive answer as to whether the UK has succeeded in formally associating with the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK stands ready to formalise our association to Horizon Europe at the earliest opportunity. At the recent EU-UK Specialised Committee the EU confirmed they were unwilling to move on UK association due to broader political issues. We continue to push the EU, by whatever means possible, to formalise our association but the EU is not living up to the commitments it made in 2020.
We recognise that delays by the EU have led to uncertainty for researchers, businesses and innovators based in the UK, including British Universities. To provide reassurance the Government has guaranteed funding for the first wave of eligible, successful applicants to Horizon Europe.
Given the EU’s persistence in delaying our association, it is only right and responsible that we are prepared for all outcomes, including one where we are not able to associate. Our priority is to support UK researchers and provide immediate stability and continuity for the sector. To this end, we are developing a coherent, compelling and high-quality programme to provide the fellowships, collaborations and industry engagement so valued in Horizon.
Asked by: Lord Stevens of Birmingham (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it remains their policy, set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, that funding for mental health services should annually grow as a share of overall NHS revenue expenditure.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The NHS Long Term Plan committed to increase spending on mental health services in real terms by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. We are ensuring every clinical commissioning group and integrated care board meets the Mental Health Investment Standard for spending on mental health to increase at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocations.