Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 30 October 2024 (HL1966), what actions they have considered to compensate contractors who have not received payments due to them as a result of failures in the procurement process.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
ISG Construction Limited entered administration on 20 September 2024 and was caused by the financial health of the overall ISG group. The Ministry of Justice awards contracts in line with the relevant procurement regulations including undertaking appropriate due diligence.
Subcontractors have been made aware that the Department is not able to underwrite debt owed by ISG as a result of their administration, and that they should engage with the Joint Administrators (Ernst & Young) with regard to any claims arising from their contracts with ISG.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 30 October 2024 (HL1966), how many subcontractors to ISG Limited the Ministry of Justice has been in contact with; what assistance the department has provided or may be able to provide to subcontractors whose payments were not available in the relevant project bank account; and what has been the outcome of the department's work with EY to establish whether the sums remaining in project bank accounts were correct.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice has been in contact with c.350 subcontractors of ISG Construction Limited. The Department has used a dedicated mailbox for this purpose and issued an update letter to subcontractors on 6 March 2025.
Since ISG entered administration, the Department has worked to minimise the impact on subcontractors. We enabled the swift return of subcontractor’s tools and equipment from affected sites and are supporting subcontractors to retrieve any materials that were on site with the cooperation of the Administrator.
The Ministry of Justice did not have a direct contractual relationship with ISG’s subcontractors and the Department’s assessment to date is that there is no obligation to act as the guarantor of all of ISG’s payments to its subcontractors. Payment by the Ministry of Justice into the project bank account does not create a direct contractual relationship between the Department and subcontractors.
Due to ongoing legal and commercial sensitivities, we are unable to comment on the final part of the question regarding the outcome of our engagement with EY.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they will give to the Office for Students (1) to allow more providers to complete the registration process ahead of the introduction of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, and (2) to support submissions from small specialist providers that currently receive educational oversight from Ofsted for their eligible level 5 and 6 provision.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 36617.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether providers which currently receive educational oversight from Ofsted for their level 5 and 6 provision will have a proportional third category route to registration with the Office for Students during the implementation of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 18 March 2025 to Question 36617.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the experience of other countries (including Italy, the United States of America, France, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Poland and Israel) in promoting or requiring heart screening for young people engaged in sport, including its impact in reducing sudden cardiac deaths.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. NGBs are independent of Government, but the Government expects NGBs to make the health and safety of players their top priority.
Sport England, DCMS arm's-length body for grassroots sport, works closely with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an organisation which aims to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening, research, and supporting affected families. Sport England is helping increase awareness of CRY in the community sports sector, including through Buddle, its online site for clubs and community organisations.
The Department for Health and Social Care has responsibility for preventative healthcare strategies. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory body which advises health ministers and the NHS in the four nations of the UK on all aspects of screening. It is currently reviewing a submission received via its annual call process to consider Sudden Cardiac Death screening in young people aged 14-35 engaging in sport. More information on the annual call process can be found here: UK NSC annual call.
Countries often cited as screening for more conditions than the UK are not always running national programmes; often, there are small pilots operating in one region or city, led by a single clinician. They are therefore not directly comparable to the national screening programmes operating in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the requirement for heart screening for young people engaged in sport beyond organisations which already require and provide such screening.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. NGBs are independent of Government, but the Government expects NGBs to make the health and safety of players their top priority.
Sport England, DCMS arm's-length body for grassroots sport, works closely with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an organisation which aims to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening, research, and supporting affected families. Sport England is helping increase awareness of CRY in the community sports sector, including through Buddle, its online site for clubs and community organisations.
The Department for Health and Social Care has responsibility for preventative healthcare strategies. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory body which advises health ministers and the NHS in the four nations of the UK on all aspects of screening. It is currently reviewing a submission received via its annual call process to consider Sudden Cardiac Death screening in young people aged 14-35 engaging in sport. More information on the annual call process can be found here: UK NSC annual call.
Countries often cited as screening for more conditions than the UK are not always running national programmes; often, there are small pilots operating in one region or city, led by a single clinician. They are therefore not directly comparable to the national screening programmes operating in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to promote heart screening for young people engaged in sport, and (2) to increase the availability of such screening.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The safety, wellbeing and welfare of everyone taking part in sport is absolutely paramount. National Governing Bodies (NGBs) are responsible for the regulation of their sports and for ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to protect participants from harm. NGBs are independent of Government, but the Government expects NGBs to make the health and safety of players their top priority.
Sport England, DCMS arm's-length body for grassroots sport, works closely with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an organisation which aims to prevent young sudden cardiac deaths through awareness, screening, research, and supporting affected families. Sport England is helping increase awareness of CRY in the community sports sector, including through Buddle, its online site for clubs and community organisations.
The Department for Health and Social Care has responsibility for preventative healthcare strategies. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is an independent scientific advisory body which advises health ministers and the NHS in the four nations of the UK on all aspects of screening. It is currently reviewing a submission received via its annual call process to consider Sudden Cardiac Death screening in young people aged 14-35 engaging in sport. More information on the annual call process can be found here: UK NSC annual call.
Countries often cited as screening for more conditions than the UK are not always running national programmes; often, there are small pilots operating in one region or city, led by a single clinician. They are therefore not directly comparable to the national screening programmes operating in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans Skills England have to ensure that the proposed Growth and Skills Levy will (1) address the skills and training needs of the woodworking and joinery sector, and (2) be fully accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises in that sector across the UK.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Employers in the construction sector, including small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can access a wide range of government-funded training programmes including T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Employers have developed apprenticeship standards in both carpentry and joinery and craft carpentry and joinery to help meet the needs of the woodwork and joinery sector.
The department is promoting apprenticeships and training opportunities to students in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme as part of the Skills for Life campaign.
To support non-levy paying employers, which are likely to be SMEs, to access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, or have been in local authority care. Employers of all sizes can also benefit from £1000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for apprentices aged up to 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, or £50,270 a year.
The government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps across all sectors and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs. This will include advising on priorities for the new growth and skills offer, which will create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages, and help drive economic growth. Skills England engaged with over 700 stakeholders over the autumn regarding the growth and skills offer and has shared their findings with the department.
The growth and skills offer will include new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. The minimum duration of an apprenticeship will be reduced to eight months from August 2025, down from the current minimum of 12 months. The department will ensure that the needs of smaller employers are considered as it develops the growth and skills offer.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote training and apprenticeship provision in the woodworking and joinery sector, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Employers in the construction sector, including small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can access a wide range of government-funded training programmes including T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Employers have developed apprenticeship standards in both carpentry and joinery and craft carpentry and joinery to help meet the needs of the woodwork and joinery sector.
The department is promoting apprenticeships and training opportunities to students in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme as part of the Skills for Life campaign.
To support non-levy paying employers, which are likely to be SMEs, to access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, or have been in local authority care. Employers of all sizes can also benefit from £1000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.
Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for apprentices aged up to 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, or £50,270 a year.
The government has established Skills England to form a coherent national picture of skills gaps across all sectors and to help shape the technical education system so that it is responsive to skills needs. This will include advising on priorities for the new growth and skills offer, which will create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages, and help drive economic growth. Skills England engaged with over 700 stakeholders over the autumn regarding the growth and skills offer and has shared their findings with the department.
The growth and skills offer will include new foundation apprenticeships for young people, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. The minimum duration of an apprenticeship will be reduced to eight months from August 2025, down from the current minimum of 12 months. The department will ensure that the needs of smaller employers are considered as it develops the growth and skills offer.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether project bank accounts (PBAs) were in place on all public sector projects undertaken by ISG Limited for Government departments, in line with the Government's Construction Playbook which states that PBAs “should be used unless there are compelling reasons not to”; and if not, which such projects did not use PBAs, and why.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Construction Playbook sets out key policies and guidance for how public works projects and programmes are assessed, procured and delivered and includes guidance that “Project Bank Accounts are not always suitable, but should be used unless there are compelling reasons not to”. It is for Contracting Authorities to determine how to implement this guidance appropriately for each contract. The Cabinet Office does not hold data on the use of Project Bank Accounts for other departments.