Oral Answers to Questions

Michelle Donelan Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

What recent discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) professional bodies in the education sector on the effect of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill on Scotland’s education system.

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

Throughout the development of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill proposals and preceding White Paper, the UK Government have engaged constructively with many businesses, professional organisations and other groups, including the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

[Alan Brown]

During the debate on that Bill in the other place last week, Lord Callanan assured peers that

“the devolved Administrations will retain the right to legislate in devolved policy areas.”

—[Official Report, House of Lords, 18 November 2020; Vol. 807, c. 1520.]

However, during the previous Education questions the Secretary of State would not give a clear answer on whether the Bill could impact the Scottish Government’s ability to set university fees in Scotland. So can the Minister now confirm that her Government’s internal market Bill will not undermine the Scottish Government’s provision of free university tuition?

[Michelle Donelan]

I can indeed confirm that it will not interfere with the Scottish Government’s ability to charge no fees for university students.

[Patrick Grady]

Well, that is a very unequivocal answer, so we look forward to that not coming back to bite them at any point in the future. I am glad the Minister is engaging with the GTCS, because in the other place the Minister has had to table an amendment to specifically include school teaching in the list of exempted professions. School teaching could be interpreted narrowly as solely relating to the education of children, but of course GTCS-registered teachers teach in many different educational settings, so will this Minister clarify whether the amendment is intended to include any institution in which teaching is delivered?

[Michelle Donelan]

We have listened to the concerns about the Bill’s provision covering the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and have decided to exclude the teaching profession, so on Thursday 19 November the Government tabled an amendment to do just that.

[Carol Monaghan (Glasgow North West) (SNP) [V]]

That is an encouraging answer from the Minister, so I thank her for that response. She says that the Government have engaged with the GTCS, but last month the GTCS wrote to the Secretary of State on this very matter and has yet to receive a response. Is that normal Government practice when dealing with professional organisations? When should the GTCS expect to hear from the Secretary of State?

[Michelle Donelan]

As the hon. Lady will know, officials from the Department for Education and the Scotland Office have met the GTCS to discuss these concerns and have passed them to those who are leading on the implementation of the UK internal market proposals. As a result, an amendment to exempt teachers from the recognition clauses of the Bill has been tabled.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure improvement in educational attainment in each region of England.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lilian Greenwood (Nottingham South) (Lab)]

What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming the funding of healthcare higher education in England.

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

The Government keep the funding arrangements for the education of all pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate NHS health professions under close review to ensure that students are appropriately supported. Most NHS professional student placements are funded by the education and training tariff, and the allocation of funding is reviewed and published annually.

[Lilian Greenwood]

Nursing and midwifery students are required to undertake 2,300 hours of clinical placement to qualify. Maintenance grants were reintroduced in England in September, but those student nurses and midwives who just graduated or who are about to, and who stepped up in the first wave of the pandemic despite the personal risks, have huge debts because the Government abolished their bursaries in 2016. What will the Minister do to acknowledge their tremendous contribution and ensure that they do not begin their careers in caring feeling undervalued, taken advantage of and carrying this massive financial burden?

[Michelle Donelan]

I echo the hon. Member’s sentiment about the true value that nursing students and graduates have given this country during one of the hardest times that we have faced. The Government are extremely grateful for all those students who opted into a paid clinical placement in the NHS during this extremely difficult time, and we have ensured that all those students were fairly rewarded for their hard work. Nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare students who volunteered were paid and received the appropriate pensions remuneration.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

What discussions he has had with stakeholders in the education sector on his Department’s decision to end the union learning fund in 2021.

--- Later in debate ---

[Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab) [V]]

University students have been an afterthought in the Government’s thinking throughout the covid crisis, whether that is the A-level fiasco, the huge spike in cases after return in September, financial hardship, mental health or digital access. All have been palmed off to universities with only slow, token Government support, and now time is again running out. Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to get ahead of events and publish clear, crisp and quick guidance for universities, so that they can plan for a safe and smooth student return in the new year?

[The Minister for Universities (Michelle Donelan)]

Following the end of term break, our top priority is January, and we will be ensuring that the welfare of students, staff and communities in higher education providers is at the forefront. We will look to utilise mass testing to make the return of higher education as safe as possible, and we will indeed produce further and comprehensive guidance.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

Improving skills is critical for addressing disparities in regional productivity. Can my right hon. Friend commit to supporting local Lincolnshire colleges such as Stamford College and Grantham College in that endeavour?

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP) [V]]

Scottish universities receive an average of 8% of their total research funding from the European Union, with a majority coming from Horizon 2020, so can the Secretary of State tell us whether participation in Horizon Europe is still on the table? If not, how should our universities be looking to replicate that funding?

[Michelle Donelan]

Our universities are world leading when it comes to research, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recently published a road map. This is a priority for the Government. As the hon. Member will know, Horizon is being actively negotiated with the EU, and that Department has publicly said that it is preparing an alternative, should we not be successful in those negotiations.

[Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)]

The town of Radcliffe in my constituency has a population of roughly 30,000, but for many years it has not had a high school. A new school would not only improve educational attainment for the town’s children but kickstart the town’s regeneration. As the bidding process is now in its final stages, will my right hon. Friend help me by supporting my campaign, alongside the people of Radcliffe, for the new school that the town desperately needs?