Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the steps schools need to take to conduct the January 2021 school census during the covid-19 England national lockdown.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Following the recent announcement made on 4 January 2021 by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, and as part of our ongoing work to help manage the burden on educational and care settings, the Department has reviewed all data collections (including the school census) to ensure that they remain both necessary and feasible at this time. This review has included consultation with a subset of external representatives from the sector.
As the scope of the school census is all children on the school’s admission register, rather than those physically in attendance on census day or census week, the majority of data schools need to return should be information they already hold. As such, the requirements on schools for the school census collection are not directly impacted by the national lockdown. However, where relevant, we have updated and clarified the guidance for the small subset of data collected which refer to the situation on census day (namely information on class activity and take up of free school lunches by infant pupils).
The data collection will remain open for schools to make a return for at least 8 weeks until 17 March 2021. We also have a dedicated service available to support, and work with, schools having any difficulties.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on college finances of the disproportionally low payment made by ESFA for 16-18 provision in March 2020, which leaves the sector under-funded by around 6% according to the Association of Colleges.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The existing payment profile is based on the academic year (August to July) and is based on historical analysis. It takes into consideration the higher costs faced by colleges early in the year, as well as varying profiles in other months. Currently, colleges receive payments that are higher than the flat profile in the autumn and lower monthly payments over the winter that lead to the ‘shortfall’ in the spring, as identified by the Association of Colleges.
We have no plans at this time to change the profile; it has been used for many years and is well understood by colleges. However, this academic year has seen a significant boost to levels of funding for 16-19 education. The government previously announced in August 2019 that it will invest an extra £400 million in 16-19 education in 2020-21. This is the largest injection of money in a single year since 2010 and represented an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding. The base rate of 16-19 funding has since increased by 4.7% this academic year 2020/21, from £4,000 to £4,188.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to ensure that disadvantaged students without laptops and IT software studying at further education colleges are not digitally excluded.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
We have encouraged further education providers to use their 16-19 bursary funding to purchase devices and connectivity for disadvantaged students aged 16-19 where this is a barrier to learning. Earlier in the year, additional funding was made available to further education providers via a business case process, to support them with additional costs arising from students participating in education online. In addition, in August 2020, we announced that colleges can access help with device needs for students aged 14-16 attending a further education provider through the ‘Get Help with Technology’ service.
For adults aged 19 and over, we introduced a change to the Adult Education Budget (AEB) funding rules for the 2020/21 academic year to enable providers to use learner support funds to purchase IT devices for disadvantaged students to help them meet technology costs. In areas where the AEB budget is devolved, mayoral authorities determine adult student support arrangements.
In addition, where further education providers are supplementing their on-site education with online learning, our guidance asks colleges to preserve provision on-site for all learners who need it, including learners without access to devices or connectivity at home.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on enabling greater flexibility to the rules on capital grants for further education colleges to allow that funding to be spent on laptops and IT software provision for disadvantaged students who require them in order to effectively continue their studies.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
All further education colleges and designated institutions eligible to receive the Further Education Capital Allowance grant were asked to sign up to the terms and conditions as set out in their grant letter. The terms of this capital grant were negotiated between Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Education and were clear. Funding should be used to address condition improvement of substandard or deteriorating buildings in the college or institution estate identified in the Further Education Condition Data Collection (undertaken by the department) or through a college’s own more detailed survey. This includes IT infrastructure, where identified as requiring remedial action. Hardware and software (including laptops) do not constitute IT infrastructure and are therefore are not eligible for capital spend under the terms of this grant.
However, further education providers have been able to use their 16-19 bursary funding to purchase devices and connectivity for disadvantaged students aged 16-19 where this is a barrier to learning. Earlier in the year, additional funding was made available to further education providers via a business case process, to support them with additional costs arising from students participating in education online. In addition, in August 2020, we announced that colleges can access help with device needs for students aged 14-16 attending a further education provider through the ‘Get Help with Technology’ service. For adults aged 19 and over, we introduced a change to the Adult Education Budget (AEB) funding rules for the 2020/21 academic year to enable providers to use learner support funds to purchase IT devices for disadvantaged students to help them meet technology costs. In areas where the AEB budget is devolved, mayoral authorities determine adult student support arrangements.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on reversing the decision to clawback any capital grant allocation allowance given to further education providers that has not been spent by 21 March 2021.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced in June that an initial £200 million of the £1.5 billion capital funding to upgrade the further education estate was to be brought forward to this year. This was paid to all eligible further education colleges and designated institutions in September 2020. This Further Education Capital Allocation is supporting further education colleges to undertake immediate remedial work in this financial year to upgrade the condition of their estate and is providing a boost to the economy by supporting the pipeline of new work for our construction sector. Details of the wider Further Education Capital Transformation programme, which will invest the remaining £1.3 billion over the coming 5 years, to upgrade the further education estate, will be announced in due course.
We are pleased that the majority of colleges have identified immediate projects to improve the condition of the estate. Some colleges have identified there would be an operational benefit to being able to carry out works at Easter or during the summer holidays next year. We are engaging with Her Majesty’s Treasury on this matter and will inform colleges of the outcome in due course.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect on further education college finances of the extra intake of 16 to 18 year old students in academic year 2020-21 and Education and Skills Funding Agency lagged funding methodology which means colleges will not receive additional income for those students until next year.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The 2020/21 academic year has seen a significant boost to levels of funding for 16-19 education. In August 2019, the government announced that it would invest an extra £400 million in 16-19 education in the 2020-21 financial year. This is the largest injection of money in a single year since 2010, and represented an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding. In November 2020, an additional £291 million was announced for 16-19 education in the 2021-22 financial year, building on the £400 million made available in 2020-21. The base rate of 16-19 funding has increased by 4.7% this academic year, up from £4,000 to £4,188. Further guidance about 16-19 education funding is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/16-to-19-funding-how-it-works.
The lagged funding methodology allows us to make clear allocations based on data about students and the courses they study. The department recognises that there can be a financial pressure on institutions if they recruit significantly more students in an academic year than allowed for in their allocation. However, the current funding process does provide for exceptional in-year growth funding to be made available to colleges or other educational providers, with significant increases in student numbers over and above the lagged calculation, subject to affordability. The department will consider the affordability of exceptional in-year growth funding for the 2020-21 academic year in light of student recruitment by colleges and other providers.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to support SMEs in hiring apprentices before the introduction of the extended apprenticeship employer incentives announced in the Spending Review 2020.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The department recognises the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the UK economy. We will make sure that training for apprentices in smaller employers is properly funded, to drive up the number of apprenticeship opportunities available in SMEs across the country.
SMEs are a priority focus as we look to rebuild the economy from the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, and to increase opportunities for young people and people from disadvantaged areas to embark on apprenticeships. The department is making sufficient funding available this year and next to enable smaller employers to access the apprenticeships they need, as they move onto the apprenticeship service and gain greater control over their apprenticeship choices. From August 2020, as outlined in the Plan for Jobs, we introduced payments of £2,000 to employers in England for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and a payment of £1,500 if they are aged 25 and over: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-plan-for-jobs-documents/a-plan-for-jobs-2020.
In January 2020, the department expanded access to the full functionality of our flagship apprenticeship service to include employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy. SMEs can now make up to 10 reservations through the service (increased from 3), enabling them to recruit more apprentices and claim incentive payments through the service. Moving onto the service also increases their choice of training provider and puts them in control of managing their apprenticeships. Further guidance about the incentive payments available for hiring a new apprentice is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/incentive-payments-for-hiring-a-new-apprentice.
Smaller employers can also benefit from transfers from levy-paying employers which do not count towards the reservation cap. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25% of the annual value of funds entering the apprenticeship service account of levy-paying employers. From August 2021, employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer unspent levy funds in bulk to SMEs with a new pledge function. We will also introduce, from August 2021, a new online service to match levy payers with SMEs that share their business priorities.
The department will continue to work with smaller employers to give them the confidence and support to take on new apprentices. As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in the recent Spending Review, the eligibility period for these incentives has been extended to the end of March 2021, to continue to support employers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the (a) quality and (b) quantity of apprenticeships of allowing levy-paying employers to choose which non-levy employers to transfer their unspent levy funds.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Levy-paying employers can transfer funds to any employer, including smaller employers, apprenticeship training agencies and charities, to support high-quality apprenticeship training. Transfers enable levy-paying employers to support employers in their supply chains, address local skills needs, and help sectors build sustainable capability for the future.
Apprenticeships funded by transfers are on the same high-quality employer designed standards and are delivered only by providers that are approved to deliver apprenticeship training. All apprenticeships must last a minimum of 12 months and provide a minimum of 20% off-the-job training to ensure that every apprentice develops the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for them to achieve full occupational competence. This is confirmed by a rigorous and independent end-point assessment.
In April 2019, the department increased the amount that levy payers could transfer and are seeing numbers of transfers rise steadily. The latest figures show that in the 2018/19 academic year, 670 apprenticeship starts resulted from transferred commitments. This increased to 4,630 starts the in the 2019/20 academic year. We publish further detail on apprenticeship transfers here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2019-20.
As my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out in the Spending Review, the department will be making it easier for employers who pay the levy to find and transfer unspent levy funds to small and medium sized enterprises, with the development of a new online matching service and the facility to pledge funds in bulk from August 2021.
This work will build on initiatives, such as the Health Education England scheme and the successful regional levy transfer pilot led by West Midlands Combined Authority, where we are already seeing the benefits of work being undertaken to bring large and small employers together.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that traineeships and placements under the Kickstart scheme lead to an opportunity of an apprenticeship.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The government’s Plan for Jobs was announced in July 2020 and set out several key policy initiatives to support individuals and employers: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/a-plan-for-jobs-2020. This included the introduction of a new £2 billion Kickstart scheme to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country. We also announced a £111 million investment to triple the scale of the existing Traineeship programme in the 2020-21 financial year, ensuring more young people have access to high-quality training.
In addition, the government has scaled up support for businesses to enable more people to benefit from training opportunities, and introduced payments for employers taking on new apprentices, with businesses now able to access payments of £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 and £1,500 for new apprentices over 25 from 1 August 2020 to 31 March 2021. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment we already provide for new 16 to 18-year-old apprentices and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Traineeships already deliver good outcomes for young people. In the 2017-18 academic year, 66% of learners completing a traineeship had a sustained positive destination, with almost a quarter (24.9%) progressing to an apprenticeship before the end of the 2018-19 academic year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/further-education-outcome-based-success-measures/2017-18. We will strengthen progression to apprenticeships as a destination through the new sector-specific traineeships we are currently developing with employers. These will act as a direct pipeline to real apprenticeship opportunities, in addition to the engagement activity we are planning to target towards young people, employers, and training providers.
We have already amended our funding rules to ensure that employers supporting a Kickstart individual to begin an apprenticeship can still benefit from the apprenticeship incentive payment.
Together with the Department for Work and Pensions, we will be engaging with employers to encourage them to create new apprenticeship opportunities for the young people on their Kickstart placements. We know that many employers have already expressed an interest in creating apprenticeship placements for existing Kickstart participants, but we want to support more businesses, large and small, to take advantage of the opportunity this scheme represents for investing in their skills needs as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of paying apprenticeships providers upon delivery of training.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Apprenticeship training providers are paid retrospectively for the training they have delivered. The department pays 80% of the cost of training in equal monthly instalments according to the planned duration of the apprenticeship. The remainder is paid on completion of the apprenticeship. The way that providers are paid is set out in the apprenticeship funding rules for main providers: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/928015/2021_Provider_Rules_Version_2_v1.0_FINAL__published_.pdf.
Like other apprenticeship policies, the department will continue to keep this under review, as we encourage greater use of innovative apprenticeship training models, such as the front-loading of off-the-job training as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the Spending Review 2020: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2020-documents.