Written questions by Lowe.

How many investigations are currently open into incorrect residency claims for student finance.

We are resolute in our commitment to protecting public money in higher education and are taking firm action to address serious concerns about exploitation of the student funding system.Eligibility for student finance is not based solely on nationality, but on a person’s immigration status and residency. To be eligible, a student must be ordinarily resident in England and be settled or have a recognised connection with the UK. Students must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and/or the British Overseas Territories) for the three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course.There are exceptions to these requirements for some individuals. For example, there is an exception to the requirement to be settled for those who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement.To qualify for support, applicants must provide the Student Loans Company (SLC) with evidence of their eligibility. This includes evidence of their identity, immigration status and ordinary residence.SLC have robust procedures in place to check student finance eligibility, including data-sharing with Home Office and HM Passport Office. When required, the SLC will contact the Home Office to confirm an applicant’s immigration status and ordinary residence.Nationality is an optional field when creating a student finance account, however, it is mandatory for the full application for support to be processed. Nationality will always be checked as part of verifying a person’s identity and where appropriate as part of verifying their immigration status. Applications that are incomplete for any of SLC’s identity, immigration status or residence history checks are not approved for student finance.A student does not qualify for student finance if they have shown themselves by their conduct to be ‘unfitted’ to receive support, such as providing falsified documents. Depending on the nature of being found unfitted, the student’s details may be added to the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS) database. SLC does record details of students who have been made ineligible for student finance. However, the data is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The department does not hold the data in a format that can provide information on investigations that are currently open into incorrect residency claims for student finance.SLC has advised the department that it has strengthened its integration with Home Office systems for the purposes of establishing eligibility for student finance.Table 1: Number of cases of misrepresentation in student finance applications have been identified in each of the last five years.Financial YearInvestigations (All fraud types)Fraud type: residencyFraud type: migrant worker2020/211,240962021/221,73710782022/232,43152252023/242,734211342024/252,2318301 Table 1 shows data for undergraduate applications which have been found to warrant sanctions for false evidence on application. Applications with residency fraud have failed checks for UK nationals, Irish citizens or ‘settled status’ in the UK to verify information on the following eligibility criteria: their home is in England, they’ve been continuously living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for three years before the first day of the first academic year (apart from temporary absences such as holidays). Applications with migrant worker fraud have failed checks or submitted false evidence to claim migrant worker status and access student finance. From 2022 onwards the number of cases linked to migrant worker students increased, initially due to a law enforcement referral and then due to collective and increased focus on fraud.Table 2: Value and volume of income-contingent repayment loans due for repayment from Student Finance England (SFE) borrowers who were domiciled in England at the time of the loan whose income is not verified, as a proportion of the total loan book as at 10/12/2025.Value of all loans in repayment£226,756,961,551Value of loans where income could not be verified£12,801,872,323Proportion of loan values where income was not verified5.65%Volume of all loans in repayment5,666,186Volume of loans where income was not verified376,410Proportion of loan volume where income was not verified6.64% Table 2 shows the value and volume of all SFE income-contingent repayment loans for students who were domiciled in England at the time of the loan whose income was not verified, as a proportion of the total loan book. The main reasons for income which is not verified is that they have been matched by HMRC but have no employment details recorded or they have moved overseas and are no longer part of the UK tax system. SLC proactively attempt to trace and contact all borrowers whose income is not verified to correctly classify the situation and take the required action.The department does not hold the data to provide accurate loan write-off rates (the proportion of loans which have been written off) in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, analysts in the department would not be able to provide this information you have requested without exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold.Table 3 shows the number of full-time undergraduate students who were domiciled in England who received their first loan payment whilst they were under the age of 18 in each of the last ten years.Academic YearNumber of borrowers2015536201652120174702018460201943520204282021455202248420235182024475Total4,782

How many cases of suspected misrepresentation in student finance applications have been identified in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these involved applicants providing insufficient or unverifiable residency documentation.

We are resolute in our commitment to protecting public money in higher education and are taking firm action to address serious concerns about exploitation of the student funding system.Eligibility for student finance is not based solely on nationality, but on a person’s immigration status and residency. To be eligible, a student must be ordinarily resident in England and be settled or have a recognised connection with the UK. Students must also have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and/or the British Overseas Territories) for the three years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course.There are exceptions to these requirements for some individuals. For example, there is an exception to the requirement to be settled for those who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement.To qualify for support, applicants must provide the Student Loans Company (SLC) with evidence of their eligibility. This includes evidence of their identity, immigration status and ordinary residence.SLC have robust procedures in place to check student finance eligibility, including data-sharing with Home Office and HM Passport Office. When required, the SLC will contact the Home Office to confirm an applicant’s immigration status and ordinary residence.Nationality is an optional field when creating a student finance account, however, it is mandatory for the full application for support to be processed. Nationality will always be checked as part of verifying a person’s identity and where appropriate as part of verifying their immigration status. Applications that are incomplete for any of SLC’s identity, immigration status or residence history checks are not approved for student finance.A student does not qualify for student finance if they have shown themselves by their conduct to be ‘unfitted’ to receive support, such as providing falsified documents. Depending on the nature of being found unfitted, the student’s details may be added to the Credit Industry Fraud Avoidance System (CIFAS) database. SLC does record details of students who have been made ineligible for student finance. However, the data is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.The department does not hold the data in a format that can provide information on investigations that are currently open into incorrect residency claims for student finance.SLC has advised the department that it has strengthened its integration with Home Office systems for the purposes of establishing eligibility for student finance.Table 1: Number of cases of misrepresentation in student finance applications have been identified in each of the last five years.Financial YearInvestigations (All fraud types)Fraud type: residencyFraud type: migrant worker2020/211,240962021/221,73710782022/232,43152252023/242,734211342024/252,2318301 Table 1 shows data for undergraduate applications which have been found to warrant sanctions for false evidence on application. Applications with residency fraud have failed checks for UK nationals, Irish citizens or ‘settled status’ in the UK to verify information on the following eligibility criteria: their home is in England, they’ve been continuously living in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for three years before the first day of the first academic year (apart from temporary absences such as holidays). Applications with migrant worker fraud have failed checks or submitted false evidence to claim migrant worker status and access student finance. From 2022 onwards the number of cases linked to migrant worker students increased, initially due to a law enforcement referral and then due to collective and increased focus on fraud.Table 2: Value and volume of income-contingent repayment loans due for repayment from Student Finance England (SFE) borrowers who were domiciled in England at the time of the loan whose income is not verified, as a proportion of the total loan book as at 10/12/2025.Value of all loans in repayment£226,756,961,551Value of loans where income could not be verified£12,801,872,323Proportion of loan values where income was not verified5.65%Volume of all loans in repayment5,666,186Volume of loans where income was not verified376,410Proportion of loan volume where income was not verified6.64% Table 2 shows the value and volume of all SFE income-contingent repayment loans for students who were domiciled in England at the time of the loan whose income was not verified, as a proportion of the total loan book. The main reasons for income which is not verified is that they have been matched by HMRC but have no employment details recorded or they have moved overseas and are no longer part of the UK tax system. SLC proactively attempt to trace and contact all borrowers whose income is not verified to correctly classify the situation and take the required action.The department does not hold the data to provide accurate loan write-off rates (the proportion of loans which have been written off) in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, analysts in the department would not be able to provide this information you have requested without exceeding the disproportionate cost threshold.Table 3 shows the number of full-time undergraduate students who were domiciled in England who received their first loan payment whilst they were under the age of 18 in each of the last ten years.Academic YearNumber of borrowers2015536201652120174702018460201943520204282021455202248420235182024475Total4,782

For the total spend on (i) LinkedIn membership fees (ii) other subscriptions by her Department in the last financial year.

​​During the period of 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, the department spent £0.00 on LinkedIn membership fees.​During the same period, the department and its executive agencies spent £274,988.24 on services that fit the broad description of ‘subscription’.

How many staff in their Department have been on mental health leave for six months or more; and for what reason.

The department records sickness absence categorised to show the broad reason for the absence, with one option titled ‘anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses’. As of 31 October 2025, five or fewer members of staff in the department were on sickness absence for six months or more, and were still absent on that date, with a recorded reason for the sickness absence of ‘anxiety, stress, depression and other psychiatric illnesses’. Due to the small numbers involved, figures are rounded to the nearest five and are not reported separately. The department does not hold more detailed information on the individual circumstances of these cases. Statistics on mental ill-health related absence across the Civil Service, including for the department, are publicly available in the Civil Service sickness absence reports on GOV.UK. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sickness-absence. The next release is due on 18 December. The department is committed to supporting staff wellbeing and provides a range of services, including occupational health support, access to an Employee Assistance Programme, and trained Mental Health First Aiders.

To provide a breakdown of (i) the total number (ii) the age of children taken into care in each of the last ten years.

The latest figures on the number of children taken into care for reasons of court orders or police protection, emergency or child assessment orders in England by age are shown in the attached table.The latest figures on all children starting to be looked after in England by legal status and separately by age is published in the statistical release: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2025#explore-data-and-files.The table can be located at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a70a7aef-adc9-46be-b94b-08de28d609b2.

How many non-British people received 15 hours of free childcare in the last financial year.

The requested information on nationality is not held by the department.Information on children under 5 registered for government funded entitlements in England and on providers and staff delivering them, is published in the ‘Funded early education and childcare statistics’ publication, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/funded-early-education-and-childcare/2025.

To provide a breakdown in the total value of student loan repayments received by (i) non-UK nationals and (ii) UK nationals in each of the last five financial years.

The following table gives the Student Loan Company (SLC) payments in millions for the 2020/21 to 2024/25 financial years and covers Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans (full time and part time) for undergraduates only domiciled in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the EU (Scotland's applications are not administered by SLC). These figures are split by the UK National indicator on the application form. Student support eligibility is determined by residency and not nationality and the UK National indicator field on the application form can be left blank by the applicant. Payments (£ million) Financial YearUK National indicatorNon-UK NationalUnknownGrand Total2020/2116,358.52,395.3341.819,095.72021/2216,832.22,798.7442.720,073.62022/2316,690.23,069.9551.720,311.82023/2416,534.03,360.9643.220,538.12024/2516,605.73,770.5706.221,082.4

If she will consider updating guidance to allow headteachers to use their own discretion to allow parents to take their children out of school for holidays during term time.

​The department has no plans to review our approach to term-time holidays. Schools can grant pupils a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances at their discretion, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. The school year is structured in a way that provides plenty of time for holidays outside of term-time. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves, and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.​Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. ​The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.​

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of waiving fines for parents judged to be responsible by the headteacher for taking their children out of school during term for holidays.

​The department has no plans to review our approach to term-time holidays. Schools can grant pupils a leave of absence for exceptional circumstances at their discretion, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. The school year is structured in a way that provides plenty of time for holidays outside of term-time. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves, and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.​Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. ​The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.​

How much her Department has spent on social media advertising by (a) influencer and (b) organisation in each of the last five financial years.

Sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.

Whether her Department has issued guidance to schools on ensuring that classroom discussions involving people who have entered the UK illegally do not (a) compromise safeguarding standards and (b) expose pupils to political messaging.

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Whether her Department has had correspondence with Wandsworth Council on external-speaker sessions in local schools on (a) migration and (b) asylum since January 2024.

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

What oversight her Department exercises over academy trusts that invite external speakers to address pupils on politically sensitive issues.

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

What guidance her Department provides to schools on obtaining parental consent before children participate in classroom sessions involving external speakers discussing their personal experiences of (a) irregular and (b) illegal migration.

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

What discussions her Department has had with the Quality First Education Trust regarding (a) classroom sessions and (b) external speaker events addressing (i) migration and (ii) asylum issues in the 2024/25 academic year.

Under sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996, schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.To support this, the department has published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools/political-impartiality-in-schools.The guidance states that all schools should thoroughly assess external agencies before agreeing to work with them, ensuring that the external agencies used, including materials and communication with pupils, are appropriate and adhere to schools’ legal duties on political impartiality.The guidance also sets out that most issues can be resolved locally through their existing processes for engaging with parents, carers and the wider school community, and that schools should treat concerns seriously.Additionally, all schools and colleges must have regard to the ‘Keeping children safe in education’ statutory guidance when carrying out their duties, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.The department has not had any contact with Quality First Education Trust or Wandsworth Council on these issues.

Whether her Department has provided funding to universities for schemes that exclude white applicants.

The department has not directly awarded funding to any such schemes within higher education.

What the value was of student loans that were written off in the last year; and what this was as a proportion of all outstanding student loans, by nationality.

The requested information can be found in the Student Loans Company’s Student loans in England publication, updated in July each year. The publication, ‘Student loans in England: 2024 to 2025’ can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025.The amount that has been cancelled or written off during the 2024/25 financial year, the total amount outstanding at the start of the financial year including interest and loans not yet due for repayment (after adjustments), and the proportion that write offs or cancellations make out of the starting balance can be found at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F684c16b8da3d1b49e6797046%2Fslcsp012025.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.These statistics are not broken down by borrower nationality. This information is not readily available and cannot be obtained within the timeframe given to respond. Figures for the 2025/26 financial year will be available in the July 2026 publication.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) teachers and (b) classroom assistants (i) whose first language is not English and (ii) who have not undertaken a recognised English proficiency test.

The requested information on the first language of teachers and classroom assistants is not collected centrally.Information on the qualifications held by teachers is available in the 'School workforce in England' accredited official statistics publication. This can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2024.

Whether her Department has provided funding to the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester.

The department has not provided funding to the Centre for Hate Studies at the University of Leicester.

How many employees in her Department earn (a) £100,000 and (b) £166,000 or more per year.

The information requested is available in our published transparency data, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disclosure-of-scs-posts-and-salary-information.