Asked by: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to meet the public sector apprenticeship target.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department remains fully committed to the Government’s apprenticeship agenda and is actively encouraging both the recruitment of apprentices externally, through proactive outreach and the utilisation of apprenticeships to develop internal capability and strengthen talent pipelines.
Due to the diverse work of the department, DfT core and each of its executive agencies (DfT Group) have developed localised strategies to support ongoing work against public-sector apprenticeship targets, and improve the overall quality of the apprentice experience.
For mainstream recruitment, we have embedded a process standard across DfT Group requiring vacancy holders to consider recruiting apprentices as the default resourcing option to fill vacant roles. This is alongside work with the policy, HR, project delivery, finance and other technical operational professions to actively encourage apprenticeship uptake to support skills and capability growth and talent retention.
From Autumn 2020 we plan to move to volume-based recruitment and apprenticeship management. Alongside this, we will continue to focus on developing our corporate support offer for apprentices and their line-managers, and strengthening supplier engagement to drive quality of provision.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the number of apprentices in all sectors of the transport industry over the next five years.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
We are working closely with intermediary bodies in the transport sector to promote apprenticeships to 55,000 employer members. This includes through campaigns, events and school and college partnerships. The National Skills Academy for Rail is supporting employers in the sector to develop new apprenticeship standards, ensuring employers identify the skills they need for the future. Transport sector ambassadors are also engaging intermediary bodies to foster commitment to apprenticeship delivery in the transport sector.
Apprenticeships will have an important role to play in creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people, and supporting employers in all sectors, including transport, to access the skilled workforce they need to recover and grow post COVID-19. We are looking to support employers of all sizes, and particularly smaller businesses to take on new apprentices this year. We will set out further details in due course. We will also ensure that there is sufficient funding to support small businesses wanting to take on an apprentice this year.
We continue to work closely with the Department for Transport to support apprentices in the aviation and aerospace sector.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many written instructions as described in section 5.5 of the Ministerial Code have been issued by Ministers in each year since 2010; for what reason each instruction was issued; and in which Department they were issued.
Answered by Steve Barclay - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ministerial Directions are published on gov.uk. As set out in paragraph 3.4.5. of “Managing Public Money”,[1] it is the responsibility of the relevant accounting officer to arrange for the existence of the direction to be published, no later than in the next report and accounts, unless the matter must be kept confidential.
There have been 27 Ministerial Directions published since April 2011, set out in the table attached. Prior to this date, publication was not required.
Date | Department | Direction | Reason(s) | Links |
January 2015 | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Hatfield Colliery Partnership Ltd | Value for money | |
February 2015 | Department for Transport | Northern and TransPennine Express franchises 2015: invitations to tender | Value for money | |
March 2015 | Department for Transport | Manston Airport: procuring consultants for independent review | Value for Money | |
June 2015 | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Royal Mail Employee Shares (1) | Value for money | |
June 2015 | Cabinet Office and Duchy of Lancaster | Kids Company | Value for money | |
June 2015 | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Flood reinsurance scheme | Value for money | |
October 2015 | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Royal Mail Employee Shares (2) | Value for money | |
October 2015 | Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | Redcar Steelworks | Value for money | |
May 2016 | Department for Transport | London Garden Bridge | Value for money | |
July 2016 | Cabinet Office | Special Advisers’ Pay | Value for money | |
January 2018 | Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | European Union exit costs | Propriety | |
February 2018 | Department for Transport | European Union exit preparations | Propriety | |
March 2018 | Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | Local government overpayment | Propriety | |
March 2018 | Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy | European Union exit preparations – market surveillance | Propriety | |
March 2018 | Department for International Trade | Spend before Royal Assent on EU Exit costs | Propriety | |
May 2018 | Department for Education | T Levels delivery time-table | Feasibility | |
June 2018 | UK Export Finance | Support for export of Typhoon aircraft to Qatar | Value for money | |
April 2019 | UK Export Finance | Increased cover for Iraq | Regularity and value for money | |
May 2019 | Ministry of Justice | Financial assistance for subcontractors affected by the collapse of Working Links | Value for money | |
May 2019 | Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government | Remediation of private sector residential buildings with unsafe ACM cladding | Value for money | |
July 2019 | Home Office | Windrush Compensation Scheme | Regularity and Propriety | |
November 2019 | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Continuation of Official Receiver’s Indemnity | Value for money | |
November 2019 | National Health Service | NHS Pension tax charges | Regularity and Priority | |
March 2020 | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | (Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support Fund for Retail, hospitality and Leisure Business | Value for Money Feasibility | |
March 2020 | Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | Coronavirus COVID-19 the Small Grants Fund | Value for Money Feasibility | |
March 2020 | Department for Health and Social Care | Coronavirus (Covid-19): Ministerial direction on spend. | Regularity | |
May 2020 | Ministry of Communities and Local Government | Grant for unsafe cladding | Value for Money |
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2020 to Question 25091, on Shipping: Apprentices, how many (a) deck, (b) engine and (c) catering rating apprentice starts there were in 2018-19; and, with reference to the UK Seafarer Projections 2016 commissioned by his Department, what comparative assessment he has made of the (i) current supply of newly trained ratings and (ii) projected demand from industry in each of the next four years.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Apprenticeship policy is a matter for the Department for Education. The statistics for apprenticeship numbers are published online at:
The number of apprenticeship starts for ratings in 2018-19 were (a) 45
Deck (Able Seafarer) and (b) 125 Engine Room Rating. Maritime caterer was not approved in time to appear in the 2018-19 data. No comparative assessment has been made of the current supply or projected demand for ratings. However, there has been encouraging uptake in apprenticeships in the Maritime sector. Government data shows the number of starts on maritime apprenticeships more than doubled between 2014-15 and 2017-18.
My Department continues to work with industry to support maritime apprenticeships for both seafaring and shore-based roles.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2020 to Question 25091, on Shipping: Apprentices, what the number of maritime apprentice starts was in 2018-19; and what assessment his Department has made of the annual demand for seafarers in the offshore energy sector in each of the next 10 years.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Apprenticeship policy is a matter for the Department for Education. The statistics for apprenticeship numbers are published online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships#apprenticeship-starts-and-achievements
There were 344 maritime apprenticeship starts in 2018-19. No assessment has been made of the annual demand for seafarers in the offshore energy sector.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As of 31st December 2019, there were 219 apprentices in the Department for Transport, this is across our central department and four executive agencies (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency). This is 1.43% of the total staff employed within the department.
This figure is made up of apprentices who have been externally recruited, and existing employees currently undertaking an apprenticeship. This figure does not include apprentices employed or recently recruited by the Department waiting to start their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships to people with disabilities.
Answered by Michelle Donelan - Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
We are working to ensure that a Learning Difficulty or Disability (LDD) is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits that an apprenticeship offers or to employers who want to make a long-term investment in the skills they need to grow. We have seen increases in the proportion of apprenticeship starts by people declaring an LDD in recent years, rising to 12% of starts in 2018/19 from 11.2% in 2017/18 and 10.3% in 2016/17.
To ensure that employers are supported to create new apprenticeship opportunities, we provide targeted financial support directly to training providers to help remove barriers for people with a LDD. This includes paying £150 a month to providers for additional support. In specific circumstances, this amount can rise to a maximum of £19,000 per year where necessary. Providers and employers recruiting an apprentice aged 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) receive an additional payment of £1000. We also pay 100% of the cost of training for small employers with fewer than 50 employees who take on apprentices who have an EHCP. Disabled apprentices may also receive help from Access to Work to pay for workplace adaptations, job coaches, transport, special equipment and other forms of support.
We are also prioritising sharing good practice. Our Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network has grown to 75 members and brings together employers committed to improving diversity in their apprenticeship programmes, including for those with disabilities:
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/apprenticeship-diversity-champions-network.
We have integrated the Department for Work and Pensions Disability Confident campaign into the apprenticeship recruitment service. Therefore, the Disability Confident logo is displayed on apprenticeship vacancies for registered employers.
Asked by: Matthew Pennycook (Labour - Greenwich and Woolwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in his Department are paid less than the London Living Wage; and what requirements his Department places on contractors to pay the London Living Wage to London-based staff.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The table below shows the number of staff (expressed as a headcount) who are based in London and are paid below £10.55 an hour, as at 1st April 2019. DfT(c) are based in London, all other agencies are based outside of London.
Organisation | Headcount Below £ | Total Headcount |
DfT(c) | 20* | 2519 |
*This figure is rounded to the nearest 5, and are all first-year apprentices based in London.
The DfT always awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. In line with statutory requirements, we insist that Contractors pay at least the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage for workers over 25.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he has taken to introduce discounted bus and train travel for apprentices since June 2017.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
In January 2019, the government announced the 16-17 Railcard, which will offer half price rail fares to 16 and 17 year-olds from September 2019. This will benefit apprentices and those in further education. Further details about the 16-17 Railcard will be announced later this year.
The Department for Education and the Department for Transport are currently preparing a joint proposal for discounted public transport, including bus and train travel, for apprentices. They are keen to work with stakeholders to address how we can best ensure that young people are not deterred from taking up apprenticeship opportunities due to travel costs and will continue to work together to support other forms of discounted travel for apprentices.
Asked by: Mike Kane (Labour - Wythenshawe and Sale East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The proportion of staff currently employed as apprentices by the Department for Transport is 1.41%, this includes apprentices from the central department and the four executive agencies. This figure is made up of apprentices who have been externally recruited and existing employees undertaking an apprenticeship.
This figure is based on headcount numbers.
This figure does not include apprentices employed by the Department waiting to start their apprenticeship.