Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional financial support and assistance they are providing the World Food Programme to develop an effective response to the risk of food insecurity in Africa.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
The UK is one of the main Government partners of the World Food Programme and the third largest Donor (in 2019 we contributed over $700 million to the Agency). We are also supporting other UN Agencies with a mandate to address the risk of food insecurity such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development and promoting synergic and coordinated programmes to maximise efficiencies and outcomes.
Our support to the World Food Programme includes financial support both from the centre and at country level (in 2019 we supported World Food Programme programmes in 26 countries, 18 of which are in Africa), including on preparedness to better deal with extreme weather events, and agricultural issues. We also assist with policy steer and advocacy, as we lead on global efforts against the fall-army worm, assessments on early warning systems and climate change. Lastly, we also provide technical assistance to local production to support smallholder farmers and support cash-based transfers in humanitarian settings.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all further education students who are (1) 16 or17 years old receive at least 540 teaching hours, and (2) 18 years old or over receive at least 450 teaching hours.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, most students are not able to attend education at present and therefore cannot receive planned teaching hours in person.
In the guidance issued by the government on maintaining education and skills training provision in further education providers, we are clear that we want learners to be able to continue to study. Colleges and providers are moving more learning online to allow students to continue with studies remotely and we have provided advice and signposted to support to help with this.
Where young people are not able to learn online because they lack or cannot afford suitable devices or internet connectivity, we are encouraging 16-19 education providers to help using the 16-19 Bursary Fund. Top-up funding will be available where necessary to support 16-19 education providers with this.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in (1) improving further education, (2) meeting future skills needs, and (3) supporting economic and social recovery, since the publication of their Industrial Strategy: Building a Britain fit for the future White Paper in June 2018.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We have supported further education (FE) colleges through the Restructuring Facility, investing £405 million and enabling significant restructurings to take place across a range of FE colleges to help achieve long-term sustainability and delivery of high quality, sustainable provision.
We have also invested in FE teaching (to date, spending £24 million to help providers prepare for the introduction of T levels) and announced an additional £20 million in FE workforce development to help increase teacher recruitment and retention. We have also committed to invest £1.5 billion in England over the next Parliament to upgrade the college estate.
Through the Industrial Strategy, we have committed an investment of £406 million in education and skills. Since its launch, we have invested over £1 billion in total to support learners throughout their education. We have also announced extra investment of £400 million in 16-19 education in 2020-21, which is an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding and the biggest injection of new money in a single year since 2010.
We are also delivering a long-term programme to reform the post-16 skills system to address national and local productivity challenges, ensuring that businesses and individuals have the skills they need to meet the needs of the new economy. These reforms include involving employers in the design of new apprenticeship standards to ensure they are more responsive to their needs. We are also introducing T levels from 2020, with longer teaching hours and substantive industry placements to provide a high quality technical alternative to academic learning. Additionally, the Adult Education Budget will fully fund or co-fund skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3 (including traineeships) to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. In addition, we are developing a new £3 billion National Skills Fund to upskill workers and prepare for the economy of the future.
These measures will support the 2017 Industrial Strategy, which focuses on strengthening productivity by encouraging innovation, developing high quality jobs, supporting UK businesses and fostering growth throughout the UK to create an economy that works for everyone.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to facilitate local college mergers which (1) are in the interests of learners, (2) build financial resilience, and (3) ensure that provision serves local communities, especially in areas of disadvantage.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Further education (FE) colleges can sometimes benefit from structural change to strengthen quality of delivery for learners, financial health, or enhance their capacity to respond to local labour market needs. The College Oversight: Support and Intervention guidance (also attached), published in April 2019, sets out how structural change is delivered in the sector.
Structural reviews, led by the FE Commissioner’s team and supported by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and department officials provide a means of assessing the structural solutions for a college for the future. Reviews assess potential options against the needs of learners, the long term financial sustainability of potential solutions and consult with key local stakeholders such as local authorities to ensure their views are heard and local circumstances are taken into account.
Post-merger support is provided by the ESFA and the FE Commissioner Team to monitor colleges on their performance after mergers have completed.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the review by Dame Mary Ney into college financial monitoring, commissioned in August 2019.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Ministers are currently considering the report from the Independent Review of College Financial Oversight, carried out by Dame Mary Ney DBE.
The department plans to publish the report, with the government response, in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to extend the 24-month period during which levy-paying training providers can spend Apprenticeship Levy funds.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The apprenticeship levy is paid by all UK employers with a pay bill in excess of £3 million. Levy-paying employers in England use an award-winning apprenticeship service to manage their funds, make payments to training providers, and transfer funds to other organisations.
Funds available to employers expire on a rolling, month-by-month basis after 24 months, where they have not been spent. We anticipated that levy-payers would use various amounts available to them, with only some spending all funds available to them. Individual levy-paying employers have full control over when and where apprenticeship funds are spent to meet their current and future skills needs, including by using transfers to support the sustainable development of skills in their supply chain or local area. Where employers are not spending funds available to them and the availability expires, the budget is used to support apprenticeships taken forward by other large and small employers.
When the levy was introduced, we responded to feedback from employers and representative bodies to increase the expiry period for these funds from 18 to 24 months, and currently have no plans to extend it further. In February 2019, we introduced a tool on the apprenticeship service to help employers estimate their funds and plan for expiry.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of student teaching hours in further education.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The department currently expects that 16 and 17 year olds in full time education at colleges and school sixth forms are provided with, on average, 600 planned hours of education a year, although many receive more than this. This is ample time, for example for the teaching of 3 A-Levels or a substantial technical qualification, with time for other activities to support young people’s development such as mentoring, additional tuition or work experience.
New T Level qualifications will start to be delivered from September this year. These are larger and more demanding technical education programmes, which on average we expect to be 900 hours per year including a substantial industry placement. T Levels programmes will receive additional funding to pay for the additional hours.
The government has announced increased 16-19 funding in 2020-21 of £400 million – an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding and the biggest injection of new money in a single year since 2010. Providers may use some of this additional funding to provide more teaching hours for some students, for example those who do not yet have maths and/or English GCSEs at grade 4 or above, for whom £35 million of the additional funding will be allocated.
The arrangements for adult education are more flexible as the teaching hours provided relate specifically to what qualifications or programmes individual students choose to study and their mode of attendance is subject to agreement between individual providers and their students.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which, if any, recommendations from the Post-18 Education and Funding Review they plan to implement; and what is the intended timescale for implementation.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
We want to ensure we have a joined-up education system that is accessible to all and encourages the development of the skills we need as a country.
Philip Augar and his independent panel have made thoughtful recommendations on tuition fee levels and loan repayment, the balance of funding between universities, further education, apprenticeships and adult learning, and we are considering all these recommendations carefully.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to extend the pupil premium to post-16 education.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government is determined to ensure that disadvantaged students are supported in their post-16 education. The national funding formula for 16 to 19 year olds and the funding through the Adult Education Budget both include a disadvantage uplift. This provides extra funding for disadvantaged students (specifically for those with low prior attainment or those who live in the most disadvantaged areas). We will continue to consider how we can most effectively support disadvantaged students in post-16 education, and will continue to keep financial arrangements under review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Winchester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a long-term plan to support adult education, retraining and lifelong learning.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
We have a number of current and future programmes in place, and planned, to support adults and lifelong learning.
Our adult skills system seeks to improve productivity, employment levels and social inclusion. It supports people who are starting out in their careers, those who want to upskill and those who want or need to change careers.
Adult skills and lifelong learning provision includes:
The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3 (including traineeships) to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. It also enables flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available which do not need to include a qualification. From 1 August 2019, approximately half of the AEB has been devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Mayor of London acting through the Greater London Authority (GLA). From this date the MCAs and the GLA can use the devolved AEB to shape education and skills provision in a way that best fits the needs of their residents and local economy. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will be responsible for funding AEB learners resident in non-devolved areas.
Part-time and flexible courses are key to enabling adults to access higher education. The government has taken steps to ensure the funding system supports more flexible learning at undergraduate degree level. This includes introducing part-time tuition fee loans to cover the upfront cost of part-time courses, part-time students being able to access full-time equivalent maintenance loans and removing the equivalent or lower qualification restrictions for all part-time STEM degree courses.
The National Retraining Scheme is a new programme which is currently being developed as part of the government’s answer to the transforming world of work. The National Retraining Scheme will help prepare adults for the future changes to the economy, including those brought about by automation, and help them retrain into better jobs.
Our reforms to apprenticeships are benefiting people of all ages and backgrounds, including adults developing their skills. We have given employers the flexibility to offer apprenticeships to both new recruits and existing staff, supporting the creation of quality workplace training opportunities and life-long learning.