Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Claire Young and Pat McFadden

Monday 27th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Claire Young (Thornbury and Yate) (LD)]

10. What steps he is taking to ensure that skills provision meets the needs of employers.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)]

The skills White Paper, which we published last week, will create more opportunities. As I said in response to an earlier question, my remit letter to Skills England makes clear the importance of working closely with employers. Employers have told us that they want more flexibility in the apprenticeships levy, so the growth and skills offer is delivering that, with more foundation courses and short courses launching next year.

[Claire Young]

At a recent roundtable meeting in my Thornbury and Yate constituency, small businesses told me about the particular challenges they face in delivering apprenticeships. Given that the Secretary of State’s Department is now responsible for this important policy area, what is he doing to reform apprenticeships to make them easier for small and medium-sized enterprises to deliver, and what support will he provide so that more can do so?

[Pat McFadden]

We want apprenticeships to be available to employers of all sizes. We have reduced the length of time an apprenticeship needs to take, and I think we can go further with short course flexibility, which should be particularly helpful to small and medium-sized employers.