Last week was the end of Parliament until September but interestingly there were several comments raised about STEM during that week. The first few were on Monday and they involved the following people. Robert Halfon is the Government Minister in Education speaking during a Student Visa Eligibility: Impact on Higher Education Sector Andrew Jones is a Yorkshire MP for Conservative and he commented about STEM during the Topical Questions session although the response from his question came from Nick Gibb and he did not mention STEM. The other theme on the Monday came as a written question from Chi Onwurah and her question included STEM and her answer was responded by Minister Claire Coutinho who is in the Education Department

Robert Halfon: My hon. Friend is learned in these matters, but they are for the Home Office. We are developing our digital skills at home with amazing digital apprenticeships. Half of our 670 apprenticeship standards are in STEM subjects, and there are T-levels and higher technical qualifications in digital. We are spending on the digital skills that our local people need. We have to give them the skills they need as well.

Andrew Jones: I recently visited the impressive National STEM Learning Centre in York and was fortunate enough to be able to observe some of its work. I would be delighted if my right hon. Friend could visit, but in the interim, can she detail what professional support is available for teachers in their continuing professional development?

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) cost and (b) eligibility of childcare on the diversity of PHD candidates studying STEM subjects.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not hold information relating to the potential impact of cost and childcare eligibility relating to the diversity of PhD students studying science, technology, engineering or mathematics. The department knows that for families with younger children, childcare costs are often a significant part of their household expenditure, which is why we are committed to improving the cost, choice and availability of childcare. At the Spring Statement 2023, the department announced the single largest investment in childcare in England ever. This begins from September, with £204 million of additional funding to uplift the rates for existing entitlements. By the 2027/28 financial year, the government expects to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. These are transformative plans helping families with young children with their childcare costs. In addition to the 30 hours, the department remains committed to continuing the universal 15 hours of free early education, which this year helped over 1 million children get a positive start to their education. Students who are parents are eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education which is available to all 3 and 4-year-olds, regardless of family circumstances.

The final reference to STEM came on Thursday and it was a response by Penny Mordaunt who was responding to Chi Onwurah and the comment from Chi did not mention STEM or STEAM but the initial comment from Penny was as follows.

Penny: I said last week that the nation is not just STEM-powered—the hon. Lady is a great champion for that. It is also STEAM-powered. The arts and cultural and creative industries are incredibly important to this economy. She will know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Department for Culture, Media and Sport and her predecessors have done a huge amount of work to ensure that the whole of the UK gets its fair share of funding to support these sectors and that the enjoyment of their products is accessible to all.