Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the skills gap to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of qualified mechanics capable of maintaining and repairing electric vehicles before the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars takes effect in 2030.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government recognises that training and re-skilling of the current automotive workforce will be vital as we end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030. According to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), of the 182,000 vehicle technicians in the UK, only 21,000 are electrical vehicle (EV) qualified, and only 5% overall have a level 3 or 4 EV qualification. The government is taking a number of steps to support the sector and its workforce transition to net zero.
As part of my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, nearly £500 million of funding for the Automotive Transformation Fund will be made available in the next 4 years to build an internationally competitive EV supply chain. This will help to secure the transformation of the automotive sector at pace, by developing and embedding the next generation of cutting-edge automotive technologies in the UK.
We are also investing £16 million over 3 years to March 2022 in the industry led National Manufacturing Competitiveness Levels (NMCL) skills programme. NMCL is open to automotive suppliers across the UK, and is designed to improve their competitiveness, raise workforce capability, and improve productivity through the completion of a tailored business improvement plan.
On top of this, the government is committed to working with the IMI to ensure the UK’s workforce of mechanics are well trained and have the skills they need to repair EVs safely.
The IMI’s TechSafe scheme provides EV technicians with an easy and voluntary way to certify their competence. EV users will be able to access the register to check the EV competencies of technicians at their garage, supporting consumer confidence in this growing market.
More widely, the Green Jobs Taskforce was launched last November, working in partnership with business, skills providers and unions to help the UK build back greener and deliver the skilled workforce needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Through the taskforce, we are engaging with industry experts, including those from the automotive sector such as Nissan, and the Automotive Council Skills Working Group, to help identify future skills needs. With help from the taskforce, we will ensure that our existing skills programmes (such as those set out in the recent Skills for Jobs White Paper and the Prime Minister’s recent Lifetime Skills Guarantee) can be directed to support the net zero agenda and help to identify where the evidence tells us we might need to go further or faster.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has convened a Green Apprenticeships Advisory Panel (GAAP) to guide the continued alignment of apprenticeships with net zero and wider sustainability objectives. The GAAP is employer-led and includes stakeholders with automotive experience, including in electric vehicles. It aims to help identify which apprenticeships directly support the green agenda and which may need to be refocused. The panel will also crucially identify where there are potential opportunities to create new green apprenticeships and identify employers to help take this work forward.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government who sets the date for SATS examinations; why the date for such examinations has been set for the week beginning 10 May 2021; what assessment they have made of the impact of such examinations taking place in that week on those who will be celebrating Eid in that same period; what action they are taking to support any (1) schools, (2) families, and (3) children, affected; and what plans they have to change that date to avoid any such clash.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The Standard and Testing Agency is responsible for the timetabling of National Curriculum assessments. The Key Stage 2 assessments are set for the week beginning 10 May 2021 to maximise teaching time in Year 6, whilst ensuring enough time for marking to take place and for results to be returned to schools before the end of the summer term.
In 2021, the Key Stage 2 tests will take place from Monday 10 May to Wednesday 12 May inclusive. The Department is aware that Eid al-Fitr will take place in the same week as these assessments and understands that, given the significance of Eid al-Fitr, Muslim pupils may be absent from school. Schools with pupils unable to sit their assessments on the dates specified in the statutory timetable can make an application for timetable variation (TTV) to enable these pupils, or the class as a whole, to take a test at a different time, or on a different day, from the rest of the cohort: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/key-stage-2-tests-varying-the-test-timetable. Where pupils are unable to sit a test on the statutory date because they are observing Eid, this would be a valid reason to utilise the TTV process.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide all secondary school students with laptops and broadband routers; and what criteria they use to determine which students should receive any such provision.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The government will provide devices for the most disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for exams (in Year 10), receive support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Local authorities, trusts and other relevant organisations overseeing schools will be given guidance on how to place online orders for government-funded and allocated devices. We recognise that local authorities and academy trusts are best placed to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices.
Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school or children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we will also provide the capability for them to access the internet. 16 to 19-year-olds without a suitable device will be eligible for support via the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Additionally, the country’s major telecommunication providers will make it easier for families to access selected educational resources by temporarily exempting these sites from data charges.
For those in rural areas or without a connection, schools will be able to draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television; and may choose to draw on the many resources offers which have been made by publishers across the country.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many apprenticeship placements have been advertised as part-time in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Nash
Information on whether an apprenticeship has been advertised as part time is not collected centrally. Apprenticeships can be advertised in many ways, including on the GOV.UK website.
Apprenticeships are full-time jobs; therefore an apprentice should work at least 30 hours per week. In exceptional circumstances, such as where the apprentice has caring responsibilities, a minimum of 16 hours per week may be agreed between the apprentice and the employer. In circumstances where the apprentice works fewer than 30 hours per week, the duration of the apprenticeship must be extended in proportion so that the minimum duration requirements are still met.
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) female, and (2) male, single parents have (a) started, and (b) completed, apprenticeships in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Nash
Information on whether an apprenticeship is undertaken by a single parent is not centrally collected.
The table below shows apprenticeship starts by gender, 2010/11 to 2014/15:
| 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | |||||
Starts | % of total | Starts | % of total | Starts | % of total | Starts | % of total | Starts | % of total | |
Female | 245,990 | 53.8% | 276,220 | 53.1% | 279,000 | 54.7% | 232,940 | 52.9% | 264,750 | 53.0% |
Male | 211,220 | 46.2% | 244,360 | 46.9% | 231,210 | 45.3% | 207,480 | 47.1% | 235,140 | 47.0% |
Total | 457,200 | 100.0% | 520,600 | 100.0% | 510,200 | 100.0% | 440,400 | 100.0% | 499,900 | 100.0% |
Asked by: Baroness Manzoor (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to enable those on apprenticeships to claim 30 hours of free childcare under the Childcare Act 2016.
Answered by Lord Nash
Parents on apprenticeships with three- and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare under the Childcare Act 2016 in the same way as other working households. They will need to be earning the equivalent of 16 hours work per week at the apprentice national minimum wage rate.
The national minimum wage rates are set out at the GOV.UK website.
Apprentices will need to meet the other eligibility criteria in addition to the minimum earnings requirement in order to qualify. The key eligibility criteria are set out in a policy statement issued in December 2015, which is attached to this answer.
We will set out the eligibility criteria in more detail in forthcoming regulations, and these will be subject to affirmative debates in both Houses.