Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase funding for skills-based education in Nuneaton constituency.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to offering skills training to learners to help them acquire the necessary skills for employment or further training. The Adult Skills Fund (ASF), previously the Adult Education Budget (AEB), is worth £1.34 billion this academic year and fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and over.
In 2024/25, as part of the AEB transition to the ASF, the department introduced five new funding rates, which has seen 78% of qualifications funded through the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
The department is investing in level 3 learning via the ‘free courses for jobs’ offer, which allows eligible learners to access a high value level 3 qualification for free. An additional funding uplift is paid by the department, at two different rates, for providers that offer a wide range of sector subjects.
The total ASF allocation for a provider in the Nuneaton constituency for the 2024/25 academic year is approximately £4.6 million. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/funding-allocations-to-training-providers-2024-to-2025.
Over £7.5 billion in 16 to 19 programme funding will be invested during the 2024/25 academic year as part of the department’s drive for all young people to access high quality education and training that meets their needs and helps them to thrive. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced at Budget a further boost of £300 million in the 2025/26 financial year for further education (FE) to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed and a further £300 million to support colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate.
Information on 16 to 19 funding allocations received by institutions in Nuneaton is available in the published allocations, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/funding-education-for-16-to-19-year-olds#published-allocations.
For the 2023/24 academic year, 16 to 19 funded institutions in the Nuneaton constituency were allocated £31.23 million in 16 to 19 funding. This includes high needs student funding, student support funding and funding for the FE teachers pension scheme employer contribution grant. For the 2024/25 academic year, they received £33.96 million. This is an increase of £2.73 million, or 8.7%.
Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds Central and Headingley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with representatives from the National Education Union to discuss the 2024-2025 further education pay award for teachers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
As part of this government’s commitment to working closely with stakeholders, my Ministerial colleagues and departmental officials meet regularly with representatives of all the education unions, including the National Education Union, to discuss a range of issues.
Further education (FE) providers are responsible for setting the pay of their teachers and government plays no role in this process.
The Autumn Budget 2024 set out the government’s commitment to skills by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Department is taking to support hospice funding to ensure (a) sustainability and (b) quality care in regions with limited alternatives.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing services within the National Health Service. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services that ICBs, including the Dorset ICB, which covers the West Dorset constituency, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
NHS England has also developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those their local population, thereby enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.
I have met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.
We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to provide additional funding for hospices in (a) West Dorset constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing services within the National Health Service. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between integrated care board (ICB) areas. This will vary depending on demand in that ICB area but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services that ICBs, including the Dorset ICB, which covers the West Dorset constituency, must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
NHS England has also developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of those their local population, thereby enabling ICBs to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities.
I have met NHS England and discussions have begun on how to reduce inequalities and variation in access to, and the quality of, palliative and end of life care. We, alongside key partners NHS England, will continue to proactively engage with our stakeholders, including the voluntary sector and independent hospices, on an ongoing basis, in order to understand the issues they face.
We will consider next steps on palliative and end of life care, including funding, in the coming months.
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support providers and (b) encourage the uptake of higher education degree apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government knows that earnings for those undertaking higher apprenticeships compare well to the earnings of first-degree graduates five years on. The latest data shows the median first-degree graduate earnings five years after graduation were £29,900 compared to £33,800 for level 4 apprentices and £31,380 for level 5+ apprentices.
In addition, latest data shows that 95% of those who achieved a level 6 apprenticeship in 2020/21 moved into sustained employment or sustained employment and learning in the following academic year.
The department will work with Skills England to ensure that degree apprenticeships continue to offer good value for money and drive economic growth.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12200 on Reoffenders: Foreign Nationals, how many (a) non-violent and (b) violent foreign national reoffences there were in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is not possible to identify which reoffences committed by foreign nationals are ‘violent’ and ‘non-violent’ from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer. This would require a manual search of court records and would therefore be of disproportionate cost.
We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Those sentenced to 12 months, or more are automatically considered for deportation.
Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish her Department's contingent liability database.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government recognises the importance of monitoring and managing contingent liabilities, as these are fiscal obligations we need to ensure are consistent with the sustainability of the public finances. The government has taken steps to ensure this by publishing the Contingent Liability Approval Framework (CLAF) to provide a clear policy framework for approving and managing contingent liabilities, as well as establishing the Contingent Liability Central Capability (CLCC) within UK Government Investments (UKGI) to offer expert advisory support to departments to ensure contingent liabilities are priced and structured to get the best value for money results for taxpayers.
The Charter for Budget Responsibility, published alongside the Autumn Budget, commits the government to publish an annual report on central government’s material contingent liabilities, financial guarantees, insurance contracts, and provisions. The CLCC first published an annual comprehensive assessment of government exposure to contingent liabilities in November 2023 and will continue to do so annually, with the next report due by the end of the financial year. This level of transparency goes beyond accounting requirements to provide the public and parliament with detailed information on the government’s risk exposure.
In addition, as set out in Managing Public Money (MPM) government reports new contingent liabilities not taken on in the normal course of business, to parliament. Finally, to ensure transparency in line with the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM), departments disclose information on their contingent liabilities annually through their annual report and accounts, specifically within the Notes to the Accounts. These notes provide a clear explanation of the circumstances under which the liabilities may arise, estimated financial effects, and any uncertainties involved.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of women who are being advertised for sexual exploitation on websites advertising prostitution in Gower.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out a mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this ambition.
We have not estimated the number of women being advertised on websites advertising prostitution in Gower, but the Government recognises that adult service websites are the most significant enabler of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Online platforms need to be responsible and accountable for content on their sites and take proactive steps to prevent their sites being used by criminals. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and sites, including adult service websites, will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment.
In addition, the Government is working closely with law enforcement to tackle the drivers of trafficking for sexual exploitation, including through operational intensifications to target perpetrators.
The Government will continue to keep policies to tackle sexual exploitation under review.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 3.46 of the Autumn Budget 2024, published on 30 October, how she plans to distribute the £300 million for further education in England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to driving economic growth and supporting opportunity for all, and further education (FE) is central to this. The government is providing an additional £300 million for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed, and an additional £300 million to support colleges to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estate. This funding will benefit all FE colleges. We will set out how the additional funding will be distributed in due course.
Asked by: John Glen (Conservative - Salisbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate she has made of the total revenue from (a) central government and (b) local government taxation in each year from 2023-24 for which projections are available.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Treasury does not publish forecasts of the economy or public finances; the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s official forecaster and provides independent analysis of the UK’s public finances.
The forecast breakdown of current receipts for central government and local government can be found in the OBR’s October 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook detailed forecast tables (aggregates) – Table 6.2.