Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of mandating the sharing of students' data between Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All schools maintained by a local authority in England are required to send a Common Transfer File (CTF) to the new school when a pupil ceases to be registered at their school and becomes a registered pupil at another school. Academies, including free schools, are also strongly encouraged to send CTFs when a pupil leaves to attend another school.
Information specified by the department for inclusion in a CTF includes a record of the pupil’s attainment and achievements, which would include details of key stage 4 results where available. Details of a pupil’s prior attainment is included in the CTF to ensure schools are able to meet the individual needs of each pupil with greater accuracy and maintain the momentum of their learning.
Although there is no legal requirement for a school to transfer information to a further education (FE) college, schools are encouraged to do so on request from the FE college, where a secure method of transfer is available.
In addition, the department runs the Learning Records Service (LRS). The LRS allows providers to collect and manage unique learner numbers on behalf of learners aged 14 and above. This provides a consistent identifier for young people to learning providers including schools, academies, FE providers, higher education providers and offender learning providers (prisons), which allows those providers to access a learner’s personal learning record to support education and career information, advice and guidance.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of education recruitment agencies on the number of teachers finding jobs via her Department's teaching vacancies service; and if she will make an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of these agencies to schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Schools spend an estimated £75 million a year on recruitment advertising. Teaching Vacancies is a leading job listing service and 98% of secondary schools and 75% of primary schools have signed up to post their vacancies, for free. The department estimates that primary and secondary schools using Teaching Vacancies have saved, in total, between £47.3 and £60.8 million (from September 2018 to August 2024). More information about this calculation can be found on the Teaching Vacancies website: https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/pages/savings-methodology.
In addition to listing teaching and leaderships roles, the service expanded last year to include all school roles meaning schools will be able to save even more money by using the service.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on apprenticeship of the British Hair Consortium’s report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: The economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The hair and beauty sector have developed several high-quality apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, and the department continues to encourage employers in the sector to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need.
To support smaller employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can also benefit from £1000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can choose how they spend these payments.
As the report highlights, we recognise that the increase to employer National Insurance contributions will have a varying impact across all sectors. Employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, where they earn less than £50,270 a year.
This government also remains committed to ensuring that apprentice wages support the attraction of talented individuals into apprenticeships and remain fair for employers.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations in the report entitled Addressing the UK’s heritage skills crisis: why we must act now, published by the University of Manchester in January 2025.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department supports vocational education and training programmes that include heritage conservation skills. This includes funding for courses at further education colleges and specialist training providers. A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and Higher Technical Qualifications.
Together with employers, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) have developed 90 apprenticeship standards in the construction and built environment sector. These apprenticeships provide hands-on experience and formal qualifications in heritage areas such as heritage construction specialist, cultural heritage conservation technician, craft carpenter and joinery, and stained glass craftsperson. IfATE works with key stakeholders such as Grosvenor, Peabody, Historic England, the National Trust, and the Crown Estate to ensure that employers can access the heritage construction skills they need.
The department is working across government and in partnership with industry through the Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG) and the Construction Leadership Council to identify policy levers and other actions to ensure that our skills offer, including apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and T Levels, meets the needs of employers in the sector, including small and medium enterprises. The department works closely with Historic England, through the CSDG, to ensure that training programs meet the needs of the heritage sector.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has plans to extend the eligibility criteria for the Holiday activities and food programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The holiday activities and food (HAF) programme is aimed at children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. However, local authorities have discretion to go beyond this as set out in the HAF guidance: “While the majority of funding that local authorities receive should be used for holiday club places for children in receipt of free school meals, local authorities have discretion to use up to 15% of their funding to provide free or subsidised holiday club places for children who are not in receipt of benefits-related free school meals, but who the local authority believe could benefit from HAF provision”.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will announce funding for a multi-year extension to the Holiday activities and food programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government recently announced over £200 million funding for the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme for 2025/26.
The HAF programme has been delivered nationally by local authorities in England since 2022, to provide healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefitting their health, wellbeing and learning.
Funding beyond March 2026 will be subject to the multi-year Spending Review taking place later this year.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with local councils on the future funding of the Holiday Activities and Food programme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Gosport to the answer of 5 December 2024 to Question 17058.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students took higher technical education courses at Institutes of Technology in each academic year between 2018-19 and 2023-24.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The collaborative approach between further education, higher education and employers developed by Institutes of Technology (IoTs) is valued. The department will be working with the sector as we develop our strategy for post-16 education and skills.
Information on the number of students that took higher technical education courses (those at, or above, level 4) at IoTs are set out in the table below.
Academic Year* | Level 4+ learners | Background |
2018/19 | 0 | The first IoT opened in September 2019 therefore no learners were recorded in annual year 2018/19 |
2019/20 | 916 | Based on 6 IoTs open to learners |
2020/21 | 1901 | Based on 8 IoTs open to learners |
2021/22 | 3089 | Based on 11 IoTs open to learners |
2022/23 | 4512 | Based on 15 IoTs open to learners |
2023/24 | 6381 | Based on 19 IoTs open to learners (This data is incomplete as the Higher Education Statistic Agency data will not be available until April 2025.) |
*The department changed the way the data was collected and presented from 2021/22 academic year. The figures for 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years are for learner starts at levels 4 and 5. The figures for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years are for learner cohorts for level 4+ (including level 6 and above).
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support Institutes of Technology.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The collaborative approach between further education, higher education and employers developed by Institutes of Technology (IoTs) is valued. The department will be working with the sector as we develop our strategy for post-16 education and skills.
Information on the number of students that took higher technical education courses (those at, or above, level 4) at IoTs are set out in the table below.
Academic Year* | Level 4+ learners | Background |
2018/19 | 0 | The first IoT opened in September 2019 therefore no learners were recorded in annual year 2018/19 |
2019/20 | 916 | Based on 6 IoTs open to learners |
2020/21 | 1901 | Based on 8 IoTs open to learners |
2021/22 | 3089 | Based on 11 IoTs open to learners |
2022/23 | 4512 | Based on 15 IoTs open to learners |
2023/24 | 6381 | Based on 19 IoTs open to learners (This data is incomplete as the Higher Education Statistic Agency data will not be available until April 2025.) |
*The department changed the way the data was collected and presented from 2021/22 academic year. The figures for 2019/20 and 2020/21 academic years are for learner starts at levels 4 and 5. The figures for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years are for learner cohorts for level 4+ (including level 6 and above).
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will commit to the continued funding of the Heritage Schools programme.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Programme funding for the 2025/26 financial year is subject to the outcomes of the department’s business planning. This includes the Heritage Schools programme, led by Historic England. Details will be set out in due course.