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1235553

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Ministry of Defence
answering dept id	11
answering dept short name	Defence
answering dept sort name	Defence
hansard heading	Ministry of Defence: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91615
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is proud to be one of the largest deliverers of apprenticeships in the UK, with over 20,000 personnel engaged on a nationally recognised apprenticeship programme at any one time and over 90 per cent of our non-commissioned military recruits offered an apprenticeship relating to their trade. Public sector bodies with 250 or more staff have a target to employ an average of at least 2.3 per cent of their staff as new apprentice starts over the period 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021. The Armed Forces are exceeding this target with an average of 8.3 per cent of employees starting an apprenticeship in 2017-2019.</p><p>The MOD's Civil Service is contributing towards the overall Civil Service public sector target. As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service had achieved a total of 2.1 per cent of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3 per cent by March 2021. This has increased from 1.6 per cent the year before. The MOD's Civil Service has achieved 1.5 per cent of the total staff employed within the Department as apprentices. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time, making it challenging to predict when a Department will meet it. The data for 2018-19 can be found on the gov.uk website:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019.</p><p>The data for 2019-20 will be released on the gov.uk website by the end of September 2020.</p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3 per cent target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p><p>However, as a Department, between April 2015 and 31 March 2020, we have successfully committed to enrolling 50,000 apprenticeships, exceeding our target one year ahead of schedule.</p> answering member constituency Plymouth, Moor View answering member printed Johnny Mercer question first answered 22/09/2020 15:45:46 answering member 4485 label Biography information for Johnny Mercer
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235554

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Department of Health and Social Care: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91616
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department has taken a proactive approach to embedding apprenticeships so that they are a core part of our learning and development offer. We continue to increase the take-up of apprenticeships year on year. Apprentices currently make up 3.5% of the Department’s 2,044 headcount as at 1 September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>We have refreshed our apprenticeship strategy for 2020/21 and are further developing our engagement strategy to continue raising awareness and improve take-up. We are continuing our proactive approach by aligning apprenticeship opportunities more closely with recruitment activity. Given the target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations making it challenging to predict when the Department might meet this.</p><p> </p><p>The impact of the current pandemic has impacted on the number of apprenticeship opportunities we have been able to create. However, we are focused on how we can continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward recruitment through our apprenticeship strategy, which will enable us to keep making improvements.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 24/09/2020 12:41:15 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235555

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91617
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department gives full regard to the public sector apprenticeship target. The Department, and each of the Executive Agencies that contribute to our target, have apprenticeship plans that focus on specific capability needs and skills.</p><p> </p><p>Departmental progress towards the 2.3% target is published annually on GOV.UK.</p><p>Data for 2017-18 is published at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2017-to-2018</a>.</p><p>Data for 2018-19 is published at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019</a>.</p><p>Data for 2019-20 will be published at the end of September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to increasing the number of apprentices and we are working towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Department is already focusing on how best to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprentice recruitment.</p> answering member constituency Stratford-on-Avon answering member printed Nadhim Zahawi question first answered 24/09/2020 13:19:07 answering member 4113 label Biography information for Nadhim Zahawi
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235556

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for International Trade
answering dept id	202
answering dept short name	International Trade
answering dept sort name	International Trade
hansard heading	Department for International Trade: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what progress her Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when her Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91618
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/10/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service in England has achieved an average of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprenticeship-starts through the qualifying period against the legisla-tive target to achieve an average of 2.3% across the financial years 2017/18 to 2020/21. According to Cabinet Office statistics, the Department for International Trade, including UK Export Finance, has achieved 3.5% of its total workforce in England as apprentice-ship-starts in 2019/20, up from 1.1% in 2018/19.</p><p>We have plans in place to achieve our legislative target by the end of March 2021. DIT offers a range of apprenticeships across different disciplines to build both individual and departmental professional capability. The department continues to include apprenticeships as part of its workforce planning to ensure it maintains performance against the 2.3% target. The data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcivil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019&amp;data=02%7C01%7Csadia.khan%40trade.gov.uk%7C2f0a183f6c184b67b61b08d85ef6d449%7C8fa217ec33aa46fbad96dfe68006bb86%7C0%7C0%7C637363761509600892&amp;sdata=PMVlxN5M48v%2B92C8e8blUisT8VbQUKCh8iS7XhOBvFA%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a> and the data for 2019/20 is <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2019-to-2020" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 05/10/2020 16:27:43 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235559

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when her Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. The Department for Work and Pensions has achieved 1.8% of the total staff employed within the department. The Department is looking to recruit more apprentices over the coming months, and current forecasts predict we could achieve the target in 2020/21. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on gov.uk by the end of September 2020.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 24/09/2020 17:02:25 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235560

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>The department is maintaining a strong performance on its internal apprenticeship programme, having met the 2.3 per cent public sector target for the past 3 years. We are confident that we will meet this target again in 2020/21 by the end of the financial year.</p><p>We have made plans for the department to support the government’s Plan for Jobs through 4 external apprentice recruitment campaigns that will close on 30 September. We are piloting a new approach to external recruitment for junior roles from 1 September to 31 December – all of these vacancies will be advertised as apprenticeships.</p> answering member constituency Chichester answering member printed Gillian Keegan question first answered 24/09/2020 15:36:19 answering member 4680 label Biography information for Gillian Keegan
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235561

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. Defra had achieved 1% of the total staff employed within the department.</p><p> </p><p>In Defra group, we have taken the following steps towards the public sector apprenticeship target.</p><p> </p><p>We have reactivated our ‘Early Talent’ Strategy for 2020/21 to focus on:</p><ul><li>increasing the use of apprenticeships within external recruitment;</li><li>promoting the use of apprenticeships to support development of existing staff;</li><li>increasing and maximising the use of the levy; and</li><li>using targeted apprenticeship recruitment to improve the diversity of our workforce.</li><li> </li></ul><p>We have identified a number of levers that can be used to achieve the above and these are actively being discussed within the business. We continue to enhance the information and tools available to line managers to improve understanding.</p><p> </p><p>While there are a number of standards that we can actively use, given the unique nature and breadth of our activities in Defra group, we continue to explore and invest in trailblazer activity.</p><p> </p><p>Defra group has been focused on delivery against EU exit requirements and more recently COVID-19. Defra remains committed to the Civil Service Apprenticeship Strategy and is looking to increase our use of apprenticeships across Defra group over the next 12 months.</p><p> </p><p>Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time, therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet the target. The data for 2018/19 can be found on the GOV.UK website at: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on GOV.UK by the end of September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 25/09/2020 11:12:23 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235562

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91622
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1 per cent of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3 per cent by March 2021. On 21 September 2020, the equivalent figure for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) was 1.7 per cent. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a Department will meet it. Data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fcivil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019&amp;data=02%7C01%7CParliamentary%40communities.gov.uk%7Cd591d5a6c9f043d1e3db08d8608969a6%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C637365490580634889&amp;sdata=%2Beorcj0%2BQlmQLuvwraRyAp8f9pOytcDQnXSYZLQo8dU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on gov.uk by the end of September 2020. <br> <br>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3 per cent target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p><p>A multi-year approach on apprenticeships from FY 2021/22 will be developed by MHCLG’s Early Talent Team in the coming months, which will be aligned to the new apprenticeship strategy and any new targets included within.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 25/09/2020 13:41:32 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235563

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Department for Transport: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91623
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. Department for Transport (DfT) has currently achieved 1.3% of the total staff employed within the department for 2020/21. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.gov.uk_government_publications_civil-2Dservice-2Dapprenticeship-2Ddata-2D2018-2Dto-2D2019&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=troKkvwivNn_CddsvWCHHPiPoFoTgTGIbXJULvYU158&amp;r=JtgUEfFFpp_fia79x1lvcbuMW3hkWpSiV9N3TKlIv9A&amp;m=Usjg8zC7ZIzFit3NK2T00_XzQK-_qHBi2cQZx_WYcPk&amp;s=bj__HV6sMGxwd9frnCCuL68ATckJxqeGvSIs1jD6yAY&amp;e=" target="_blank">here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__gov.uk&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=troKkvwivNn_CddsvWCHHPiPoFoTgTGIbXJULvYU158&amp;r=JtgUEfFFpp_fia79x1lvcbuMW3hkWpSiV9N3TKlIv9A&amp;m=Usjg8zC7ZIzFit3NK2T00_XzQK-_qHBi2cQZx_WYcPk&amp;s=KfmE2ihmiyHJHePQXtmTI3HdjgSxSODnH4iQGJxyiJs&amp;e=" target="_blank">gov.uk</a> by the end of September 2020. Due to the diverse nature of our work, the central department (DfTc) and our executive agencies (DfT Group) have developed localised strategies to allow us to continue towards the Government target. In September 2020 DfTc additionally transitioned to a cohort-based model of recruitment for apprenticeships; further strengthening our ambition for apprenticeship recruitment, and providing economies of scale to improve quality of provision and overall employee experience for the apprenticeship community.</p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p> answering member constituency Daventry answering member printed Chris Heaton-Harris question first answered 23/09/2020 09:14:41 answering member 3977 label Biography information for Chris Heaton-Harris
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235565

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91624
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. DCMS has achieved 1.9% apprentices of the total staff employed within the department. We are reviewing our departmental apprenticeship strategy and are working to achieve the target for 2020/21 through a mixture of new appointments and development opportunities for existing staff. Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank"> here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on<a href="http://gov.uk/" target="_blank"> gov.uk</a> by the end of September 2020.</p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Maldon answering member printed Mr John Whittingdale question first answered 24/09/2020 15:05:23 answering member 39 label Biography information for Sir John Whittingdale
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon