Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 19 December 2024 (HL2929), how many apprenticeship places in each year since 2010 have been (1) made available, and (2) filled, in (a) thatching, (b) stonemasonry, (c) lead work, and (d) the use of lime mortars, to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The table below provides details of Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship vacancies that were advertised on the Find an Apprenticeship (FAA) service on GOV.UK since the 2020/21 academic year. There have been no vacancies for the Level 2 Thatcher standard, which will be available for starts once a suitable end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has obtained Ofqual recognition, or the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson standard advertised on the FAA service.
The department encourages employers to advertise on FAA to maximise engagement with their vacancies and to ensure that they are accessible to all potential apprentices, but not all choose to use the service. Employers may choose to recruit apprentices through their own channels, for example via their own websites, which the department does not monitor. The figures below therefore may not represent the total number of vacancies advertised.
Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship vacancies on FAA by year*
Academic Year | Number of positions |
2020/21 | <5 |
2021/22 | 30 |
2022/23 | 20 |
2023/24 | 10 |
* Numbers rounded to nearest 10.
The table below provides apprenticeship starts on the Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship and the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson apprenticeship as published in the ‘Apprenticeships statistics’ publication. The Level 2 Stonemason standard was approved for delivery in June 2021 and the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson standard was approved for delivery in February 2023.
There have been no starts on the Level 2 Thatcher apprenticeship standard, which was approved for delivery in February 2024.
Starts by academic year*
Apprenticeship standard | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Stonemason | <5 | 70 | 50 | 30 |
Stained Glass Craftsperson | - | - | 0 | <5 |
* 0 indicates a true zero value and '-' indicates data not applicable.
* Source is the Individualised Learner Record.
* Apprenticeships, Academic year 2023/24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
More broadly, employers are encouraged to take working on heritage buildings into account when designing or revising construction occupational standards. Apprenticeship standards which may also support the heritage sector include the Level 2 Bricklayer standard and the Level 3 Craft Carpentry and Joinery apprenticeship standard.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 19 December 2024 (HL2929), how many high quality apprenticeships in the level 2 stonemason apprenticeship standard have been (1) made available and (2) filled, to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need, in each year since 2010.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The table below provides details of Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship vacancies that were advertised on the Find an Apprenticeship (FAA) service on GOV.UK since the 2020/21 academic year. There have been no vacancies for the Level 2 Thatcher standard, which will be available for starts once a suitable end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has obtained Ofqual recognition, or the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson standard advertised on the FAA service.
The department encourages employers to advertise on FAA to maximise engagement with their vacancies and to ensure that they are accessible to all potential apprentices, but not all choose to use the service. Employers may choose to recruit apprentices through their own channels, for example via their own websites, which the department does not monitor. The figures below therefore may not represent the total number of vacancies advertised.
Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship vacancies on FAA by year*
Academic Year | Number of positions |
2020/21 | <5 |
2021/22 | 30 |
2022/23 | 20 |
2023/24 | 10 |
* Numbers rounded to nearest 10.
The table below provides apprenticeship starts on the Level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship and the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson apprenticeship as published in the ‘Apprenticeships statistics’ publication. The Level 2 Stonemason standard was approved for delivery in June 2021 and the Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson standard was approved for delivery in February 2023.
There have been no starts on the Level 2 Thatcher apprenticeship standard, which was approved for delivery in February 2024.
Starts by academic year*
Apprenticeship standard | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Stonemason | <5 | 70 | 50 | 30 |
Stained Glass Craftsperson | - | - | 0 | <5 |
* 0 indicates a true zero value and '-' indicates data not applicable.
* Source is the Individualised Learner Record.
* Apprenticeships, Academic year 2023/24 - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK
More broadly, employers are encouraged to take working on heritage buildings into account when designing or revising construction occupational standards. Apprenticeship standards which may also support the heritage sector include the Level 2 Bricklayer standard and the Level 3 Craft Carpentry and Joinery apprenticeship standard.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to fund and promote the training of apprentices in (1) thatching, (2) stonemasonry, (3) lead work and (4) use of lime mortars, as well as to grow and improve other skills in the heritage sector.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality apprenticeships, including the level 2 Stonemason apprenticeship standard, are available to support employers and learners in the heritage sector to develop the skills they need.
To support more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities, the department pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at small employers and it pays £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 who are care leavers or have an education, health and care plan.
The department also continue to promote apprenticeships through its ‘Skills for Life’ campaign.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that there is no reduction in the funding of grammar schools as a result of recent changes to funding for pupils aged 16 to 19.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
All providers of 16-19 education, including school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and general FE colleges, are funded according to a single national formula. We announced, as part of the Spending Review, that we will protect the national base rate of £4,000 per student for the duration of the parliament. From 2016/17 the large programme uplift will apply, which will give a funding uplift of 10 per cent for study programmes of four A levels and 20 per cent for five A levels, when at least a grade B in all subjects is gained. Equivalent uplifts will apply to the full level 3 International Baccalaureate and large TechBacc programmes.
We set out full details of the funding rates for 16-19 institutions in 2016/17 in January and aim to provide further information on savings that will be required from 2017/18 as soon as possible. We have already announced that we will remove transitional formula protection funding over six years from 2016/17, ensuring sufficient lead-in time for institutions to manage this reduction.