Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the consequences for his policies of the report London Futures: Agiletown, published by Deloitte in November 2014.

The Deloitte report highlights concerns that UK jobs will increasingly be replaced by technology over the next twenty years and how this will impact on the labour market. There is always a degree of uncertainty about future labour markets, but the UK has one of the most flexible labour markets which puts us on the front foot in terms of adapting to technological change.

A recent study by PEW on the future of the internet showed that the views of experts are evenly spread on whether or not automation would displace more jobs than it creates by 2025. It is clear that digitisation and automation will create new employment opportunities and this will require people to acquire new skills.

The Government is working on a number of fronts to make sure the UK is well placed to seize these opportunities. For example, in September 2014, we introduced a new computing curriculum to create a digitally confident population with the skills for current and future digital careers. We are working in partnership with industry, and have provided £18.4m of funding for the Tech Partnership to enable employers to articulate and address their skills needs. Our reformed apprenticeships allow employers to develop standards that meet their requirements. In November 2014, Government announced an innovative degree apprenticeship, which will enable young people to get an honours degree alongside on the job training.