Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) school and (b) higher education leavers are supported into meaningful employment, and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of piloting initiatives to address barriers to workforce entry for young people nationally.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through the government’s Industrial Strategy.
The department is committed to working collaboratively with the sector to bring forward this strategy, building on the Curriculum and Assessment Review, the introduction of Skills England and with a continued focus on lifelong learning.
The department’s vision for a Youth Guarantee will ensure all young people aged 18 to 21 have the opportunity to access the education, training, apprenticeship or employment support they need to open up job and career opportunities. It also looks to strengthen the support for 16 to 17-year-olds who are at risk of or have disengaged from sustained participation in education and learning.
The guarantee will bring together and enhance provision and support for young people by providing tailored support for 18 to 21-year-olds into further learning and onto fulfilling work who may need additional help. The guarantee will address personal barriers, such as mental or physical health, care giving responsibilities, homelessness or transport. Additionally, it will enable preparation for employment and, through work experience, offer additional careers advisers and a new National Jobs and Careers Service.
The guarantee will also help 18 to 21-year-olds to access education and training opportunities locally and will build on wider system improvements including Skills England, the new foundation apprenticeship, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and the Growth and Skills offer.
The Department for Education and the Department for Work and Pensions are developing the guarantee with mayoral authorities to provide local, tailored support and will work with local areas on future expansion. The department will launch eight Trailblazers in England from spring 2025 backed by up to £45 million in funding.
High-quality careers advice is an essential part of the government’s missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and to drive economic growth. Secondary schools are legally required to provide independent careers guidance on the full range of education and training options and offer at least six opportunities for providers of technical education or apprenticeships to speak to all pupils during years 8 to 13.
Additionally, in secondary education, the department is boosting work readiness with its plan to guarantee two weeks’ worth of work experience for every young person. The department wants to see multiple, targeted workplace experiences with all types of businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises and growth sectors. The department is funding pilots initially with a focus on identifying what works. To ensure every young person can get the expert advice they need, the department will train 1,000 careers advisers. These ambitions are vital to ensuring that young people develop relevant skills for work and are supported to make successful transitions from education and training into meaningful employment.
The Office for Students also holds higher education providers to account for students' employment outcomes. Providers are expected to offer high-quality careers support and ensure that at least 60% of their students’ progress into professional employment or further study within 15 months of graduating.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure people without Maths and English GCSEs can access appropriate apprenticeship schemes.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not have entry requirements for apprenticeships, but we understand that employers may wish to set their own as apprentices are employees.
The department does have specific English and mathematics exit requirements which apprentices must meet, and we recognise the concerns that have been raised by learners, employers and providers about the barriers these can pose to accessing or completing an apprenticeship.
The department is considering how its English and mathematics exit requirements policy can be improved to make sure it recognises the benefits to upskilling in these subjects, while also being delivered in a way that supports people to achieve.
The department continues to fully fund apprentices who do not hold the required English and mathematics qualifications to achieve these as part of their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential financial impact on state schools of the introduction of VAT on private school fees.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The impact on the state sector as a result of the introduction of VAT on private school fees is being carefully considered. HM Treasury will deliver the tax changes. Further details of the government’s assessment of the expected impact will be published at the Budget. A Tax Information and Impact Note will be published alongside the Finance Bill once the independent Office for Budget Responsibility has scrutinised and certified the impacts of the final policy.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 83 of the HM Treasury's policy paper entitled, Fixing the foundations public spending audit 2024-25, published on 29 July 2024, if she will take steps to ensure the 2024 pay award for teachers is funded at a school level and takes account of existing staffing costs.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
To support schools with overall costs, the department is providing almost £1.1 billion in 2024/25 through the new Core Schools Budget Grant (CSBG). This matches what the department has calculated is needed to fully fund, at a national level, the teacher pay award and the support staff pay offer in the 2024/25 financial year, over and above the available headroom in schools’ existing budgets. Guidance on the new CSBG can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/core-schools-budget-grant-csbg-2024-to-2025.
The department understands that the picture will be different for individual schools and that funding will not always match a school’s precise costs. The formula allocates funding based on schools’ pupil numbers and their characteristics. Schools can then decide how to use this funding, including how many teachers and support staff to employ. When the department allocates grant funding for additional costs, it calculates the cost across the whole system and then adds that cost into the formula. This approach keeps funding fair. If grant funding was based on each schools’ specific teacher costs, then funding would be disproportionately allocated to the schools that already spend the most on their teachers and support staff, rather than giving every school a fair increase in their spending power.