Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of secondary (a) mainstream and (b) maintained special schools offered British Sign Language GCSE in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of British Sign Language GCSE in mainstream secondary schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department published British Sign Language GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by Ofqual before schools and colleges are able to teach them. As such, no schools are currently offering the GCSE. The department’s aim is that exam board specifications will be available to schools who wish to offer the GCSE from September 2025.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department collects data on students who self-report (a) depression, (b) bad nerves and (c) anxiety.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The mental health of children and young people is an absolute priority for this government. The department wants to ensure all students have the opportunity to thrive, no matter their background or the challenges they may face.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA, now part of the Joint Information Systems Committee) is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education. HESA collects data on the number of students declaring a disability, including mental health conditions. This is not disaggregated further to categories such as depression, bad nerves and anxiety.
Statistics covering the academic years 2014/2015 to 2021/2022 are available at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15.
From 2022/2023, students with multiple disabilities will disclose each of their disabilities instead of falling under a catch-all "multiple disabilities" category. However, depression, bad nerves, schizophrenia, anxiety, and other mental health conditions are still included in one mental health category.
The department collects data on various aspects of children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health. Key sources of this data, both from the department and other stakeholders, are collated into the annual State of the Nation report on Children and Young People’s Wellbeing. The report brings together a range of published information from government, academic, voluntary, and private sector organisations to provide a clear narrative for all those interested in the wellbeing of children and young people in England. The most recent report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2022-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of how resources can best be allocated to provide comprehensive sexual health education in schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Schools are free to determine how they use their funding in support of subjects, including RSHE training for teachers.
The department expects schools to consult with parents on what they teach. Schools should ensure that, when they engage parents, they provide examples of the resources they plan to use, for example the books they will use in lessons.
In light of concerning reports about the use of inappropriate materials used to teach the RSHE curriculum, the Secretary of State has twice written to schools to make clear that schools should share resources with parents and clarify the position about how copyright law applies when schools share resources with parents. Copies of both letters can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-letter-to-schools-about-sharing-curriculum-resources-with-parents.
The department has been reviewing the RSHE guidance and aims to launch a public consultation by the end of this year. The department anticipates that the revised guidance, including content on sexual health education, will be published in 2024.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the impact assessment for the Government’s reforms to loan repayments, published in February 2022 and the House of Commons Library briefing entitled The Post-18 Education and Funding Review: Government conclusion, section 4.1, what assessment her Department has made of the implications for its policies of disparities in student loan repayments of the (a) average total loan charge and (b) time spent repaying loans between male and female borrowers.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has carefully assessed the impact of changes and published a full and comprehensive analysis in the HE Reform and Consultation Document Equality Impact Assessment, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
The student loan repayment system under Plan 5 is progressive, with repayments being positively correlated with lifetime earnings. The highest earners make the largest individual contributions to the system overall, and the lowest earners are required to contribute the least.
Lower earners, whether male or female, are protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be written off at no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.
The department will continue to keep the student finance system, including repayment terms, under review to ensure that it remains sustainable and delivers value for money for students and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 66 of the Higher education policy statement & reform consultation Equality analysis published in February 2022, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of that report’s findings on the disparity in percentage increases in loan repayments between female borrowers and male borrowers.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has carefully assessed the impact of changes and published a full and comprehensive analysis in the HE Reform and Consultation Document Equality Impact Assessment, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
The student loan repayment system under Plan 5 is progressive, with repayments being positively correlated with lifetime earnings. The highest earners make the largest individual contributions to the system overall, and the lowest earners are required to contribute the least.
Lower earners, whether male or female, are protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold, they will not be required to make any repayments at all. At the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan debt, including interest accrued, will be written off at no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of protection.
The department will continue to keep the student finance system, including repayment terms, under review to ensure that it remains sustainable and delivers value for money for students and the taxpayer.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
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 freezing the interest applied to student finance loans during (a) career breaks and (b) earning reductions relating to childcare responsibilities.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government wants a sustainable student finance system that is fair to students and taxpayers, and which continues to enable anyone with the ability and the ambition to benefit from higher education to do so. The student finance system protects borrowers, including people on career breaks or with childcare responsibilities, if they see a reduction in their earnings. Student loan repayments are made based on a borrower’s monthly or weekly income, not the interest rate or amount borrowed, and no repayments are made for earnings below the relevant repayment threshold.
The recent student loan (Plan 5 reforms) makes the student loan system fairer for taxpayers and fairer for students, helping to keep the system sustainable in the long term. The new loan plan asks graduates to repay for longer and from an income threshold of £25,000, but also increases certainty for borrowers by reducing interest rates to RPI only. This change ensures that borrowers on the new Plan 5 terms will not repay, under those terms, more than they originally borrowed over the lifetime of their loans, when adjusted for inflation. Lower earners will still be protected. If a borrower’s income is below the repayment threshold of, currently, £25,000 per year, they won’t be required to make any repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is written off at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. No commercial loans offer this level of borrower protection. To further protect borrowers, where the Government considers that the student loan interest rate is too high in comparison to the prevailing market rate (PMR) for comparable unsecured personal loans, it will reduce the maximum student loan interest rate charged by applying a cap in line with the PMR.
A comprehensive equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2023 to Question 181305 on Free School Meals, what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities on ensuring that eligible pupils (a) on school premises and (b) at any other place where education is being provided are in receipt of free school meals.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Education Act 1996 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to provide nutritious free meals to pupils who meet the eligibility criteria, including being a registered pupil of a state funded school.
Free School Meal (FSM) provision should be made to eligible pupils either on the school premises or at any other place where education is being provided.
The Department has published guidance for schools on FSM provision to eligible pupils who are being taught remotely. The guidance can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1136309/Providing_remote_education_non-statutory_guidance_for_schools.pdf, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-strike-action-in-schools, and: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reinforced-autoclaved-aerated-concrete-estates-guidance.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the provisions of the statutory guidance entitled Cost of school uniforms published in November 2021 are enforced.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The statutory guidance on the cost of school uniforms came into force in September 2022, so all schools should now be compliant. The only exception to this would be where this would breach a pre-existing supplier arrangement. The statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms.
If parents are concerned about the cost of their child’s school uniform, they should raise this with the school, including through the school’s published complaints process where necessary.
If a parent is unhappy with the outcome of their complaint, they can raise this with the Department. The Department will consider whether the uniform policy meets the requirements of the guidance. The Department can use its existing statutory and funding agreement levers to make sure schools follow the guidance.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the level of Teachers’ Pensions Scheme employer contributions on (a) the budgets of Higher Educational institutions and (b) the number of academic jobs in the higher education sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is one of the best pension schemes available. It is a defined benefit scheme, which means that members receive an index-linked income in retirement, that it has a large employer contribution element, and that it is underwritten by HM Treasury.
The arrangements for valuing public service pension schemes, like the TPS, recognise that there are a wide number of factors that affect the cost of providing the benefits involved, and those factors are subject to regular change, including longevity, member behaviour and economic performance. Reviewing those factors every four years, which is in line with practice for similar pension schemes, is necessary to ensure that the contribution rate employers pay reflects a reasonably up-to-date view of costs, including for higher education (HE) providers. There would be limited value in seeking to forecast likely costs beyond that because of the potential for the wide range of factors involved to change, and therefore there are no plans to make such forecasts currently.
In recognition of the cost pressure a potential increase to employer contribution rates would bring to existing departmental budgets, on 30 March 2023 the Government announced its commitment to providing funding for employers whose employment costs are centrally funded. HE providers are not covered by this commitment. This is consistent with the decision to not fund a similar TPS cost increase in 2019. The Department expects the 2020 TPS valuation to be completed and revised employers’ contribution rates to be confirmed in September 2023. At this point it will be possible for HE providers to accurately assess how any changes in employers’ contribution rates may affect budgets.
The Department recognises that, while the Office for Students’ annual report on financial sustainability finds that university finances generally remain in good shape, there remains a wide spread of financial performance across the sector. The Department, along with HM Treasury, recognise the importance of this issue, and will continue discussions about the implications for HE providers. The Government will confirm its position on this issue in due course.