Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve McCabe and Robert Halfon

Monday 23rd October 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

There were more than 335,000 starts in the 2022-23 academic year and more people undertaking high-level apprenticeships, with starts at level 4 and above increasing by 7%. Those are provisional figures; further figures will be set out in November. We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024-25.

[Steve McCabe]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but given the decline in level 2 and 3 apprenticeship starts, might it be an idea to consider the views of leading industry experts who are calling for the ringfencing of apprenticeships for 16 to 18-year-olds?

[Robert Halfon]

I say to the hon. Gentleman, whom I respect enormously, that 70% of apprentices are at level 2 or 3. I hoped that he would be getting up to celebrate the 10,130 apprenticeship starts in Birmingham, Selly Oak since May 2010.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve McCabe and Robert Halfon

Monday 17th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Robert Halfon]

I had a wonderful visit with my hon. Friend to the excellent South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. She is absolutely right that we need to communicate the good work of apprenticeships and we are doing exactly that. We have a national campaign, Skills for Life, which is all over the national media. As I mentioned in my previous answer, we are also transforming careers advice on apprenticeships to ensure that students and learners have interactions with apprentice organisations to encourage them to do apprenticeships when they leave school. We have also worked with UCAS to ensure that apprenticeships are treated at the same level as when people apply for degrees.

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

The number of apprenticeship starts has dropped significantly this year, and around £600 million of the levy was returned to the Treasury in the last year. Given the skills shortages affecting our economy, would it not make sense to let businesses in my constituency and elsewhere utilise at least some of that returned money for relevant non-apprenticeship training designed to alleviate the skills gap?

[Robert Halfon]

The hon. Gentleman cares passionately about these things. Apprenticeship starts increased by 8.6% in the past year. I am happy to send him the figures. For higher apprentices, that increased by 11%. The £600 million that he talked about—or £750 million, as quoted by the newspapers over the weekend—is money from the overall United Kingdom apprenticeship levy that was sent to the devolved authorities for them to spend on skills as they see fit.

--- Later in debate ---

[Steve McCabe (Birmingham, Selly Oak) (Lab)]

T9. The latest Government data, released last Thursday, reports a 4.1% drop in apprenticeship starts compared with the 2021-22 academic year. I have a great deal of respect for the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, but is he sure he was right to claim in an earlier answer that apprenticeship starts rose this year?

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

I am very happy to write to the hon. Gentleman to explain that, over the past year— 2021-22—we increased apprenticeship starts by 8.6%, as I mentioned earlier.