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1357177

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	BTEC Qualifications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education,what steps he is taking to ensure that students can continue to study BTEC qualifications in the future.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
uin	52619
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>Employers are facing a skills shortage that we must act to address. It is vital in a fast moving and high-tech economy that we close the gap between what people study and the needs of employers. This is why we are introducing over 20 T Levels and are strengthening the routes to progress into skilled employment or further study with high quality qualifications that are fit for the future. T Levels are challenging qualifications developed with 250 leading employers. They include a meaningful nine-week industry placement and will equip more young people with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to access skilled employment or further training.</p><p>We set out the qualifications we intend to fund alongside A levels and T Levels at level 3 in July 2021. We are clear that any qualifications that are funded to be taken alongside or instead of A levels or T Levels must be high quality and lead to good outcomes. We will fund level 3 BTECs and/or other Applied General or similar qualifications where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that T Levels and A levels cannot provide. These must meet new quality criteria to be approved for funding.</p><p>We have been clear that we expect the changes to be generally positive as students will have access to higher quality qualifications in the future, including new T Levels. This will put students in a stronger position to progress onto further study or skilled employment.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart grouped question UIN 52620 question first answered 29/09/2021 15:00:03 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1357178

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Vocational Education: Qualifications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on students of removing funding for certain BTEC qualifications.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
uin	52620
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>Employers are facing a skills shortage that we must act to address. It is vital in a fast moving and high-tech economy that we close the gap between what people study and the needs of employers. This is why we are introducing over 20 T Levels and are strengthening the routes to progress into skilled employment or further study with high quality qualifications that are fit for the future. T Levels are challenging qualifications developed with 250 leading employers. They include a meaningful nine-week industry placement and will equip more young people with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to access skilled employment or further training.</p><p>We set out the qualifications we intend to fund alongside A levels and T Levels at level 3 in July 2021. We are clear that any qualifications that are funded to be taken alongside or instead of A levels or T Levels must be high quality and lead to good outcomes. We will fund level 3 BTECs and/or other Applied General or similar qualifications where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that T Levels and A levels cannot provide. These must meet new quality criteria to be approved for funding.</p><p>We have been clear that we expect the changes to be generally positive as students will have access to higher quality qualifications in the future, including new T Levels. This will put students in a stronger position to progress onto further study or skilled employment.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart grouped question UIN 52619 question first answered 29/09/2021 15:00:03 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1357303

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the survey of 20,000 parents by Mumsnet with 13 other groups, published in September 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the cost of childcare on (a) household bills and (b) the career choices of parents.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	52566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>The department welcomes the contribution that Mumsnet and their partner organisations have made around this topic. However, it is important to note that this survey is unweighted, and the sample size represents a small proportion of all parents with a child or children in the early years.</p><p>Ipsos MORI conducted wave 9 of our parent poll, ‘Childcare use, perceived impact on child development, information on working from home, and awareness and use of free entitlements for families of 0-4 year-olds during COVID-19’ in July 2021, with a smaller but representative sample of 1,000 parents of children aged 0-4 in England. This is available at: <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use" target="_blank">https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use</a>.</p><p>The data has been weighted to match the population profile of parents of children aged 0-4 in England by region, social grade, and the age of the selected child.</p><p>The Parent Poll asked different questions to the Mumsnet survey but key points from the findings include:</p><ul><li>The affordability of weekly childcare costs is unchanged for just over half of parents compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, and for 3 in 10 parents their weekly childcare costs are now easier to meet.</li><li>The majority of parents (91%) who used formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak, and are currently using it, say that their child is spending about the same number of hours or more in formal childcare as they did before.</li><li>More than half (56%) of parents report that their child is currently using formal childcare, this increases to 94% when looking at just those children who were receiving formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents.</li><li>Nearly two thirds of parents of 0-4 year olds currently using childcare (64%) agree that the hours their child(ren) can access formal or informal childcare/school fits with the working hours of the adults in the household.</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:55:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1357305

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years services is in the Government's Levelling Up agenda.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>Levelling up is at the heart of the agenda to build back better after the COVID-19 outbreak and to deliver for every part of the UK. The department takes a dual approach to disadvantage: tackling outcome inequalities nationally while tilting efforts to, and working specifically in, places of greatest need.</p><p>In education, ability is evenly spread but opportunity is not. We know that differences in outcomes start early. To really tackle our levelling up challenge, we must look at our support for children and young people at every level, from support for families and childcare, through to university, and to develop skills throughout life.</p><p>We are already making progress. On 2 June 2021 we announced an additional £1.4 billion education recovery package, which includes a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.</p><p>This is in addition to the £27 million which we are already investing to support children’s early language development in light of the COVID-19 outbreak:</p><ul><li>£17 million is to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) in schools that would particularly benefit. Two thirds of primary schools have already signed up for the programme.</li><li>£10 million will support language development for pre-reception children in the next academic year.</li></ul><p>What happens outside of schools and settings is also important. The government is investing over £34 million to champion family hubs. This approach will help to support children of all ages and their families across a broad range of needs in their localities. This investment includes establishing a new national centre for family hubs, run by the Anna Freud Centre for Children and Families; a new transformation fund to open family hubs in around 10 local authorities; an evaluation innovation fund; and work with local authorities to develop data and digital products that will support the practical implementation of family hubs.</p><p>The government will publish a landmark Levelling Up White Paper later this year, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve livelihoods and opportunity in all parts of the UK.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 09:10:41 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1357308

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of early years provision.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>High quality, accessible childcare is important in ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life. The overall quality of provision within the early years sector remains high and, as of 31 March 2021, 96% of providers on the Ofsted Early Years Register were judged good or outstanding, which is a substantial increase from 74% in 2012. Ofsted are responsible for monitoring the quality of provision.</p><p>We continue to monitor the sufficiency of childcare through regular attendance data collection and monitoring the open or closed status of providers. We also discuss sufficiency of provision in our regular conversations with local authorities. Local authorities are not currently reporting any significant sufficiency or supply issues and we have not seen any significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either this term or since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020.</p><p>Ofsted data shows that as of March 2021 the number of childcare places available on the Early Years Register has remained broadly stable since August 2015.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:51:40 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1357309

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pre-school Education: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for early years services.
tabling member constituency	Blaydon
tabling member printed	Liz Twist
uin	52577
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>We are making our usual preparations for the imminent Spending Review, which will set departmental budgets for all financial years from 2022-23 to 2024-25.</p><p>Ministers and officials from the department will continue to have discussions with HM Treasury as the Spending Review progresses.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:53:20 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4618 label Biography information for Liz Twist

1356882

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Special Educational Needs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Educational, Health Care Plans have been sought in (a) 2019, (b) 2020 and (c) 2021 in (i) Bexley Borough, (ii) Greater London and (iii) England.
tabling member constituency	Bexleyheath and Crayford
tabling member printed	Sir David Evennett
uin	51597
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2021 answer text <p>The initial requests for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans relating to 2019 and 2020 are published at the following link: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1ff67fe5-249c-4a8e-b2a1-a172c1ae0b23" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/1ff67fe5-249c-4a8e-b2a1-a172c1ae0b23</a>.</p><p>The department does not yet hold information on the number of initial requests for EHC plans in 2021, but this will be published in May 2022 at the following link: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans" target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans</a>.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 28/09/2021 16:52:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	1198 label Biography information for Sir David Evennett

1356883

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Lifelong Education
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote lifelong learning.
tabling member constituency	Bexleyheath and Crayford
tabling member printed	Sir David Evennett
uin	51598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2021 answer text <p>The government is investing £2.5 billion in the National Skills Fund in England.</p><p>Since 1 April 2021, the government is supporting adults who do not hold A level equivalent or higher qualifications to access over 400 funded level 3 courses, with Free Courses for Jobs. This offer is a long-term commitment, backed by £95 million from the National Skills Fund in year one.</p><p>Complementing this support for adults, Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks to give people the opportunity to build up sector specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. The department is expanding the Skills Bootcamp programme across the country during 2021/22 financial year, with £43 million from the National Skills Fund. There will be digital Skills Bootcamps available in each English region and a wide coverage of technical Skills Bootcamps. We are also delivering Skills Bootcamps in retrofit construction skills to support the green industrial revolution.</p><p>From 2025, the department will introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement equivalent to 4 years of post-18 education. People will be supported to study throughout their life, with the opportunity to train, retrain and upskill as needed in response to changing skills needs and employment patterns. It will help transform post-18 study, delivering greater parity between further and higher education.</p><p>The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), investing £1.34 billion in the 2021/22 financial year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to support adults to gain the skills required for work, apprenticeships or further learning.</p> answering member constituency Chippenham answering member printed Michelle Donelan question first answered 30/09/2021 16:04:16 answering member 4530 label Biography information for Michelle Donelan
tabling member	1198 label Biography information for Sir David Evennett

1356964

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	T-levels: Bury South
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of T Levels on social mobility in Bury South constituency.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	51899
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2021 answer text <p>The provision of high-quality technical education is key to improving social mobility, and we want as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels. The introduction of T Levels will help raise the standard of technical education, so that it is seen as equal in esteem to our world class academic route. The industry placement element of T Levels helps to build students’ employability skills, developing their confidence in the workplace and giving young people from all backgrounds a head start in accessing skilled work. T Levels carry UCAS points in line with three A levels so will also allow progression to higher education. We have also developed a T Level Transition Programme, which is aimed at students who have potential to complete a T Level but need extra support.</p><p>The first T Level providers are situated across the country and we have ensured they are represented in opportunity areas. From this academic year, Bury College and other providers in the wider Bury area began offering T Levels, boosting access to high quality technical education for young people in the area.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 28/09/2021 14:31:29 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1356966

registered interest
date	20/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	T-levels: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to encourage more young people to study T Levels.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	51900
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2021 answer text <p>We want as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels. The T Level communications campaign launched in October 2019, aimed at potential students and parents of 14-16 year olds. We are working with the Careers and Enterprise Company to ensure that careers staff can articulate their benefits to students and have included T Levels in the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge programme, which offers free support and resources to schools to upskill their staff.</p><p>We continue to support T Level providers with their recruitment, and going forward T Levels will be part of a new ‘Young People’s Futures’ campaign. This will support 14-19 year olds to understand the range of education, training and work options open to them, including T Levels. T Levels also feature in our Employer Support campaign, helping to increase awareness nationally.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 28/09/2021 14:34:47 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford