Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the remit of Skills England will be.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Skills England will ensure the supply of skills needed for growth, which is crucial for supporting the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and to kickstart economic growth.
Skills England will bring together businesses, education and training providers, unions, and regional and national government to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the government’s forthcoming industrial strategy.
It will work with the Migration Advisory Committee to make sure skills training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market, and it will coordinate between local areas to ensure everyone can access all the opportunities available.
The government’s ambition for Skills England is that it will bring coherence to the assessment of skills’ needs and to the training landscape. It will ensure that training programmes are well designed and delivered so that they meet these needs and ensure businesses have the highly skilled workforce they require to thrive.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance for schools on maintaining safe CO2 levels in classrooms.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The department has published ‘Building Bulletin 101’, which provides non-statutory guidance on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.
The department has also produced guidance on using CO2 monitors and managing ventilation, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-co-monitors-and-air-cleaning-units-in-education-and-care-settings.
Further guidance on ventilation is included in the ‘Good Estate Management for Schools guide’, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/health-and-safety.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children at (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in Derbyshire have Education, Health and Care plans; and how many such children are receiving education in line with the plan.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not hold the data requested. The department does publish data online in relation to special educational needs (SEN), including:
The local authority can provide further information on children with SEN in Derbyshire.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) primary and (b) secondary school students have been identified as requiring Special Education school provision outside mainstream schools in Derbyshire; and how many such children attend specialist schools.
Answered by David Johnston
The department does not hold the data requested. The department does publish data online in relation to special educational needs (SEN), including:
The local authority can provide further information on children with SEN in Derbyshire.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much the ring-fenced apprenticeship budget was in each year since 2017-18; and what proportion was raised by the Apprenticeship Levy in each of those years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The UK government, via His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, collects an apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on total payroll from businesses across the UK with an annual payroll expenditure of more than £3 million. The amount raised by the apprenticeship levy is available in this publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
From this, His Majesty’s Treasury sets an English apprenticeships budget for the department, and the devolved administrations receive a share of the funding calculated using the Barnett formula.
The apprenticeships budget in England is used to fund the training and assessment of new apprenticeship starts for all employers of all sizes, both those who pay the levy and those who do not. The budget is also used to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers and apprentices. Apprenticeships are employer led, and the department does not allocate a specific percentage of the budget to either levy paying or non-levy paying employers.
The table below shows the total apprenticeship budget and spend in England in the last five financial years, with spend broken down by levy payers and non-levy payers. It also includes the budget for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the levy, and the department’s spend on the operation of the wider apprenticeship system, such as the cost of running digital services, marketing and communications campaigns.
Financial Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Apprenticeship budget £m | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,585 |
Levy spend | 268 | 864 | 1,156 | 1,251 | 1,592 | - | - |
Non-levy spend | 189 | 528 | 650 | 557 | 817 | - | - |
Spend on apprenticeships started | 1,086 | 305 | 65 | 22 | 7 | - | - |
Wider apprenticeship | 43 | 41 | 48 | 33 | 39 | - | - |
Total spend | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 | - | - |
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the ring-fenced apprenticeship budget has been allocated to apprenticeship funding for non-levy paying employers in each financial year since 2017-18.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The UK government, via His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, collects an apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on total payroll from businesses across the UK with an annual payroll expenditure of more than £3 million. The amount raised by the apprenticeship levy is available in this publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
From this, His Majesty’s Treasury sets an English apprenticeships budget for the department, and the devolved administrations receive a share of the funding calculated using the Barnett formula.
The apprenticeships budget in England is used to fund the training and assessment of new apprenticeship starts for all employers of all sizes, both those who pay the levy and those who do not. The budget is also used to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers and apprentices. Apprenticeships are employer led, and the department does not allocate a specific percentage of the budget to either levy paying or non-levy paying employers.
The table below shows the total apprenticeship budget and spend in England in the last five financial years, with spend broken down by levy payers and non-levy payers. It also includes the budget for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the levy, and the department’s spend on the operation of the wider apprenticeship system, such as the cost of running digital services, marketing and communications campaigns.
Financial Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Apprenticeship budget £m | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,585 |
Levy spend | 268 | 864 | 1,156 | 1,251 | 1,592 | - | - |
Non-levy spend | 189 | 528 | 650 | 557 | 817 | - | - |
Spend on apprenticeships started | 1,086 | 305 | 65 | 22 | 7 | - | - |
Wider apprenticeship | 43 | 41 | 48 | 33 | 39 | - | - |
Total spend | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 | - | - |
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much from the public purse her Department ringfenced for the apprenticeship budget for England in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The UK government, via His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, collects an apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on total payroll from businesses across the UK with an annual payroll expenditure of more than £3 million. The amount raised by the apprenticeship levy is available in this publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
From this, His Majesty’s Treasury sets an English apprenticeships budget for the department, and the devolved administrations receive a share of the funding calculated using the Barnett formula.
The apprenticeships budget in England is used to fund the training and assessment of new apprenticeship starts for all employers of all sizes, both those who pay the levy and those who do not. The budget is also used to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers and apprentices. Apprenticeships are employer led, and the department does not allocate a specific percentage of the budget to either levy paying or non-levy paying employers.
The table below shows the total apprenticeship budget and spend in England in the last five financial years, with spend broken down by levy payers and non-levy payers. It also includes the budget for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the levy, and the department’s spend on the operation of the wider apprenticeship system, such as the cost of running digital services, marketing and communications campaigns.
Financial Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Apprenticeship budget £m | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,585 |
Levy spend | 268 | 864 | 1,156 | 1,251 | 1,592 | - | - |
Non-levy spend | 189 | 528 | 650 | 557 | 817 | - | - |
Spend on apprenticeships started | 1,086 | 305 | 65 | 22 | 7 | - | - |
Wider apprenticeship | 43 | 41 | 48 | 33 | 39 | - | - |
Total spend | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 | - | - |
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the apprenticeship budget has been spent by (a) apprenticeship levy payers and (b) non-levy payers in each year since 2017.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The UK government, via His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, collects an apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on total payroll from businesses across the UK with an annual payroll expenditure of more than £3 million. The amount raised by the apprenticeship levy is available in this publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.
From this, His Majesty’s Treasury sets an English apprenticeships budget for the department, and the devolved administrations receive a share of the funding calculated using the Barnett formula.
The apprenticeships budget in England is used to fund the training and assessment of new apprenticeship starts for all employers of all sizes, both those who pay the levy and those who do not. The budget is also used to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers and apprentices. Apprenticeships are employer led, and the department does not allocate a specific percentage of the budget to either levy paying or non-levy paying employers.
The table below shows the total apprenticeship budget and spend in England in the last five financial years, with spend broken down by levy payers and non-levy payers. It also includes the budget for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years. In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the levy, and the department’s spend on the operation of the wider apprenticeship system, such as the cost of running digital services, marketing and communications campaigns.
Financial Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Apprenticeship budget £m | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,585 |
Levy spend | 268 | 864 | 1,156 | 1,251 | 1,592 | - | - |
Non-levy spend | 189 | 528 | 650 | 557 | 817 | - | - |
Spend on apprenticeships started | 1,086 | 305 | 65 | 22 | 7 | - | - |
Wider apprenticeship | 43 | 41 | 48 | 33 | 39 | - | - |
Total spend | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 | - | - |
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received about the adequacy of the key stage two English reading test that was taken on 10 May 2023.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for the development and delivery of national curriculum tests and assessments. Its work on National Curriculum assessments is regulated by Ofqual.
The STA works independently on test materials. Ministers have no involvement in test development or in the selection of the content of the test. Ministers do not have access to the test materials until they are published after the end of the timetable variation window, which is five school days after the scheduled test date. Ministers likewise are not involved in the standards maintenance process which determines the threshold for the expected standard each year.
The STA has met with stakeholders, including teacher and school leader unions and headteachers, to understand their views on the end of Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests this year, and are responding to correspondence from schools, parents and other individuals regarding the tests.
The STA will continue to engage with schools, unions, and other stakeholders to understand their views on the papers this year, and in regard to all aspects of primary assessment.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department had taken steps to increase the difficulty of the Year 6 National Reading Tests on 10 May 2023; and what changes had been made to the previous years' tests.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is an executive agency of the Department. STA is responsible for the development and delivery of National Curriculum tests and assessments.
STA works independently on the test materials, which remain confidential until all pupils have taken the test. This may be up to five school days after the scheduled date of the test, as schools are permitted to vary the timetable in some circumstances.
Ministers do not have any influence on test content or challenge. In constructing the tests, STA follows the criteria set out in the National Curriculum test frameworks, which are available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum-assessments-test-frameworks.
There has been no change to the specification for the content, structure, format, or difficulty of the National Curriculum tests for 2023.