Written questions by Lowe.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a cap on the number of international students.

The government is committed to a United Kingdom that is outward looking and welcomes international students, who make a positive contribution to the UK’s higher education sector, our economy and society as a whole. Universities in England receive an estimated £12.1bn annually in tuition fee income from international students, which supports provision of places for domestic students and research and development.Universities and other higher education providers are autonomous bodies which are independent of government. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions in relation to domestic and international students.The department is reviewing the International Education Strategy to ensure that it increases the value of education exports and reflects the priorities of education organisations and businesses. This review will also consider the department’s ambition on international student numbers.The government remains committed to managing migration carefully, which is why my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced in November 2024 that we will publish a White Paper on reducing migration this year.

How data on suspected victims of grooming gangs in schools is (a) collected and (b) shared with (i) law enforcement and (ii) child protection services.

The department can confirm that the statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE), provides clear and robust guidance on how schools and colleges must report all safeguarding concerns.It covers issues such as grooming, sexual abuse, and child sexual exploitation, ensuring that schools and colleges have the tools and guidance needed to manage safeguarding effectively.KCSIE makes clear that all concerns, discussions, decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions must be documented in writing.Where staff have concerns about a child, they must follow their school or college’s child protection policy and report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) without delay. Ordinarily, it is the DSL who is then responsible for referring these concerns to the relevant local authority children’s social care team and, where appropriate, the police. When such referrals are made into children's social care, and the police, data will be captured and recorded by those agencies.KCSIE is designed to ensure that all concerns are dealt with swiftly, effectively, and in line with local safeguarding protocols. Schools and colleges must also engage with their local safeguarding partners to ensure these processes are consistently implemented.

What protocols are in place for schools to report suspected grooming gang activities involving students.

The department can confirm that the statutory safeguarding guidance, ‘Keeping children safe in education’ (KCSIE), provides clear and robust guidance on how schools and colleges must report all safeguarding concerns.It covers issues such as grooming, sexual abuse, and child sexual exploitation, ensuring that schools and colleges have the tools and guidance needed to manage safeguarding effectively.KCSIE makes clear that all concerns, discussions, decisions made, and the reasons for those decisions must be documented in writing.Where staff have concerns about a child, they must follow their school or college’s child protection policy and report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) without delay. Ordinarily, it is the DSL who is then responsible for referring these concerns to the relevant local authority children’s social care team and, where appropriate, the police. When such referrals are made into children's social care, and the police, data will be captured and recorded by those agencies.KCSIE is designed to ensure that all concerns are dealt with swiftly, effectively, and in line with local safeguarding protocols. Schools and colleges must also engage with their local safeguarding partners to ensure these processes are consistently implemented.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an awareness programme to protect primary and secondary school children from rape gang abuse.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. The department has an established robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to. Part 1 of this guidance, which should be read by all staff who work directly with children, not only sets out the different types of abuse and harm but also makes clear that all staff should receive safeguarding training, know how to recognise abuse and know what to do if they have any concerns about a child. The department keeps the guidance under regular review to see where it needs strengthening and to ensure it is reflective of emerging risks and issues in safeguarding. Pupils are taught about rape, exploitation and abuse as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The RSHE statutory guidance is also clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum to ensure it covers all relevant content relating to sexual violence.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a programme to increase awareness of the signs of rape gang abuse for teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. The department has an established robust safeguarding framework in place in the form of ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which is the statutory safeguarding guidance that all schools and colleges must have regard to. Part 1 of this guidance, which should be read by all staff who work directly with children, not only sets out the different types of abuse and harm but also makes clear that all staff should receive safeguarding training, know how to recognise abuse and know what to do if they have any concerns about a child. The department keeps the guidance under regular review to see where it needs strengthening and to ensure it is reflective of emerging risks and issues in safeguarding. Pupils are taught about rape, exploitation and abuse as part of compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The RSHE statutory guidance is also clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse. The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum to ensure it covers all relevant content relating to sexual violence.

How many and what proportion of officials in her Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year.

All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.Departments will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of posit...

What information her Department holds on the proportion of children that started secondary school who are (a) new to and (b) have early acquisition of English in each of the last 10 years.

The department does not hold data for children who have learnt English throughout their lifetime. Data for the proportion and number of children who are not known to have English as their first language can be found at school level in the school census pu...

How many children entered (a) primary and (b) secondary school in Great Yarmouth constituency in each of the last 10 years.

The department publishes the number of pupils in primary and secondary schools in the Great Yarmouth constituency. This data is available in the ’Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication, which is based on the January school census. The most...

If she will make an estimate of the number of school places in Great Yarmouth constituency (a) available and (b) requested in the next academic year.

As part of the school capacity survey 2023, Norfolk local authority submitted to the department information on school capacity and forecast demand for school places. Forecasts are made for pupil place planning areas, which are not a standard geography and...

Is she will make an estimate of the number of postgraduate students currently studying in UK universities that are (a) UK citizens and (b) non-UK citizens.

The department does not hold citizenship data for higher education (HE) students. However, data on the domicile (permanent address) of HE students, is available via the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which can be accessed here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk...

What steps she is taking to prevent the teaching of gender ideology in schools.

Compulsory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) should help pupils to understand that society consists of a diverse range of people. By the end of their secondary education, pupils are taught about equality and the law relating to protected char...

How many teachers have had their employment terminated, broken down by reason, for each year in the last five years.

Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, accessible here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The attached table provides det...

How many complaints have been received by Ofsted from parents on teaching practices in schools in each of the last five years broken down by reason.

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth directly and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

If she will make an estimate of the number of children who are (a) irregular migrants and (b) were on school rolls on 4 December 2024 broken down by age.

The information requested is not held centrally.All children of compulsory school age living in England, including foreign national children, are required by law to receive a suitable full-time education. As such, the department does not collect, or hold,...

If she will take steps to ensure that Bovaer is not used within the school supply chain.

The Food Standards Agency has advised milk from cows given Bovaer, an authorised feed additive that is used to reduce methane emissions, is safe to drink. Bovaer has undergone a rigorous safety assessment and is approved for use in Great Britain.The Schoo...

How many international (a) air miles and (b) flights have been completed by (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in their Department since 5 July 2024.

Data on Ministers’ overseas travel and on senior civil servants’ business expenses is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-business-expenses-and-hospitality-for-senior-officials.

How many teachers have formally raised concern about the age of irregular migrant students in each of the last five years.

Concerns of this nature would be raised with the individual local authority children’s services team which has responsibility for the unaccompanied asylum-seeking child, therefore the department does not hold data on this.

How many and what proportion of people who took an English for Speakers of Other Languages class claimed Universal Credit in the last 12 months; and what the cost to the public purse was of the provision of tho

The information requested is not held centrally and is therefore not readily available. The department does hold data on the number of people who took an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualification, but this only includes learners funded ...

What the total amount of fines collected for taking children out of school during term time was in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

The department collects information from local authorities on penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence, including numbers of penalty notices issued, paid within 21 days, paid within 28 days, and other outcomes. This is published in the statistical ...

What consultations her Department is holding with public schools in relation to the removal of VAT exemptions.

The government carried out a technical consultation from 29 July to 15 September 2024 and published a response alongside a tax information and impact note on 30 October. The documents are published on GOV.UK and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/gove...