Key Facts

• The Committee divided: Ayes 3, Noes 7 for clause 14.
• Clause 15 was agreed to with Ayes 7 and Noes 3.
• New clause 1 will be moved and voted on later.
• Officials at the Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions are collaborating to address barriers to training for unemployed adults.
• A temporary six-month extension of UC conditionality was announced in April 2021, allowing claimants on intensive work search programmes to undertake full-time training for up to 12 weeks without losing their entitlement.
• The taper rate for universal credit has been reduced to 55%, and work allowances have increased by £500 per year, benefiting almost 2 million in-work claimants by around £1,000 a year on average.
• The amendment aims to ensure adult learners remain entitled to universal credit if they enrol on an approved course for sustainable employment.
• The noble peers supported the amendment with cross-party support.
• The clause is designed to probe why the Government may be against people developing their skills while receiving benefits.
• Amendment 50 would require the Secretary of State to prepare and publish a review of student maintenance entitlements.
• The amendment aims to support those from marginalised groups and furthest from the labour market in accessing level 3 qualifications.
• The Government plans to conduct a consultation on lifelong loan entitlement (LLE) barriers and potential support forms.
• Amendment 50 seeks to require the Secretary of State to review maintenance support available to further education students.
• The Augar review recommended extending student maintenance to cover both higher and further education students.
• Adult learners face barriers due to high living costs associated with study.
• Bursaries up to £1,200 a year are available for specific vulnerable groups of students.
• New clause 2 is proposed.
• The new clause would place a duty on the Secretary of State under this Act.
• Providers of further education must be required to include special educational needs awareness training.
• Government believes experts from the sector are best placed to design training programmes.
• A new occupational standard for FE teaching was published in September, developed by sector representatives.
• UCET supports the new occupational standard and its role in ensuring FE teachers are equipped to address learner needs including those with SEND.
• The government provides funding for T-level professional development offer and the FE professional development grant pilot.
• The percentage of pupils with a special educational need but no education, health and care plan has increased to 12.2%.
• Some larger colleges cater for up to 500 SEND students.
• A large minority (21%) of college students have some degree of learning difficulty and/or disability.
• Amendment 56 requires the OfS to consult before determining minimum levels.
• Amendment 57 mandates different levels reflecting various factors like student characteristics or course types.
• Amendment 58 probes the OfS’s powers of intervention at subject level.
• Amendment 55 ensures consideration for disadvantaged and underrepresented groups in strategic decisions.
• Amendment 59 seeks to minimise potential differences in quality assessments across UK regions.
• The chief executive of the Office for Students is standing down.
• 29% of students reported being dissatisfied with their academic experience due to the pandemic.
• Employment levels for those aged 16 to 24 have fallen by 9%.
• Only 18% of graduates secured jobs this year compared to the usual 60%.
• The net impact of one cohort of international students in 2018-19 was worth nearly £26 billion to the UK economy.
• 51% of overseas undergraduate students on STEM courses chose a UK institution because of its reputation for high-quality education.
• Amendment 60 would add an obligation on the OfS to assess mitigating circumstances such as the pandemic.
• Amendment 57 aims to remove the word 'not' in clause text.
• Amendment 56 proposes that the OfS consult before determining minimum levels of student outcomes, which is already a statutory duty under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
• The Government will table an amendment on Report giving the OfS power to publish information about its compliance and enforcement functions with protection from defamation claims.
• Amendment 29 allows mayoral combined authorities or other authorities as defined by the Secretary of State to keep a list of relevant education or training providers.
• Amendment 30 is consequential on Amendment 29, adding 'including mayoral combined authorities or other funding authorities' to clause 21.
• Amendment 31 is also consequential, inserting 'or (b)' after '(a)' in clause 22.
• Amendments aim to allow mayoral combined authorities and other funding authorities to keep lists of relevant providers.
• Subsection (5) aims to prevent or mitigate adverse effects from provider failure.
• Subsection (7)(b) requires insurance cover for providers.
• Subsection (10)(d) includes an appeals process in regulations.
• Clause 21 in the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill is under scrutiny.
• There are concerns that clause 21 may create bureaucratic responsibilities for smaller providers.
• Amendment 29 will be pressed to a vote, with amendments 30 and 31 conditional on amendment 29.