Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
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 withdrawal of CPLA-linked funding in British universities on local economies.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous and therefore responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place. The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners.
The government’s International Education Strategy makes clear that the internationalisation of the HE sector cannot come at any cost. A key element of that strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country.
The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of HE in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level. The role of the OfS is not to direct how HE providers manage themselves or to limit their recruitment from a particular country of origin, but to ensure they understand where there is greater reliance and how any risks are being managed, and to take action to protect students from the consequences of unmanaged financial risk, if necessary.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences for domestic homicides were calculated from the starting point of (a) 15 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 30 years and (d) a whole life tariff in each of the last three years.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All murder convictions must result in a life sentence. When a life sentence is imposed, the Judge will calculate the minimum term by selecting the appropriate starting point as set out in legislation – namely Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020. When sentencing adult offenders, the starting points are 15, 25, 30 years or a whole life order.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentences across various offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. Please filter by the offence ‘murder’ in the sentence outcomes tab for details on the number of offenders sentenced for murder.
Statistical data on starting points for murder sentences, including domestic homicides, is not collected. The information may be held on individual court records, however interrogating these would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of sentences for murder were calculated from the starting point of (a) 15 years, (b) 25 years, (c) 30 years and (d) a whole life tariff in each of the last three years.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All murder convictions must result in a life sentence. When a life sentence is imposed, the Judge will calculate the minimum term by selecting the appropriate starting point as set out in legislation – namely Schedule 21 of the Sentencing Act 2020. When sentencing adult offenders, the starting points are 15, 25, 30 years or a whole life order.
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions, convictions, and sentences across various offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool. Please filter by the offence ‘murder’ in the sentence outcomes tab for details on the number of offenders sentenced for murder.
Statistical data on starting points for murder sentences, including domestic homicides, is not collected. The information may be held on individual court records, however interrogating these would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle digital astroturfing on social media.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the range of tactics which could be employed to spread mis- and disinformation and the threat that these can pose. DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) analyses coordinated attempts to artificially manipulate the online information environment, working with a range of partners, including social media platforms, civil society groups, academia, and international partners, to tackle it.
Digital astroturfing, amongst other techniques sometimes used by state actors to interfere with UK society, will be captured by the Foreign Interference Offence. This has been added as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act and will capture a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-backed operations. Companies will have a legal duty to take proactive action to prevent users from encountering material that amounts to an offence of Foreign Interference, which could include content linked to digital astroturfing, and minimise how long any such content is present on their services.
Under the Act, Ofcom’s Disinformation Advisory Committee is empowered to conduct research and build understanding on mis- and disinformation related issues, which may include the threats posed by digital astroturfing. In addition, Ofcom’s updated statutory duty to promote media literacy includes specific duties to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online, including by understanding the nature and impact of mis- and disinformation. This could include initiatives related to specific malicious tactics.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of universities sharing academic research with Chinese investors on UK security.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
China poses an epoch-defining and systemic challenge under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) across almost every aspect of national life and government policy. We continually assess potential threats to UK security, and the Integrated Review and Integrated Review Refresh committed to strengthening the UK’s domestic resilience and international partnerships.
The Integrated Review Refresh 2023 also committed to launching a new and comprehensive review of legislative and other protections designed to protect our academic sector, to identify what more we could or should be doing, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). This review will conclude in the spring and will include an understanding of potential vulnerabilities relating to foreign access to academic research.
We have also introduced measures in recent years to protect our science and innovation base from state threats and misuse. This includes the establishment of the Research Collaboration Advice Team (RCAT) within DSIT, which supports the academic sector to recognise, manage and mitigate national security risks in international collaborations. RCAT has been positively received by the sector and is part of advice and guidance from Government helping to move research institutions beyond basic legal compliance to a more robust understanding of research security risks.
The National Security Act 2023 will make the UK an even harder target for states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, steal our information for commercial advantage, or interfere in our society covertly. The Act creates a whole suite of measures designed to enable our law enforcement and intelligence agencies to deter, detect and disrupt the full range of modern-day state threats, including those related to academia.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help prevent the escalation of violence on the Pakistani-Iranian border.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary made clear to the Iranian Foreign Minister, who he met on 17 January, that Iran must stop using the regional situation as cover to act recklessly. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, spoke to the Pakistani Foreign Minister on 19 January and underlined the importance of avoiding further escalation. This complements high-level diplomatic discussions led by UK officials in Pakistan.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
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 universities accepting funding from entities linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army on academic freedom.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards engagement with China and Chinese entities.
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance, risk management procedures and policies in place, including on the acceptance of donations. HE providers will also have their own due diligence procedures which should consider reputational, ethical and security risks.
The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners. Guidance published by Universities UK advises HE providers how to engage in international collaborations safely and securely. This guidance also includes a recommendation that due diligence should be conducted on all international partnerships and it is available here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that HE providers in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. The Act will enable the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions and student’s unions, and to take appropriate action. Provisions in the Act dealing with overseas funding are expected to come into force from 1 September 2025.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help support (a) peace and (b) cooperation in West Africa.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK uses our diplomatic presence to engage with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, their member states and other African partners in support of regionally-led efforts to promote democracy, peace and stability. We support regionally-led coordination initiatives, such as the Accra Initiative, to help prevent the spread of violence and foster long-term stability. Through strategic defence and security partnerships with countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, we actively support African and regional security. I regularly discuss peace and cooperation with African leaders. I have recently discussed regional security with Ghana's Minister of National Security and with the President of ECOWAS, when I emphasised the need for regional coordination.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time was for Access to Work claims for the costs of employment coaches for supported interns to be paid in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested about Access to Work payment journey times for the cost of employment coaches for supported interns in the latest period is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
However, the Access to Work statistics includes number of people who received a payment for any Access to Work provision from 2007/08 to 2022/23. Please see Table 6 of the Access to Work statistics.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access to Work claims for the cost of employment coaches for supported interns were (a) approved and (b) unpaid on 5 February 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the total value of these claims.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested about Access to Work claims for employment coaches for supported interns is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
However, Access to Work statistics include how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2022/23. Please see Table 3 of the Access to Work statistics.
The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here.