Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support Skills England will provide to improve further education provision in (a) Mid Cambridgeshire and (b) other places where this is limited.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Skills England will support the delivery of government policy, driving forward the Plan for Change and industrial strategy by identifying skills gaps in the economy and using this insight to improve provision so that people and businesses can access the right training.

Skills England’s first report, published September 2024, sets out the key skills challenges that limit economic growth and opportunity and an initial assessment of skills needs in the economy – and moving forward, Skills England will work in partnership with stakeholders, including employers and further education and higher education providers, to co-create the right training products to boost growth and opportunity.

Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), overseen by Skills England, are specifically designed to drive local economic growth by better aligning provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough LSIP is helping to identify and respond to gaps in provision and support learners to gain the skills they need to get good jobs, including in key local sectors, such as Green Construction, Green Engineering and Manufacturing, and Digital. By identifying opportunities for local innovation and growth, LSIPs are helping to ensure every part of the country can succeed in its own unique way.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) errors in (i) GCSE and (ii) A-level braille exam papers from examination boards and (b) the lack of past papers available to pupils studying for those exams on affected students.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have asked its Chief Regulator, Sir Ian Bauckham, to write to the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to incentivise collaboration between universities, colleges and schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on levels of participation in tertiary education.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department allocated £20 million in 2025/2026 to the Office for Students through the Strategic Priorities Grant for the Uni Connect programme.

Uni Connect brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges and other local partners to offer activities, advice and information to help young and adult learners from underrepresented groups to make informed choices about their higher education options.

An independent evaluation of Uni Connect’s impact, conducted by Public First, can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/uni-connect-a-review-of-collaborative-support-in-access-to-higher-education/.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how Skills England will work with (a) the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mayoral Combined Authority and (b) local employers to increase skills levels in Cambridgeshire.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Part of Skills England’s role is to ensure that skills sit at the heart of joined-up decision making across government. This includes working closely with Strategic Authorities, to ensure that regional skills needs are met and there is alignment with national priorities.

Skills England also oversees Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), which provide an ongoing mechanism through which local employers, Strategic Authorities, further education and higher education providers and other stakeholders can come together locally to identify and resolve skills needs and issues.

The English Devolution White Paper, published December 2024, sets out the intention to strengthen the role Strategic Authorities will play in the LSIPs, through joint ownership of the LSIP model alongside employer representative bodies (ERBs). These changes will come into force in Autumn 2025, to align with the next round of LSIP development.

In Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the Mayoral Combined Authority will be expected to set out its sector skills priorities to the designated ERB, the Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce. These will inform the development of the LSIP for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and provide the framework within which it exists, alongside the Local Growth Plan, the Industrial Strategy, the views of local employers and providers and Skills England’s assessment of skills needs.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to (a) high-quality technical education and (b) work-placed training in Cambridgeshire.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

As announced in the Spending Review, the department is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29.

This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages, across the country, including in Cambridgeshire. This investment includes:

• Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, which will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life.

• T Levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them work.

• Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focused level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.

• Skills Bootcamps, giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion.

• Free Courses for Jobs, giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications.

The department has also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps Skills England will take to encourage (a) SMEs and (b) other employers to offer more apprenticeships for people under 25.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Skills England will support young people to develop the skills they need.

The rate of young people’s apprenticeship starts has fallen by almost 40% since 2015/16. We want to rebalance the programme back towards young people.

This government, supported by Skills England, is focused on establishing a coherent skills system with more flexible training options that support employers to fill skills gaps whilst driving growth and spreading opportunity.

Supported by Skills England, we are introducing foundation apprenticeships to get young people into work-based training and employment, as well as delivering shorter duration apprenticeships to provide flexibility for employers and learners.

Employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.

We recognise the need to protect the smallest employers which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with National Insurance contributions liabilities either gain or see no change next year.

We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria the Office for Students uses to determine emergency financial support for universities; and if she will publish those criteria.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.

Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.

The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.

While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.

The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities are classified by the Office for Students as being at material risk of financial failure.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.

Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.

The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.

While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.

The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many universities in England have received emergency financial support from (a) her Department and (b) the Office for Students since July 2024; and what the value of that support was.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government has not provided emergency funding to any university since 4 July 2024.

Universities are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability. If a university was at risk of failure, the department would work with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure that students are protected, recognising the significant impact university closure would have on their future.

The OfS dedicates significant resources to ensuring the sector's financial sustainability but does not provide emergency financial support to universities. It assesses financial sustainability on a case-by-case basis and does not disclose the identity of institutions deemed to be at material risk, as this is considered highly commercially sensitive. The OfS’ most recent report on the sector’s financial condition can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/financial-sustainability-of-higher-education-providers-in-england-2025/.

While the sector is autonomous, we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities.

The department has appointed Professor Edward Peck as OfS Chair, where he will play a key role in strengthening the commitment of the OfS to monitoring the financial health of the sector. Additionally, we made the difficult decision to uplift tuition fee limits by 3.1% (in line with inflation) from the 2025/26 academic year. The department will publish its plans for higher education reform as part of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper this summer.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of infected blood victims who (a) are not registered with a compensation scheme, (b) fall outside the cut-off dates but are eligible for compensation and (c) have not received an interim payment.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Due to the nature of the Infected Blood scandal there is uncertainty over the number of people who might be eligible for compensation. Early estimates made within the Cabinet Office of those who are infected were that there are approximately 8,500 to 16,500 infected individuals, both living and deceased, who would claim. Of these, approximately 3,500 are currently living and registered with an Infected Blood Support Scheme. However, the final number of eligible people will ultimately depend on the number of victims who come forward. There is no limit or target on the amount announced for the scheme and each eligible person will get the compensation they are due.

The Infected Blood Compensation Scheme does not have hard cut off dates based on someone’s infection after which they will not be eligible. There are dates set out in the 2025 Regulations based on when routine screening became available. Those infected after the dates specified in the regulations will not be excluded from the scheme, as long as they can provide evidence that they received infected blood or blood products.

To date, the Government has paid over £1.2 billion in interim compensation payments to infected people, bereaved partners and estates of those who have very sadly died due to infected blood. Over 500 interim payments have been paid to the estates of deceased infected people, totalling over £50 million, and applications for interim payments to estates are still open.

As of 3 June, IBCA has contacted 1,360 people to start their compensation claim, and 981 have started the claim process. 324 offers of compensation have been made, totalling over £253 million, and so far 218 people have accepted their offers with more than £166 million paid in compensation.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the White paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published in May 2025, whether she plans to take steps to help support small and medium-sized research and development businesses to recruit the best scientific talent from other countries.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government is committed to attracting top global talent to the UK. The Immigration White Paper reinforces our ambition to increase the number of world-class scientists coming here through high-talent routes like the Global Talent and High Potential Individual visas. This includes simplifying access to the Global Talent visa and expanding fast-track options for individuals with the skills and expertise to drive growth in strategic industries.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology works closely with Department for Business and Trade on initiatives to attract the best talent to the UK, connecting international talent with UK opportunities and helping to strengthen the UK's position as a global Science and Technology power.

Safe sleep standards in early years settings

Press ownership by foreign states

Climate and Nature Bill

Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities system

Local authority funding

Support for people with dyscalculia

Post Offices in rural areas

Shortages of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy

Equitable national prostate cancer screening

Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week

Access to Work backlogs

Loan Charge and settlement terms offered to large companies and individuals

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Methanol poisoning, UK traveller safety and education in schools

Wheelchair services provided by AJM Healthcare

Impact of EU 90/180 day rule on UK citizens

Hong Kong nationals in the UK

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