Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report entitled Cross-Government Fraud Landscape: Annual Report 2022, published on 21 March 2023, what the basis is of the increase in detected error in her Department from £7.5m in 2019-20 to £29.1m in 2020-21.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The increase in detected error was driven by the department migrating some of its financial services from an external provider to a pre-existing in-house service.
All detected errors were corrected within the financial quarter in which they occurred. No losses were incurred.
Where errors occur, the department operates a robust process to ensure lessons are learned and corrective actions embedded into processes and ways of working. This is reflected in the drop back to zero detected errors in quarter 3 and quarter 4 of the year.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on external recruitment consultants in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s expenditure, including consultancy fees, is published each year in the Annual Report and Accounts and is available on GOV.UK. The most recent Annual Report for the 2021/22 financial year, is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022.
The department does not split out external recruitment consultant from other consultant spend.
External recruitment agencies and search firms are an important resource which support the Civil Service's ability to recruit and to find talented people, in the right places, with the right capabilities to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom. The Civil Service has developed a number of commercial frameworks which provide transparency, high quality services and value for money.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish the (a) allocation for and (b) outturn expenditure on the adult education budget in (i) 2017-18, (ii) 2018-19, (iii) 2019-20, (iv) 2020-21, (v) 2021-22 and (vi) 2022-23.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Funding allocations for training providers are published on GOV.UK twice a year, and a final funded position is published following year end closure and reconciliation.
The links provided below show all allocations for the adult education budget (AEB) for the requested years, as well as other adult funding streams.
The final funded values for the AEB are published for 2017/18 to 2020/21. The values for 2021/22 are currently being compiled and will be published this autumn. The 2022/23 values are planned for publication in 2024 following the closure of the years data, and when a full reconciliation is completed.
Devolution of the AEB came into effect from 1 August 2019. These publications exclude values where delivery is in a devolved Mayoral Combined Authority or the Greater London Authority area.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people on Universal Credit have accessed Free Courses for Jobs skills provision in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The free courses for jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access a high value Level 3 qualification for free, this includes those who are unemployed or claiming Universal Credit. The department is unable to identify Universal Credit claimants specifically but between April 2021 and January 2023 there were 39,430 enrolments on the offer, with 14,860 of those being from learners categorised as unemployed or claiming benefits. These figures are not available broken down for each of the past 12 months. The Department for Education will work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure people on Universal Credit have access to the 400 courses available on the offer, with many available to study online or part-time, and learners may be eligible to help paying for childcare, travel and other costs.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people aged (a) 50 and (b) over 50 started a Skills Bootcamp in financial year 2021-22.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Skills Bootcamps have proven popular with adults of working age. The published evaluation of delivery of Skills Bootcamps between April 2021 and 31 March 2022 shows a breakdown of learner starts by age band, with 2,277 (15%) learner starts between ages 45-54 and 759 (5%) learner starts between ages 55-67. The programme is rapidly expanding and as the department makes more training places available, we will ensure that adults that are 50 and over continue to be able to benefit from Skills Bootcamps training.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the number of additional people over the age of 50 who are expected to benefit from (a) apprenticeships, (b) skills bootcamps and (c) sector-based work academy programmes as a result of the returnerships initiative.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Returnerships are targeted at adults over the age of 50 who are returning to work or seeking a career change, by bringing together Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs). Returnerships will raise awareness of these pathways, providing a clear route back into work and encouraging employers to hire older workers.
In the Spring Budget, the government announced additional funding of £63.2 million over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years to increase the availability of Skills Bootcamps and SWAPs.
This includes £34.4 million of additional funding for Skills Bootcamps, helping up to 8,000 more people to benefit from this transformational scheme, with an aim of delivering 64,000 training places from the 2024/25 financial year. The department expect this will result in around 1,000 Skills Bootcamps starts for the over 50s based on current participation rates by age.
The Department for Work and Pensions is also expanding SWAPs, supported by £28.8 million of additional funding, to increase the number of places available and make the programme more accessible. This will provide for 80,000 new SWAPs starts in each of the two financial years.
The department has not made an assessment of the number of additional people over the age of 50 who are expected to start an apprenticeship. Levels of apprenticeship starts are subject to demand by employers who decide which apprenticeships they offer and when, as well as individuals choosing to apply for apprenticeship vacancies which are open to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Returnerships are being promoted as part of the Skills for Life campaign and by Work Coaches in their support to over 50 claimants. The next burst will be live in June 2023 and will direct adults to further information at Unlock your potential - Skills for Life: https://skillsforlife.campaign.gov.uk/.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people in traineeships were in receipt of (a) Universal Credit and (b) Jobseeker's Allowance in each of the last 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The table below sets out the data the Department holds on the number of trainees who started a Traineeship that month who were recorded as claiming either Universal Credit or Job Seekers Allowance. The data is for the2021/22 academic year, which is the last 12 months of full reporting available. Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.
Month | Aug 21 | Sept 21 | Oct 21 | Nov 21 | Dec 21 | Jan 22 | Feb 22 | March 22 | April 22 | May 22 | June 22 | July 22 |
Universal Credit | 280 | 400 | 330 | 450 | 150 | 190 | 280 | 290 | 270 | 370 | 230 | 180 |
Job Seekers’ Allowance | 20 | 20 | 20 | 50 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | low | 20 |
It is not mandatory for providers to state whether a trainee is in receipt of benefits when completing the Individualised Learner Record, nor is there a requirement for those claiming benefits to declare this information when enrolling on a Traineeship. This data may not be fully representative of the numbers of trainees in receipt of benefits.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support his Department plans to provide to universities to meet the additional (a) educational workforce and (b) physical capacity requirements that will result from the increased number of students embarking on nursing degrees in the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for 2021/22 to ensure that more of taxpayers’ money is spent on supporting higher education provision which aligns with national priorities. This includes the reprioritisation of funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (which includes nursing), high-cost STEM subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs.
Specifically on capital funding, we want to be assured that capital funding is adding real value and that investment is focused on key government priorities, such as nursing, and supports provision with excellent student outcomes.
In 2021/22, this funding will be allocated through a bidding process that will target specific high-impact projects and activities that offer better value for money for students and taxpayers.
The OfS has launched a public consultation on all these reforms before final allocations for 2021/22 are confirmed and will carefully consider the impact of any changes on providers.
The consultation can be accessed at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/consultations/.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will make capital investment funding available to universities to expand their physical capacity to support the training of the increased number of students that are due to start nursing degrees in the 2021-22 academic year.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for 2021/22 to ensure that more of taxpayers’ money is spent on supporting higher education provision which aligns with national priorities. This includes the reprioritisation of funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy (which includes nursing), high-cost STEM subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs.
Specifically on capital funding, we want to be assured that capital funding is adding real value and that investment is focused on key government priorities, such as nursing, and supports provision with excellent student outcomes.
In 2021/22, this funding will be allocated through a bidding process that will target specific high-impact projects and activities that offer better value for money for students and taxpayers.
The OfS has launched a public consultation on all these reforms before final allocations for 2021/22 are confirmed and will carefully consider the impact of any changes on providers.
The consultation can be accessed at https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/consultations/.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to support the families of pupils on free school meals in Leicester South constituency during the school summer holidays in 2020.
Answered by Vicky Ford
I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 23 June 2020 to Question 54195.