Written questions by Mohamed.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the number of higher education institutions that are forecast to have a deficit in the 2024-25 financial year on the economy.

​​The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, monitors the financial health of providers to ensure it has an up-to-date understanding of the sustainability of the sector. Its latest report, published in May 2025, highlighted a decline in financial performance across the sector in 2023/24, with 44% of institutions forecasting a deficit in 2024/25. HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate financial decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.​The department is committed to creating a secure future for our universities so that they can deliver for students, taxpayers, workers and the economy. To put the sector on a firmer financial footing, Professor Edward Peck has been appointed as substantive chair of the OfS to continue its focus on financial sustainability and increasing opportunities in HE. We also took the difficult decision to increase tuition fee limits by 3.1% in the 2025/26 academic year, in line with inflation.​We will continue to work closely with the OfS and other relevant parties to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.

What recent assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the use of the Transparent Approach to Costing methodology by the higher education sector.

​​The data collected using the Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) methodology is an important part of the evidence base, which the department uses to understand the financial sustainability of the higher education sector and the teaching of UK students who are publicly funded.​The TRAC sector analysis, published annually by the Office for Students, was most recently used to support the strategic case for uplifting tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year. This was set out in the regulatory impact assessment, published in January 2025 and accessible at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2025/40/pdfs/ukia_20250040_en.pdf.​​The department continues to consider the interaction between TRAC and policy decisions in our policy development.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of university-based (a) research and (b) development activities on levels of UK (i) productivity and (ii) economic growth.

Evidence shows that every £1 of public R&D investment leverages around £2 of business R&D investment [1] and generates approximately £7 of net economic benefits in the long term [2]. Universities play a central role in the UK’s R&D ecosystem, receiving around half of the Government’s R&D funding [3]. Their impact is wide-ranging, from advancing scientific knowledge to commercialising innovation. For example, university spin-outs and start-ups – just one channel through which universities contribute to the economy - attracted £20.6 billion in investment between 2014 and 2022 [4]. [1] The relationship between public and private R&D funding | Oxford Economics[2] ‘Evidence on the balance and effectiveness of research and innovation spending’, written evidence submitted by UK Research and Innovation to the Science and Technology Select Committee, published November 2018[3] UK gross domestic expenditure on research and development[4] Intellectual property, start-ups and spin-outs | HESA

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the decision to restrict TechExpert scholarships to domestic PhD students on the UK’s international competitiveness in Artificial Intelligence innovation.

The Government is committed to strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in AI. While TechExpert scholarships focus on domestic talent, we continue to attract top international talent through initiatives such as the AI Global Fellowships and the Spärck AI scholarships. These programmes ensure the UK retains world-class expertise, supports frontier research, and sustains its competitive edge in AI innovation. This balance to championing our domestic pipeline while attracting some of the world's best AI minds to the UK is key to maximising our AI ambitions.

What recent estimate she has made of the net financial impact of international students to the economy.

International students make a very significant contribution to the UK economy. Departmental statistics on education-related exports, published in June, estimated that international students contributed £21.06 billion to the UK economy in 2022 through their tuition fees and living expenditure.

What steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for administrative reviews relating to immigration casework.

The allocation of resources across competing demands within the immigration system requires that prioritisation decisions are made, but the Home Office continues to work hard to meet the timescales set out in public guidance for the processing of AR applications.

What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the consideration of Administrative Reviews of immigration casework.

The allocation of resources across competing demands within the immigration system requires that prioritisation decisions are made, but the Home Office continues to work hard to meet the timescales set out in public guidance for the processing of AR applications.

Whether his Department plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of enabling community energy schemes to sell energy to local households and businesses on the transition to Net Zero.

The Department is considering a range of reforms to unlock renewable investment and pass through the benefits of cheaper renewables to consumers. This includes potential changes to support local and community energy. All policies within my department and Government undergo appropriate analytical appraisals, which includes an assessment of the impacts on Net Zero. The Secretary of State previously commissioned Ofgem to explore policy and regulatory barriers to local supply, including route to market challenges. The Department continues to work with Ofgem and key stakeholders to enhance our community energy offer. We will set out further detail in due course.

Whether her Departments plans to implement transitional arrangements for people impacted by the proposals outlined in her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, published on 12 May 2025.

The Immigration White Paper, published on 12 May 2025, announced new measures on a wide range of issues.We will be consulting on the earned settlement scheme later this year. Further details will be set out in the normal way in due course, and where necessary, will be subject to consultation.

Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of regulating the level of charges levied by online image rights holders in cases of copyright infringement.

The unauthorised use of copyright material is an infringement. The terms on which permission is granted, including any payments that may be made, is a private commercial matter.The Government would encourage parties involved in potential litigation proceedings to seek a negotiated settlement and the IPO offers a mediation service which employs accredited mediators who are qualified to mediate across a range of IP rights.There are also many other individuals and organisations who mediate IP disputes, and the IPO has published a list of providers on its website. Further information regarding mediation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/intellectual-property-mediation

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that home delivery drivers are protected from abuse within the Crime and Policing Bill.

The Government is determined to tackle all forms of hate crime.We have a robust legislative framework in place to respond to hate crimes which target race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and transgender identity, and we back the police in taking strong action against the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.The Government funds an online hate crime reporting portal, True Vision, designed so victims of all types of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We are also continuing to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, which supports individual local police forces in dealing specifically with online hate crime, providing expert advice to police to support them in investigating these abhorrent offences.The Government is carefully considering how best to strengthen the response to hate crime going forward so we can continue to tackle this offending head on.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 42191 on University of Sussex: Disciplinary Proceedings and with reference to her oral statement of 15 January 2025 on Higher Education Regulatory Approach, Official Report, column 379-382, when the parts of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 not being amended will come into force; and when she plans to introduce legislation to amend that Act.

On Monday 28 April, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education signed commencement regulations for the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. These regulations commence the following provisions in the Act from 1 August 2025:Duties on higher education (HE) providers (and their constituent institutions) to take reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law, to put in place a code of practice on freedom of speech and academic freedom, and to promote freedom of speech.The ban on non-disclosure agreements for staff and students at HE providers in cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.The duties on the Office for Students to promote freedom of speech and the power to identify good practice and advise HE providers on it. We are seeking a suitable legislative vehicle to amend and repeal the remaining elements of the Act in due course.​

How many School Attendance Order (a) prosecutions and (b) fines there were under section 443 of the Education Act 1996 in each of the last 10 years.

The volume of defendants prosecuted and fined for offences under 443 of the Education Act 1996 from 2015 - 2024 (January to September) is provided in the attached table 1.Note that that this is an additional breakdown of statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on volumes of criminal proceedings.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has instructed Official Development Assistance programme teams to pause new (a) business cases, (b) contracts, and (c) funding for programmes supporting women, peace, and security; whether any reductions or cancellations have been made to existing programmes in these areas; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of such actions.

The transition to spending 0.3 per cent of gross national income on Official Development Assistance (ODA) demands significant shifts in the scale and shape of our ODA spending. To enable us to deliver this change effectively, we are prioritising meeting legally binding commitments and delivering work already underway, and planned humanitarian spend. Further detail is set out in Baroness Chapman's 27 March letter to the International Development Committee [https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/47275/documents/245059/default/].The UK is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on the Development Review; and how he plans to use that review to inform the planned reduction in UK aid spending.

The Development Review considered how to maximise the UK's combined diplomatic and development expertise in its international development work. Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. The recommendations of the Development Review, alongside the Global Impact and Economic Diplomacy reviews, are now being considered as part of the Foreign Secretary's wider work to reform the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and will also inform decisions on the ODA budget.

What discussions his Department has had with the Royal College of Physicians on the administrative error in the 2023 Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK part two examinations.

We recognise that this will be a concerning time for those doctors affected. We have asked the UK Statutory Education Bodies, which is NHS England in the case of England, to work with the Royal College of Physicians and the General Medical Council to ensure this issue is rectified as a matter of urgency.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that critical cavity nesting bird habitats are mandated in new housing developments.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the School Attendance Order process in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on local authority staff time.

The department is legislating through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to make School Attendance Orders a more efficient remedy to ensure that children are in receipt of suitable education. This includes making it an offence for parents to withdraw a child subject to a School Attendance Order from school without following the proper procedure. This means that parents convicted of breaching a School Attendance Order can be prosecuted again if they continue to breach it without local authorities having to restart the process from the beginning, which will save resources.Other measures which will impact on local authority staff time include additional statutory timelines on parts of the process, a new requirement for local authorities to consider the home and other learning environments, and a new power for local authorities to request to see the child in their home(s).Where additional local authority resources will be required to undertake new duties created by these School Attendance Order changes, the department is considering these additional requirements and will conduct a full new burdens assessment as is required.

Whether the New Burdens Assessment will be completed before the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill receives Royal Assent.

The department has conducted initial new burdens impact assessments, in line with normal practice, for measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Once the new burdens assessments have been finalised, where it is assessed there is a new burden on local government, all additional net costs will be funded by central government in line with the New Burdens Doctrine.

When the further impact assessments for the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill will be added to the main bill page.

The full suite of impact assessments of the measures in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-impact-assessments.