Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to align Skills Bootcamps funding and delivery with their ambition to position the UK as a global leader in AI and digital innovation; and how they plan to ensure that the workforce is equipped with critical skills to drive economic growth.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape. Latest published data shows that in the 2022/23 financial year, the majority of Skills Bootcamps were in the digital sector, with 61% of starts in digital.
This financial year, Skills Bootcamps are available in digital marketing, cyber security, software engineering, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas can use their grant funding for Skills Bootcamps in the digital sector where they have identified a local need.
The department recognises the long term importance of supporting learners and employers to develop digital skills. In addition to Skills Bootcamps, learners and employers can benefit from more than 30 high quality digital apprenticeship standards, including the level 3 cyber security technician standard and the level 5 data engineer standard. Learners can study three Digital T Levels which include AI content and there are 77 Higher Technical Qualifications approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers, including AI skills.
The role of Skills England will include developing a coherent picture of our national and regional skills needs, and shaping the technical education needed to meet that demand.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure that their programmes meet the significant demand for Skills Bootcamps in AI, data and other high-growth areas and continue to deliver high-impact results for learners and employers.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape. Latest published data shows that in the 2022/23 financial year, the majority of Skills Bootcamps were in the digital sector, with 61% of starts in digital.
This financial year, Skills Bootcamps are available in digital marketing, cyber security, software engineering, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas can use their grant funding for Skills Bootcamps in the digital sector where they have identified a local need.
The department recognises the long term importance of supporting learners and employers to develop digital skills. In addition to Skills Bootcamps, learners and employers can benefit from more than 30 high quality digital apprenticeship standards, including the level 3 cyber security technician standard and the level 5 data engineer standard. Learners can study three Digital T Levels which include AI content and there are 77 Higher Technical Qualifications approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers, including AI skills.
The role of Skills England will include developing a coherent picture of our national and regional skills needs, and shaping the technical education needed to meet that demand.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to protect and strengthen partnerships with Skills Bootcamps amid funding uncertainties and to recognise the role of curricula co-designed with employers in driving learner success and meeting economic needs.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape and, in the longer term, the department intends to fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and local areas directly. Placing local areas in control of the delivery of all Skills Bootcamps will support better outcomes for learners and employers, with provision based on local need and directed by local knowledge and insights.
At present Skills Bootcamps remain available for learners via national contracts and grant funding in local areas. Existing national contracts remain in place until the end of their term.
The department is not planning any more competitions for national delivery of Skills Bootcamps. National providers have been informed of these changes and we will provide further information on contract extensions and variations in due course.
We will encourage providers to work with their local MCA or Local Enterprise Partnership to find out more about how they can work with them to deliver adult skills training.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure that recently reprofiled and returned funds relating to Skills Bootcamps are swiftly and effectively redistributed to providers with a proven track record of delivering results.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape and, in the longer term, the department intends to fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and local areas directly. Placing local areas in control of the delivery of all Skills Bootcamps will support better outcomes for learners and employers, with provision based on local need and directed by local knowledge and insights.
At present Skills Bootcamps remain available for learners via national contracts and grant funding in local areas. Existing national contracts remain in place until the end of their term.
The department is not planning any more competitions for national delivery of Skills Bootcamps. National providers have been informed of these changes and we will provide further information on contract extensions and variations in due course.
We will encourage providers to work with their local MCA or Local Enterprise Partnership to find out more about how they can work with them to deliver adult skills training.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to giving short-term contract extensions for high-performing Skills Bootcamps providers that can demonstrate their ability to meet milestones and deliver outcomes by 31 March 2025.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape and, in the longer term, the department intends to fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and local areas directly. Placing local areas in control of the delivery of all Skills Bootcamps will support better outcomes for learners and employers, with provision based on local need and directed by local knowledge and insights.
At present Skills Bootcamps remain available for learners via national contracts and grant funding in local areas. Existing national contracts remain in place until the end of their term.
The department is not planning any more competitions for national delivery of Skills Bootcamps. National providers have been informed of these changes and we will provide further information on contract extensions and variations in due course.
We will encourage providers to work with their local MCA or Local Enterprise Partnership to find out more about how they can work with them to deliver adult skills training.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will provide timelines and guidance for the procurement process to support strategic planning and ensure uninterrupted delivery for the 2025–26 Skills Bootcamp funding.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape and, in the longer term, the department intends to fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and local areas directly. Placing local areas in control of the delivery of all Skills Bootcamps will support better outcomes for learners and employers, with provision based on local need and directed by local knowledge and insights.
At present Skills Bootcamps remain available for learners via national contracts and grant funding in local areas. Existing national contracts remain in place until the end of their term.
The department is not planning any more competitions for national delivery of Skills Bootcamps. National providers have been informed of these changes and we will provide further information on contract extensions and variations in due course.
We will encourage providers to work with their local MCA or Local Enterprise Partnership to find out more about how they can work with them to deliver adult skills training.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many automated decision-making systems are currently in use by the Department for Education, even partially, to make decisions that affect people’s legal rights or entitlements; and how many of those systems have publicly available equality impact assessments or data protection impact assessments or both.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer of 24 July 2023 to Question 194009.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of health of the (1) study of, and (2) research into, pure mathematics in Higher Education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)
The government strongly supports mathematical sciences in higher education. Ensuring that there is high-quality provision in a range of subjects is critical in order to build our workforce and support our public services.
We are pleased many students chose to take up courses in mathematical sciences (39,210 students in England in the 2019/20 academic year). Our student loan system supports students who have the qualifications to access higher education, including a range of mathematics courses. In the 2019/20 academic year, a total of £300 million was made available as tuition fee and maintenance loans for students doing maths courses. Breakdowns of higher education enrolments in England can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-49.
The UK continues to be a world leader in mathematics. Following the government’s announcement in January 2020 to invest additional funding into Mathematical Sciences, UK Research and Innovation has awarded £104 million of additional funding to the discipline, over and above the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s core Mathematical Sciences Theme budget. The additional investment has funded institutes, small and large research grants, fellowships, doctoral studentships and postdoctoral awards.
Furthermore, the department has funded the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP) since 2018, providing support to schools and colleges to improve the effectiveness of level 3 maths teaching and increase participation, providing tailored support to schools and colleges. To ensure that the programme is targeted at those students, teachers, schools and colleges most in need, the AMSP provides support through a priority area programme and a national programme.
The AMSP delivers high quality teacher professional development as well as focused support and enrichment for students and institutions across A level mathematics, further mathematics and core maths to improve participation and provision in level 3 mathematics through targeted support.
The AMSP provides targeted support for students preparing for study at higher education. Over summer 2021 the AMSP ran a 4 to 6 week supported self-study programme of approximately 30 learning hours for year 13 students to support transition to higher education.
The AMSP also provides regular higher level problem solving classes and other support and information for students considering studying maths and maths-rich subjects at university and helps them to prepare for university admission tests.
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of applicants to pharmacy schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
Universities are autonomous bodies, independent from government, and they have control over decisions about who to admit to their courses. However, overall numbers of students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are rising. We are encouraging more students into STEM, at all stages of their education, and in 2019 there were 54,000 more entries to STEM A levels than in 2010 – a 26% increase. Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) also shows that the share of students studying science subjects at English higher education institutions has increased from 41% in 2010/11 to 46% in 2018/19.
In 2018/19, there were 3,020 full-time undergraduate enrolments to pharmacy, up from 2,715 in 2010/11[1].
Despite rising STEM student numbers, we are far from complacent and we know that employer groups continue to point to an unmet demand for higher level STEM skills. Effective careers guidance and advice is key to supporting young people in their education and career choices to undertake learning and develop skills in the areas employers are looking for. The government’s Careers Strategy sets out a long-term plan to build a world class careers system to achieve this ambition. We are increasing the information available to students to ensure they can make informed choices about what and where to study. The delivery of the Careers Strategy also ensures that STEM encounters, such as with employers and apprenticeships, are built into school career programmes.
[1] Department for Education's analysis of HESA student record
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the consequences for mutual recognition of music qualifications if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Music qualifications are not included in the EU Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive. The EU only has supporting competence in education and there is no EU law on the recognition of academic qualifications.