Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the provision of course modules at universities being delivered as advertised.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
I have been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that consumer law continues to apply, and statements by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirm this. Providers need to ensure they have regard to guidance about their consumer protection obligations.
This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure that all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there have been some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality learning.
I welcome the huge amount of resource universities and higher education (HE) providers have given to ensuring blended teaching is of the high-quality expected by the government and the Office for Students (OfS). The government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely.
I wrote to the OfS on 13 January, outlining the government’s expectations of the HE sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to providers’ Accountable Officers, setting out the actions that they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance with existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions. This letter is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/928ddbfc-7d48-4a7b-853e-411c34d6202f/ao-letter-regulation-during-the-current-phase-of-pandemic-14-jan-2021.pdf.
Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint. Due to the individualised nature of student contracts and student circumstances, the process which is in place ensures that institutions have the opportunity to consider student complaints effectively and offers them an opportunity for early resolution of complaints with students. This is particularly important in situations where remedies other than refunds would be more helpful or beneficial to a student.
If there are concerns, the OfS has the powers to act. It is an OfS registration condition that providers must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience for all students and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed.
The OfS does not get involved in individual student complaints, that is for the relevant HE provider and potentially the OIA. Students can, however, notify the OfS of issues that may be of regulatory interest to it. These are called ‘notifications’. The OfS uses this information as part of its regulatory monitoring activity and keeps HE providers under review to ensure that they comply with the ongoing conditions of registration. The OfS has produced a guide for students to support them in this process. This is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/ofs-and-students/notifications/. The OIA website is available via the following link: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.
The CMA has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/consumer-protection-review-of-higher-education. This includes publishing a restatement on 30 November 2020 on their views on Consumer Protection Law. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc4bab98fa8f5474e63ab0b/HE_restatement_.pdf.
The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/coronavirus/provider-guide-to-coronavirus/student-and-consumer-protection/.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2021 to Question 174230, on Hate Crime: Young People, when his Department last undertook an assessment of the efficacy of its policies on the prevention and reporting of hate crimes in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government, alongside schools and teachers, is committed to supporting children and young people to thrive and reach their potential in a safe and respectful environment. Schools continue to play an important role in preparing children and young people for life in modern Britain, supporting them to understand the society in which they are growing up and teaching about respect for other people and tolerance.
We continue to work with colleagues across Government, as well as those in the school sector and communities to better understand issues around discrimination, hatred, and prejudice on an ongoing basis. For example, the Department has provided funding to anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, including projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying. These grants ended in March 2021, and grant holders are currently working to finalise independent evaluations of their programmes, which will be published in due course. The Department has considered next steps for anti-bullying support in schools, working closely with external stakeholders, and will shortly be running a procurement exercise to fund activity in 2021-22.
Having supported the creation and delivery of the Government’s hate crime action plan (2016-2020), officials from the Department continue to work with Home Office officials on the development of the Government’s next strategic response to hate crime. We are also currently considering recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities on education in detail.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how external candidates who have no one to prepare an assessment of their progress or ability will be awarded grades in the context of examinations being cancelled.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator at Ofqual to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this year, to be assessed and receive a grade. To ensure our approach is developed with the sector, the Department and Ofqual have now concluded a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.
We have consulted on the following options:
We are working at pace to provide further clarity to the sector and will publish the results of the consultation by the end of February 2021.
The Department and Ofqual have strongly encouraged all our stakeholders, including private candidates and their parents, to respond to the consultation. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator, Ofqual.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students are exempt from the restrictions on travel between areas in different covid-19 tiers.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE institutions in this unprecedented situation, whilst mitigating the impact on education.
To help bring the new variant under control and while the vaccine programme is rolled out, our aim is to minimise the number of students and staff returning to campuses and accessing university facilities.
In practical terms, this means that students doing medical, clinical and healthcare related subjects, including nursing, social care, dentistry and veterinary studies are being prioritised and can return at the start of the spring term, as planned.
Those on teacher training courses and students who must complete externally-accredited examinations, which cannot be completed remotely, can also return to in-person teaching at the beginning of term.
All other students should access learning online until at least mid-February and remain at their current address in line with national measures. Universities will tell students when to return for the spring term.
On an exceptional basis, universities should support students returning for other reasons (for example, students who do not have access to appropriate accommodation, facilities, studying space or who need to return for health reasons). In these circumstances, students may return to campus, but their courses should not resume face-to-face teaching.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish guidance for medical students on placements on (a) how and (b whether they can return home for the Christmas holiday period during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
The government is committed to ensuring that students who wish to return home for the winter break, are able to do so. It is essential that measures are put in place to ensure this can happen as safely as possible for students, staff and the communities that they return to.
On 11 November, the department published guidance for providers on plans for the end of the autumn term. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term.
As outlined in the guidance, published on 11 November, many healthcare students who are on placements are considered essential workers and such placements can continue until the end of term. We will shortly be issuing further detailed guidance on how the end of term guidance applies to all students on placements, including courses where placements may continue.
The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, also issued a FAQ for students on going home for the end of term, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/coronavirus-end-of-term. This will also be updated shortly, to address questions students may have about their placements.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has published for (a) schools and (b) agencies on supply teachers claiming statutory sick pay if self-isolating during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer?have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID 19.
The Government has provided guidance on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for all employers, which includes specific information on when an employee is off work because of COVID-19. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay.
Employers must pay an employee SSP if they are self-isolating and off work for at least 4 days and any of the following apply:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household-from-4-july
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) holiday clubs that will be open and (b) holiday club places that will be available in (i) Edgbaston constituency, (ii) Birmingham and (iii) the West Midlands during the summer 2020 holiday period.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Early years providers have been able to open to all children from 1 June. Since 20 July, settings have been able to return to their normal group sizes, paving the way for more children to transition back to their early education and supporting parents to be able to work.
Holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings have been able to open since 4 July, helping parents to meet their childcare needs during the school summer holidays.
We have published guidance to support holiday clubs and out-of-school settings to operate as safely as possible over the summer holiday, alongside guidance for parents. This is available at:
Parents can contact their local Family Information Service for details of childcare provision available in their area during the summer holidays.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of workers who will not return to work during the summer holidays in 2020 as a result of a lack of available childcare in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Early years providers have been able to open to all children from 1 June. Since 20 July, settings have been able to return to their normal group sizes, paving the way for more children to transition back to their early education and supporting parents to be able to work.
Holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings have been able to open since 4 July, helping parents to meet their childcare needs during the school summer holidays.
We have published guidance to support holiday clubs and out-of-school settings to operate as safely as possible over the summer holiday, alongside guidance for parents. This is available at:
Parents can contact their local Family Information Service for details of childcare provision available in their area during the summer holidays.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June to Question 64998, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of wider core schools funding for England that will be allocated as Official Development Assistance in (a) 2020 and (b) each of the next five years.
Answered by Vicky Ford
The department has not made an estimate of the amount of spending on official development assistance (ODA) in 2020 or future years. Our ODA spending primarily relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. As such, the level of spending in future years will be dependent on the number of asylum seeker children that arrive in the country. It is our policy that asylum seeker children who attend a school or early years setting attract funding in the same way as all other children. This is allocated through the schools national funding formula and other grants like the pupil premium and teachers’ pay grant.
The department’s estimated spending on ODA in each year from 2015 to 2019 are given below:
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
DfE spend classified as ODA (£ million) | 22 | 28 | 24 | 20 | 19 |
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2020 to Question 59568 on Department for Education: Overseas Aid, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the reduction in Official Development Assistance in cash terms on the provision of support to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers.
Answered by Vicky Ford
It is the department’s policy that asylum seeker children who attend a school or early years setting attract funding in the same way as all other children. This is allocated through the schools national funding formula and other grants like the pupil premium and teachers’ pay grant. The department’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) contribution is an estimate of how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. Our ODA spending in future years will be primarily dependent on the number of asylum seeker children arriving in the country.