Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of apprenticeship assessment reforms on workforce capacity in agriculture, forestry and other land-based sectors.

Defra and the Department for Work and Pensions regularly discuss routes into the sector. Apprenticeship reforms aim to increase flexibility, prioritise critical skills and reduce pressure on students, providing more scope for ongoing assessment. The additional £725 million Government investment will support 50,000 more apprenticeships, reversing a 40% decline in starts over the past decade.

Agreed changes to the End Point Assessment for the groundbreaking degree-level Professional Forester apprenticeship, which the Forestry Commission delivers in partnership with the University of Cumbria and the Institute of Chartered Foresters, are considered to be very positive, reducing pressure of students and staff and providing more scope for ongoing assessment.