Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2020 to Question 2672 on access to educational and cultural exchange programmes for Welsh students, what (a) representations and (b) data his Department has received from Wales’ Education Minister on the effect of the Erasmus programme on Welsh students who have taken part in that programme.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government highly values international exchange and cooperation in education and training and recognises the benefits that such cooperation brings. As we prepare to leave the EU, the department has engaged widely with stakeholder groups across the UK, which we will continue to do. We have received representations from many sector bodies such as Universities UK, the Association of Colleges, the Russell Group, MillionPlus and the National Union of Students.
As the Prime Minister, has made clear, the government wants to work to continue to build academic cooperation between the UK and the EU. As we enter negotiations on our future relationship with the EU, we want to ensure that UK students and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems.
As stated in my answer to 2672 on 17th January 2020, the Secretary of State for Education and I regularly discuss matters relating to education and EU exit with the Welsh Government including on Erasmus+.
My officials also hold regular meetings on the topic of Erasmus+ with officials from the Welsh Government to ensure close cooperation on this matter.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) economic and (b) social effects of Erasmus+ membership for UK students.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participation in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.
The proposed regulations for the next 2021-27 Erasmus+ programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future UK-EU relationship. Any economic and social effects on Erasmus+ membership for UK students given the UK’s exit from the EU will be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.
The Government supports initiatives for our young people to gain international experience, both through study and work placements abroad, to increase their language skills and cultural awareness, and improve their life chances and employability. We want to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We are considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2020 to Question 2671 on access to educational and cultural exchange programmes, what plans his Department has for the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training after the UK leave the EU.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The UK government wants to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We highly value international exchange and cooperation in education and training. Even after we leave the EU on the 31 January, the Withdrawal Agreement ensures that students, young people, and learners will be able to participate fully in the remainder of the current Erasmus+ programme and organisations should continue to bid for programme funding until the end of 2020.
As noted in the political declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027), if it is in our interest to do so. The proposed regulations for the next programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future of UK-EU relationship.
The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and is considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives. Officials from the Department of Education are liaising with their colleagues in the devolved administrations on a potential domestic alternative should it be needed.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2020 to Question 2671 on access to educational and cultural exchange programmes, what steps his Department has taken to maintain international exchange and collaboration in education and training in the event that the UK does not participate in the Erasmus+ programme.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The UK government wants to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems. We highly value international exchange and cooperation in education and training. Even after we leave the EU on the 31 January, the Withdrawal Agreement ensures that students, young people, and learners will be able to participate fully in the remainder of the current Erasmus+ programme and organisations should continue to bid for programme funding until the end of 2020.
As noted in the political declaration, the UK is open to participate in certain EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-2027), if it is in our interest to do so. The proposed regulations for the next programme are still being discussed in the EU and have yet to be finalised. Future participation in EU programmes will be a subject of our negotiations on the future of UK-EU relationship.
The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and is considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives. Officials from the Department of Education are liaising with their colleagues in the devolved administrations on a potential domestic alternative should it be needed.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on ensuring that students at Welsh universities have access to educational and cultural exchange programmes after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government highly values international exchange and cooperation in education and training and recognises the benefits that such cooperation brings.
As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has made clear, the government wants to continue to build academic cooperation between the UK and the EU. As we enter negotiations on our future relationship with the EU, we want to ensure that UK and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems.
The UK as a whole participates in the current Erasmus+ programme and the Department for Education is the National Authority for the programme in the UK. The department oversees the work of the UK National Agency, which is responsible for the management and delivery of the programme across the UK, including in the devolved administrations.
My right hon. Friend, Secretary of State for Education and I regularly discuss matters relating to education and EU exit with the devolved administrations including on Erasmus+.
The department officials also hold regular meetings on the topic of Erasmus+ with officials from the devolved administrations to ensure close cooperation on this matter.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that students have access to educational and cultural exchange programmes after the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government highly values international cultural exchange and cooperation in education and training and recognises the benefits that such cooperation brings.
As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, has made clear, the government wants to work to continue to build academic cooperation between the UK and the EU. As we enter negotiations on our future relationship with the EU, we want to ensure that UK students and European students can continue to benefit from each other’s world-leading education systems.
As stated in the Political Declaration, the UK is open to participating in certain educational and cultural EU programmes, such as the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27), if it is in our interest to do so.
The UK government is preparing for every eventuality and is considering a wide range of options with regards to the future of international exchange and collaboration in education and training, including potential domestic alternatives.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to allocate funding to further education providers in England as a result of the increase in pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from 1 April 2020.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
On 10 April, the department set out its plans to fund further education providers in England to compensate them for the increase in employer pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from September 2019 to July 2020. The details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-scheme-employer-contribution-grant-further-education-providers.
This grant is being made in 2 payments: one in September 2019 and one in April 2020. Following the Spending Round announcement on 31 August, we have been able to confirm that we will continue to provide this funding for the rest of financial year 2020-21. The details of the allocation for 2020-21 and the amounts for the remainder of that financial year are still to be determined, based on the most recent data from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and these will be announced in due course.
The department has no plans to provide additional funding specifically for contributions for the Local Government Pensions Scheme. However, the government has announced £400 million additional funding for 16-19 education in 2020-21, which is a 7% increase in funding for education providers for this age group, in addition to the funding for teachers’ pensions.
The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK government. Under the Barnett Formula, the Welsh government receives a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK government spending on comparable services in England. The Barnett Formula therefore determines changes to each devolved administration’s funding with reference to changes in Departmental Expenditure Limit funding for the department.
The additional funding for the department in the August 2019 Spending Round will, therefore, be reflected in the normal way in the block grant for the Welsh government. The funding for further education pensions in 2020-21 will come partly from an addition to the department’s allocation and partly from re-prioritisation of resources within the baseline allocation for the department.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding will be allocated to the Welsh Government to compensate for the additional pension contributions in the further education sector that will be in effect from 1 April 2020.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
On 10 April, the department set out its plans to fund further education providers in England to compensate them for the increase in employer pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from September 2019 to July 2020. The details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-scheme-employer-contribution-grant-further-education-providers.
This grant is being made in 2 payments: one in September 2019 and one in April 2020. Following the Spending Round announcement on 31 August, we have been able to confirm that we will continue to provide this funding for the rest of financial year 2020-21. The details of the allocation for 2020-21 and the amounts for the remainder of that financial year are still to be determined, based on the most recent data from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and these will be announced in due course.
The department has no plans to provide additional funding specifically for contributions for the Local Government Pensions Scheme. However, the government has announced £400 million additional funding for 16-19 education in 2020-21, which is a 7% increase in funding for education providers for this age group, in addition to the funding for teachers’ pensions.
The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK government. Under the Barnett Formula, the Welsh government receives a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK government spending on comparable services in England. The Barnett Formula therefore determines changes to each devolved administration’s funding with reference to changes in Departmental Expenditure Limit funding for the department.
The additional funding for the department in the August 2019 Spending Round will, therefore, be reflected in the normal way in the block grant for the Welsh government. The funding for further education pensions in 2020-21 will come partly from an addition to the department’s allocation and partly from re-prioritisation of resources within the baseline allocation for the department.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding to further education institutions in England to compensate for the increase in pension contribution under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme from 1 April 2020 will lead to a Barnett consequential for Wales.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
On 10 April, the department set out its plans to fund further education providers in England to compensate them for the increase in employer pension contributions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme from September 2019 to July 2020. The details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-pension-scheme-employer-contribution-grant-further-education-providers.
This grant is being made in 2 payments: one in September 2019 and one in April 2020. Following the Spending Round announcement on 31 August, we have been able to confirm that we will continue to provide this funding for the rest of financial year 2020-21. The details of the allocation for 2020-21 and the amounts for the remainder of that financial year are still to be determined, based on the most recent data from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, and these will be announced in due course.
The department has no plans to provide additional funding specifically for contributions for the Local Government Pensions Scheme. However, the government has announced £400 million additional funding for 16-19 education in 2020-21, which is a 7% increase in funding for education providers for this age group, in addition to the funding for teachers’ pensions.
The Barnett Formula determines changes to the block grant funding allocated to the devolved administrations by the UK government. Under the Barnett Formula, the Welsh government receives a population-based proportion of changes in planned UK government spending on comparable services in England. The Barnett Formula therefore determines changes to each devolved administration’s funding with reference to changes in Departmental Expenditure Limit funding for the department.
The additional funding for the department in the August 2019 Spending Round will, therefore, be reflected in the normal way in the block grant for the Welsh government. The funding for further education pensions in 2020-21 will come partly from an addition to the department’s allocation and partly from re-prioritisation of resources within the baseline allocation for the department.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the post-18 education sector in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland on the proposals set out in the post-18 education and funding review.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
Higher and further education are devolved matters and as such the review is considering the English system only. We recognise the direct impact the review may have on Devolved Administrations and are engaging with the relevant devolved governments as appropriate. The Government will consider the independent panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review.