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1716220

registered interest
date	07/05/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using (a) the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and (b) other opportunities within further education colleges to help (i) people to develop skills for the workplace and (ii) deliver local skills improvement plans.
tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
tabling member printed	Jonathan Gullis
uin	25096
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2024 answer text <p>The department recognises the importance of ensuring learners and employees gain all the skills that businesses need to succeed and grow. The need for communication skills and resilience was also a theme that came through strongly in the employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP) that were published in August 2023.</p><p> </p><p>Each of the 38 LSIPs are led by a designated employer representative body (ERB), for example a local Chamber of Commerce, Federation of Small Business, or other local employer body. This puts employers at the heart of the skills system and supports the government’s long-term priority to drive local economic growth by better aligning provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs.</p><p> </p><p>The department’s LSIPs statutory guidance makes clear that a range of national and local bodies and organisations can play an important role in supporting and facilitating the development and implementation of LSIPs. These could include youth sector organisations or schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The department recognises that opportunities provided by these organisations can help young people develop a range of skills that can support them in the workplace, such as resilience, adaptability, creativity, problem solving, decision-making and communication skills.</p><p> </p><p>It is for the designated ERB in each area to determine the most relevant stakeholders to work with to deliver effective solutions to meet employer-identified local labour market needs. However, the department will review the LSIP statutory guidance ahead of the next round of LSIP development.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 25097 question first answered 15/05/2024 12:05:37 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
tabling member	4814 label Biography information for Jonathan Gullis

1695864

registered interest
date	13/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) young people and (b) adults have access to a range of high quality training pathways.
tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
uin	18578
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2024 answer text <p>The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education. These reforms will help equip people with the education, training and skills that employers demand both in the public and private sector.</p><p>Apprenticeships are for people of any age and are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. To support growth, the department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.</p><p>The department has introduced employer-designed T Levels which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, which are being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country.</p><p>The department has invested £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology across England to significantly increase the number of learners with higher level technical skills, offering an alternative route to high paid jobs. They bring education and industry together to deliver world class technical education and training in key STEM subjects aligned to the skills needs of the local economy they serve.</p><p>The department is delivering reforms to increase the profile, prestige, and uptake of higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), which are Level 4/5 qualifications approved against employer-developed standard and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. This means students and employers can have the confidence that HTQs provide skills employers need. To date, 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across seven occupational routes and over 140 providers are approved to deliver HTQs.</p><p>The Adult Education Budget (AEB) of £1.34 billion this year funds skills provision for adults to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes entitlements to free first qualifications at Level 2 and 3 and English, mathematics and digital qualifications for those adults who do not have them. Community Learning plays a vital role within AEB provision by supporting those furthest from the workplace. It is an important stepping stone for learners who are not ready for formal accredited learning, or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.</p><p>In addition, the department has introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables eligible adults to gain a high value qualification for free and Skills Bootcamps. These Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 21/03/2024 11:32:02 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1673163

registered interest
date	27/11/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to increase the number of courses and training schemes that are eligible to be funded through the resources available to employers raised through the apprenticeship levy.
tabling member constituency	Witham
tabling member printed	Priti Patel
uin	3792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2023 answer text <p>The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.</p><p> </p><p>In England, employers can use their levy contributions to fund apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to other businesses in their supply chain, sector or region. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of registered employer apprenticeship service accounts that utilised all their funds available, as well as the number that did not, in each financial year since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FY</p></td><td><p>Number of registered employer accounts on the apprenticeship service that utilised all funds available</p></td><td><p>Number of registered employer accounts on the apprenticeship service that did not utilise all their funds available and therefore had expired funds</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>5650</p></td><td><p>7570</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>5030</p></td><td><p>10660</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>4930</p></td><td><p>11960</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>5210</p></td><td><p>12230</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>6790</p></td><td><p>11920</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Please note that:</p><ul><li>Funds remain available for 24 months before they begin to expire on a rolling, month-by-month basis; as employers began to pay the apprenticeship levy in April 2017, unused levy funds began to expire in May 2019.</li><li>The sum of expiry figures for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years are not specified as funds do not expire for 24 months.</li><li>Expiry figures for the 2017/2018 financial year will appear lower than future years due to the oldest funds in an employers’ accounts being utilised first.</li><li>Expiry figures for the 2021/22 financial year only include data to October and therefore does not represent a full year.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years. Spend for the 2023/24 financial year, and for future years, will be set out in the department’s annual report and accounts which will be published when available. The apprenticeships budget beyond 2024/25 will be determined at the next Spending Review.</p><p>With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to spend funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for Witham to the answer I gave on 10 November 2023 to Question <a href="https://members.parliament.uk/member/4862/contact" target="_blank">614</a>.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 3787 3788 3789 question first answered 13/12/2023 17:35:26 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1608446

registered interest
date	28/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what programmes they have in place to support the retraining of workers to enable them to access work in new sectors.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL6956
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2023 answer text <p>The government is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over this Parliament. The department’s skills reforms provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to attain good jobs, retrain, and progress in their careers or different careers.</p><p>In the 2023 Spring Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a new initiative called Returnerships. This programme is designed to raise awareness of three different skills pathways, apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps, and sector-based work academies programmes. This will provide a clear route back into work and encourage employers to hire older workers.</p><p>Apprenticeships are available for everyone over the age of 16, from those starting their career, to experienced workers looking to upskill or retrain in a new profession. There are high-quality apprenticeship routes into more than 660 occupations, from entry to expert roles.</p><p>As part of our investment in re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities to ensure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential, transforming lives, Skills Bootcamps were introduced at the end of 2020. They deliver short, free, flexible training courses, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion.</p><p>Skills Bootcamps are still a relatively new training offer, but they are already delivering positive outcomes for adult learners and employers, and are available right across the country. Following the recent Budget announcement, the department will target making 64,000 training places a year available by the 2024/25 financial year to ensure that learners across all areas of the country can access Skills Bootcamps.</p><p>We have also introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which gives eligible adults in England without an existing full level 3 qualification or who are unemployed or meet the low wage criteria, the chance to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications for free.</p><p>The offer has seen over 35,000 enrolments reported between April 2021 and October 2022. This means that enrolments are 82% higher for adults without a full level 3 compared uptake of the same qualifications in 2018/19.</p><p>We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), with an investment of £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning.</p><p>The National Careers Service provides free, up-to-date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills, and the labour market in England. It offers intensive support for low skilled adults without a qualification at level 3, as one of six priority groups for the Service. Professionally qualified careers advisers can support customers to explore the range of learning routes to determine the best route for them and to develop a careers action plan.</p><p>Community-based National Careers Service contractors are co-located in most Jobcentre Plus offices, as well as a range of other community settings. They work closely with work coaches at a local level, encouraging work coaches to refer customers in need of careers advice and guidance to the Service.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/04/2023 12:58:50 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1605418

registered interest
date	20/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with her Cabinet colleagues to ensure that people in all regions wishing to enter new careers have access to adequate training; and if she will make it her policy to ensure such training is provided free of charge.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	169294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2023 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliamentary session. The department’s skills reforms provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to attain good jobs and progress in their careers.</p><p>Apprenticeships offer individuals throughout England the opportunity to gain valuable skills, retrain, or reskill for careers in a variety of industries. Apprentices earn a wage while they learn and are not responsible for their apprenticeship training costs.</p><p>In the Spring Budget announced on 15 March 2023, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a new initiative called Returnerships. This programme is designed to combine the three different pathways of Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academies Programmes, in order to make it easier for people to return to work. Returnerships will raise awareness of these pathways, providing a clear route back into work and encouraging employers to hire older workers.</p><p>The department is also investing in re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities, to make sure that adults of any age, can upskill to reach their potential, transforming lives and delivering on the National Skills Fund commitment. As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which gives eligible adults in England without an existing full Level 3 qualification or who are unemployed or meet the low wage criteria, the chance to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications for free.</p><p>This offer has seen over 35,000 enrolments reported between April 2021 and October 2022. This means that enrolments are 82% higher for adults without a full Level 3 qualification, compared to uptake of the same qualifications in 2018/19.</p><p>Skills Bootcamps were introduced at the end of 2020 to deliver short, free, flexible training courses, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview with an employer on completion.</p><p>Skills Bootcamps are still a relatively new training offer, but they are already delivering positive outcomes for adult learners and employers and are available right across the country. Following the recent Budget announcement, the department aims to make 64,000 training places a year available by the 2024/25 financial year to ensure that even more learners across all areas of the country can access Skills Bootcamps.</p><p>We are continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which was £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.</p><p>Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). Devolution of the AEB gives MCAs and the GLA direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides local areas the opportunity to meet local needs.</p><p>The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges, local authorities and other providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB funding, to best meet the needs of their communities.</p><p>The National Careers Service provides free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the Labour Market in England and offers intensive support for low skilled adults without a qualification at level 3, as one of our six priority groups for the Service.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 28/03/2023 15:22:09 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1605705

registered interest
date	20/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to streamline the process of becoming a training provider; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	169180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2023 answer text <p>The quality and integrity of education and training provision is of paramount importance therefore we have stringent entry criteria for all of the department’s skills programmes to ensure training providers are capable and experienced. The department will take opportunities to streamline processes where we can, but the department will not compromise on the need to ensure learners and employers receive high quality education and training. Devolved Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority decide how to make best use of the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to meet the needs of their areas and decide which providers to contract with to deliver AEB-funded learning, and the processes used to select these providers.</p><p>The department frequently provides training providers with opportunities to access funding. Earlier this year, for instance, the department issued an invitation to tender for the delivery of adult education and training to learners aged 19 and over in non-devolved areas of England, including Gloucestershire.</p><p>Where there is a gap in provision in a specific location, due to poor quality of existing provision or an identified additional need for a particular type of provision, and this cannot be met by existing providers, the department will seek to bring in a new training provider that meets our robust standards. We are not aware of any specific gaps in provision in Gloucestershire that cannot be met by existing providers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 169181 question first answered 23/03/2023 17:45:25 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1605706

registered interest
date	20/03/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of training providers in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) the UK; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	169181
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2023 answer text <p>The quality and integrity of education and training provision is of paramount importance therefore we have stringent entry criteria for all of the department’s skills programmes to ensure training providers are capable and experienced. The department will take opportunities to streamline processes where we can, but the department will not compromise on the need to ensure learners and employers receive high quality education and training. Devolved Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Greater London Authority decide how to make best use of the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to meet the needs of their areas and decide which providers to contract with to deliver AEB-funded learning, and the processes used to select these providers.</p><p>The department frequently provides training providers with opportunities to access funding. Earlier this year, for instance, the department issued an invitation to tender for the delivery of adult education and training to learners aged 19 and over in non-devolved areas of England, including Gloucestershire.</p><p>Where there is a gap in provision in a specific location, due to poor quality of existing provision or an identified additional need for a particular type of provision, and this cannot be met by existing providers, the department will seek to bring in a new training provider that meets our robust standards. We are not aware of any specific gaps in provision in Gloucestershire that cannot be met by existing providers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 169180 question first answered 23/03/2023 17:45:25 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1599616

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have participated in training opportunities through DWP Train and Progress in each month since the initiative was announced.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	153769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>We do not collect data on claimants who access extended training provision.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 153770 153772 question first answered 02/03/2023 14:14:37 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1599618

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who have accessed training opportunities through DWP Train and Progress (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three or more times.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	153770
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>We do not collect data on claimants who access extended training provision.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 153769 153772 question first answered 02/03/2023 14:14:37 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1599629

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of participants in his Department's Train and Progress scheme who subsequently (a) entered and (b) progressed in employment.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	153772
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>We do not collect data on claimants who access extended training provision.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 153769 153770 question first answered 02/03/2023 14:14:36 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth