Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of health of the (1) study of, and (2) research into, pure mathematics in Higher Education.

The government strongly supports mathematical sciences in higher education. Ensuring that there is high-quality provision in a range of subjects is critical in order to build our workforce and support our public services.

We are pleased many students chose to take up courses in mathematical sciences (39,210 students in England in the 2019/20 academic year). Our student loan system supports students who have the qualifications to access higher education, including a range of mathematics courses. In the 2019/20 academic year, a total of £300 million was made available as tuition fee and maintenance loans for students doing maths courses. Breakdowns of higher education enrolments in England can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49.

The UK continues to be a world leader in mathematics. Following the government’s announcement in January 2020 to invest additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, UK Research and Innovation has awarded £104 million of additional funding to the discipline, over and above the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional investment has funded institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships and postdoctoral awards.

Furthermore, the department has funded the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP) since 2018, providing support to schools and colleges to improve the effectiveness of level 3 maths teaching and increase participation, providing tailored support to schools and colleges. To ensure that the programme is targeted at those students, teachers, schools and colleges most in need, the AMSP provides support through a priority area programme and a national programme.

The AMSP delivers high quality teacher professional development as well as focused support and enrichment for students and institutions across A level mathematics, further mathematics and core maths to improve participation and provision in level 3 mathematics through targeted support.

The AMSP provides targeted support for students preparing for study at higher education. Over summer 2021 the AMSP ran a 4 to 6 week supported self-study programme of approximately 30 learning hours for year 13 students to support transition to higher education.

The AMSP also provides regular higher level problem solving classes and other support and information for students considering studying maths and maths-rich subjects at university and helps them to prepare for university admission tests.