Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of students on long residence receiving support in each of the nations of the UK in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Education:
What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the effect of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill on Scotland’s education system.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I meet regularly with education ministers from all of the devolved administrations and value our dialogue on a range of matters. During the course of recent meetings we have discussed aspects of the UK Internal Market Bill that are relevant to education.
My officials continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations on a range of matters. They have also discussed the UK Internal Market Bill with their counterparts.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Education:
What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on allocating additional funding for (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
In Further Education, we are providing up to £96 million to support disadvantaged students whose studies have been disrupted.
We have announced a number of measures to help ensure there are no barriers to students being able to progress to Higher Education in 20/21. We have lifted caps on domestic medicine and dentistry courses in the next academic year and we are supporting providers to offer places to as many students who have met the grades for their current offer as they have physical capacity for, and where there are clinical placements available, through additional grant funding to support the costs of this provision. Health Education England and the Office for Students will be contacting all medical and dental schools to discuss their capacity to take on additional students in the 2020/21 academic year.
I can now confirm that providers will be eligible to bid for a share of up to £10 million funding to support capital expenditure on infrastructure required to accommodate additional students recruited as a result of the changed policy on A level grades. The fund will be administered by the Office for Students, and providers will be eligible to bid for projects that support expansion in 2020/21.
Additional teaching grant funding will also be provided to increase capacity in medical, nursing, STEM and other high-cost subjects which are vital to the country’s social needs and economy. All high cost subjects, which already receive additional funding from the Office for Students will potentially see further increases where there is an unexpectedly high distribution of students. The Office for Students will consult the sector on the details of how the allocations are made.
We will also be considering all Departmental funding as part of the Spending Review.
Asked by: Patrick Grady (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle religious intolerance in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Religious intolerance in schools is unacceptable. All schools are required to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Schools should be places where we promote the understanding of other cultures for example, through the National Curriculum programme for citizenship, which includes teaching about the diverse range of identities in the UK and the importance of respecting others.