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Written Question
Turing Scheme
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many education establishments in (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2022-23 were part of the Turing Scheme; how many of those education establishments have tuition fee waiver agreements; and in which countries do those waivers apply.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme is providing funding for 372 eligible organisations who successfully applied for the 2021/22 academic year, with over 41,000 expected participants. Of these, 13 organisations were Welsh, and these were provided with £5,170,829 of funding. Data on expected participant numbers at these Welsh institutions is not currently available. More details of the funding provided for the 2021/22 academic year is available here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.

Regarding the number of educational establishments in Wales receiving Turing Scheme funding for 2022/23 and student numbers for 2022/23, we have no data on this yet as applications for the 2022/23 academic year have yet to be made. Data on this will only be available after bids are considered and results are known.

The timetable for applications for Turing Scheme funds for the 2022/23 academic year will be published on the Turing Scheme website on 28 February 2022, along with the programme guide and application guide for this year. The Turing Scheme website is available here: www.turing-scheme.org.uk.

The Turing Scheme is a genuinely UK-wide scheme. There is no proportioning of funds between nations; all will be considered on a competitive basis, as set out in the programme guide.

Fee waivers for Turing Scheme participants are managed on an institutional level.

The Erasmus+ UK National Agency publishes information on the amount of funding received by institutions for Erasmus+ projects from the UK National Agency and the European Commission. Data for each institution, across academic years 2014/15 to 2020/21 is available here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/funding-results.html. Figures on Erasmus+ student participation will also be published here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics.html.

At the above statistics website, selecting “Project Mobilities & Outputs”, Table 2 of the file “2014-2019 Higher education mobility statistics” contains the number of outgoing Erasmus+ students by country of provider for academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19. Data for academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 is not published.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Wednesday 2nd March 2022

Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his timetable is for informing education institutions of the outcome of their bid for funding from the Turing Scheme.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme is providing funding for 372 eligible organisations who successfully applied for the 2021/22 academic year, with over 41,000 expected participants. Of these, 13 organisations were Welsh, and these were provided with £5,170,829 of funding. Data on expected participant numbers at these Welsh institutions is not currently available. More details of the funding provided for the 2021/22 academic year is available here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.

Regarding the number of educational establishments in Wales receiving Turing Scheme funding for 2022/23 and student numbers for 2022/23, we have no data on this yet as applications for the 2022/23 academic year have yet to be made. Data on this will only be available after bids are considered and results are known.

The timetable for applications for Turing Scheme funds for the 2022/23 academic year will be published on the Turing Scheme website on 28 February 2022, along with the programme guide and application guide for this year. The Turing Scheme website is available here: www.turing-scheme.org.uk.

The Turing Scheme is a genuinely UK-wide scheme. There is no proportioning of funds between nations; all will be considered on a competitive basis, as set out in the programme guide.

Fee waivers for Turing Scheme participants are managed on an institutional level.

The Erasmus+ UK National Agency publishes information on the amount of funding received by institutions for Erasmus+ projects from the UK National Agency and the European Commission. Data for each institution, across academic years 2014/15 to 2020/21 is available here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/funding-results.html. Figures on Erasmus+ student participation will also be published here: https://erasmusplus.org.uk/statistics.html.

At the above statistics website, selecting “Project Mobilities & Outputs”, Table 2 of the file “2014-2019 Higher education mobility statistics” contains the number of outgoing Erasmus+ students by country of provider for academic years 2014/15 to 2018/19. Data for academic years 2019/20 and 2020/21 is not published.


Written Question
Erasmus+ Programme and Turing Scheme
Wednesday 9th February 2022

Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 27 January (HL Deb col 434), of the (1) 41,000 placements under the Turing Scheme, and (2) 16,500 placements under Erasmus+ in 2020–21, how many were for (a) an academic year, (b) an academic term, and (c) six weeks or fewer.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Data on Erasmus+ is produced by the European Union. Mobility breakdowns across countries and activities can be found in EU annual reports and factsheets here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets and https://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/factsheets/factsheet-uk-2020_en.html. According to this data, in academic year 2019/20, 16,596 students from UK higher education institutions participated in Erasmus+.

Under the Turing Scheme, providers successfully applied for funding to cover over 41,000 individual placements overseas across the academic year 2020/2021. This included over 28,000 in higher education, over 6,000 in further education and vocational education and training and over 5,000 in schools. Further information on eligibility is available in the programme guide here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/news/the-programme-guide-is-now-available/.

As the 41,000 placements in academic year 2020/21 relates to planned activity, and the type and duration of mobilities will vary under the Turing and Erasmus+ Schemes, an immediate direct comparison of the figures cannot be made. A fuller evaluation is being planned to accurately compare figures from both programmes.

Current eligible durations for activity are as follows:

  • Higher education: 4 weeks to 12 months.
  • Further education and vocational education and training: 2 weeks to 12 months. Minimum durations can be 5 days for those with educational needs and/or disabilities and 1-10 days for participants attending skills competitions abroad.
  • Schools: short term placements can last between 3 days to 2 months and long-term placements can last between 2 months and 6 months.

To address the ongoing impact of COVID-19, universities, colleges and schools can adjust plans for activities taking place this academic year if needed. The Turing Scheme is offering flexibility to change the duration, destination and timing of placements. Turing Scheme projects, however, cannot be extended past 31 August 2022 in accordance with government spending requirements.

Due to the fact that many providers are changing plans for activities because of COVID-19, this will have an impact on the actual placements that take place. More data on durations will be published once the 2021/22 academic year concludes.

From successful applications for the first year of the Turing Scheme, over 150 destinations across the globe were included in plans for placements overseas. Over 60% of activity was planned to take place in countries outside of the EU. A detailed breakdown of each destination, including those outside the EU, can be found on the funding results page on the Turing Scheme website here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.

All destinations successfully applied for in higher education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Higher-Education-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in vocational education and training and further education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Further-Education-and-Vocational-Education-and-Training-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in Schools can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Turing-Scheme-Schools-Participants-in-2021.pdf.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Wednesday 9th February 2022

Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 27 January (HL Deb col 434), which countries outside the EU accounted for the 60 per cent of applications for the Turing Scheme in 2020–21.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Data on Erasmus+ is produced by the European Union. Mobility breakdowns across countries and activities can be found in EU annual reports and factsheets here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets and https://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/factsheets/factsheet-uk-2020_en.html. According to this data, in academic year 2019/20, 16,596 students from UK higher education institutions participated in Erasmus+.

Under the Turing Scheme, providers successfully applied for funding to cover over 41,000 individual placements overseas across the academic year 2020/2021. This included over 28,000 in higher education, over 6,000 in further education and vocational education and training and over 5,000 in schools. Further information on eligibility is available in the programme guide here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/news/the-programme-guide-is-now-available/.

As the 41,000 placements in academic year 2020/21 relates to planned activity, and the type and duration of mobilities will vary under the Turing and Erasmus+ Schemes, an immediate direct comparison of the figures cannot be made. A fuller evaluation is being planned to accurately compare figures from both programmes.

Current eligible durations for activity are as follows:

  • Higher education: 4 weeks to 12 months.
  • Further education and vocational education and training: 2 weeks to 12 months. Minimum durations can be 5 days for those with educational needs and/or disabilities and 1-10 days for participants attending skills competitions abroad.
  • Schools: short term placements can last between 3 days to 2 months and long-term placements can last between 2 months and 6 months.

To address the ongoing impact of COVID-19, universities, colleges and schools can adjust plans for activities taking place this academic year if needed. The Turing Scheme is offering flexibility to change the duration, destination and timing of placements. Turing Scheme projects, however, cannot be extended past 31 August 2022 in accordance with government spending requirements.

Due to the fact that many providers are changing plans for activities because of COVID-19, this will have an impact on the actual placements that take place. More data on durations will be published once the 2021/22 academic year concludes.

From successful applications for the first year of the Turing Scheme, over 150 destinations across the globe were included in plans for placements overseas. Over 60% of activity was planned to take place in countries outside of the EU. A detailed breakdown of each destination, including those outside the EU, can be found on the funding results page on the Turing Scheme website here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.

All destinations successfully applied for in higher education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Higher-Education-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in vocational education and training and further education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Further-Education-and-Vocational-Education-and-Training-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in Schools can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Turing-Scheme-Schools-Participants-in-2021.pdf.


Written Question
Erasmus+ Programme and Turing Scheme
Wednesday 9th February 2022

Asked by: Baroness Coussins (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Barran on 27 January (HL Deb col 434), what was the breakdown for (1) the 16,500 applicants in 2019–20 for the Erasmus+ scheme, (2) the 41,000 applicants in 2020–21 for the Turing Scheme, between (a) undergraduates, (b) graduates, (c) school students, (d) apprentices, (e) youth workers, and (f) staff from educational institutions; and in each category for each scheme, how many students were disabled.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Data on Erasmus+ is produced by the European Union. Mobility breakdowns across countries and activities can be found in EU annual reports and factsheets here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets and https://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/factsheets/factsheet-uk-2020_en.html. According to this data, in academic year 2019/20, 16,596 students from UK higher education institutions participated in Erasmus+.

Under the Turing Scheme, providers successfully applied for funding to cover over 41,000 individual placements overseas across the academic year 2020/2021. This included over 28,000 in higher education, over 6,000 in further education and vocational education and training and over 5,000 in schools. Further information on eligibility is available in the programme guide here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/news/the-programme-guide-is-now-available/.

As the 41,000 placements in academic year 2020/21 relates to planned activity, and the type and duration of mobilities will vary under the Turing and Erasmus+ Schemes, an immediate direct comparison of the figures cannot be made. A fuller evaluation is being planned to accurately compare figures from both programmes.

Current eligible durations for activity are as follows:

  • Higher education: 4 weeks to 12 months.
  • Further education and vocational education and training: 2 weeks to 12 months. Minimum durations can be 5 days for those with educational needs and/or disabilities and 1-10 days for participants attending skills competitions abroad.
  • Schools: short term placements can last between 3 days to 2 months and long-term placements can last between 2 months and 6 months.

To address the ongoing impact of COVID-19, universities, colleges and schools can adjust plans for activities taking place this academic year if needed. The Turing Scheme is offering flexibility to change the duration, destination and timing of placements. Turing Scheme projects, however, cannot be extended past 31 August 2022 in accordance with government spending requirements.

Due to the fact that many providers are changing plans for activities because of COVID-19, this will have an impact on the actual placements that take place. More data on durations will be published once the 2021/22 academic year concludes.

From successful applications for the first year of the Turing Scheme, over 150 destinations across the globe were included in plans for placements overseas. Over 60% of activity was planned to take place in countries outside of the EU. A detailed breakdown of each destination, including those outside the EU, can be found on the funding results page on the Turing Scheme website here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/project-community/funding-results/.

All destinations successfully applied for in higher education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Higher-Education-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in vocational education and training and further education can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Further-Education-and-Vocational-Education-and-Training-Turing-Scheme-Participants-in-2021.pdf.

All destinations successfully applied for in Schools can be found here: https://www.turing-scheme.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Proposed-Destinations-of-Funded-Turing-Scheme-Schools-Participants-in-2021.pdf.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Tuesday 11th January 2022

Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) number of students participating in Turing scheme and (b) subjects studied by those students; and what comparative assessment he has made of the number of students participating in the (i) Turing scheme at December 2021 and (ii) Erasmus scheme in the academic year 2015-16.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme has made funding available for more than 41,000 students from schools, colleges and universities to go on study and work placements in over 150 destinations across the world this academic year. The government has also confirmed funding for the continuation of the Turing Scheme for the next 3 years, including £110 million for the 2022/23 academic year.

A competitive procurement exercise was conducted to appoint a delivery partner for the Turing Scheme from 1 April 2022. Two compliant bids were received for the contract to run the Turing Scheme. Following a robust procurement process, Capita’s bid was considered to be the highest in quality. The value of Capita’s bid was £6,271,155, which was the lowest bid in monetary value in this procurement.

As with all contracts, we will actively manage it at an operational and strategic level and should concerns arise, our contracts contain provisions and remedies to deal with them swiftly and effectively.

UK education providers who have successfully applied for funding may use the Turing Scheme funding to support mobilities for any of their students, regardless of study subject.

Statistics on actual participation in the scheme will be available after the end of the first year of the programme. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on mobilities with some institutions choosing to delay their students’ placements. Statistics on participation in ERASMUS+ are published by the European Union: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Tuesday 11th January 2022

Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure that Capita is held accountable in respect of its spending on the Turing scheme.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme has made funding available for more than 41,000 students from schools, colleges and universities to go on study and work placements in over 150 destinations across the world this academic year. The government has also confirmed funding for the continuation of the Turing Scheme for the next 3 years, including £110 million for the 2022/23 academic year.

A competitive procurement exercise was conducted to appoint a delivery partner for the Turing Scheme from 1 April 2022. Two compliant bids were received for the contract to run the Turing Scheme. Following a robust procurement process, Capita’s bid was considered to be the highest in quality. The value of Capita’s bid was £6,271,155, which was the lowest bid in monetary value in this procurement.

As with all contracts, we will actively manage it at an operational and strategic level and should concerns arise, our contracts contain provisions and remedies to deal with them swiftly and effectively.

UK education providers who have successfully applied for funding may use the Turing Scheme funding to support mobilities for any of their students, regardless of study subject.

Statistics on actual participation in the scheme will be available after the end of the first year of the programme. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on mobilities with some institutions choosing to delay their students’ placements. Statistics on participation in ERASMUS+ are published by the European Union: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Tuesday 11th January 2022

Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many bids were tabled for the contract to run the Turing Scheme; and what the monetary value of the lowest bid tabled was.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme has made funding available for more than 41,000 students from schools, colleges and universities to go on study and work placements in over 150 destinations across the world this academic year. The government has also confirmed funding for the continuation of the Turing Scheme for the next 3 years, including £110 million for the 2022/23 academic year.

A competitive procurement exercise was conducted to appoint a delivery partner for the Turing Scheme from 1 April 2022. Two compliant bids were received for the contract to run the Turing Scheme. Following a robust procurement process, Capita’s bid was considered to be the highest in quality. The value of Capita’s bid was £6,271,155, which was the lowest bid in monetary value in this procurement.

As with all contracts, we will actively manage it at an operational and strategic level and should concerns arise, our contracts contain provisions and remedies to deal with them swiftly and effectively.

UK education providers who have successfully applied for funding may use the Turing Scheme funding to support mobilities for any of their students, regardless of study subject.

Statistics on actual participation in the scheme will be available after the end of the first year of the programme. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on mobilities with some institutions choosing to delay their students’ placements. Statistics on participation in ERASMUS+ are published by the European Union: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets.


Written Question
Turing Scheme
Tuesday 11th January 2022

Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the value of the bid put in by Capita to obtain the contract to run the Turing Scheme was.

Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Turing Scheme has made funding available for more than 41,000 students from schools, colleges and universities to go on study and work placements in over 150 destinations across the world this academic year. The government has also confirmed funding for the continuation of the Turing Scheme for the next 3 years, including £110 million for the 2022/23 academic year.

A competitive procurement exercise was conducted to appoint a delivery partner for the Turing Scheme from 1 April 2022. Two compliant bids were received for the contract to run the Turing Scheme. Following a robust procurement process, Capita’s bid was considered to be the highest in quality. The value of Capita’s bid was £6,271,155, which was the lowest bid in monetary value in this procurement.

As with all contracts, we will actively manage it at an operational and strategic level and should concerns arise, our contracts contain provisions and remedies to deal with them swiftly and effectively.

UK education providers who have successfully applied for funding may use the Turing Scheme funding to support mobilities for any of their students, regardless of study subject.

Statistics on actual participation in the scheme will be available after the end of the first year of the programme. The COVID-19 outbreak has had a significant effect on mobilities with some institutions choosing to delay their students’ placements. Statistics on participation in ERASMUS+ are published by the European Union: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/resources-and-tools/statistics-and-factsheets.


Written Question
Students: Finance
Monday 22nd November 2021

Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support the Government is providing to students with visa applications for studying within the UK; and what recent progress has been made on the processing of delayed Erasmus grants to UK students studying in the UK.

Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

International students are required to demonstrate their ability to financially support themselves during their studies as part of the visa application process. The UK government does not offer financial support to students applying for a visa to study in the UK.

Students that have a UK visa and are studying full-time on a course at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance are able to work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacation periods.

In specific cases, immediate hardship funding can be made available by universities for students in need. Students should speak to their providers if they find themselves in need of hardship support.

The UK government funds several programmes offering scholarships and bursaries to support international students looking to study in the UK. The UK National Agency for Erasmus+ confirms that there have been no delays in disbursement of funds to existing beneficiaries.