Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to their research paper Adapting historic homes for energy efficiency: a review of the barriers published on 3 January, what targets they have for training, recruiting, and retaining specialist local authority conservation officers; and what plans they have for achieving any such targets.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government has no specific targets relating to specialist local authority conservation officers. I refer the noble lady to the answer given to PQ 16501 on 5 December 2024 set out details of the Government’s investment to support capacity and capability in local authorities more generally. This will be further underpinned by increases in planning fees that will help improve the resourcing of planning application services, so that local planning authorities can fund the skills they need, including conservation officers.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have formulated an evaluation plan for the Renters’ Rights Bill; and if so, what are their outcome measures and evidence gaps, and how the proposed landlord database will support the evaluation plan in its design and contents.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have set out in our Renters’ Rights Bill Impact Assessment our plans for a phased approach to monitoring and evaluating the legislation, in line with the Department’s Evaluation Strategy.

During the preparation phase we will develop further the framework for evaluating the outcomes we expect to see, and to identify and resolve any data gaps. A range of existing data, and new data generated from the reforms themselves, will be used for evaluation. This will include data from the Private Rented Sector Database.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of evaluations being proposed or carried out by departments that are not currently registered in the Evaluation Registry; and of those, how many are exempted from registration because of exclusions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Since April 2024, it has been mandatory for all Government Departments to register their evaluations with the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry. The expectation is that all Government evaluations should be registered, unless they are exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Since April 2024, the Evaluation Task Force has been notified of one evaluation which has not been added to the Evaluation Registry on the grounds that it meets an exemption outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Registry is scheduled to be launched for public view-only access in the coming months, allowing them to see the number of evaluations in each department. Following public launch, the Evaluation Task Force will report to the Directors of Analysis every quarter on the number of ongoing, planned and complete evaluations registered by each Department.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many evaluations are currently registered in the Evaluation Registry by each government department; and what metrics the Evaluation Task Force reports to departmental directors of analysis regarding the uptake of the Registry.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Since April 2024, it has been mandatory for all Government Departments to register their evaluations with the Evaluation Task Force Evaluation Registry. The expectation is that all Government evaluations should be registered, unless they are exempted under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Since April 2024, the Evaluation Task Force has been notified of one evaluation which has not been added to the Evaluation Registry on the grounds that it meets an exemption outlined in the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Registry is scheduled to be launched for public view-only access in the coming months, allowing them to see the number of evaluations in each department. Following public launch, the Evaluation Task Force will report to the Directors of Analysis every quarter on the number of ongoing, planned and complete evaluations registered by each Department.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following Historic England's report Skills Needs Analysis for the Repair, Maintenance and Retrofit of Traditional (Pre-1919) Buildings in England, 2024 published on 13 September 2024, what plans they have for funding specialist tutors to train and mentor construction trainees, including through microbusinesses, to help them gain experience in relevant, regionally specific building techniques.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The department supports vocational education and training programs that include repair, maintenance and retrofit skills. This includes funding for courses at further education (FE) colleges and specialist training providers.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has developed 90 Apprenticeship standards in the Construction and Built Environment Sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in retrofit, such as Heritage Construction Specialist. The department will continue to work with employers to support the growth of apprenticeships in these sectors and IfATE have published occupational maps on their website which display the apprenticeship progression opportunities in each occupation, including in heritage conservation, and construction. The occupational maps can be accessed on IfATE‘s website at: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/. These also specify if the occupation is embedded within the green occupational landscape and deliver sustainable outcomes.

Whilst i​t is a matter for providers to determine course content and the specialist teaching staff they need to deliver in all their provision, the department is supporting FE colleges to recruit and retain more construction FE teachers through the Taking Teacher Further programme, and the targeted retention incentive offer. In addition, we are exploring what more can be done to support dual professionals to work in FE, an approach whereby colleges recruit industry workers as part-time teachers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, following Historic England's report Skills Needs Analysis for the Repair, Maintenance and Retrofit of Traditional (Pre-1919) Buildings in England, 2024 published on 13 September 2024, what plans they have for including energy efficiency adaptations to traditionally built housing stock in construction training and qualifications.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The department supports vocational education and training programs that include repair, maintenance and retrofit skills. This includes funding for courses at further education (FE) colleges and specialist training providers.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.

Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has developed 90 Apprenticeship standards in the Construction and Built Environment Sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in retrofit, such as Heritage Construction Specialist. The department will continue to work with employers to support the growth of apprenticeships in these sectors and IfATE have published occupational maps on their website which display the apprenticeship progression opportunities in each occupation, including in heritage conservation, and construction. The occupational maps can be accessed on IfATE‘s website at: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/. These also specify if the occupation is embedded within the green occupational landscape and deliver sustainable outcomes.

Whilst i​t is a matter for providers to determine course content and the specialist teaching staff they need to deliver in all their provision, the department is supporting FE colleges to recruit and retain more construction FE teachers through the Taking Teacher Further programme, and the targeted retention incentive offer. In addition, we are exploring what more can be done to support dual professionals to work in FE, an approach whereby colleges recruit industry workers as part-time teachers.