Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of barriers faced by logistics businesses attempting to access the Apprenticeship Levy for their training requirements.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is committed to supporting employers within the logistics sector to make full use of apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need, now and in the future. Employers have developed 37 high-quality apprenticeship standards within the transport and logistics sector, including transport and warehouse operations supervisor, supply chain leadership professional and network operations.
We have fast-tracked applications to the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) for providers nominated by employers hosting the Large Goods Vehicle standard to tackle the urgent need for drivers. This allowed new providers to apply to the Register and be fast tracked to deliver for employers needing training.
In May 2022, the department also introduced a temporary exception to the RoATP, allowing lead providers to subcontract to unregistered providers delivering training and testing for the acquisition of driving licences. This has increased training capacity and access to more of the available testing provision, and this exception is in place until 31 July 2023.
In 2021, a new version of the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship was launched and the department increased funding from £5,000 to £7,000 to support providers delivering the standard. Additionally, the department is reviewing the funding band for the Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician apprenticeship standard, as requested by employers, and a decision will be made as soon as possible.
The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and employers within the transport and logistics sector can access this funding for the high-quality apprenticeships they choose to meet their business needs and to help fill skills gaps within their industry.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure freedom of speech in British universities.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Ministers are working to ensure that lawful freedom of speech in higher education is supported to the fullest extent. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill was introduced on 12 May 2021 in the House of Commons and will strengthen existing freedom of speech duties in England. It will directly address gaps within the existing law and extend the duties to cover students’ unions as well as higher education providers. The changes will introduce clear consequences for breaches of the new duties. This will ensure that freedom of speech and academic freedom are protected and promoted within higher education.
A copy of the Bill as introduced can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/41479/documents/212.
Asked by: Viscount Waverley (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether COVID-19 marshals will be used to ensure that schools and colleges are (1) facilitating social distancing, and (2) providing COVID-19 secure environments.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
On 2 July the department published guidance to help schools and colleges prepare for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to education settings full-time from the beginning of the autumn term: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision/what-fe-colleges-and-providers-will-need-to-do-from-the-start-of-the-2020-autumn-term.
We have worked closely with Public Health England (PHE) to develop the specific guidance for school settings. The PHE endorsed system of controls outlined in this guidance sets out the measures that school leaders and all school staff should follow. Colleges are responsible for completing risk assessments and complying with Health & Safety Executive (HSE) duties. HSE may review risk assessments and the measures that have been put in place by colleges to make the premises COVID-19 secure. Our guidance is clear that if schools and colleges implement the actions set out, they will effectively reduce risks in their school and create an inherently safer environment. This includes minimising contact between individuals and maintaining social distancing wherever possible.
At this time, there is no plan to introduce COVID-19 marshals in schools and colleges. There cannot be a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where the system of controls describes every scenario. Head teachers will be best placed to understand the needs of their communities and to make informed judgments about how to balance delivering a broad and balanced curriculum with the measures needed to manage risk.