Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her planned timetable is for responding to Question 76810 of 12 September 2025 on Confucius Institutes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The response to Written Parliamentary Question 76810 was published on 15 October 2025.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department engages regularly with representatives from the higher education (HE) sector to support universities to maximise opportunities of collaboration whilst managing risks.
The department expects the HE sector to be alert to a range of risks when collaborating with international partners and to conduct appropriate due diligence and oversight. Any international arrangements English HE providers who are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) make, including Confucius Institutes, should be within the law and comply with OfS registration conditions. These include a commitment to the public interest governance principles, which include operating openly and in accordance with ensuring academic freedom and freedom of speech.
If students, staff, or the public feel that a provider is not meeting these requirements, they can submit a notification to the OfS. As the regulator for registered English providers, the OfS can intervene and use its regulatory powers, if a breach is identified.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with businesses on levels of need for apprentices.
Answered by Janet Daby
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the Industrial Strategy.
The development of the growth and skills offer is informed by Skills England’s analysis and engagement. Skills England is working closely with employers, training providers and other stakeholders to identify priority skills gaps, helping to ensure that the levy-funded growth and skills offer meets the needs of businesses and helps to kick start economic growth.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
Answered by Luke Hall
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people have enrolled to study for a Essential Digital Skills qualification since 1 January 2024.
Answered by Luke Hall
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The number of learners undertaking an Essential Digital Skills qualification as of January 2024 is 11,250.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the value of tuition fee repayments that were written off due to lower graduate salary levels between 2020 and 2023.
Answered by Luke Hall
As education is a devolved issue, the following answer concerns the student finance system in England only. The student finance systems of the devolved administrations differ from that of England.
The department makes regular assessments of the expected write-off amount of student loans issued in each financial year. These forecasts are published on GOV.UK.
The headline statistic Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge is the percentage of the loans (both tuition and maintenance) outlaid to students in a given financial year, that the government expects to subsidise, i.e. write-off.
Repayments are calculated based on income, not on the amount borrowed. Borrowers earning less than the repayment threshold repay nothing at all, and loans are cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. The Student Loans Company will also cancel a borrower’s liability to repay a loan if the borrower dies or receives an eligible disability-related benefit and because of the disability is permanently unfit for work. It is not possible to disaggregate the pure impact of salary levels of borrowers (graduates and non-graduates) on loan write-offs.
The latest publication of the student loan forecasts for England was published in June 2023, and will be updated at the end of June 2024. The RAB charge for full-time undergraduate higher education (plan 2) loans issued in the 2022/23 financial year was forecast to be 28%.
Student loan repayments volumes are sensitive to the wider economic environment. Earnings of borrowers (both graduates and non-graduates), interest rates, inflation rates, repayment threshold freezes, policy changes and modelling improvements, all influence the RAB charge forecasts. For these reasons RAB forecasts from the past are not directly comparable year-on-year.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to Question 182232 on Confucius Institutes, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the Chinese authorities of maintaining the Confucius Institutes in the UK in 2023/24.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not hold this information.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the lessons learned for her Department of the implementation of the skills electrification project element of the emerging skills projects.
Answered by Luke Hall
The Skills Electrification Project was part of the Emerging Skills Projects, which were pilot projects funded by the department to identify future skills needs and develop high-quality modular courses to help address future skills gaps in key sectors. The Skills Electrification Project, as well as the other emerging skills projects, were developed and run by the Advanced Manufacturing Catapult and completed in March 2022.
The department recognises the changing nature of skills needs, the importance of emerging skills such as electrification and assesses skills needs for such sectors. For example, the National Grid estimates the electricity network workforce will grow by 400,000 roles by 2050. This includes 260,000 brand new roles, and 140,000 to replace natural attrition such as retirement. This is on top of the existing shortage of crucial workers in the sector.
To help meet those needs there are three apprenticeship standards that directly serve the electricity networks sector: community energy specialist (Level 4), building energy management systems (Level 4) and power networks craftsperson (Level 3).
Free Courses for Jobs also offers a range of qualifications in electrical disciplines, as well as digital engineering and electrotechnical installation.
T Levels in engineering and construction teach young people some of the skills that are crucial to the growth of the UK’s energy networks. Relevant T Levels in engineering, manufacturing, and construction can lead to crucial occupations such as civil engineering technician, electrical engineering technician and technical surveyor.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the National Centre for Computing Education on its progress in ensuring greater female participation in STEM subjects in (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is committed to ensuring that anyone, regardless of their gender or background, can pursue an education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The department’s contract with the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is managed by departmental officials who meet regularly with STEM Learning, the NCCE supplier, to discuss progress. The NCCE aims to improve the quality of computing education and drive up participation in computing at GCSE and A Level, particularly amongst girls. The NCCE is primarily focused on supporting schools and colleges across England, with the expectation that an increase in participation and interest from girls with computing would coincide with an increase in female participation at further education (FE) and higher education (HE).
As part of the procurement for the second NCCE contract, the department asked bidders to design a gender insights programme, aimed at improving schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and to engage schools in a sustained course of action designed to improve the take up of computer science qualifications, where girls are underrepresented. In Autumn 2023, the NCCE launched the ‘I Belong’ programme to schools and colleges, and early completers include a number of FE providers. The NCCE actively engages with industry, the public sector, and FE and HE institutions, to ensure that they have diverse role models, especially women, supporting the delivery of their work, including working with universities to run student outreach events and recruiting female volunteer Computing Ambassadors.
Last year, the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce was established to deliver on the department’s science and technology ambitions by bringing together experienced and well-respected leaders from priority digital sectors, FE and HE. The NCCE is one of the core members of the Taskforce, who are empowered to guide the group’s work as well as working with other government departments and external partners to deliver on the key actions most likely to impact on the digital skills gap. One of the three priority workstreams identified by the taskforce was “increasing the gender diversity of those taking computing and digital qualifications”. The NCCE has played an active role in the sponsorship of this workstream and the development.
The department funds the Isaac Physics programme to increase the numbers of students, particularly from typically underrepresented backgrounds, studying physics in higher education. The department also currently funds inclusion activities as part of the Science CPD contract, to increase the uptake of A Level physics from underrepresented students, including girls. Including the Stimulating Physics Network, a network of 50 schools offering specialist support to around 350 partner schools, which includes advice and guidance on how to improve progression from physics GCSE to A level, where girls are typically underrepresented.
For mathematics, the department funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) which provides support for teachers and students in state-funded schools and colleges in England. Additional support is offered in areas of low social mobility so that, whatever their location, background or gender, students can choose their best post-16 maths pathway and access high-quality teaching. The AMSP has a particular focus on supporting girls into mathematics and runs a variety of enrichment and engagement sessions specifically for girls, including Steps to University for Mathematical Students events, targeted at year 12 girls.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what comparative estimate she has made of levels of (a) literacy and (b) numeracy with European countries in the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds
England participates in several studies that compare reading and mathematics for school-aged pupils internationally. These studies are the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The department took part in the most recent iterations of all three studies: PISA 2022, PIRLS 2021, and TIMSS 2019.
The latest results from PISA show that, while the pandemic affected the study, England was among the highest performing European countries participating in the study and performed significantly above the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average in both reading and mathematics.
The latest results from PIRLS showed that England achieved an average score of 558. This is statistically significantly higher than both the International Median score of 520, as well as the European Median score of 524, though not significantly different to England’s scores in most previous PIRLS cycles. It is not possible to compare results to Northern Ireland because of differences in the assessment period, whilst Scotland and Wales did not participate in the study. England’s PIRLS 2021 national report can be found: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pirls-2021-reading-literacy-performance-in-england.
The latest results from TIMSS showed that between 1995 and 2019, the mathematics performance of Year 5 and Year 9 pupils in England has improved, with England achieving its highest ever score in mathematics at Year 5.
Further information on the studies can be found at the following links: https://www.oecd.org/pisa/, https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/.