Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the 21 hour study rule from the eligibility criteria for Carer’s Allowance.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by informal carers. With respect to full-time education, the Government believes that this should be supported by the educational maintenance system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits, including Carer’s Allowance.
Educational institutions decide which young people receive bursaries or other support and determine the level of financial support they receive. They develop their own eligibility criteria for access to the discretionary bursary fund, including setting a household income threshold appropriate to their area, and must publish this information for their students. Arrangements may differ across the United Kingdom.
In England, for example, over £160 million of bursary funding has been allocated in the 2023/24 academic year to institutions to help disadvantaged 16- to 19-year-olds with the costs of taking part in education. This is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for last year. The Department for Education has also made available £20 million each year in England specifically to support students in defined vulnerable groups.
Carer’s Allowance is a devolved benefit in Scotland.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the content of alcohol education material used in (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities that has been provided by organisations in receipt of funding by the alcohol industry.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
From September 2020 in England, Relationships Education became compulsory for all primary school-aged pupils, Relationships and Sex Education became compulsory for all secondary school-aged pupils, and Health Education became compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools.
The statutory guidance for Health Education sets out content on drugs, alcohol and tobacco use. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.
To support implementation, the department published a teacher training module on drugs, alcohol and tobacco as part of a wider suite of teacher training materials. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-training-drugs-alcohol-and-tobacco.
The department does not direct schools on which resources, external speakers or organisations to use, and the department does not endorse or promote resources to schools other than those produced by other government departments. The ‘Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education’ guidance is, however, clear that all materials used should be age appropriate and factual.
The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. The review has been informed by an independent expert panel to advise my right. Hon friend, the Secretary of State for Education, on the introduction of age limits for sensitive subjects.
In March 2023, the Secretary of State for Education also wrote to schools to remind them that copyright law does not prevent them from sharing external resources with parents. In October 2023, the Secretary of State wrote again to clarify that any contractual clause that prevents schools from sharing materials is void and unenforceable and to provide practical advice on how to share materials with parents in a way that is in line with copyright legislation. The department will ensure that the updated guidance fully reflects this very clear position. A copy of the Secretary of State’s letter to schools about sharing curriculum resources with parents is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secretary-of-state-letter-to-schools-about-sharing-curriculum-resources-with-parents.
A draft of the amended guidance will be published for consultation as soon as possible.
It is for further education colleges to determine what material they use to support the health and wellbeing of students.
Higher education providers in England are autonomous and independent and they make decisions on the courses that they will run. In making these decisions providers will adapt their offers to the interest of students and demand from employers. The department cannot therefore comment on their choices.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help increase specialist knowledge of cerebral palsy across the (a) health and (b) social care workforce.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standards of training for health care professionals are the responsibility of the health care independent statutory regulatory bodies, including the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council, and the Health and Care Professions Council. These have the general function of promoting high standards of education, and co-ordinating all stages of education, to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified health care professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice, including knowledge of cerebral palsy.
The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training is set by the relevant royal college, and has to meet the standards set by the GMC. Whilst curricula do not necessarily highlight specific conditions for doctors to be aware of, they do emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also published a range of guidance on care and support for children and young people, and adults with cerebral palsy, to support health care professionals and commissioners. The guidance outlines the kind of specialist care that children, young people, and adults with cerebral palsy may need from health and social care professionals. The guidance document for children and young people with cerebral palsy, and the guidance document for adults with cerebral palsy, are available respectively at the following links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng62
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng119
NHS England has also produced an e-learning course on the prevention of cerebral palsy in preterm labour, which is available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/prevention-of-cerebral-palsy-in-preterm-labour/
NHS England has established the Getting It Right First Time (GRIFT) national programme, which is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through an in-depth clinically led review of specialties, to examine how things are currently being done and how they could be improved. The GRIFT National Speciality Report on Neurology makes recommendations on the diagnosis and management of a range of neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy, and will support the National Health Service in delivering care more equitably across the country, and improving services nationally.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by £2.4 billion, sets out the steps needed to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The plan will double medical school training places by 2031, and sets out that the NHS will focus on expanding the number of clinicians who train to take up enhanced and advanced roles and work as part of multidisciplinary teams. We expect that this will increase the number of health care professionals in the speciality of neurology, and those that have specialist knowledge of cerebral palsy.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to educate current drug users on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. We are working to increase awareness of the dangers of synthetic opioids. The Government’s drug information and advice service, Talk to FRANK, aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness among young people and parents. Information on synthetic opioids and the danger of their misuse is available at the following link:
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/synthetic-opioids
Education on drug use is also a statutory component of relationships and sex education and health education in England. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department for Education have commissioned lesson plans and other resources to support teachers in delivering quality drug prevention interventions. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. These resources are being updated, and will have an increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to prevent increased synthetic drug use.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. We are working to increase awareness of the dangers of synthetic opioids. The Government’s drug information and advice service, Talk to FRANK, aims to reduce drug misuse and its harms by increasing awareness among young people and parents. Information on synthetic opioids and the danger of their misuse is available at the following link:
https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/synthetic-opioids
Education on drug use is also a statutory component of relationships and sex education and health education in England. The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and the Department for Education have commissioned lesson plans and other resources to support teachers in delivering quality drug prevention interventions. The lesson plans target primary and secondary students, teaching them how to manage influences and pressure, and keep themselves healthy and safe. These resources are being updated, and will have an increased emphasis on the risks of synthetic drugs.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish an update to the calculation of the resource accounting and budgeting charge for student finance; and whether they propose to make any changes to the basis for calculation used at the time it was last updated.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the 2022/23 financial year, the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge was £5.5 billion, or 27% of the £20.0 billion of loans issued that financial year. The RAB charge for 2023/24 will be published in the department’s 2023/24 Annual Report and Accounts this summer.
Of student loans issued in the 2023/24 financial year, the government is expected to subsidise:
These forecasts are subject to change. The final RAB forecasts for 2023/24 will be available as part of the annual student finance statistical publication, released in June 2024.
The RAB charge, the government subsidy anticipated on student loans issued in any particular financial year, is calculated as the present value of student loan outlay less expected future repayments, in accordance with relevant International Financial Reporting Standards and guidance from HMT’s Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM).
The FReM requires future repayments of student loans to be discounted at the higher of the intrinsic rate and HMT’s discount rate, based on analysis of real yields on UK index linked Gilts and are specifically appropriate to central government.
The FReM is kept under constant review. It is updated to reflect developments in relevant standards and best practice.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current value of the resource accounting and budgeting charge for student finance.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the 2022/23 financial year, the Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge was £5.5 billion, or 27% of the £20.0 billion of loans issued that financial year. The RAB charge for 2023/24 will be published in the department’s 2023/24 Annual Report and Accounts this summer.
Of student loans issued in the 2023/24 financial year, the government is expected to subsidise:
These forecasts are subject to change. The final RAB forecasts for 2023/24 will be available as part of the annual student finance statistical publication, released in June 2024.
The RAB charge, the government subsidy anticipated on student loans issued in any particular financial year, is calculated as the present value of student loan outlay less expected future repayments, in accordance with relevant International Financial Reporting Standards and guidance from HMT’s Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM).
The FReM requires future repayments of student loans to be discounted at the higher of the intrinsic rate and HMT’s discount rate, based on analysis of real yields on UK index linked Gilts and are specifically appropriate to central government.
The FReM is kept under constant review. It is updated to reflect developments in relevant standards and best practice.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students who have started T-Level courses have not completed them in the last two years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s recently published 2023/24 T Level Action Plan outlines the developments and next steps for T Levels and includes the latest student data for the programme. It shows that 5,321 students began their T Level in 2021/22. In summer 2023, 3,592 of those students were retained (68%), and 3,510 were retained and assessed (66%). Further data about T Levels, as well as details of the methodology used in the above can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66290c86b0ace32985a7e6d6/T_Level_action_plan_-_analytical_annex.pdf.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of British National Overseas visa holders that are unable to access student finance.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Under the existing student support regulations, Hong Kong British National Overseas (BNO) visa holders would not have access to student finance until they have acquired a settled status in the UK and meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. As the BNO route only opened in January 2021, the earliest a person is likely to become settled (and have access student finance) is in January 2026. As such, all persons who have been granted leave under the BNO route, are not currently able to access student finance.
Home Office statistics show that 140,300 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. However, not all of these people will go on to study in higher education.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on closures of music (a) departments and (b) courses at universities in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department does not hold data on the number of music departments, or on the establishment or closure of individual distinct music courses offered by higher education providers (HEPs). However, the department does hold data on the numbers of student enrolments in music courses more generally, and the number of HEPs offering these courses. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), which is now part of JISC, is responsible for collecting and publishing data about UK higher education (HE). The latest statistics refer to the 2021/22 academic year.
The data on HE student enrolments by HEP and subjects of study for the 2014/15 to 2018/19 academic years is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-13.
The data on HE student enrolments by HEP and subject of study for the 2019/20 to 2021/22 academic years is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49.
In the 2014/15 academic year, there were 102 HEPs that enrolled 24,620 students in music courses. In the 2021/22 academic year, this increased to 120 HEPs enrolling 37,090 students in music courses.
Counts are on the basis of full-person-equivalents. Where a student is studying more than one subject, they are apportioned between the subjects that make up their course. Figures provided are for UK HEPs enrolments for all modes and levels of study, and for all domiciles. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five, in line with HESA rounding conventions. More information on the figures is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/definitions/students#rounding-and-suppression-strategy.
The figures from 2019/20 onwards are not directly comparable with previous years due to the introduction of a new subject classification system, called the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS), which replaced the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS3).
Further information on HECoS and JACS can be found via the following: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/hecos, and https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs.