Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of digital skills training initiatives in bridging skills gaps in the technology sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March 2023. Programmers, data scientists, and software engineers will help deliver the department’s ambitions for critical technologies like artificial intelligence, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental across the labour market, with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The importance of digital skills goes far beyond supporting specific growth industries. They are increasingly a foundation for the economy and society, as essential to employability and participation in society as English and mathematics. That is why the department has developed an ambitious skills agenda, backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over the lifetime of this Parliament.
The department’s essential digital skills offer plays an important role in both the wider department digital offer, which will equip people with the right digital skills to progress into rewarding careers or higher-level technical study, and the department’s wider support for the government’s new Digital Strategy, led out of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which sets out the vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future.
Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department has introduced a new legal entitlement in August 2020 to fully fund adults (19+) with low digital skills to undertake an Essential Digital Skills Qualification, up to Level 1. The department has further enhanced the offer by introducing Digital Functional Skills qualifications in August 2023. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The department has also taken steps to embed essential digital skills training as part of study programmes for 16–19-year-olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
Formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why the department also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the AEB. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning.
The department is investing in employer-led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of our reforms, from digital literacy to skills for advanced digital roles. These are key in expanding our offer and providing alternative routes, as the department is aware that the traditional route does not suit everyone or every community. For example:
Through the skills reforms, the department is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing and better options for the future.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to enable police forces to charge the organisers of marches for the cost of policing them.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of our democracy, but this right must be balanced with the rights of others to go about their daily lives without disruption.
The government recognises that there will be unexpected and exceptional events that can put financial pressure on forces. In these cases, Police and Crime Commissioners can apply to the Home Office for special grant funding to meet additional costs that would be incurred from policing these events.
The Government is proposing a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million when compared to 2023-24. This includes £34m for Special Grant funding. The core purpose of Special Grant funding is to support the police with costs of unexpected events and these are considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Government regularly reviews legislation to ensure it adequately reflects challenges that are likely to be faced today. Where gaps in the legislation are identified, we will seek to address them.
Asked by: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative - North Swindon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the findings of the Healthwatch publication, Accessible Information Standard: Findings from our evidence review, published in February 2022, on levels of (a) training and (b) awareness of the standard.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
NHS England is responsible for the Accessible Information Standard (AIS), and has completed a review of the AIS considering a wide range of evidence to help ensure that the communication needs of people with a disability, impairment or sensory loss are met in health and care provision.
The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. One of the aims of the review was to strengthen assurance of implementation of the AIS, and a self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of National Health Service and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS and develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation.
Following publication of the revised standard in due course, NHS England will continue work to support its implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it. NHS England is developing the updated e-learning training modules on the AIS. NHS England has and will continue to work with the voluntary sector and those with lived experience to ensure that the modules are fully accessible, reflective of people’s experience in using services and cover a range of examples across health and adult social care. These actions should support better and more consistent implementation of the standard.
Asked by: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release by Pause entitled Pause responds to Government’s plans for children’s social care, published on 11 May 2023, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of their recommendation on annual data collection on parents who have experienced the removal of more than one child from their care.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department appreciates the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including by making it more relevant to the experience of children, young people and families. That is why the department has published a data and digital strategy for children’s social care. This strategic approach will provide the opportunity to map and understand the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and seek to address this over time. This will enable a better understanding of the system and support the planning and delivery of services. A link to the strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-data-and-digital-strategy.
Existing statutory data is captured about the child and does not capture the complex nature of families such as, for example, where siblings to not live in the same family home. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care will be a long-term endeavour due to the need to agree data definitions and standards, as well as redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that healthcare information is accessible to blind and partially-sighted people; and whether she has had recent discussions with NHS England on the effectiveness of the accessible information standard.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers to comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) and to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment or sensory loss, including blind and partially-sighted people.
NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision.
The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement. Following publication of the revised standard in due course, NHS England will continue work to support its implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it. The e-learning modules are accessible to everyone working in the NHS and adult social care services
A key part of the AIS review is the strengthening of assurance of compliance with implementation of the AIS. As such, an AIS self-assessment framework has been developed to support individual providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS and develop targeted improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation. The self-assessment framework has also been designed to help the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to gain insight into people's experiences and whether their accessible communication needs are being met, and to better understand organisational performance for inclusion in the CQC assessment framework for provider organisations.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support research into dementia care.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. In 2019, we committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million per year by 2024/25. This will span all areas of research, including dementia care to enable the best possible care and quality of life for people with dementia. The Department funds dementia research via the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR).
The Department, via the NIHR, is taking steps to increase research on dementia care, such as commissioning a Dementia and Neurodegeneration Policy Research Unit (PRU) worth £6 million to further boost evidence for policymaking. The PRU’s remit will cover research seeking to further understanding around how to improve post-diagnostic care and support offered to people living with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions, and their carers. The NIHR is investing £9 million to continue funding the Three Schools Dementia Programme which links public health, primary care and social care via our NIHR research schools, namely Schools for Social Care, Public Health and Primary Care Research. The Programme seeks to fund research to address key evidence gaps, including around how we can most effectively support and care for people living with dementia. For example, the Programme has supported several projects relating to dementia care such as the Pall-Dem care study which explores the integration of palliative care into dementia care to improve outcomes and experiences of people living with advanced dementia and their family caregivers.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the (a) First Sea Lord, (b) Chief of the General Staff and (c) Chief of the Air Staff on tackling gaps in transition services for people who are medically discharged from the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides post-transition support services beyond six months for those medically discharged from the Armed Forces. The Career Transition Partnership (CTP) provides resettlement and career transition services to all Regular Armed Forces Service leavers as part of their resettlement process, helping to make the transition from military to civilian life as smooth and successful as possible. The Core Resettlement Programme is afforded to all medically discharged Service leavers irrespective of time served.
A bespoke service called CTP Assist is provided for the most vulnerable leavers, and delivers an individualised, needs-based service to those Service personnel who face the greatest barriers to employment because of their medical condition. This comprehensive employment support is made available to all those subject to medical discharge to maximise their successful transition to civilian life. Employment support is available through the CTP two years prior to discharge and for two years afterwards.
Welfare support from the Veterans Welfare Service (VWS) is also available to all Regular and Reserve Service personnel and their families via the Defence Transition Referral Protocol. All those who are medically discharged are contacted by VWS, on behalf of MOD, to provide contact details should they experience need after discharge and want to re-engage with VWS at a subsequent point in time. VWS supports service leavers, veterans, and their families by providing ongoing support, guidance and information with issues that will endure beyond discharge. VWS clients are supported according to their needs and preferences, with support remaining in place for as long as required.
As the Minister responsible for Defence People and Families, I regularly meet with The First Sea Lord, Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Air Staff to discuss topics that fall within my portfolio and tackle prevalent issues.
Asked by: Henry Smith (Conservative - Crawley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the levels of compliance by health and social care providers with the Accessible Information Standard.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The review considered the effectiveness of the current AIS, how the standard is implemented and enforced in practice, and identified recommendations for improvement.
One of the aims of the review was to strengthen assurance of implementation of the AIS, and a self-assessment framework has been developed to support providers of NHS and social care services to measure their performance against the AIS and develop improvement action plans to address gaps in implementation. The self-assessment framework has also been designed to help the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to gain insight into people's experiences and whether their accessible communication needs are being met, and help CQC better understand organisational performance and to include that in the CQC assessment framework for provider organisations.
Following publication of the revised standard, NHS England will continue work to support its implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support vocational learning pathways for the delivery of digital skills education.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were published in March 2023 in the UK Science & Technology Framework. Programmers, data scientists, and other key digital roles will help to deliver the department’s ambitions for the critical technologies detailed in the Framework, like AI and Quantum, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental to the wider labour market with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The department is investing in employer led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of its reforms. For example, the department has introduced three Digital T Levels. These are gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications designed with employers to meet industry standards. They have a significant industry placement built in to give experience of work within the digital sector.
There are also over 30 Digital Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) now being taught. These are Level 4/5 qualifications developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers so students can develop the digital skills that employers want. Additionally, digital apprenticeships continue to grow with over 22,000 starts in 2022/23, which is an increase of 19% from the previous year.
The department is building on these initiatives through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce which brings together government and external expertise to increase the numbers of individuals taking digital and computing qualifications in mainstream and tertiary education and to attract individuals into digital jobs.
The department’s ambitious skills agenda is backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over this Parliament. The department is using this funding to ensure people of all ages can access high quality training and education which addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. Key examples of how this funding has been used to support digital skills can be seen in the introduction of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, the introduction of the Free Courses for Jobs offer and the national roll out of Digital Skills Bootcamps.
IoTs are leaders in the provision of high quality higher level technical education. They are employer-led collaborations that bring together the best of existing further education provision with higher education partners to develop a high skilled, diverse workforce that is designed to respond to evolving sector needs. IoTs aim to help close skills gaps in STEM sectors, like digital. By establishing IoTs as a permanent network of ‘go to’ providers with deep employer relationships for Level 4/5 higher level STEM training, they play a critical role in boosting local economies and delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and HTQs.
Launched in April 2021, the Free Courses for Jobs offer allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, including those linked with digital careers. These courses are ideal for those adults over 50 without a Level 3 qualification that are looking to improve their digital skills, retrain or upskill to meet their potential.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over, with courses available in digital subjects such as software development, cyber security, and data analytics. The majority of the trailblazers in Skills Bootcamps launched in 2020, were Digital. Digital training constituted the biggest element of the department’s provision in the ensuing waves of delivery in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.
More Skills Bootcamps in Digital are being delivered through the launch of a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which enables the department to procure Skills Bootcamps in response to quickly emerging skills needs and changing employment patterns. The department focused on Skills Bootcamps in digital skills as a priority for the first competition run from the DPS, and Digital skills are further included in the second competition.
Digital skills are increasingly critical for all citizens, enabling them to play a full part in society. Through the Adult Education Budget, the department introduced a new legal entitlement in 2020 for adults to study free, high quality Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and, from August 2023, new digital Functional Skills Qualifications. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The government recognises that formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why it also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the Adult Education Budget. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning. From next year, the Adult Skills Fund will continue to support both qualification-based learning and tailored learning (which will include non-regulated learning to build digital skills) so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Through skills reforms, the government is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing, and better options for the future.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to expand the delivery of digital skills short courses and skills academies.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the department’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which were published in March 2023 in the UK Science & Technology Framework. Programmers, data scientists, and other key digital roles will help to deliver the department’s ambitions for the critical technologies detailed in the Framework, like AI and Quantum, but their importance is not limited to these technologies. These roles are fundamental to the wider labour market with 60% of businesses believing their reliance on advanced digital skills will increase over the next five years.
The department is investing in employer led technical skills and education, with courses and training in digital subjects often at the forefront of its reforms. For example, the department has introduced three Digital T Levels. These are gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications designed with employers to meet industry standards. They have a significant industry placement built in to give experience of work within the digital sector.
There are also over 30 Digital Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) now being taught. These are Level 4/5 qualifications developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers so students can develop the digital skills that employers want. Additionally, digital apprenticeships continue to grow with over 22,000 starts in 2022/23, which is an increase of 19% from the previous year.
The department is building on these initiatives through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce which brings together government and external expertise to increase the numbers of individuals taking digital and computing qualifications in mainstream and tertiary education and to attract individuals into digital jobs.
The department’s ambitious skills agenda is backed by an additional £3.8 billion in further education and skills over this Parliament. The department is using this funding to ensure people of all ages can access high quality training and education which addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. Key examples of how this funding has been used to support digital skills can be seen in the introduction of 21 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, the introduction of the Free Courses for Jobs offer and the national roll out of Digital Skills Bootcamps.
IoTs are leaders in the provision of high quality higher level technical education. They are employer-led collaborations that bring together the best of existing further education provision with higher education partners to develop a high skilled, diverse workforce that is designed to respond to evolving sector needs. IoTs aim to help close skills gaps in STEM sectors, like digital. By establishing IoTs as a permanent network of ‘go to’ providers with deep employer relationships for Level 4/5 higher level STEM training, they play a critical role in boosting local economies and delivering the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and HTQs.
Launched in April 2021, the Free Courses for Jobs offer allows eligible adults to access over 400 Level 3 qualifications (A level equivalent) for free, including those linked with digital careers. These courses are ideal for those adults over 50 without a Level 3 qualification that are looking to improve their digital skills, retrain or upskill to meet their potential.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over, with courses available in digital subjects such as software development, cyber security, and data analytics. The majority of the trailblazers in Skills Bootcamps launched in 2020, were Digital. Digital training constituted the biggest element of the department’s provision in the ensuing waves of delivery in the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 financial years.
More Skills Bootcamps in Digital are being delivered through the launch of a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) which enables the department to procure Skills Bootcamps in response to quickly emerging skills needs and changing employment patterns. The department focused on Skills Bootcamps in digital skills as a priority for the first competition run from the DPS, and Digital skills are further included in the second competition.
Digital skills are increasingly critical for all citizens, enabling them to play a full part in society. Through the Adult Education Budget, the department introduced a new legal entitlement in 2020 for adults to study free, high quality Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and, from August 2023, new digital Functional Skills Qualifications. These qualifications were developed against employer supported National Standards and provide learners with the essential digital skills they need to participate actively in life, work and society.
The government recognises that formal qualifications are not appropriate for everyone, which is why it also funds community learning and other non-regulated learning, such as building confidence in essential digital skills, through the Adult Education Budget. Many local authorities and other further education providers are already delivering these courses that help equip adults with the essential digital skills they need for work, life and further learning. From next year, the Adult Skills Fund will continue to support both qualification-based learning and tailored learning (which will include non-regulated learning to build digital skills) so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Through skills reforms, the government is continuing to ensure learners are supported, including those who need the most support, to train, retrain and upskill so they can climb the ladder of opportunity towards better jobs, better wellbeing, and better options for the future.