Asked by: Lord Haskel (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to modify the Apprenticeship Levy scheme to address (1) dissatisfaction from participants, and (2) concerns about its effectiveness.
Answered by Baroness Penn
The Apprenticeship Levy is a key part of the Government’s reforms to the apprenticeship system. It enables employers to make a long-term and sustainable investment in high-quality apprenticeship training.
The Government recognises that employers have frustrations with the way that these Apprenticeship Levy funds can be spent within the apprenticeships system and is delivering a suite of improvements to address these. These include the improvements announced at Spending Review 2021, such as introducing an enhanced recruitment service for SMEs, supporting the use of flexible training models, and introducing a return-on-investment tool to ensure employers can see the benefits that apprentices create in their business.
The Government’s ambition is to encourage greater levels of private sector investment in employee training, both for apprentices and for employees more generally. Therefore, at Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that he would consider whether further intervention is needed to encourage employers to offer the high-quality training the UK needs. This will include examining whether the current tax system – including the operation of the Apprenticeship Levy – is doing enough to incentivise businesses to invest in the right kinds of training.
While there will not be a formal review of the Apprenticeship Levy as part of this wider consideration on employer investment in training, the Government is committed to protecting the quality of apprenticeship training and further improving the system to respond to the concerns raised by employers.
Asked by: Lord Haskel (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the transmission of COVID-19 by reducing the use of paper in supply chains; and whether the regulations on (1) e-signatures, and (2) e-transactions, apply to every aspect of a supply chain.
Answered by Lord Callanan
According to the World Health Organisation, the likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package, including paper package, that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperate is also low.
The Government has endorsed the conclusions reached in the Law Commission’s report Electronic Execution of Documents that the existing legal framework in England and Wales makes clear that businesses and individuals can feel confident in using e-signatures in commercial transactions.
Asked by: Lord Haskel (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 2 November (HL Deb, cols 1434-5), in implementing the Made Smarter Review what arrangements they will make for those who are displaced by digitalisation; whether they intend to introduce a safety net; and what procedures will be implemented to ensure that people are not damaged by its introduction.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government believes that digitalisation of industry has the potential to achieve great benefits for the labour market, which can offset the impact of job displacement. Extensive research conducted for the review found that industrial digitalisation can result in a net gain of 175,000 jobs. However, government recognises that there will be challenges of job displacement in the short term and has already made preparations to mitigate this (see below).
We are working closely with industry and experts to consider its findings.
Examples of specific action government is taking now to upskill the current workforce and future workforce include:
Asked by: Lord Haskel (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the operating costs of the proposed National College for High Speed Rail; and how those costs will be met.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Business Plan and Capital Application for the National College were submitted to the Department on 16 July. The proposals provide an estimate of the operating costs of the college and potential income sources. As an independent body, the college will be responsible for all decisions about the operations of the college and how these costs will be met. Employers will be expected to contribute towards these costs through investment in training and the provision of equipment.