Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration was given to statements on the public record made by candidates and the effect of those statements on the (a) operation and (b) standing of the Office for Students during the recruitment process for members of the board of the Office for Students.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
A degree of due diligence took place ahead of all the appointments. However, neither Panel members nor the department were aware of certain comments by Toby Young before his appointment was made. These remarks were years, in some cases decades, in the past.
The Commissioner for Public Appointments, the right hon. Peter Riddell, has recently suggested that departments need to look at how they undertake due diligence. The government will be carefully considering this issue in light of his advice.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many candidates were (a) considered, (b) shortlisted and (c) interviewed for positions on the board of the Office for Students; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
Two parallel open recruitment campaigns were held in the second half of 2017; one for Office for Students board members, and a second specifically for a student experience board member. The campaigns generated 221 applications for the non-executive board member positions and 133 applications for the Student Experience representative. Some applicants responded to both campaigns.
17 candidates were shortlisted across the two campaigns and of those, 16 were subsequently interviewed, with one candidate choosing to withdraw.
My Rt hon. Friend the Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation responded to questions in the House of Commons on this subject on 8 January 2018.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students aged 24 or over will have their funding delivered via a devolved budget in 2019-20.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department is not yet able to set out the level of funding that will be devolved in 2019/20.
Devolution is dependent on agreement between the department and the Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) to a number of readiness conditions. From 2019/20 the MCAs will be responsible to deliver the Adult Education Budget in their areas.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many adult students have received their digital entitlement since it was announced in 2016.
Answered by Anne Milton
The entitlement to free digital skills training for adults was provided through the Digital Economy Act 2017. This entitlement is yet to commence, although the government is currently working with Further Education institutions, employers and other stakeholders to develop the appropriate training.
In advance of adults benefiting from the new entitlement, learners continue to study a wide range of digital courses. In the 2013 to 2014, the Skills Funding Agency funded 201,000 learners to take digital qualifications and approximately £100 million was spent through the Adult Skills Budget on training that provided a qualification in digital skills.
The government will confirm in due course when the new provision for digital skills will commence.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students aged 24 and over have completed an (a) adult literacy, (b) adult numeracy, (c) GCSE and (d) functional skills course in each year since 2010.
Answered by Anne Milton
The table below provides the number of learners achieving their learning aim, for students aged 24+ for English, Maths, GCSE and Functional Skills courses in each year since the 2011/12 academic year.
Academic Year | English and Maths | English | Maths | GCSE | Functional Skills |
2011/12 | 481,600 | 286,600 | 279,600 | 11,400 | 35,200 |
2012/13 | 460,200 | 263,900 | 261,700 | 17,700 | 131,900 |
2013/14 | 430,600 | 251,000 | 237,900 | 20,900 | 238,600 |
2014/15 | 405,500 | 234,600 | 212,500 | 26,300 | 246,300 |
2015/16 | 358,300 | 205,700 | 193,500 | 27,400 | 222,200 |
Notes:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
Figures for 2011/12 onwards are not directly comparable to earlier years as a Single Individualised Learner Record data collection system has been introduced. Small technical changes have been made in the way learners from more than one provision type are counted, leading to a removal of duplicate learners and a reduction in overall learner numbers of approximately 2 per cent.
Figures for English and Maths, and English includes achievements on English for Speakers of Other Languages courses.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many general further education colleges sub-contract their adult education budget; and how many adult students have been educated in this way in each year since 2010.
Answered by Anne Milton
We are unable to provide accurate data for the total number of adult students that were educated by Further Education (FE) colleges in this way.
FE colleges have historically submitted declarations for subcontracting activities. At the time of making a declaration, each college details the maximum value of the contract they have in place with each of their adult education budget subcontractors, which is referred to as their ‘subcontracting commitments’.
We typically ask colleges (and other providers) to make their subcontractor declarations each Autumn and again each Spring. While this provides relevant data during the funding year, it does not offer the end of year figures. We are unable to ascertain from this particular data what the end of year position is for each college because some may have recruited new subcontractors after the Spring declaration. Others may have employed a subcontractor, though a learner might not of started a course. Therefore, these declarations do not provide an accurate picture of the subcontracting that took place each year.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to protect the rights of adults with poor literacy and numeracy skills to the national entitlement after the devolution of the adult education budget.
Answered by Anne Milton
Devolution of some aspects for adult education to the Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) will mean they are responsible for delivering the legal entitlements of maths and English to those who have low numeracy and literacy skills.
The department is working with MCAs on their preparations to take on this duty through the establishment of Strategic Skills Plans that will play a key role in aligning local and national priorities.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of (a) the number of general further education colleges that offered evening and weekend course for adult learners and (b) how many adult students attended such courses in each of the last three years.
Answered by Anne Milton
The government does not collect information on the number of general FE colleges that offer evening and weekend courses for adult learners or the number of adult students that attend those courses.
Evening and weekend courses play an important role in adult education; giving the flexibility needed to attract those learners who have weekday commitments. These courses are provided not only by Further Education (FE) colleges but also by other training and learning providers, including those who receive Community Learning funding as part of the Adult Education Budget.
However, a survey of adult and community learning commissioned last year showed that evening classes are run in 1,380 local centres. The survey results from 97 providers suggested that approximately a third of those providers use more than 40% of their budget for evening classes.
The government wants to explore new ways of making learning more accessible. On 31 October, we launched the £10 million Flexible Learning fund to support new and flexible ways of delivering adult education. The deadline for bids is 31 January and all successful pilots will be monitored to ensure they are engaging adults in learning.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students aged 24 or over have enrolled on courses at Level 3 or above in (a) healthcare, (b) social care and (c) business and accounting in each year since 2010.
Answered by Anne Milton
Students aged 24 or over on courses at level 3 or above are involved in either further or higher education.
Further Education (FE):
All FE participants aged 24 and over on level 3+ courses in England:
| 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | 2014/15 | 2015/16 |
Learner participation | 374,900 | 375,600 | 424,400 | 308,600 | 284,000 | 316,000 |
Notes:
We do not hold data on FE participants within each sector to exactly match the categories requested ((a) healthcare, (b) social care and (c) business and accounting). We do publish data for apprenticeship starts by sector subject area (2011/12 to 2016/16 provisional) at level 3+ (advanced and higher apprenticeships) albeit with a 25+ age group in the following tool: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/650226/201617_Oct_Apps_Level_SSA_And_Framework_Data_Tool_FINAL.xlsx.
Higher Education:
Information on participation in higher education at Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Further Education Colleges (FECs) in England has been provided in the attached table. The subject breakdowns requested are not standard categories in the Joint Academic Coding System (JACS), and so counts on this basis could only be provided at disproportionate cost. More information on JACS is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/support/documentation/jacs.
There were a further 13,725 students aged 24 or over enrolled on first-degree courses. Of these students,17,060 were enrolled on other undergraduate courses recorded by the Higher Education Statistics Agency as having participated on Higher Education courses designated for student support at Alternative Providers in the academic year 2015/16. Comparable information for earlier years is not available.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have taken out advanced learner loans in each year since they were introduced.
Answered by Anne Milton
The table below provides an overview of the approved applications received for Advanced Learner Loans since their introduction in the 2013/14 academic year to the latest published data for the 2016/17 academic year.
Academic year | Number of approved applications |
2013/14 | 56,220 |
2014/15 | 56,870 |
2015/16 | 71,190 |
2016/17 | 82,290 |
Notes:
1. 24+ Advanced Learning Loans were expanded to those aged 19 and over starting in the 2016/17 academic year and were renamed to ‘Advanced Learner Loans’.
2. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
3. Final application data is as at 30 September for each academic year, starting from 30/09/14 and ending with 30/09/17.
Data on Advanced Learner Loans from the 2013/14 academic year onwards is published by the department and available at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-education.