Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the report by the East of England APPG and EELGA entitled Levelling Up in the East of England - the Region’s Progress towards the Government’s Twelve Levelling Up Missions, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations in that report in respect of overall quality of training, access to training and a better alignment of training with employer need.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament to ensure people can get onto the ladder of opportunity and access high-quality training and education that leads to good jobs, addresses skills gaps, boosts productivity and supports levelling up.
Careers education, information, advice and guidance is a crucial first step to supporting individuals to access excellent education and skills training. Driven by the internationally recognised Gatsby Benchmarks, secondary schools and colleges are embedding career learning in the curriculum and providing young people with tailored advice and guidance, including more opportunities to learn about skills and apprenticeships.
Through our National Careers Service digital campaigns, such as Get the Jump, we are bringing information about education and training courses into one place. Users can also search where to take courses.
Additionally, the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme continues to raise awareness of apprenticeships, traineeships, and T Levels in schools and colleges.
Employers have been central to the design and delivery of our skills policies such as through apprenticeships, T levels, and Institutes of Technology. The department set out in the Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper that we want to build on these successes, giving employers a key role in our skills system. By 2030, almost all technical courses will be on employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs.
Employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are forging stronger, more dynamic and direct working arrangements between employers, skills providers, and local leaders. By embedding greater employer engagement in local skills systems, LSIPs will bring the demand and supply sides closer together. This will enable a coherent ‘whole system’ approach to skills planning and help people develop the skills they need to get good jobs and increase their prospects.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has conducted a review of the potential changes required to the admissions system for higher education courses in advance of the delivery of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement in the academic year 2024-25.
Answered by Robert Halfon
To support the design and delivery of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) from 2025, the department will continue to engage with sector bodies across both further education and higher education, as well as the Student Loans Company and regulatory bodies.
On admissions, the department is continuing to work with UCAS and sector bodies to improve transparency, reduce the use of unconditional offers, and reform the personal statement to improve fairness for applicants of all backgrounds.
The LLE consultation and other ongoing engagements are an important part of delivering a transformation of student finance. The department is carefully considering the contributions and will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to launch Alternative Student Finance for Muslim students.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department understands the concerns held by some Muslim students and their families about student finance. We want all learners with the potential to benefit from higher education to be able to do so. The department remains committed to delivering an alternative student finance (ASF) product for Muslim students.
Going forward, the department is introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) that will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support.
The department's consultation on the detail and scope of the LLE closed in May 2022. In this consultation, the department sought views on what barriers learners with protected characteristics might face in accessing or drawing on their LLE, noting that answers to this question could include consideration of an ASF product for students whose faith has resulted in concerns about traditional loans. We are currently considering if and how ASF can be delivered as part of the LLE.
We will provide a further update on ASF as part of the government response to the LLE consultation.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing free continuing education for adults with (a) dyslexia, (b) illiteracy and (c) additional reading and learning disorders.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has invested £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision up to level 3 for eligible adults aged 19 and above, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship, or further learning.
The AEB also funds Learner Support to support learners with a specific financial hardship and Learning Support to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and disabilities, including the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Learning Support can cover a range of needs including an assessment for dyslexia, funding to pay for specialist equipment or helpers, and arranging signers or note takers.
Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will continue to be responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
The AEB supports four statutory entitlements to full funding for adult learners, which apply in devolved and non-devolved areas:
The ESFA-funded AEB for learners residing in non-devolved areas also supports more flexible tailored programmes of learning to be made available, which may or may not require a qualification, to help eligible learners engage in learning, build confidence, and enhance their wellbeing.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support lifelong learning and access to education in the UK.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The government is investing £1.6 billion through the National Skills Fund over the next three years, to help adults gain the skills that are sought by employers. The fund will make sure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential and transform their lives.
As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level who are unemployed or earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a level 3 qualification for free.
Those who want to upskill in their role, are looking for a job, or are changing career, can take part in Skills Bootcamps. Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. Skills Bootcamps are currently available across England, offering training in digital, technical (including engineering and manufacturing), construction, logistics (HGV driving), and green skills (including heat pump engineer and electric vehicle charging point installation), and have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers.
We are on track to deliver 16,000 Skills Bootcamps training places in the 2021/22 financial year. The department will continue to significantly expand Skills Bootcamps further following the announcement of up to £550 million additional funding across financial years 2022 to 2025, including up to £150 million in financial year 2022/23.
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. In the academic year 2022/23 this funding totals £1.34 billion.
Apprenticeships are accessible to people of all ages and can support people to re-train and upskill throughout their lives. We are increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25.
In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students, tasking them to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. Higher education providers should be working meaningfully with schools to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are encouraged and supported to achieve the highest possible grades to succeed, whether that be an apprenticeship or higher technical qualification, or a course at another university.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she will take to increase re-skilling opportunities for adults.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The government is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament, to ensure people have access to skills to build a fulfilling career in jobs the economy needs.
The department has transformed apprenticeships by, driving up quality, better meeting the skill’s needs of employers through more flexible training models and offering opportunities to individuals to start and progress in their careers. The department is also increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25.
The department is also investing in re-skilling and up-skilling opportunities to make sure adults, at any age, can upskill to reach their potential, transforming lives and delivering on the National Skills Fund commitment. As part of this investment, we have introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a qualification for free.
In addition, learners who want to upskill in their role, are looking for work, or are changing career can take part in Skills Bootcamps. These are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.
As part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, the government has previously committed to introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) from 2025. The LLE will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education (£37,000 in today’s fees) to use over their lifetime. This will be available for both modules and full courses at higher technical and degree levels (levels 4 to 6), regardless of whether they are provided in colleges or universities. The LLE will support study throughout a learner’s life, with the opportunity to train, retrain and upskill as needed in response to changing skills needs and employment patterns.
The department is promoting and increasing awareness of our skills provision to learners and employers through the Skills for Life campaign, which targets employers, young people, and adults. Our campaign toolkits provide more information and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/skills-campaign-toolkits.
The department continues to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). £1.34 billion was invested in the 2021/22 academic year. The AEB fully funds, or co-funds, skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3. This is to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.
Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). Devolution of the AEB gives MCAs and the GLA direct control over adult education provision for their residents and provides local areas the opportunity to meet local needs.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges, local authorities and other providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB funding, to best meet the needs of their communities.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) qualifications are available to Armed Forces personnel that are recognised outside the services, (b) proportion of personnel leave the Forces with one or more such qualifications and (c) assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing that proportion.
Answered by Sarah Atherton
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises the value of a skilled, sustainable, capable workforce, trained and equipped to defend the nation’s interests. To achieve this, Defence policy directs that, where possible, all mandatory military training and education is accredited and leads towards a full or partial nationally recognised qualification. Due to the niche content of some Defence courses, it is recognised that an externally recognised qualification may not always be possible. In such cases, individuals may ‘top up’ their learning enabling them to achieve a full qualification through a combination of accreditation and additional learning
Over 600 nationally recognised qualifications are delivered to Service Personnel across the single services from level 1 to level 8 on the regulated qualifications framework. Qualifications cover a wide range of subject areas including aviation, engineering, IT, leadership, and medical. Further opportunities for obtaining qualifications in service are available the single services and the MOD’s elective education schemes.
The largest area for qualification attainment is the Armed Forces Apprenticeship Programme. Over 95% of all non-commissioned recruits commence an apprenticeship as part of their trade training, with over 20,000 Service personnel on an apprenticeship at any one time. Where an apprenticeship is not available an alternative appropriate nationally recognised qualification is offered. As part of their programme, all recruits will achieve at least L1 Maths and English Functional Skills, with higher levels required for promotion.
The MOD has recently undertaken a Defence wide accreditation review, which highlights the MOD’s commitment to lifelong learning of its Service Personnel. It is envisaged that findings and recommendations from the review will further improve the accreditation and qualification offer across Defence.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester, Gorton)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Answer of 20 October 2021 to Question 57279, what further consideration her Department has given to establishing a Takaful-based funding structure for financial support for students in higher and further education.
Answered by Andrea Jenkyns
The department remains committed to delivering an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles. We want all learners with the potential to benefit from a higher education to be able to do so.
We are introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE), which will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support. We are currently considering if and how ASF can be delivered as part of the LLE.
We believe it is sensible to align future delivery of an ASF product with these major reforms to ensure fair treatment for all students.
Asked by: Baroness Uddin (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with (1) universities, and (2) businesses, in the fields of (a) the metaverse, (b) blockchain technologies, (c) cryptocurrencies, and (d) artificial intelligence.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Digital Strategy announced by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Tech and the Digital Economy on the 13 June, is the roadmap we will follow to further strengthen our global position as a science and technology superpower.
The Digital Strategy will lead to new jobs, skills and services that benefit and level up the whole of the UK. It will bring tech leaders together in a new Digital Skills Council to tackle the skills gap and to carry out a review of the UK’s large-scale computer processing capabilities. The group will look at the issue of digital skills from schools through to lifelong learning and at ways the industry can inspire the next generation of talent from a wide range of backgrounds to consider a digital career.
As an illustration of our commitment to this, we announced that the Office for Students (OfS) will be providing 2,000 scholarships to ensure we has more of the advanced digital skills needed to maintain the country’s leading position in cutting-edge AI and data science. The OfS allocate up to £23 million to universities to fund scholarships starting in 2023. Funding will be available for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds as well as black, women and disabled students to ensure the AI built and used in the UK reflects the make-up of our society.
In this new landscape, businesses will be critical to supporting our ambitions. The Innovation Strategy, published by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy in July 2021, focuses on how the government supports businesses to innovate by making the most of the UK’s research, development and innovation system.
As part of this UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will ramp up its investment in the technologies of the future including Artificial Intelligence, digital, and advanced computing, working with businesses to crowd-in investment and create world leading sectors and job-rich industries. Over the spending review period UKRI allocation for the 2022/25 financial year is £25.1 billion and will reach its highest ever level in the 2024/25 financial year (over £8.8 billion).
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of workers in (a) hospitality and (b) retail on high streets.
Answered by Paul Scully
We are aware of elevated levels of vacancies in the hospitality and retail sectors, as with other sectors.
Both the Retail Sector Council and Hospitality Sector Council continue to work on the strategic issues facing businesses, including jobs and skills. The Retail Sector Council has identified skills and lifelong learning as a key priority and the Hospitality Strategy focuses on jobs and skills as a way to build resilience across the sector.