§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many university students her Department and associated agencies has supported or sponsored with a work placement in the last year; what her policy is on work placements; what plans she has to develop such schemes; and what her policy is on paying their university fees. [98549]
§ Clare ShortMy Department has extensive contacts with UK Universities and supports work placements for students on an ad hoc basis.
DFID is also a corporate sponsor of the Windsor Fellowship. The Windsor Fellowship is a charity whose aim is to identify high achievers from Black and Asian communities and to offer them a development programme. We have provided six Fellows with eight-week placements. DFID also provides up to four placements a year under the Cabinet Office Summer Development Programme for potential applicants to the fast stream from within the ethnic minorities. Attachments last between six to eight weeks.
It is not our practice to pay university fees of those whose placements we sponsor.
We do not operate a formal scheme for the placement of university students and have no plans to do so.