Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support flexi-job agencies for apprenticeships, particularly for SME employers in rural areas and regions.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is supporting sectors with short-term project-based work through flexi-Job apprenticeship agencies, which have so far allowed 1,000 apprentices to work with different host employers, and on a range of projects, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their chosen field.
As of October 2023, there are 45 flexi-job agencies supporting the delivery of apprenticeships in sectors such as creative, construction, agriculture and digital, across every region in England. The current register of flexi-job agencies can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexi-job-apprenticeships/flexi-job-apprenticeship-agencies.
Organisations such as mayoral combined authorities and local authorities will be able to apply to become a flexi-job agency if they can successfully meet the conditions of registration. The department will share details of any plans to re-open the register in due course. The conditions of registration can be found attached.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to allowing local authorities to become flexi-job apprenticeship agencies.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is supporting sectors with short-term project-based work through flexi-Job apprenticeship agencies, which have so far allowed 1,000 apprentices to work with different host employers, and on a range of projects, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their chosen field.
As of October 2023, there are 45 flexi-job agencies supporting the delivery of apprenticeships in sectors such as creative, construction, agriculture and digital, across every region in England. The current register of flexi-job agencies can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexi-job-apprenticeships/flexi-job-apprenticeship-agencies.
Organisations such as mayoral combined authorities and local authorities will be able to apply to become a flexi-job agency if they can successfully meet the conditions of registration. The department will share details of any plans to re-open the register in due course. The conditions of registration can be found attached.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any restrictions on a Mayoral Combined Authority being a flexi-job apprenticeship agency.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is supporting sectors with short-term project-based work through flexi-Job apprenticeship agencies, which have so far allowed 1,000 apprentices to work with different host employers, and on a range of projects, to gain the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their chosen field.
As of October 2023, there are 45 flexi-job agencies supporting the delivery of apprenticeships in sectors such as creative, construction, agriculture and digital, across every region in England. The current register of flexi-job agencies can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexi-job-apprenticeships/flexi-job-apprenticeship-agencies.
Organisations such as mayoral combined authorities and local authorities will be able to apply to become a flexi-job agency if they can successfully meet the conditions of registration. The department will share details of any plans to re-open the register in due course. The conditions of registration can be found attached.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they have provided to students who have to continue paying for their university accommodation but cannot live there due to the restrictions n place to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This has been a very difficult time for students, as it has for everyone, and we encourage universities and private landlords to review their accommodation policies to ensure they are fair, clear, and have the interests of students at heart.
Since universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and responsible for setting their own rent agreements, the government plays no role in the provision of student residential accommodation. Whether students are entitled to a refund or to an early release from their contract will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between them and their provider.
If students have concerns about their accommodation fees, they should first raise their concerns with their accommodation provider. If their concerns remain unresolved, and their higher education provider is involved in the provision of the accommodation, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education to consider their complaint.
If students think their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/, https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.
More broadly, the government does of course recognise the financial hardship that some students may face in these exceptional circumstances. The Department for Education has worked with the Office for Students to clarify that higher education providers are able to draw on existing funds, worth around £256 million for academic year 2020/2021, towards hardship support. We are also making available an additional £50 million of hardship funding this financial year. In total we have made £70 million of funding available for student hardship given the £20 million made available to higher education providers in December 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce a premium grant to all local authority funded schools to support careers education and guidance on the condition that they work towards the Quality in Careers Standard; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Quality in Careers Standard is the single national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance for young people.
The standard’s assessment criteria has been fully revised to incorporate the Gatsby Benchmarks of good career guidance, and the benchmark indicators, which from September 2018 will form an integral part of the revised assessment and accreditation process. This meets our commitment in the careers strategy to align the standard more fully to the benchmarks. We are pleased with the progress that has been made on this and we have written to the Quality in Careers Standard Board to thank them for all their work.
There are no plans to design a premium grant to all local authority schools on condition they work towards the Quality in Careers Standard. We believe that schools are best placed to decide what careers provision to provide. We are investing over £70 million this year to support young people and adults to have access to quality careers provision. The government strongly recommends that all schools and colleges work towards the updated Quality in Careers Standard, incorporating the Gatsby benchmarks and the Compass tool, to support the development of a world-class careers programme for all their young people.
Asked by: Baroness Harris of Richmond (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make an announcement on the progress they have made towards aligning the Quality in Careers Standard national accreditation for careers education, information, advice and guidance with the Gatsby Career Benchmarks; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Quality in Careers Standard is the single national quality award for careers education, information, advice and guidance for young people.
The standard’s assessment criteria has been fully revised to incorporate the Gatsby Benchmarks of good career guidance, and the benchmark indicators, which from September 2018 will form an integral part of the revised assessment and accreditation process. This meets our commitment in the careers strategy to align the standard more fully to the benchmarks. We are pleased with the progress that has been made on this and we have written to the Quality in Careers Standard Board to thank them for all their work.
There are no plans to design a premium grant to all local authority schools on condition they work towards the Quality in Careers Standard. We believe that schools are best placed to decide what careers provision to provide. We are investing over £70 million this year to support young people and adults to have access to quality careers provision. The government strongly recommends that all schools and colleges work towards the updated Quality in Careers Standard, incorporating the Gatsby benchmarks and the Compass tool, to support the development of a world-class careers programme for all their young people.