Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Confucius Institutes on UK universities.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes should operate transparently and with a full commitment to the department’s values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately and that the right due diligence is in place. We encourage any providers with concerns to contact the department.
The government will continue to review its measures as appropriate.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will address concerns about the possible influence of overseas money in higher education (HE) in England, without reducing the ability of our world-class universities to work with global partners.
The Bill will empower the Office for Students (OfS) to require registered HE providers to report certain overseas funding, including of educational partnerships, such as arrangements with Confucius Institutes. The Bill will also allow the OfS to take appropriate action, including issuing penalties, if there is evidence that an HE provider has breached its freedom of speech duties.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that girls of all ages can return to school in Afghanistan.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is committed to upholding women and girls' rights in Afghanistan, including the right to an education. We have repeatedly condemned the Taliban's decisions to restrict girls' access to education, including through public statements and UN Security Council and Human Rights Council resolutions, most recently on 19 October. We continue to press the Taliban on women and girls' rights in our political engagement. We are providing education funding through NGO partners, the UN system, and multilateral funds including the World Bank Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, Education Cannot Wait and the Global Partnership for Education.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to include the Commonwealth as part of the curriculum.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Commonwealth is covered within the citizenship curriculum, which all schools are encouraged to teach as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Citizenship forms a core part of the statutory National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 and includes content on the UK’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth and the wider world. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship at Key Stages 1 and 2, following the non-statutory framework for citizenship, which includes opportunities for pupils to discuss topics of school, local, national, European, Commonwealth and global concern.
There is also scope within history programmes of study for pupils to be taught about the Commonwealth. In Key Stage 3, pupils are taught about British history from 1745 to 1901, and this can include teaching about the end of the British Empire and Britain’s place in the world since 1945.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.
Asked by: Lord Hay of Ballyore (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to promote the digital economy in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In 2021, His Majesty’s Government and the Northern Ireland Executive signed the first ever City Deal for Northern Ireland. The Belfast Region City Deal unlocks £1 billion of transformative joint investment which will deliver more than 20 highly ambitious projects and programmes, create up to 20,000 new and better jobs, and help make the region a global centre of innovation.
Northern Ireland has 86% gigabit-capable coverage*, the best connectivity out of all the home nations of the UK, which will likely improve with the £5 billion investment in Project Gigabit. Additionally, our work with the Department for the Economy on Project Stratum has improved broadband connectivity for 50% of target premises as of September. The Northern Ireland Gigabit Open Market Review is scheduled to launch in early Autumn 2022.
BDUK has worked with the Department for Economy and the Local Authorities on Full Fibre Northern Ireland to deliver connectivity to over 887 buildings with investment of over £24 million from His Majesty’s Government. Connectivity upgrades to 199 buildings were achieved by Belfast City Council with a grant of £9.3 million.
His Majesty’s Government is committed to investing in the skills of people of Northern Ireland and promoting Northern Ireland’s potential as a leader in innovative technologies. The Cyber Explorers scheme supports 11–14 year-olds to boost their understanding and interest in a career in cyber. In addition, Cyber Runway provides business skills, product development, connections and mentoring to UK cyber companies at three stages of the business lifecycle: Launch, Grow and Scale. Cyber Runway is delivered in partnership with the Centre for Secure Information Technologies in Belfast and an event will be held in the city in November 2023 to support the local economy.
DCMS is supporting businesses across the UK through investment. The £12 million Digital Growth Grant will support companies across the UK to access finance and business advice through tailored growth programmes and events. In addition, the £2.6 billion UKSPF fund encourages areas across the UK to consider interventions to support and grow their local tech ecosystems.
The creative industries are also major players in the digital economy, with inward investment reaching nearly £1 billion in 2020. To help support these businesses, DCMS is providing nearly £50 million in support for the creative industries across the UK, including the £8 million UK Games Fund (UKGF) and £21 million UK Global Screen Fund that will promote investment in innovative creative businesses. The UKGF provides grant support to early-game stage games development companies across the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
Furthermore, the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s Creative Clusters Programme supports local businesses in the Northern Ireland screen sector to innovate and drive investment. It is called Future Screens Northern Ireland and is run by a consortium of higher education institutes, industry partners, and public organisations.
*(ThinkBroadband, August 2022)
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the International Education Strategy outlined in 2019 remains his Department's policy objective including the target for the UK to (a) host 600,000 international students and (b) raise £35 billion in export income per year by 2030.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department remains committed and continues to work towards the two ambitions in the International Education Strategy published in 2019 and updated in 2021 and 2022. These ambitions are to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year and to continue to host at least 600,000 international students in the UK per year, both by 2030. With 605,130 international students in the UK hosted in the 2020/21 academic year, the government has met its International Students ambition for the first time, nearly ten years early.
Education exports make an important contribution to the UK economy as well as helping us build global relationships and international students enrich the university experience for all students, including those from the UK themselves. For both international and domestic students, this cultural exchange helps build life-long friendships, future networks, and important business, political and diplomatic bridges.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the International Education Strategy outlined in 2019 remains his Department's policy objective, including the target for the UK to (a) host 600,000 international students and (b) raise £35 billion in export income per year by 2030.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department remains committed and continues to work towards the two ambitions in the International Education Strategy published in 2019 and updated in 2021 and 2022. These ambitions are to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year and to continue to host at least 600,000 international students in the UK per year, both by 2030. With 605,130 international students in the UK hosted in the 2020/21 academic year, the government has met its International Students ambition for the first time, nearly ten years early.
Education exports make an important contribution to the UK economy as well as helping us build global relationships and international students enrich the university experience for all students, including those from the UK themselves. For both international and domestic students, this cultural exchange helps build life-long friendships, future networks, and important business, political and diplomatic bridges.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the International Education Strategy outlined in 2019 remains his Department's policy objective, including the target for the UK to (a) host 600,000 international students and (b) receive £35 billion export income per year by 2030.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department remains committed and continues to work towards the two ambitions in the International Education Strategy published in 2019 and updated in 2021 and 2022. These ambitions are to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year and to continue to host at least 600,000 international students in the UK per year, both by 2030. With 605,130 international students in the UK hosted in the 2020/21 academic year, the government has met its International Students ambition for the first time, nearly ten years early.
Education exports make an important contribution to the UK economy as well as helping us build global relationships and international students enrich the university experience for all students, including those from the UK themselves. For both international and domestic students, this cultural exchange helps build life-long friendships, future networks, and important business, political and diplomatic bridges.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children absent from school due to emergencies in each of the last twelve months.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Recent estimates show 222 million crisis-affected children are currently not getting the education they need, including almost 80 million children who are not learning at all. Education in times of crisis can be life-saving for children by giving a sense of normality and the protection they need. That is why the UK is proud to be a founding member and a leading donor to both Education Cannot Wait - the global fund for education in emergencies - and the Global Partnership for Education, which helps to build and strengthen education systems in many fragile and conflict-affected states. The UK also supports the Girls' Education Challenge, the largest global fund for girls' education which is supporting 1.5 million of the hardest to reach girls to access education across 17 countries.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of developing a global teacher strategy that provides for a commitment to inclusive and gender transformative teaching around the world.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We need global collaboration to ensure all children and young people globally, can learn and reach their potential. The recent global Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning, endorsed by the FCDO, includes support to teachers, and the most marginalised children, including girls. Teaching quality is the most important factor affecting learning in schools. The UK's 2018 Education Policy, and 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan, and the G7 Global Education Objectives, demonstrate the commitment to invest in good teaching and reach marginalised girls. Our programmes work with partners and governments, using the best available evidence, to support quality teaching globally.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Education Cannot Wait's case for investment in the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies and its 2023-26 Strategic Plan; and if he will make statement.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK is proud to be a co-founding member and leading donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW). Given the UK Government's response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, wider Official Development Assistance (ODA) pressures, including the ODA-eligible expenditure incurred through the Afghan resettlement programme and the UK's support to people fleeing Ukraine, the FCDO and other ODA spending departments will need to revisit aid budgets to ensure all eligible spending is managed within 0.5% of Gross National Income this calendar year.
The Government remains committed to transparency and will provide an update to Parliament on spending plans in due course.