Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on improving skills training in Leeds North West constituency.

​​The department regularly discusses skills matters with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, but not specifically about individual constituencies.

​The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education (FE) and skills over the Parliament to ensure people across the country, including in Leeds, have access to the skills they need to build fulfilling careers in jobs the economy needs.

​This additional funding will help a wide range of school sixth forms supporting young people, including providers such as Luminate Education Group in Yorkshire. In total we are funding over 18,000 16-to-18 year olds in 2022/23, including several school sixth form provisions based in the Leeds North West area.

​​The local college curriculum offer includes a broad range of skills training and qualifications including T Levels, apprenticeships, an extensive range of qualifications from Entry Level to Higher Education, including higher technical qualifications, and adult education programmes. The provision is shaped in collaboration with local employers to ensure it meets local skills needs and focuses on meeting Leeds City Region LEP skills priorities.

​​The department is also investing in local college estates through FE capital programmes to support estate condition improvement, increase college capacity to support more local people with skills training and qualifications, and T Level facilities with world class equipment.

The department is supporting employers in all sectors and all areas of the country, including Leeds, to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need. To support more employers and learners to access apprenticeships we are increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. Since May 2010, there have been a total of 5,880 apprenticeship starts in Leeds North West.

Residents in Leeds can access free Level 3 qualifications to improve their skills via the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables adult learners without a level 3 qualification (or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage) to gain a qualification for free.

In addition, the department has also introduced Skills Bootcamps, which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) at £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), including West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which covers Leeds. This gives WYCA direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides the local area with the opportunity to meet local needs.