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Written Question
Literacy
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on levels of adult literacy in the UK; and what steps she is taking to increase adult literacy levels.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department recognises the importance of good literacy skills, both in work and everyday life. Securing good levels of literacy has a positive impact on participation in society, improves earnings and employment opportunities and opens doors to further learning.

The department participates in the OECD’s International Survey of Adult Skills, which was last conducted in England and 24 other countries in 2011-12. The results show that 16% of 16-65-year-olds have the literacy skills of an 11 year old, or lower. The next survey is due to report in late 2024. A link to view the OECD adult skills surveys can be found here: https://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/.

The government has also conducted the Skills for Life survey in 2011 which provided a national profile of adult literacy, numeracy, and ICTskills, and assessed the impact that different levels of skills had on people’s lives. The survey findings were published in 2012 and reported that, in England, 15% of the working age population have the literacy skills of an 11 year old, or lower (an estimated 5 million people).

The department also gathers data annually from providers delivering government funded adult further education (FE) and skills provision in England. The latest statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-march-2024.

To improve essential literacy and numeracy skills, a legal entitlement was introduced through the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (Sections 87-89).This legal entitlement can be viewed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/22/part/4/chapter/1/crossheading/education-and-training-for-persons-aged-19-or-over-etc.

Through its legal entitlement, the department provides fully-funded study for adults who do not have essential literacy skills up to the equivalent of a GCSE grade 4/C or higher. In the 2022/23 academic year, around 223,000 learners participated in a literacy course funded through the entitlement.

The department supports all adults for whom English is not their first language to secure the English language skills they need. Adults are fully-funded or co-funded to study English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses and qualifications up to and including GCSE 4/C equivalent. The number of learners participating in ESOL courses and qualifications continues to grow, with around 144,000 learners in the 2022/23 academic year. Already, round 120,000 learners have participated in ESOL courses in the first two quarters of this academic year.

The department recognises that community learning within its Adult Education Budget (AEB) can play a valuable role in helping individuals improve their literacy, particularly for learners where a qualification is not the most appropriate first step.

Currently 60% of the AEB has been devolved to 9 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and delegated to the Mayor of London, working where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are responsible for the provision of adult education and allocation of the AEB in their local areas, including funding of English and maths statutory entitlements. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas where colleges and other training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB to best meet the needs of their communities.


Written Question
Job Creation and Skilled Workers: South Holland and the Deepings
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what fiscal steps she is taking to support (a) training programmes, (b) apprenticeships and (c) other efforts to promote (i) job creation and (ii) skills development in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Funding allocations are not available broken down to the level of individual constituencies.

The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system that is employer-focused, high quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives; and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this parliament to strengthen higher and further education.

In the 2023/24 academic year, the department is investing nearly £7 billion for education and training places for 16 to 19 year olds, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This funding is allocated to education providers to deliver study programmes and T Levels to young people.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which totalled £1.34 billion in the 2023/24 Funding Year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to Level 3, to support adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes funding going to Boston College, which includes the Spalding Campus in the South Holland and the Deepings Constituency.

The Free Courses for Jobs offer gives eligible adults the chance to access high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. Around 400 qualifications are available on the offer, chosen specifically as they offer good wage outcomes and address skills needs in the economy. There have been over 61,000 enrolments since April 2021.

Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks in priority skills areas, with a guaranteed interview upon completion. The department is expanding Skills Bootcamps through increased national procurement and grant funding to 30 Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas to meet national and local skills needs in the 2024/25 financial year. The department granted Great Lincolnshire LEP, in partnership with Lincolnshire County Council, £2 million for Skills Bootcamps across Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland in 2023, and a further £3 million for courses starting after April 2024.

The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support more high quality apprenticeship opportunities across the country, including in South Holland and the Deepings. There have been over 11,000 apprenticeship starts in South Holland and the Deepings since 2010.

The department has introduced employer-designed T levels, which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country. University Academy Holbeach in South Holland and the Deepings currently offers seven T Levels and is planning to offer three more from September 2024.

Multiply is the government’s programme for improving adult numeracy. Multiply is funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is the government’s flagship fund for supporting people and places across the UK. Up to £270 million is directly available for local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy. Lincolnshire County Council has been allocated £4.02 million of Multiply funding from the 2022/23 to 2024/25 financial years to improve adult numeracy in their area.


Written Question
China: Internment
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL2663), whether they have made any estimate of the number of camps, including the so-called anti-extremism centres and re-education camps, in (1) Tibet and (2) the rest of China.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Government refers to credible external estimates, in particular those from the United Nations, of numbers of individuals in China detained under various circumstances and within certain geographies. For example, the April 2023 UN Special Procedures found "[h]undreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been 'transferred' from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015" noting "the labour transfer programme is facilitated by a network of 'vocational training centres', which focus less on developing professional skills and more on cultural and political indoctrination in a militarised environment." As noted in the Government's response to Written Question HL2663, with regard to the situation in Xinjiang, in 2018 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination estimated "upwards of a million people were being held in so-called counter-extremism centres and another two million had been forced into what the Chinese refer to as 're-education camps' for political and cultural indoctrination."


Written Question
Digital Technology: Wigan
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to tackle digital exclusion among older people in Wigan constituency.

Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is responsible for coordinating HMG digital inclusion policy as part of its commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age. Digital inclusion is a cross-cutting issue that spans social engagement, education, employment, access to services and many more elements of everyday life.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology leads on telecoms and digital infrastructure, including Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband to the hardest to reach parts of the UK. In the Wigan constituency, over 98% of premises can access a superfast connection (>=30Mbps), while 92% can access a gigabit-capable connection, up from 0.8% in December 2019. Both of these current figures are higher than the national averages of 97% and 81% for superfast and gigabit-capable coverage, respectively.

More broadly across Government, the Cabinet Office is working to remove barriers and ensure online services are as inclusive as possible by making public sector websites accessible to as many people as possible. The Cabinet Office leads on the Service Standard, a set of principles government service teams and departments must adhere to when creating and running new public services – such as the NHS – and some Local Authorities, including Greater Manchester Combined Authority, have committed to using these as well.

Training is available for elderly people wishing to acquire essential digital skills. Department for Education has introduced a digital entitlement for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to level 1, free of charge. Essential Digital Skills Qualifications, introduced alongside the digital entitlement, are based on new national standards which set out the digital skills people need to get on in life and work.

We also recognise that ongoing support is essential to overcome barriers of access. Our network of 2,900 public libraries across England provide a trusted network of accessible locations with staff, volunteers, free Wi-Fi, public PCs, and assisted digital access to a wide range of digital services.


Written Question
Training
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) young people and (b) adults have access to a range of high quality training pathways.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future. The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives. The department’s reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education. These reforms will help equip people with the education, training and skills that employers demand both in the public and private sector.

Apprenticeships are for people of any age and are crucial in driving growth and social mobility. To support growth, the department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.

The department has introduced employer-designed T Levels which are equipping thousands of young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience to access employment or further study in some of the most in-demand skills areas. 18 T Levels are now available, which are being delivered through over 250 providers across all regions of the country.

The department has invested £300 million to establish 21 Institutes of Technology across England to significantly increase the number of learners with higher level technical skills, offering an alternative route to high paid jobs. They bring education and industry together to deliver world class technical education and training in key STEM subjects aligned to the skills needs of the local economy they serve.

The department is delivering reforms to increase the profile, prestige, and uptake of higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs), which are Level 4/5 qualifications approved against employer-developed standard and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. This means students and employers can have the confidence that HTQs provide skills employers need. To date, 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across seven occupational routes and over 140 providers are approved to deliver HTQs.

The Adult Education Budget (AEB) of £1.34 billion this year funds skills provision for adults to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. This includes entitlements to free first qualifications at Level 2 and 3 and English, mathematics and digital qualifications for those adults who do not have them. Community Learning plays a vital role within AEB provision by supporting those furthest from the workplace. It is an important stepping stone for learners who are not ready for formal accredited learning, or who would benefit from learning in a more informal way.

In addition, the department has introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables eligible adults to gain a high value qualification for free and Skills Bootcamps. These 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.


Written Question
Vocational Guidance
Thursday 21st March 2024

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 is taking with career advice services to help ensure that young people leaving school can move into a (a) job and (b) apprenticeship.

Answered by Robert Halfon

In October 2023, the department launched a new website called Skills for Careers that provides a single digital front door to information about skills training options and careers. From Skills for Careers, users are guided through government’s skills offer from apprenticeships to Skills Bootcamps, A levels to Multiply. The website provides an overview of each option, along with information about writing job applications and CVs. The Skill for Life website can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/skills-for-life.

The government has strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have access to independent and impartial careers guidance, and pupils in years 8-13 have at least six opportunities to hear directly from providers of technical education and apprenticeships.

Since September 2012, schools have had a statutory duty to secure independent careers guidance. For pupils of compulsory school age, this must include information on the full range of 16-18 education and training options, including apprenticeships.

The Careers and Enterprise Company will ensure that Careers Hubs increase young peoples’ exposure to employers and more in-depth workplace experiences. These experiences give young people a real feel for work and the skills they need to succeed.

The National Careers Service provides free, impartial high-quality careers information, advice and guidance. Young people aged 13-18 can access information and advice through the service website and local community-based careers advisers via a web chat service and a telephone helpline.

The Careers Pathway Dashboard allows users to see which are the most popular and best qualifications needed to gain successful employment in a specific sector within a local area. This is a first attempt to create information to support careers advice for young people exploring their career options or starting their career. The Careers Pathway Dashboard can be found here: https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/education-to-employment-dashboard/.

Careers Leaders work to develop careers programmes that will improve the quality of careers advice in schools and give more aspirational careers advice for children and young people.

The department actively promotes apprenticeships in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme. During the 2022/23 academic year, ASK engaged over 2,400 schools and colleges, with over 625,000 student engagements and more than 45,000 parent/carer engagements.

Jobcentre Plus school advisers work closely with schools and colleges to support their statutory duty to deliver careers education and guidance, assisting young people to make informed choices about which path they can follow when they leave secondary school or reach 18.


Written Question
Mathematics: Primary Education
Thursday 21st March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of primary school children meeting expected standards in maths.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Since 2010, the department has overseen a transformation in the way mathematics is taught in schools, based on the best available international evidence. Reform of the mathematics curriculum and testing system was accompanied by the introduction of a national network of 40 Maths Hubs in 2014 and overseen by the National Centre of Excellence in Teaching Mathematics, to help local schools improve the quality of their teaching.

Maths Hubs deliver our Teaching for Mastery programme, which is bringing teaching practice from high performing East Asian jurisdictions to primary and secondary schools across England. The programme aims to reach 75% of primary schools by 2025. Maths Hubs also run the Mastering Number programme which helps children in the first years of primary school master the basics of arithmetic, including number bonds and times tables.

The percentage of pupils meeting the key stage 2 expected standard in mathematics in the 2022/23 academic year was 73%, up from 71% in 2021/22. Pre-pandemic, England achieved its highest ever mathematics score in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study international test for year 5 pupils. Although the study was affected by the pandemic, analysis of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 results for 15 year olds showed that England had risen in the rankings, from seventeenth for mathematics in 2018, to eleventh. Ofsted recently found a “resounding, positive shift in primary mathematics education”.

All eligible year 4 pupils in England are required to take the Multiplication Table Check, which is an on screen assessment testing pupils' ability to fluently recall their knowledge of multiplication tables up to 12x12. 29% of eligible children scored full marks in 2023, up from 27% in 2022, and the average attainment score in 2023 was 20.2, up from 19.8 in 2022.

The department has introduced a new national professional qualification (NPQ) in Leading Primary Mathematics (LPM) to help schools provide pupils with the foundational mathematics knowledge and skills they need for future attainment and employment. The NPQ LPM enables teachers and leaders to draw upon the best available evidence on how to teach mathematics to primary pupils. The NPQ is aimed at those who already have a secure understanding of mastery approaches and will build their leadership capability to enable them to improve mastery teaching of mathematics across a school.


Written Question
Physician Associates
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the status of the guidance issued by the British Medical Association in its report Safe Scope of Practice for Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs) in relation to Physician and Anaesthesia Associates.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government considers scope of practice guidance for Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs) to be a matter for the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) respectively, in conjunction with key stakeholders including other medical royal colleges, the Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA), and the Association of Anaesthesia Associates.

The current scope of practice guidance for AAs, which is applicable across the United Kingdom, is published on the RCoA website. The FPA, which is hosted by the RCP, has also published guidance documents relating to the PA curriculum, code of conduct, and supervision. We understand that both the RCoA and the RCP are currently developing further guidance in collaboration with stakeholders, in relation to supervision and scope of practice.

Once regulation begins, the General Medical Council’s published learning outcomes for AAs and PAs will also apply. This sets out a pre-qualification education framework and the outcomes expected of newly qualified AAs and PAs, including professional behaviours and capabilities and minimum expectations for the knowledge and skills required. In addition, employers of AAs and PAs are responsible for ensuring that appropriate governance and supervision are in place, and that individuals within their employment are practicing within their competence.


Written Question
Physician Associates
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the adoption of the British Medical Association’s report Safe Scope of Practice for Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs) would undermine established governance and frameworks.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government considers scope of practice guidance for Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs) to be a matter for the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) respectively, in conjunction with key stakeholders including other medical royal colleges, the Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA), and the Association of Anaesthesia Associates.

The current scope of practice guidance for AAs, which is applicable across the United Kingdom, is published on the RCoA website. The FPA, which is hosted by the RCP, has also published guidance documents relating to the PA curriculum, code of conduct, and supervision. We understand that both the RCoA and the RCP are currently developing further guidance in collaboration with stakeholders, in relation to supervision and scope of practice.

Once regulation begins, the General Medical Council’s published learning outcomes for AAs and PAs will also apply. This sets out a pre-qualification education framework and the outcomes expected of newly qualified AAs and PAs, including professional behaviours and capabilities and minimum expectations for the knowledge and skills required. In addition, employers of AAs and PAs are responsible for ensuring that appropriate governance and supervision are in place, and that individuals within their employment are practicing within their competence.


Written Question
Physician Associates
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the adoption of the British Medical Association’s report Safe Scope of Practice for Medical Associate Professionals (MAPs) would restrict the role of Physician Associates.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government considers scope of practice guidance for Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs) to be a matter for the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) respectively, in conjunction with key stakeholders including other medical royal colleges, the Faculty of Physician Associates (FPA), and the Association of Anaesthesia Associates.

The current scope of practice guidance for AAs, which is applicable across the United Kingdom, is published on the RCoA website. The FPA, which is hosted by the RCP, has also published guidance documents relating to the PA curriculum, code of conduct, and supervision. We understand that both the RCoA and the RCP are currently developing further guidance in collaboration with stakeholders, in relation to supervision and scope of practice.

Once regulation begins, the General Medical Council’s published learning outcomes for AAs and PAs will also apply. This sets out a pre-qualification education framework and the outcomes expected of newly qualified AAs and PAs, including professional behaviours and capabilities and minimum expectations for the knowledge and skills required. In addition, employers of AAs and PAs are responsible for ensuring that appropriate governance and supervision are in place, and that individuals within their employment are practicing within their competence.