Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote STEM courses across the education system.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.
The government is committed to ensuring that anyone, can pursue an education and career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
An important focus is on primary mathematics where the government has a commitment to improve the quality of mathematics teaching across nurseries and primary schools, learning from the success of phonics. The government continues to support continuing professional development for mathematics teachers in schools and post-16 institutions. Mathematics is the most popular A level.
To support the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science qualifications, the government funds the National Centre for Computing Education. This support includes programmes designed to encourage greater participation from girls and industry-led events that raise pupils’ awareness of careers in computing.
In science, to ensure that every pupil has access to high-quality teaching, the department funds the ‘Subject Knowledge for Physics Teachers’ programme. This intensive retraining programme comprises six modules to upskill non-specialist teachers of physics and enhance their subject knowledge, confidence and pedagogical knowledge.
Oak National Academy also offers free, optional and adaptable materials for use at key stages 1 to 4 in mathematics, computing and all three sciences.
The department also funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 registered volunteers representing thousands of employers, who engage with young people to increase their interest in STEM subjects and to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications offer.
The government will continue to support learners who wish to have a career in STEM through its technical education offer, with a range of high-quality qualifications and apprenticeship opportunities at all levels. Examples of this include:
We have also established a comprehensive network of 21 Institutes of Technology across England to significantly increase the number of learners with higher technical skills in key STEM sectors, such as manufacturing and engineering, construction and digital.
The department has announced an Initial Teacher Training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 academic year recruitment cycle worth £233 million, which is a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the government is offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to (a) promote and (b) support education exports.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has taken a number of steps to promote and support education exports, including the launch of the UK’s International Education Strategy in 2019. The strategy outlined the department’s ambition to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year by 2030. The department is on track and continues working towards meeting this ambition with £25.6 billion revenue in 2020.
The department will continue to support education exports by hosting the Education Sector Advisory Group, bringing together industry and government to achieve its export ambitions. The UK’s International Education Champion, Professor Sir Steve Smith, has promoted UK education export growth in key markets, addressing barriers and creating opportunities for education exporters across the UK’s education sector.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the income to the public purse from international students in each of the last three years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department does not collect or estimate the impact of international students to the exchequer. International tuition fee income at higher education (HE) providers can be found on the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) at: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/income.
The benefits and costs of international HE students to the UK economy and the Exchequer can be found in the Higher Education Policy Institute/Universities UK International/Kaplan report at: https://hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Full-Report-Benefits-and-costs-of-international-students.pdf.
The total net impact on the UK economy of the cohort of first year international students enrolled at UK HE Institutions in the 2021/22 academic year was estimated at £37.4 billion across the duration of their studies. The economic impact is spread across the entire UK, with international students making a £58 million net economic contribution to the UK economy per parliamentary constituency across the duration of their studies. This is equivalent to £560 per member of the resident population.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made with Cabinet colleagues on implementing the International Education Strategy.
Answered by Robert Halfon
I refer the right hon. Member for East Antrim to the answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16186.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of childcare responsibilities on the numbers of people pursuing careers in scientific research.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Shadow Minister (Equalities)
The department knows that for families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare.
The department is removing one of the biggest barriers to parents working by vastly increasing the amount of free childcare that working families can access. Over £4.1 billion will be provided by 2027/28 to fund 30 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks per year) for working parents with children aged nine months to three years in England. This new offer will empower parents, allowing them to progress their careers and support their families. The department will invest £204 million in 2023/24 to uplift the rates for existing entitlements, rising to £288 million in 2024/25, with further uplifts beyond this.
We believe all parents should have access to childcare before and after the school day to help them work. That is why we are also launching a new national wraparound childcare pilot scheme. A total of £289 million will be provided in start-up funding to enable schools and local areas to test flexible ways of providing childcare. This will include, for example, exploring models such as partnerships between schools and working with private providers on-site. The department expects that this means most schools will have built up the demand to be able to deliver their own before and after school provision (8am-6pm) by September 2026.
Our proposals in the Spring Statement represent the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. By 2027/28, this Government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping families with young children with their childcare costs.
Postgraduate stipends are not classified as income for tax purposes by HM Revenue and Customs, meaning that neither PhD students, nor their university, pay income tax or National Insurance Contributions on their stipend. Because the stipend is not income from work, PhD students are therefore not eligible for free childcare support.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made for the (a) quality, (b) availability and (c) adequacy of funding of social services for disabled children.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
I refer the right hon. Member for East Antrim to the answer I gave on 4 July 2018 to Question 159051.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been paid out to disabled students allowances in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The table below provides information on the numbers of English-domiciled students who have applied for and received Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) in the last three years.
| Full-time undergraduate students | Part-time undergraduate students | Postgraduate students | |||
Academic year | Number of students | Amount paid (million) | Number of students | Amount paid (million) | Number of students | Amount paid (million) |
2013/14 | 60,200 | £134.2 | 2,700 | £6.6 | 5,600 | £11.9 |
2014/15 | 59,900 | £132.2 | 3,500 | £8.6 | 5,800 | £11.0 |
2015/16 | 58,900 | £115.6 | 3,800 | £8.9 | 5,600 | £10.6 |
2016/17* | 54,900 | £92.1 | 3,400 | £6.4 | 7,100 | £11.4 |
*Figures for 2016/17 are provisional.
(Source: Student Loans Company http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx)
Although we do not yet have full-year data for 2016/17, we expected to see a reduction in DSAs’ take-up from 2016/17 as higher education providers are now expected to provide less specialist non-medical help for disabled students as part of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have applied for the disabled student's allowance in each of the last three years.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The table below provides information on the numbers of English-domiciled students who have applied for and received Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) in the last three years.
| Full-time undergraduate students | Part-time undergraduate students | Postgraduate students | |||
Academic year | Number of students | Amount paid (million) | Number of students | Amount paid (million) | Number of students | Amount paid (million) |
2013/14 | 60,200 | £134.2 | 2,700 | £6.6 | 5,600 | £11.9 |
2014/15 | 59,900 | £132.2 | 3,500 | £8.6 | 5,800 | £11.0 |
2015/16 | 58,900 | £115.6 | 3,800 | £8.9 | 5,600 | £10.6 |
2016/17* | 54,900 | £92.1 | 3,400 | £6.4 | 7,100 | £11.4 |
*Figures for 2016/17 are provisional.
(Source: Student Loans Company http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx)
Although we do not yet have full-year data for 2016/17, we expected to see a reduction in DSAs’ take-up from 2016/17 as higher education providers are now expected to provide less specialist non-medical help for disabled students as part of their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to remove the 50 per cent admissions cap on faith schools.
Answered by Anne Milton
The ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation document proposed that we replace the 50% admissions cap on faith free schools with a series of strengthened safeguards to promote inclusivity.
We greatly value the important role faith schools play in our education system and as such, we plan to respond to these proposals regarding the establishment of new faith free schools in due course.