19 - 23 November 2018

University APPG weekly update

A regular digest of House of Commons, House of Lords and higher education sector business.

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Click on the items in the Table of Contents to go straight to the debates, answers, forthcoming business, etc.

Table of Contents

Forthcoming business ...... 3 Health and Social Care oral questions ...... 3 Home Affairs Committee hears evidence on the work of the Home Secretary ...... 3 EU settled status scheme debate ...... 3 Draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2018 ...... 3 APPG for London and APPG for Greater Manchester meeting on skills and apprenticeships ...... 3 Liaison Committee hears evidence from Prime Minister ...... 3 Debate on UK entry visas ...... 4 Lords oral question on Teaching Excellence Framework ...... 4 Accelerated Degrees ...... 4 Science and Technology Committee hears evidence on balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending ...... 4 APPG on Apprenticeships ...... 5 House of Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee hears evidence on European Investment Bank ...... 5 Debate on investing in nursing higher education in England ...... 5 Brexit Draft Political Declaration on the Future Trading Relationship ...... 5 Written questions ...... 6 Overseas Students ...... 6 Education Exports ...... 7 Social Mobility ...... 8 Tuition Fees ...... 9 University Closures ...... 10 Sector news ...... 10 TEF Reviewer Appointment ...... 10 Joint statement from social mobility charity CEOs on tuition fees...... 10

Forthcoming business

Health and Social Care oral questions

On Tuesday 27 November Ministers from 11:30am the Department for Health and Social Care will answer questions from MPs in the House of Commons. This will include a question on the number of people entering nursing higher education.

The session can be viewed here.

Home Affairs Committee hears evidence on the work of the Home Secretary

On Tuesday 27 November from 3:30pm the Home Affairs Committee will hear from the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, and Sir Philip Rutnam, Permanent Secretary, Home Office, on the work of the Home Secretary. This session will likely include questions around immigration that may be relevant to students and academics.

The session can be viewed here.

EU settled status scheme debate

From 4:30pm on Tuesday 27 November there will be a debate in Westminster Hall on the topic of the EU settled status scheme. The debate will be led by Matt Warman.

The debate can be viewed in full here.

Draft Immigration (Health Charge) (Amendment) Order 2018

This amendment will go before the House of Lords on Wednesday 28 November. This would increase the levy placed on students, to contribute to the costs of the National Health Service, to £300.

APPG for London and APPG for Greater Manchester meeting on skills and apprenticeships

On Wednesday 28 November from 2pm the APPG for London and the APPG for Greater Manchester will hold a joint meeting on skills, apprenticeships and education for city regions.

Speakers will include: • Cllr Sean Fielding, Lead for Skills at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, • Cllr Georgia Gould, London Councils’ Executive member for Employment and Skills.

Liaison Committee hears evidence from Prime Minister

On Thursday 29 November from 9am the Liaison Committee will hear evidence from the Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Brexit and the progress of negotiations. This may include topics relevant to universities such as changes to the visa system.

The session can be viewed here.

Debate on UK entry visas

On Monday 19 November there was an adjournment debate in the Commons chamber on the topic of UK entry visas. This included questions about student visas and the refusal of visas to academics wishing to travel to the UK. The debate was led by Patrick Grady and Caroline Nokes, Minister for Immigration, reiterated that the UK is a global leader in attracting international students and stating that the immigration system is crucial to achieve the UK’s aim of being a global, outward-looking nation.

The full debate can be found on Hansard.

Lords oral question on Teaching Excellence Framework

On Monday 19 November Lord Stevenson of Balmacara asked a question to the House of Lords on whether the TEF report will include recommendations on grade inflation. This was on the same day that the independent reviewer of the TEF was announced along with the scope of the report. In answer to the question Viscount Younger of Leckie claimed the government are aware of the issue surrounding grade inflation, but stated that this should not be conflated with grade improvement, which some parts of the sector see as driving this inflation.

The full debate can be found on Hansard.

Accelerated Degrees

On Monday 19 November Sam Gyimah released a written statement following the publishing of the full response to the consultation on accelerated degrees. The government accepted proposals to increase the annual tuition fee cap for two-year accelerated degrees by 20% to £11,100 per year. This is in order to incentivise greater provision by universities and uptake by students.

The full statement can be found here.

Science and Technology Committee hears evidence on balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending

On Tuesday 20 November the Science and Technology Committee heard evidence on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending.

Witness included: • Sir Paul Nurse, Director, The Francis Crick Institute, • Kirsten Bound, Executive Director of Research, Analysis and Policy, Nesta, • Professor James Wilsdon, Professor of Research Policy, University of Sheffield, and Chair, Academy of Social Sciences Policy Working Group,

• Dr Sarah Main, Executive Director, Campaign for Science and Engineering, • Ernesto Fernandez Polcuch, Chief of Section, Science Policy and Partnerships, UNESCO, Paris, • Professor Jakob Edler, Executive Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany, • Dr Jos van den Broek, Senior Researcher, Rathenau Instituut, Netherlands, • Professor Paul Nightingale, Director of Strategy and Operations, ESRC, and Professor of Strategy, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, • Professor Joanna Chataway, Head of Department, Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy, University College London, and Deputy Director of Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex

The session can be viewed here.

APPG on Apprenticeships

The APPG on Apprenticeships held a meeting from 4pm on Tuesday 20 November on the topic of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the Workforce.

Speakers were: • Tom Morrison-Bell, UK Public Affairs Manager, Microsoft • Sarah Roche, Head of Scholar, UBS • Anna Round, Senior Research Fellow, IPPR • John Cope, Head of Education and Skills Policy, CBI

House of Lords EU Financial Affairs Sub-Committee hears evidence on European Investment Bank

On Wednesday 21 November from 9:45am the House of Lords Eu Financial Affairs Sub- Committee heard evidence from Robert Jenrick MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, as part of its ongoing inquiry into the European Investment Bank.

The session can be viewed here.

Debate on investing in nursing higher education in England

On Wednesday 21 November there was a debate in Westminster Hall on the topic of investing in nursing higher education. The debate was led by Eleanor Smith and mentioned issues surrounding bursaries for student nurses, dropout rates for nursing students and decline in the numbers of students in nursing and midwifery courses.

The debate can be found on Hansard.

Brexit Draft Political Declaration on the Future Trading Relationship

On Thursday 22 November the Cabinet released a political declaration on the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU post-Brexit. While the document does not contain any firm commitments to the future relationship it does create the basis for future participation of UK universities in EU programmes such as Erasmus and Horizon 2020 as well as access to the EIB. while it recognises that free movement will end there is an agreement to work towards visa-free travel for short-term visits and to consider conditions for entry and stay purposes such as research.

The full document can be found here.

Written questions

Overseas Students

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many international students obtained a Tier 4 visa in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2016-17, (c) 2015-16, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2013-14 academic years; and how many of those students came from a nation registered in Appendix H of the Immigration Rules.

Caroline Nokes: Information on grants of Tier 4 entry clearance visas, by nationality, is published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics, Visas data tables volume 3, table vi_06_q_s, latest edition at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration- statistics-year-ending-june-2018/list-of-tables#visas.

Information relating to July to September (Q3) 2018 is planned to be published on 29 November.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many credibility interviews have been carried out for students by Entry Clearance Officers in academic year (a) 2017-18 (b) 2016-17, (c) 2015-16, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2013-14.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not publish data relating to credibility interviews.

All published data available for International operations can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data- august-2018

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 July 2018 to Question 165451, Overseas Students: Immigration, what criteria his Department uses to assess whether an individual’s residence in the UK and Islands has been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.

Sam Gyimah: Generally, to meet the eligibility requirements for student support, a student should be resident in England, have ‘settled’ status or a recognised connection with the UK and have been a resident of the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for the three years prior to the start of the course.

Residence in the UK and Islands must not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education, a requirement that has been in place since the 1960s.

Student Finance England determines whether an individual has met the residency requirements by considering applications for student support and accompanying evidence. Applications are considered on a case by case basis.

Education Exports

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking increase the number of Indian students studying at UK universities; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department has made on its 2015 target of increasing the value of educational exports to £30 billion by 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to set a growth target for international student numbers studying at UK universities; and if he will make a statement.

Sam Gyimah: The target of increasing the value of education exports to £30 billion by 2020 was set in 2015 under the coalition government. The target is rightly ambitious and the department remains committed to working with the rest of government and the sector to drive progress towards it.

The latest statistics, which were published by the department earlier this year, estimated that the total value of UK education exports and transnational education activity was £19.3 billion in 2015, marking an increase of 22% since 2010.

Growing education exports is an important priority, and the government supports this through the work of the Department for International Trade (DIT)’s team dedicated to education exports. In addition, DIT’s Education Sector Advisory Group, which was chaired by my hon. Friend, the Member for Beverley and Holderness, and which I attended, supports the international aspirations and activity of the UK education sector and explores the ways in which growth can be increased.

The department’s international team supports this work and leads on a number of formal bilateral agreements, underpinned by memorandums of understanding and ministerial dialogues and visits. The team is also a key partner in a number of regular high-level international events, such as the Education World Forum, which is held annually in the UK.

Accounting for approximately 60% of all education exports, international students are of course an important part of this work.

The UK continues to be very successful in attracting international students. There is no cap on the number who can study here and we are second only to the USA in terms of our market share. Numbers remain at record high levels, with over 170,000 non-EU entrants to UK higher education institutions for the seventh year running.

India is an important partner in education, and the UK’s fourth largest source country for international students. The government actively promotes study in the UK through the GREAT Campaign and through the British Council, which promotes the UK in over 100 countries, including India. I am pleased to say that we have seen recent increases in student numbers from India and, since 2011, student visas granted to Indian nationals have increased by 28%.

To help inform decisions on the future migration system, the government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to provide an objective assessment of the impact of EU and non-EU international students at all levels of education. The MAC has now published its report, and the government is carefully considering its conclusions and recommendations. We intend to publish a white paper on the UK’s future immigration system later this year.

Pensions

Baroness Garden of Frognal: What plans, if any, they have to provide an estimate of the cumulative financial impact on the higher education sector as a result of the actuarial valuation changes to the (1) Teachers' Pension Scheme, (2) Local Government Pension Scheme, and (3) NHS Pension Scheme.

Lord Bates: The quadrennial valuations of public service pension schemes are ongoing. Precise financial impacts will not be known until the valuations are finalised.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a phasing in period for higher education Institutions to implement the increased contribution to the teachers’ pension scheme.

Sam Gyimah: The department will be running a public consultation regarding the funding of the rise in employer contributions for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme and has already agreed to delay the introduction of these changes until September 2019. The department will use the consultation to better understand the impact of the proposed changes on the affected English higher education institutions to decide what, if any, action should be taken.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Whether they intend to delay the changes to actuarial valuations for higher education public service pension schemes until the outcomes are known of (1) the Augar Review of post-18 education and funding, and (2) the Office for National Statistics review of the treatment of student loans in the Public Sector Finances.

Lord Bates: The quadrennial valuations of public service pension schemes are ongoing. Changes arising from these valuations are due to take effect in 2019. The process is set down in primary and secondary legislation and we are committed to following it.

Social Mobility

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 23 of the report of the Education Committee, Value for money in higher education, published on 5

November 2018, HC 343, what steps he is taking to increase the number of state school - educated students studying at Russell Group universities.

Sam Gyimah: Widening participation to Higher Education is a priority for this government. The government wants everyone with the capability to succeed in Higher Education to have the opportunity to benefit from a university education, regardless of their background.

This year, record rates of English 18-year-olds, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have entered full-time university. However, more could and should be done. That is why in the department’s first guidance to the Office for Students, we asked them to encourage providers to make further progress in ensuring that students from: areas of low higher education participation; low household income; and/or low socio-economic status, can access, participate and succeed in higher education, including at the most selective institutions.

In addition, a new transparency condition requires higher education providers to publish application, offer, acceptance, non-continuation and attainment rates by socio-economic background, gender and ethnicity. This will provide greater transparency and help drive fairness on admissions and outcomes.

Prior attainment is a critical factor and the government have asked higher education providers to take on a more direct role in helping to raise attainment in schools as part of their outreach activity. All universities are expected to help raise attainment and support school improvement, including through school sponsorship and by establishing new state schools.

Tuition Fees

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 8 of the report of the Education Committee, Value for money in higher education, published on 5 November 2018, if will take steps to require universities to publish a breakdown of how tuition fees are spent.

Sam Gyimah: Students’ ability to make informed choices is at the heart of our recent reforms to higher education (HE). This government recognises the importance of this area and is increasing the information available to students to ensure that they can make informed choices about what and where to study.

As set out in the department’s strategic guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), we expect them to play a key role in delivering our objectives to improve and support informed choice through the provision of effective information, advice and guidance to all students. In February, we asked the OfS to work with the HE sector to improve transparency so that students know what they should expect and can effectively challenge providers who do not deliver on their commitments.

In addition, we asked the OfS to consider how to increase the transparency and visibility of what students can expect to receive for their investment at different HE providers, by making Longitudinal Education Outcomes data more widely available such as through publication on Unistats, thereby enabling students to make the right choices for them.

Although we provide guidance for the OfS, we cannot instruct it to undertake any specific course of action as it is an independent arm’s length body.

The government will respond directly to the Education Select Committee on its HE value for money report recommendations in due course.

University Closures

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the risk of university closures due to financial pressures.

Sam Gyimah: I refer the hon. Member for Cardiff Central to the answer I gave on 12 November to Question 188033.

Sector news

TEF Reviewer Appointment

On Monday 19 November Sam Gyimah released a written statement announcing that the Secretary of State for Education has appointed Dame Shirley Pearce DBE to report on the operation of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF).

The review will report on the following: 1. The process by which ratings are determined under the scheme and the sources of statistical information used in that process; 2. Whether that process, and those sources of statistical information, are fit for use for the purpose of determining ratings under the scheme; 3. The names of the ratings under the scheme and whether those names are appropriate; 4. The impact of the scheme on the ability of higher education providers to which the scheme applies to carry out their functions (including in particular their functions relating to teaching and research); 5. An assessment of whether the scheme is in the public interest; and 6. Any other matters that the appointed person considers relevant.

The full statement can be found here.

Joint statement from social mobility charity CEOs on tuition fees.

CEOs from six social mobility charities have issued a joint statement in response to proposals for changes in tuition fees for higher education, stating that a reduction in fees would have a negative effect on social mobility.

They have claimed the current student loan system is progressive as no fees are paid up front and loans are paid back contingent to income. Cutting fees to £6,500 would benefit higher earning graduates the most, as they would pay back less of the cost of their

education than they do now. Addressing the cost of living, for example by restoring maintenance grants, would be a better way to encourage more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to access HE.

The statement issued four requests to government: • Irrespective of what fee regime the review opts for, we call on the government to protect widening participation funding, while building on momentum around spending it effectively • We urge the government to avoid adding complexity to the higher education funding landscape and to ensure that all students have the information, advice and guidance they need to make good choices in HE • We urge the government to increase the amount of maintenance support available to young people, for instance by restoring maintenance grants, so that university is affordable for everyone • We urge the government not to impose a cap on student numbers.

The full statement can be found here.