The Minister of State for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, formerly the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Skills, Further and Higher Education, previously the Minister of State for Universities, is a mid-level position in the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

in the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. It has been held by

Andrea Jenkyns Andrea Marie Jenkyns (born 16 June 1974) is a British politician serving as Deputy Chairwoman of the European Research Group (ERG) since 2019. She was first elected as the Conservative Member of Parliament for Morley and Outwood in West Yorks ...

since July 2022. The minister has oversight over skills and higher and further education, including

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and the

Student Loans Company The Student Loans Company (SLC) is an executive non-departmental public body company in the United Kingdom that provides student loans. It is owned by the UK Government's Department for Education (85%), the Scottish Government (5%), the Welsh ...

. Under

New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...

, the role was known as Minister of State for Higher Education and Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. Under the

Cameron–Clegg coalition The Cameron–Clegg coalition was formed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg when Cameron was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration, following the resignation of Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 11 May 2010, after the gene ...

and May ministries, the role became known as Minister of State for Universities, Science and Cities and Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation. The role of

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation The Minister of State for Science, Research and Innovation (also known as Science Minister) is a mid-level position in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the British government. It was re-created by the Second Johnson ...

was created out of this office. Following the 2021 British cabinet reshuffle under the

second Johnson ministry The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new administration following the 2019 general election, in which the Conservative Party ...

, the role was known as Minister of State for Higher and Further Education and the officeholder,

Michelle Donelan Michelle Emma May Elizabeth Donelan (born 8 April 1984) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since September 2022. She previously served as Minister of State for Higher and Further ...

, was given the right to attend Cabinet. Under Donelan's successor,

, the position was demoted to

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (or just Parliamentary Secretary, particularly in departments not led by a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretary of State) is the lowest of three tiers of Minister (government), government minist ...

. At certain times, the Minister worked in the

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills , type = Department , logo = Department for Business, Innovation and Skills logo.svg , logo_width = 200px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Лондан. 2014. Жнівень 26.JPG , seal = , se ...

History

The minister once more attended cabinet after the 2021 British cabinet reshuffle.

Responsibilities

The minister has the following responsibilities: * Strategy for post-16 education * Higher technical education (levels 4 and 5) * Further education funding and accountability * Lifelong learning entitlement * Institutes of Technology and National Colleges * Universities and higher education reform * Higher education quality * Student finance (including the Student Loans Company) * Coronavirus (COVID-19) response for universities, higher education institutions and further education services (jointly with Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Skills)) The position had increased prominence in 2020 and 2021 when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

affected further education and university education.

List of Ministers of State for Higher and Further Education

History

Responsibilities

List of Ministers of State for Higher and Further Education

References

See also