Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether funding will be allocated to support adult learners taking T Levels.
Answered by Anne Milton
T Levels have been designed to provide a high-quality technical study programme for students aged 16 to 19 to support entry to skilled employment in technical occupations at level 3 and above. We will consider whether they might be appropriate for some adults to study but the current focus of the government and providers is on a successful roll out of these transformational courses to the core 16-19 demographic.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will reintroduce maintenance grants to ensure that disadvantaged students are not discouraged from entering higher education owing to concerns about the cost of living.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government will consider the Post-18 Education and Funding review panel’s recommendations carefully and will conclude the review at the Spending Review. The government has not yet taken decisions with regards to the recommendations put forward. Access and successful participation remain a priority for this government and is enshrined in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Everyone with the ability to succeed in higher education should have the opportunity, regardless of their background or where they grew up.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the conclusions of the National Audit Office’s report of 6 March 2019, The apprenticeships programme, HC 1987 2017-19, what plans he has to address concerns that funding for that programme may be insufficient should there be an increase in demand for apprenticeships.
Answered by Anne Milton
We are pleased that employers are choosing to move to our new, higher quality apprenticeship offer to make a sustainable investment in the skills that they need to grow. Employers are designing higher level apprenticeships that take longer and require more off-the-job training and, while this is something to be welcomed, we are conscious of the challenges it presents.
In 2019-20, funding available for investment in apprenticeships in England will be over £2.5 billion, this is double what was spent in 2010-11. The apprenticeship budget is set in advance by Her Majesty’s Treasury for the current spending review period. Currently, we expect to be within budget in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. We continue to monitor the trend of increasing spending on apprenticeships and to make use of our engagement with employers in addition to all available data from the programme to inform forecasts of demand and future costs.
The level of funding for the programme beyond 2020 will be determined by the forthcoming Spending Review announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his Spring Statement.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department collects to monitor the effectiveness of early years intervention strategies in (a) each local authority area, (b) each regional area and (c) England.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
I refer the hon. Member for Bury North to the answer I gave on 1 April 2019 to Question 237114.
Asked by: James Frith (Labour - Bury North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) terms of reference and (b) scope is of his Department's review of the Apprenticeship Levy.
Answered by Anne Milton
In the Autumn Statement last year, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that the government would work with employers and providers on the use of the apprenticeship levy after 2020.
We have been looking at how organisations have responded to the introduction of the levy and associated reforms as well as how we can help develop future demand for, and provision of, apprenticeships. We have also been exploring the impact of the levy across different sectors and regions and for different types of apprentices as well as the contribution of apprenticeships to the wider skills landscape.
Over the past few months, we have used a number of channels, including a survey and regional roundtables across England, to work with a range of different employers, providers and representative organisations. We will continue to listen to the views of employers and providers in the run-up to the Spending Review.