Written questions by Baker.

What steps her Department is taking to help support students to study in the EU.

The Turing Scheme is the UK government’s global programme to provide grants for students to study and work anywhere in the world, including in the EU. Students can develop new skills, gain international experience and boost their employability. For the 2024/25 academic year, education providers and other eligible organisations from across the UK have been allocated over £105 million to send more than 43,000 students on study and work placements across the globe.Countries in the EU are popular destinations for UK students supported by the Turing Scheme, with EU countries making up five out of the top ten most popular destinations across both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.The Turing Scheme breaks down barriers to opportunity by prioritising the most disadvantaged students, requiring education providers to demonstrate how their project will support them and provide additional grant funding for participants from disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition to travel and living costs, this funding covers items that students may need to be able to travel, including vaccinations, visa applications, passports and insurance costs.

What steps she is taking to reduce administrative requirements for school groups visiting the UK from Europe.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.As the department for opportunity, we recognise the importance of school trips and the impact that this valuable learning experience can have on children and young people. The department also recognises the difficulties that schools have faced in recent years when it comes to organising trips between the UK and the EU. Departments across government are working to mitigate these challenges. The department is working with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Home Office to improve border processing and facilitate school trips between the UK and the EU. The UK has an agreement with France which permits the use of national identity cards for French schoolchildren (aged 18 and under) travelling on organised trips and waives UK visa requirements for their classmates who are visa nationals.The Home Office has recently announced that children aged 18 and under travelling as part of a French school group will be temporarily exempt from the Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme requirement until a group solution is developed.

What the average annual cost per child of looked-after children in residential care is in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Education is a devolved matter and this response outlines the information for England only. The average cost for a looked after child in private residential care in 2020/21 was approximately £254,000 per annum and £217,000 for a child in an local authority placement: https://www.pssru.ac.uk/pub/uc/uc2021/services.pdf.Costs may vary depending on factors such as location and the child’s level of need.