Turing Scheme

(asked on 24th March 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the causes of delays to payments to students on the Turing scheme; and what plans they have (1) to reduce the level of bureaucracy involved in applications, and (2) to mitigate the effect of these problems on poorer students.


Answered by
Baroness Barran Portrait
Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This question was answered on 6th April 2023

Turing Scheme grant recipients are organisations that are, in the main, education providers. The department is aware that some organisations have experienced issues navigating the process for claiming Turing Scheme funds, including providing the correct evidence on projects, which has led to delays in payment being processed. The Turing Scheme delivery partner, Capita, has already taken steps to help organisations better understand the process. This includes video instructions, written guidance and one to one telephone support when requested.

Department officials are also working with Capita to review how it can improve the overall customer experience while obtaining assurance that Turing Scheme funds are being appropriately spent, within the grant terms.

Under the current payment process, it is the responsibility of grant recipients to request grant funds on time, in line with project plans and to disburse funding to participants. To ensure this does not negatively impact disadvantaged students, Capita have made payments outside of its regular payment cycle where requests have been submitted late or were initially rejected due to incomplete evidence, especially if this puts student placements at risk.

The Turing Scheme continues to place great emphasis on providing opportunities for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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