Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
These initiatives were driven by Lord Jones, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Jones has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Jones has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Government intends to make an announcement on the launch of Great British Nuclear (GBN) soon. GBN will be tasked with helping projects through every stage of the development process and developing a resilient pipeline of new build projects.
The Government will also develop a new nuclear National Policy Statement, which will cover the siting and policy framework for nuclear electricity generating infrastructure beyond 2025, and will consult on this new NPS in due course.
In the meantime, the Government continues to discuss new projects with viable companies and investors wishing to develop sites, including in North Wales.
In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government set out its ambitious civil nuclear programme and the Government is committed to ensuring that the UK is one of the best places in the world to invest in new nuclear.
No decisions have yet been taken over the siting of future nuclear projects. However, the Government engages with a range of Welsh stakeholders, including the Welsh Government and Welsh Government-funded bodies, on nuclear issues including Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). The Government will continue to engage on nuclear-related issues.
UKRI’s allocations were published on 30th May 2022. This details UKRI’s budget for the for the financial years 2022-2023 to 2024-2025, as set out below:
UKRI Allocation Plans 2022-2023 to 2024-2025 (£m)
2022-23 | 2022-24 | 2024-25 | Total over SR21 (2022-2023 to 2024-2025 |
7,904 | 8,373 | 8,874 | 25,151 |
At the 2022 Autumn Statement, my Rt Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer reaffirmed the R&D budget for the 2021 Spending Review period, including a recommitment to increasing public expenditure on R&D to £20 billion per annum by 2024/2025.
Dr Ilan Gur and Matt Clifford MBE took up post as the Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) founding Chief Executive Officer and Chair, respectively, on 15 August 2022. The rest of ARIA’s senior leadership team are now being appointed. As with other arm’s length bodies, Board remuneration information will be published in the Agency’s annual reports and accounts.
Dr Ilan Gur and Matt Clifford MBE took up post as the Advanced Research and Invention Agency’s (ARIA) founding Chief Executive Officer and Chair, respectively, on 15 August 2022. The rest of ARIA’s senior leadership team are now being appointed. As with other arm’s length bodies, Board remuneration information will be published in the Agency’s annual reports and accounts.
I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 2nd November 2022 to Question HL2736. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold the requested information. Government innovation funding is generally not allocated on a sector-by-sector basis but is instead targeted towards specific research questions. Many research, development and innovation programmes support multiple sectors. For example, the Government invested £22.25m in 2018/19 and £28.34m in 2019/20 through the Transforming Construction Challenge (TCC), which supported energy, digital and manufacturing innovators to work with the construction sector.
The Office for National Statistics publishes annual data on research and development expenditure by the UK government. Their latest data up to 2020, released in April 2022, is available on the ONS website.
Worksheet 3 of that publication gives total figures of £12,765 million in 2018, £13,542 million in 2019 and £15,266 million in 2020. These figures include indicative UK contributions to EU R&D expenditure but exclude expenditure on knowledge transfer.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not hold the requested information. Government innovation funding is generally not allocated on a sector-by-sector basis, but is instead targeted towards specific research questions. Many research, development and innovation programmes support multiple sectors, including UK Research and Innovations’s Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge, which includes support for R&D initiatives within the chemicals and metals manufacturing sectors. The Government also invested £685 million of funding the over three years to support green aerospace technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme.
The provisions of the ARIA Bill will commence once a sufficient number of its members have been appointed. We expect this to take place in Autumn 2022.
ARIA will consist of executive and non-executive members. The executive members are the Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Finance Officer and between two and five others. The non-executive members are the Chair, the Government Chief Scientific Advisor, and a number of others appointed by the Secretary of State. There must be a majority of non-executive members.
In line with the principle of strategic and operational autonomy, ARIA’s leadership, not Ministers, will determine which programmes present the greatest opportunities for investment in transformational scientific research.
We are currently advertising the ARIA Chair role at a time commitment of approximately 1 day per week. Remuneration will be £148,500 full-time equivalent (£29,700 on 1 day per week). These terms are in keeping with other comparable roles across the public sector.
In 2020, the proportion of the UK workforce engaged in the UK aerospace industry was estimated to be 0.3%.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes estimates of flow of research and development (R&D) funds from government to other sectors. Table 9 of its annual publication on research and development (R&D) expenditure by the UK government shows that the aggregate destination of gross R&D expenditure (broader than grants) includes the following figures for private industry and public corporations:
£million | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 |
Civil | 576 | 895 | 1,149 |
Defence | 1,359 | 1,286 | 893 |
Gross Total | 1,935 | 2,181 | 2,042 |
Source: Research and Development Expenditure by the UK Government: 2019 |
The ONS also publishes figures for UK Business Enterprise R&D. Table 3 on sources of funds gives the following figures for businesses reporting funding from the UK Government:
£million | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 |
UK Government | 1,407 | 1,817 | 1,829 |
Source: Business Enterprise Research and Development, UK: 2020 |
Government support for business R&D also includes R&D tax credit schemes. HM Revenue and Customs publishes R&D Tax Credits Statistics and Table 2 gives the cost of support claimed for the R&D tax credit for all schemes by financial year on an accounting period basis:
£million | 2010-11 | 2015-16 | 2019-20 (provisional) |
Claims | 1,110 | 3,975 | 7,445 |
Source: Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics: September 2021 |
The numbers below are taken from the Office for National Statistics survey of Business Enterprise R&D on what industry reported it received as public funding, by product. They do not include support through R&D tax credits; nor do they completely cover all public R&D expenditure which may be directly or indirectly related to particular products. The figures below are available for 2010, and the latest numbers are for 2019 (with the next update due later this year).
The reported figures for 2010 were:
The reported figures for 2019 were:
The Government and industry have made a joint commitment to invest £3.9 billion in aerospace research and development (R&D) from 2013 to 2026. The Government’s share of the £1.95 billion is managed through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. An annual breakdown of expenditure and budgets for the years requested is set out in the table below:
Fiscal Year | Expenditure (£m) | Allocated Budget (£m) |
2018/19 | 140 | 154 |
2019/20 | 149 | 150 |
2020/21 | N/A | 150 |
The aerospace industry is also supported through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). Around £60 million was allocated to a suite of high-value manufacturing aerospace projects in 2017, and aerospace companies are eligible for the current ISCF challenges, such as the Future Flight Challenge (£125 million) and Driving the Electric Revolution (£80 million).
The Government and industry have made a joint commitment to invest £3.9 billion in aerospace research and development (R&D) from 2013 to 2026. The Government’s share of the £1.95 billion is managed through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. An annual breakdown of expenditure and budgets for the years requested is set out in the table below:
Fiscal Year | Expenditure (£m) | Allocated Budget (£m) |
2018/19 | 140 | 154 |
2019/20 | 149 | 150 |
2020/21 | N/A | 150 |
The aerospace industry is also supported through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF). Around £60 million was allocated to a suite of high-value manufacturing aerospace projects in 2017, and aerospace companies are eligible for the current ISCF challenges, such as the Future Flight Challenge (£125 million) and Driving the Electric Revolution (£80 million).
We are supporting the aerospace industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, with £1.95 billion of funding for research and development (R&D), matched by industry, over 13 years up to 2026.
UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also providing £125 million to the Future Flight Challenge for research on greener ways of flying through advances in electric and autonomous flight technology, which is expected to generate an additional £175 million of match-funding from industry. We are also co-investing in aerospace productivity improvement and innovation programmes to support small and medium-sized businesses, backed with over £135 million of public funding.
In addition, the aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with over £8.5 billion of support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for R&D, loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports. We are in discussion with the sector, through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, about how to best support the industry to recover.
Industry and Government have made a joint commitment to invest £3.9 billion in aerospace R&D from 2013 to 2026. The Government’s share of £1.95 billion is managed through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. An annual breakdown of expenditure and budgets for the years requested is set out in the table below:
Fiscal Year | Expenditure (£m) | Allocated Budget (£m) |
2015/16 | 126 | 150 |
2016/17 | 146 | 148 |
2017/18 | 149 | 150 |
2018/19 | 140 | 154 |
2019/20 | n/a | 150 |
2020/21 | n/a | 150 |
Industry and Government have made a joint commitment to invest £3.9 billion in aerospace R&D from 2013 to 2026. The Government’s share of £1.95 billion is managed through the Aerospace Technology Institute Programme. An annual breakdown of expenditure and budgets for the years requested is set out in the table below:
Fiscal Year | Expenditure (£m) | Allocated Budget (£m) |
2015/16 | 126 | 150 |
2016/17 | 146 | 148 |
2017/18 | 149 | 150 |
2018/19 | 140 | 154 |
2019/20 | n/a | 150 |
2020/21 | n/a | 150 |
The Office for National Statistics estimates that expenditure on R&D performed in UK businesses was about £25.0bn in 2018, of which about £16.3 billion was related to manufactured products. Most of this was financed by businesses themselves. Data for 2019 is planned for release in November.
The Government announced in Budget 2020 that it will be increasing overall R&D funding to £22 billion by 2024/24 and further plans will be set out at Spending Review later this year.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the agency that directs research and innovation funding in the UK, supports research into new processes and materials across different areas of manufacturing and supports businesses engaged in R&D through Innovate UK.
The proportion of females starting apprenticeships in Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies has risen from 7.3% in the 2017/18 academic year to 10.6% in the 2020/21 academic year.
The department wants to see even more women accessing traditionally male-dominated fields such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) and those that offer the highest wage returns. 15% of starts in STEM apprenticeships were by women in the 2020/21 academic year, up from 11% in 2019/20 and 10% in 2018/19.
Our Apprenticeships Diversity Champions Network is championing gender representation amongst employers in industries where improvement is needed, including engineering and manufacturing. The network published a report during National Apprenticeship Week 2022 sharing best practice and hints and tips for employers to improve diversity in apprenticeships. In addition, our Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) Programme is continuing to provide free resources to promote STEM apprenticeships to girls in schools.
We are working with the Apprenticeships in Manufacturing (AiM) group, which includes industry partners such as Make UK and Enginuity, to grow the number of high-quality apprenticeships in the manufacturing sector.
Apprenticeships are available from level 2, equivalent to GCSE level, through to level 6, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, and level 7, equivalent to a master’s degree. The attached file contains male/female breakdowns by apprenticeship level for apprenticeship starts from the 2017/18 to 2020/21 academic years.
Apprenticeship achievements from 2017/18 to 2020/21 are shown in the table below:
Academic Year | Achievements |
2017/18 | 276,160 |
2018/19 | 185,150 |
2019/20 | 146,900 |
2020/21 | 156,530 |
Total achievements are the count of apprenticeships achieved at any point during the stated academic period. Learners achieving more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.
Further information on apprenticeships starts and achievements can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Apprenticeships are available from level 2, equivalent to GCSE level, through to level 6, equivalent to a bachelor’s degree, and level 7, equivalent to a master’s degree. The attached file contains male/female breakdowns by apprenticeship level for apprenticeship starts from the 2017/18 to 2020/21 academic years.
Apprenticeship achievements from 2017/18 to 2020/21 are shown in the table below:
Academic Year | Achievements |
2017/18 | 276,160 |
2018/19 | 185,150 |
2019/20 | 146,900 |
2020/21 | 156,530 |
Total achievements are the count of apprenticeships achieved at any point during the stated academic period. Learners achieving more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.
Further information on apprenticeships starts and achievements can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
The National Tutoring Programme has a budget of £1.01 billion for the duration of the 3 year programme. The department does not hold data on how many tutors currently work in the programme
Schools are employing tutors by using their share of the £579 million school-led tutoring grant. Last term, 256,000 courses started with these tutors.
56 approved tuition partners are contracted with the department’s delivery partner, Randstad, to provide tutoring. Each tutoring organisation commits to delivering a minimum of 500 15-hour tuition courses.
As of 12 December 2021, an estimated 20,000 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through academic mentors in the 2021/22 academic year.
The National Tutoring Programme has a budget of £1.01 billion for the duration of the 3 year programme. The department does not hold data on how many tutors currently work in the programme
Schools are employing tutors by using their share of the £579 million school-led tutoring grant. Last term, 256,000 courses started with these tutors.
56 approved tuition partners are contracted with the department’s delivery partner, Randstad, to provide tutoring. Each tutoring organisation commits to delivering a minimum of 500 15-hour tuition courses.
As of 12 December 2021, an estimated 20,000 starts had been made by pupils on courses of tuition provided through academic mentors in the 2021/22 academic year.
The department allocates annual condition funding to schools and those responsible for school buildings. Since 2015, the department has allocated £11.3 billion to maintain and improve school buildings, including £1.8 billion for the financial year 2021-22.
Local authorities (LAs), large multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided (VA) school bodies receive an annual school condition allocation to invest in capital maintenance and upgrades across the schools for which they are responsible. Stand-alone schools, small academy trusts and smaller VA bodies are eligible to apply for funding through the Condition Improvement Fund.
All schools also receive funding to spend on their capital priorities through an annual devolved formula capital allocation.
In addition to condition allocations, we deliver major rebuilding programmes centrally, including the Priority Schools Building Programme, which is rebuilding or refurbishing more than 500 schools in the poorest condition. In June 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced a new 10-year School Rebuilding Programme. We have announced the first 100 schools to benefit from the programme, as part of a commitment to 500 projects over the next decade.
In the 2015-16 financial year, the department allocated a total of £5.1 billion in capital funding to schools, including funding for rebuilding projects and to deliver school places. This includes £1,399,601,236 in condition funding to schools and those responsible for school buildings. You can find the allocations for individual schools here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-capital-funding. This funding is not broken down between primary and secondary schools because much of the funding was allocated to LAs, academy trusts and VA school bodies to invest based on local knowledge.
In the 2000-01 financial year, the department allocated £1.9 billion in capital funding for schools. A breakdown of how this funding was spent across different projects is not readily available.
As of 1 January 2022, there are 6,474 primary academies and free schools, and 2,768 secondary academies, free schools, university technical colleges and studio schools. Primary academies include middle-deemed primary schools, whilst secondary academies include all-through schools, middle-deemed secondary schools and 16 to 19 academies.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of teachers and classroom assistants, is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistics publication at https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england. The latest information is as of November 2020. Figures for November 2021 will be published in May 2022.
In November 2020, there were 204,847 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers and 151,865 FTE teaching assistants employed in local authority-maintained schools in England.
Table 1: Teacher and teaching assistants in England, by school type, FTE numbers
November 2020
School type | Teachers | Teaching Assistants |
LA maintained nursery and primary | 138,435 | 111,411 |
LA maintained secondary | 47,294 | 11,532 |
LA maintained special or Pupil Referral Unit | 15,398 | 26,765 |
Centrally employed | 3,720 | 2,157 |
Total | 204,847 | 151,865 |
Source: School Workforce Census 2020
In the 2019/20 academic year, women accounted for 49% of all apprenticeship starts.
The representation of women in science, technology, engineering, construction, digital and maths (STEM) is increasing, in the 2019/20 academic year, women accounted for 11.4% of STEM apprenticeship starts, up from 10.1% in 2018/19 and 8.8% in 2017/18.
We are working with some of the country’s most influential employers in the manufacturing sector through the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network, including Siemens, Bombardier and Rolls-Royce, who are actively increasing female representation in STEM roles. The Network is also seeking to share examples of employer best practice in bringing women onto STEM apprenticeships and successfully retaining them. The Network will report during National Apprenticeship Week 2022 on how to better reach out to target underrepresented groups and improve retention.
Our Apprenticeship Support & Knowledge programme is raising awareness of apprenticeships in schools, encouraging female students to consider apprenticeships in traditionally male dominated fields. This free service provides schools and teachers with resources and interventions to help better educate young people about apprenticeships. We have seen involvement from large employers such as Toyota who delivered interactive live broadcasts to promote careers in STEM to students, increasing their awareness of the available opportunities in the manufacturing industry.
In the 2021-22 financial year funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England is almost £2.5 billion, double what was spent in the 2010-11 financial year. Employers of all sizes can access funding for apprenticeship training and assessment. There is no ring-fenced annual apprenticeship budget for any individual sector, such as the manufacturing sector.
Employers in all sectors are able to choose which apprenticeships they offer, and when, in order to meet their skills needs. There are over 140 high-quality employer-designed apprenticeship standards in the engineering and manufacturing sector available for employers to use, including the level 3 print technician standard and the level 5 food and drink engineer standard. In the 2019/20 academic year, there were 52,000 apprenticeship starts in the engineering and manufacturing technologies sector.
To help employers in all sectors to offer new apprenticeships, employers can claim a £3,000 incentive payment for each apprentice they take on as a new employee until 30 September, as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. This is paid in addition to the funding available to employers for training and assessing apprentices, and the extra payments we already make to support employers and providers meet the needs of the youngest apprentices and those with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Individual employers can choose how to spend the incentive payment to support their apprentices, including meeting any of the costs associated with supporting a new apprentice in the workplace, such as uniforms or travel costs.
We are continually reviewing the effectiveness of careers policy. We are aware that information on education or training options provided by schools at key transition points too often fails to correct, or even reinforces, the impression that technical education, including apprenticeships, is somehow second-best to academic study.
Through the ‘Baker Clause’, introduced in January 2018, all maintained schools and academies must publish a policy statement setting out opportunities for providers of technical education courses and apprenticeships to visit schools to talk to all year 8 to year 13 pupils, and to make sure that the policy is followed.
A January 2019 report by the Institute for Public Policy Research found that, whilst one in three schools say the situation improved in the year since the Baker Clause was introduced, only 40% of schools were complying with the Baker Clause.
In the Skills for Jobs White Paper, the department announced plans to go further to improve compliance with the Baker Clause through the introduction of a 3-point-plan. This is an important step towards real choice for every pupil. We will create clear minimum legal requirements, specifying who is to be given access to which pupils and when. We will take tougher formal action to enforce compliance. The government’s investment in careers will be conditional on Baker Clause compliance.
Through the work of the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), we are increasing young people’s exposure to the world of work and supporting schools and colleges to achieve the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance. As set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper, we will continue the national roll-out of Careers Hubs, digital support, Careers Leader training and the Enterprise Adviser Network to all secondary schools in England. This will continue to accelerate the progress of all schools and colleges towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks so that all young people are equipped to make informed career and learning decisions.
We have also committed in the Skills for Jobs White Paper to take steps to improve both local and national alignment between the CEC and the National Careers Service to create a clear, all-age careers system. Professor Sir John Holman has been appointed as Independent Strategic Adviser on Careers Guidance and will advise on closer alignment of the National Careers Service and the CEC, based around 4 important principles:
The department is working closely with Professor Sir John Holman, the National Careers Service and CEC to agree what further action that can be taken across all 4 principles to make sure that young people and adults have access to a joined-up careers offer across their lifetime.
In the first two quarters of the 2020/21 academic year, reported to date, there were a total of 575,900 apprentices participating.
In the first two quarters of the 2015/16 academic year, there were 708,900 participating apprentices reported at the equivalent point that year. Finalised full year figures show there were 899,400 participating on an apprenticeship in the 2015/16 academic year.
In the first two quarters of the 2020/21 academic year, reported to date, there has been 269,200 female and 306,700 male apprentices participating.
In the first two quarters of the 2020/21 academic year, reported to date, there were a total of 575,900 apprentices participating.
In the first two quarters of the 2015/16 academic year, there were 708,900 participating apprentices reported at the equivalent point that year. Finalised full year figures show there were 899,400 participating on an apprenticeship in the 2015/16 academic year.
In the first two quarters of the 2020/21 academic year, reported to date, there has been 269,200 female and 306,700 male apprentices participating.
The department has published information on apprenticeship starts by broad industry sector between the academic years 2012/13 and 2019/20.
Apprenticeship starts relating to aerospace technology are not currently published separately, however they are most likely to be included in sector H: Transportation and Storage.
The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts by gender in the transportation and storage industry in the academic years 2017/18 to 2019/20.
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
Total matched apprenticeship starts | 364,840 | 366,170 | 301,410 |
Total Sector H: Transportation and Storage | 9,080 | 11,140 | 9,450 |
Male | 6,620 | 7,640 | 6,460 |
Female | 2,470 | 3,500 | 2,990 |
Regarding the number of apprentices in training in British airports, this information is not held centrally. For further information on apprenticeship starts by sector subject area or geographical location, the ‘Apprenticeships and traineeships: January 2021’ publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-january-2021.The data in the table above relates to apprenticeship starts where a match has been found between the Department for Education’s Individualised Learner Record and the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register. This match allows information about apprentices to be linked to business information relating to the apprentice’s employer. In the academic years 2017/18 to 2019/20, 93% of all apprenticeship starts were matched to an employer.
The department has published information on apprenticeship starts by broad industry sector between the academic years 2012/13 and 2019/20.
Apprenticeship starts relating to aerospace technology are not currently published separately, however they are most likely to be included in sector H: Transportation and Storage.
The following table shows the number of apprenticeship starts by gender in the transportation and storage industry in the academic years 2017/18 to 2019/20.
| 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 |
Total matched apprenticeship starts | 364,840 | 366,170 | 301,410 |
Total Sector H: Transportation and Storage | 9,080 | 11,140 | 9,450 |
Male | 6,620 | 7,640 | 6,460 |
Female | 2,470 | 3,500 | 2,990 |
Regarding the number of apprentices in training in British airports, this information is not held centrally. For further information on apprenticeship starts by sector subject area or geographical location, the ‘Apprenticeships and traineeships: January 2021’ publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-january-2021.The data in the table above relates to apprenticeship starts where a match has been found between the Department for Education’s Individualised Learner Record and the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register. This match allows information about apprentices to be linked to business information relating to the apprentice’s employer. In the academic years 2017/18 to 2019/20, 93% of all apprenticeship starts were matched to an employer.
The department collects data on the number of pupils who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 on a daily basis. This data is published from this collection at both national and local authority levels as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data is published from 9 September 2020, but prior to 12 October 2020 information on pupils who have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 was not comprehensively collected. This data is collected at school level, not pupil level.
As part of the publication, ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’, staff COVID-related absence data has been included in today’s release.
This data is as reported directly by schools via the department’s daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall. Further detail on this, from data owned elsewhere in government such as by Public Health England, can be found within the coronavirus in the UK dashboard: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga=2.91108568.335840232.1603021384-1347302696.1578321854, national COVID-19 surveillance reports: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports, and coronavirus infection survey pilot statistics: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19infectionsurveypilot/16october2020.
ONS has published results from the first round of the COVID-19 Schools Infections Survey (SIS), covering 3 November – 19 November, investigating prevalence levels among primary and secondary school students and staff. The SIS survey link presents a summary of estimates, with further data contained in the associated dataset. Comparisons between groups should be done with caution because of the small sample size. Results can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/covid19schoolsinfectionsurveyround1englandnovember2020.
We are improving the teaching of foreign languages through our £4.8 million MFL Pedagogy Pilot, which commenced in December 2018. It is managed by the newly appointed MFL Centre for Excellence and is run through nine school-led hubs, to strengthen languages teaching at key stages 3 and 4 and to improve take up and attainment in the subject.
Recruiting and retaining excellent languages teachers is also a priority for this government. This is why we are offering tax-free bursaries of £26,000 for languages trainees with a 2:2 degree or higher starting their teacher training in 2020/21. Languages teachers will also receive three early-career payments totalling £6,000 spread across years 2, 3 and 4 of teaching. Those teaching languages in 39 local authority areas we have identified as having high need for teachers will receive higher payments totalling £9,000.
The department is also offering prestigious scholarships to those starting their teacher training in 2020/21 in languages. These scholarships are delivered in partnership with the British Council and successful scholars will receive a tax-free bursary of £28,000, as well as the same early-career payments as those who receive a bursary. All successful scholars will also receive a package of support provided by the professional bodies including free membership, resources and early career support.
These targeted initiatives form part of our wider strategy to recruit and retain teachers. The impact of commitments in the strategy - such as the Early Career Framework and plans to raise starting salaries to £30,000 by 2022/23 - will be felt by teachers of all subjects, including languages.
In terms of wider support for languages study, the English Baccalaureate performance measure, which includes languages, has seen the proportion of GCSE entries from pupils in state-funded schools in a modern foreign language (MFL) increase from 40% in 2010 to 47% in 2019. The reformed national curriculum now makes it compulsory for pupils in maintained schools to be taught a foreign language in key stage 2.
The total number of sheep and lambs on agricultural holdings in the UK was estimated to be 33.58 million as at 1 June 2019.
(Source: UK Agriculture departments June Survey/Census of Agriculture)
The UK dairy herd was 1.87 million head as at 1 June 2019. Dairy herd is defined as female dairy cows aged two years and over with offspring.
(Source: Cattle Tracing System (CTS) in England, Wales and Scotland and the equivalent APHIS system in Northern Ireland)
By the end of February 2020, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) have paid £1.91 billion to farmers, land managers and foresters in England. The RPA fully appreciates how important these payments are and are working hard to ensure remaining payments are made as quickly as possible.
We are able to provide the number of farms within Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) which cover mountainous and hill farming areas. The LFAs are subdivided into two areas. The more environmentally challenging areas within LFAs are classed as ‘Severely Disadvantaged Areas’. The remainder are classified as ‘Disadvantaged Areas’.
Figures for England and Wales in 2018 are shown below:
| Number of holdings | |
England | Wales | |
Less Favoured Areas | 17,868 | 29,824 |
of which Disadvantaged Areas | 8,345 | 13,461 |
of which Severely Disadvantaged Areas | 9,523 | 16,363 |
Hill farmers will benefit from our future agriculture policies, along with other types of farmers and land managers. Having left the EU, we will replace the current subsidy system, which simply pays farmers based on the total amount of land farmed, and instead reward them for the work they do to enhance the environment and improve animal welfare. We will also help farmers to produce high quality food in a more sustainable way.
Our upland landscapes and habitats are well placed to provide the public goods that are valued by society and our intention is that upland farmers will be sufficiently rewarded to deliver them.
We want to give all farmers, including hill farmers in the uplands, as much certainty as possible. The Direct Payments to Farmers (Legislative Continuity) (DPLC) Bill has received Royal Assent in January 2020. It will provide continuity for farmers across all upland areas in the UK and ensure farming subsidies are paid for 2020. Furthermore, we have guaranteed that any projects under CAP Pillar 2 where funding has been agreed before the end of 2020 will be funded for their full lifetime. This means that the Government will continue to fund farmers, land managers and rural businesses for these projects until they finish.
Our Transition plans, as indicated in the new Agriculture Bill, are based on a seven-year Transition period. This will give hill farmers and land managers time to adapt and plan for the changes we need to make in moving to the new approach.
During the transition we will offer financial assistance to enable upland farmers to invest in the equipment, technology and infrastructure that they need to improve their productivity, manage the environment sustainably and deliver other public goods. We will be also be investing over £1 million in 2020 in a package for farmers to support their business resilience and personal wellbeing as we go through these changes.
Our new Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme will enable upland farmers to receive payment for the vital environmental public goods they provide, alongside the crucial role they play in vibrant communities and producing delicious food.
Upland farmers play a vital role as stewards of the countryside. They already provide many environmental benefits, such as clean air and water, and help maintain our most iconic landscapes. Upland farmers will therefore be well placed to benefit from our new ELM scheme, which will reward farmers for the public goods they provide.
Hill farms are an iconic part of our heritage. The new Agriculture Bill provides reassurance that hill farmers will be able to benefit for the service they provide in protecting our cultural and natural heritage.
Based on available data it is estimated that the UK sent remittances overseas in 2018 totalling $10.4 billion and that in 2019 the estimated total of remittances sent overseas from the UK was $10.5 billion. Recognising the importance of remittance flows to developing countries, the UK, together with the Swiss government, launched a Call to Action in May to highlight and address the significant predicted fall in remittances caused by the COVID-19 crisis. We are working hard to improve the flow of remittances by improving price transparency, supporting digitisation and working across Government to address issues of money transfer operators de-risking.
The North Wales Mainline has benefitted from investment as part of recent record funding settlements for Network Rail’s Wales Route. £50m has been spent on improving the signalling system and track layout, together with improvements to Abergele and Pensarn station. The cases for further improvements to journey times on the line, and for improvements at Chester and Shotton stations are currently being developed and will be considered for funding based on their merits.
The Department for Transport does not license Independent Rail Retailers, that is the responsibility of Rail Delivery Group.
We value the expertise and innovation independent retailers have brought, and will continue to bring, to the sector and we welcome them competing in the ticket retail market, particularly where they can grow new markets.
Plans would see passengers benefitting from an HS2 interchange at Crewe, with shorter journey times, including to London, Birmingham, the towns and cities of the Midlands and other communities across the UK. The HS2 interchange at Crewe will improve connectivity with places on the Crewe-Chester-Holyhead rail route.
In August 2019 the government commissioned the independent Oakervee Review to provide advice on whether and how to proceed with HS2. The Government will make a decision on HS2 shortly.