Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve access to artificial intelligence training.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future.
The department will continue its work to ensure that the education system is able to adapt to deliver upskilling and to provide the skills that learners need for the workplaces of the future, including jobs that will be impacted by, or require the use of, artificial intelligence (AI).
World class T Levels are boosting access to high-quality technical education for thousands of young people and creating a skilled workforce for the future. 18 T Levels are available in a range of in-demand subject areas, including T Levels in digital subjects, which have been designed by employers and will help to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for great careers in the digital industry.
Employers have designed over 30 high-quality apprenticeships in digital occupations, including Level 7 Artificial Intelligence Data Specialist, which will provide cutting edge skills in AI. Since it was introduced in May 2020, starts in this standard have grown from 100 in the 2020/21 academic year to 350 in the 2022/23 academic year.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) are revising the Level 7 Artificial Intelligence Data Specialist standard this year to ensure it meets employers’ needs. They have also developed Level 5 in Data Engineering and are currently developing Level 6 Machine Learning Engineer. These standards include high levels of content regarding the application and use of AI.
IfATE are also hosting workshops with a range of stakeholders to discuss the impact of AI on skills requirement across the economy and will be updating the Digital Skills and Characteristics Framework with AI-related content when it is revised next year. This will ensure all employers are thinking about the use and impact of AI when developing or revising occupational standards.
Skills Bootcamps are delivering skills training for the digital sector in 2024/25 in each English region. There are also online Skills Bootcamps in AI Marketing and Content Creation and AI and Machine Learning.
Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) provide the skills needed for a range of specialist digital occupations, such as cyber security technologist and software developer. There are 56 digital HTQs currently approved for teaching and a further ten approved for teaching from September 2024. HTQs provide a range of opportunities and pathways to build up the skills needed for AI-related roles.
In higher education, the department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to deliver new postgraduate AI and data science conversion courses to boost skills and diversity in AI jobs. The government is also investing £117 million in doctoral training for AI researchers.
In 2023, the department’s Unit for Future Skills (UFS) developed a Science and Technology Jobs and Skills Dashboard to understand the supply and demand of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills to develop critical technologies like AI and quantum. This data will support improved access to relevant training.
The UFS has also undertaken analysis which attempts to quantify the impact of AI on the UK job market. It shows the occupations, sectors and geographic areas expected to be most affected by AI and large language models, as well as the training routes that typically lead to these highly affected jobs.
Digital and computing skills will play an important role for individuals developing and using AI in the future workforce. The department is harnessing government and external expertise through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce to increase the number of people taking digital and computing qualifications and attract a diverse range of individuals into digital jobs.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the lessons learned for her Department of the implementation of the skills electrification project element of the emerging skills projects.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Skills Electrification Project was part of the Emerging Skills Projects, which were pilot projects funded by the department to identify future skills needs and develop high-quality modular courses to help address future skills gaps in key sectors. The Skills Electrification Project, as well as the other emerging skills projects, were developed and run by the Advanced Manufacturing Catapult and completed in March 2022.
The department recognises the changing nature of skills needs, the importance of emerging skills such as electrification and assesses skills needs for such sectors. For example, the National Grid estimates the electricity network workforce will grow by 400,000 roles by 2050. This includes 260,000 brand new roles, and 140,000 to replace natural attrition such as retirement. This is on top of the existing shortage of crucial workers in the sector.
To help meet those needs there are three apprenticeship standards that directly serve the electricity networks sector: community energy specialist (Level 4), building energy management systems (Level 4) and power networks craftsperson (Level 3).
Free Courses for Jobs also offers a range of qualifications in electrical disciplines, as well as digital engineering and electrotechnical installation.
T Levels in engineering and construction teach young people some of the skills that are crucial to the growth of the UK’s energy networks. Relevant T Levels in engineering, manufacturing, and construction can lead to crucial occupations such as civil engineering technician, electrical engineering technician and technical surveyor.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the number and proportion of students in further education colleges who have participated in work placements relevant to their course in each of the last three years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
Data on experiences of the workplace is captured by the Careers and Enterprise Company and the latest findings are based on a national dataset of 4534 state-funded secondary schools and colleges which can be found at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/insight-briefing-gatsby-benchmark-results-2022-2023/.
In the 2022/23 academic year, over 90% of further education colleges reported that most of their students had experience of a workplace by the time they finished their programme of study.
In post-16 education, pupils have access to work placement opportunities through the T level programme. T levels are designed to equip students for skilled employment, whilst also providing a high-quality route to further study, including apprenticeships, higher technical education and degree level study. The programme includes a T level industry placement where students spend a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days) working with external employers. Since T levels were first introduced in 2020, 98.6% of the 2020 cohort and 94.9% of the 2021 cohort have completed their industry placement. This is a total of 4250 students who have successfully completed their industry placements.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the war in Ukraine on the (a) supply and (b) price of (i) animal feed and (ii) fertiliser.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
i. The UK has a highly resilient food and animal feed supply chain which has coped well in responding to challenges in the past few years.
Cereals and oilseeds make up a significant proportion of animal feed, most of which are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. These developments may be influenced by the war in Ukraine or additional factors unrelated to the conflict, such as weather conditions and currency fluctuations.Our high degree of food security is built on strong domestic production and imports from diverse sources. We recognise the essential role that domestic production plays in providing food security and resilience, which is why the government is committed to broadly maintaining the current level of food we produce domestically.
We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.
ii. In 2022, nitrogen fertiliser prices increased to two to three times their recent nominal historic levels (imported ammonium nitrate prices were £870/t), due to increased global gas prices and conflicts around the world (including but not limited to the conflict in the Ukraine) as well as strong demand driven by high crop prices.
The AHDB publishes a GB fertiliser price time-series for the most commonly used fertiliser products to increase transparency of market prices and show trends to growers. This shows a plateauing of fertiliser prices in GB from June 2023 until now. While this is a GB price series the same situation applies to the UK as a whole. This plateau in prices is partly due to global price factors, but also regional demand has been affected by poor weather and shifts in crop choices by farmers.
Defra is continuing to monitor fertiliser prices and supply chains through regular engagement with key manufacturers and wider stakeholders. We are also working with other government departments to coordinate intelligence, and understand supply and pricing issues.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure an adequate supply of (a) animal feed, (b) fertiliser and (c) CO2.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
a) Animal feed: The UK has a highly resilient food and animal feed supply chain which has coped well in responding to challenges in the past few years. Cereals and oilseeds make up a significant proportion of animal feed, most of which are internationally traded commodities. Subsequently, their supply chains are dynamic and responsive to global market developments in price and availability. These developments may be influenced by the war in Ukraine or additional factors unrelated to the conflict, such as weather conditions and currency fluctuations. Our high degree of food security is built on strong domestic production and imports from diverse sources. We recognise the essential role that domestic production plays in providing food security and resilience, which is why the government is committed to broadly maintaining the current level of food we produce domestically.
We continue to keep the market situation under review through the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade and recent developments.
b) Fertiliser: In 2022, nitrogen fertiliser prices increased to two to three times their recent nominal historic levels (imported ammonium nitrate prices were £870/t), due to increased global gas prices and conflicts around the world (including but not limited to the conflict in the Ukraine) as well as strong demand driven by high crop prices.
Defra is continuing to monitor fertiliser prices and supply chains through regular engagement with key manufacturers and wider stakeholders. We are also working with other government departments to coordinate intelligence and understand supply and pricing issues.
CO2: Defra works closely with stakeholders across the food industry, to encourage CO2 contingency planning and resilience. The tightness in supply of CO2 has eased and shown more stability recently and the industry has taken steps to make efficiencies and use alternative CO2 sources where possible. The stable supply of CO2 is vital to several CNI sectors including food and water. We recognise the importance of CO2 supply for our key sectors.
Over the past few years we have completed extensive work to build resilience into the sector including: monitoring and encouraging further diversification of production and supply in the UK; providing clarity on various regulatory questions, including through the Environment Agency’s publication of a Regulatory Position Statement on the capture, treatment, storage and use of carbon dioxide (CO2) from anaerobic digestion (AD) of waste; and working with industry on this supply chain through various forums. The diversification of this supply chain is being demonstrated through a series of recent industry announcements, such as British Sugar’s recent reopening of the CO2 capture plant at their Wissington site.
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.
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.
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 to ensure that (a) adults and (b) young people have sufficient IT skills for work.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the government’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which the department set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March this year.
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. Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department 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 through 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 to19 year olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers will integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
The department has also funded 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.
From next year, the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) will continue to support both qualifications and tailored learning, which includes community learning type provision, so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, have the world class computing and digital knowledge and skills they need for the future is a key priority of this government. The department introduced computing as a statutory national curriculum subject in 2014, from key stages 1 to 4 inclusive. The new computing curriculum supports pupils to become digitally literate and acquire the knowledge and skills they need to become competent, confident, and creative users of technology. Through computing, pupils are taught how to analyse problems in computational terms and write computer programs, how to use technology safely and responsibly, and how to create digital artefacts.
The department has invested significantly in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science at GCSE and A level. To date, over 13,000 teachers have engaged with subject knowledge courses offered by the NCCE, helping to create more confident teachers of computing.
The department has introduced three Digital T Levels: Digital Business Services, Digital Production, Design and Development, and Digital Support Services. These are the gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications, designed with employers to meet industry standards and with a significant industry placement built in. These will help to give important experience of work within the digital sector. Digital skills are increasingly important across all occupations, which is why every T Level has the digital skills necessary for employment embedded into its curriculum.
Additionally, employers have developed more than 30 high-quality digital apprenticeships to support them develop the skilled workforces they need. Apprenticeships include Level 3 Information Communications Technician, Level 3 IT Solutions Technician and Level 3 Digital Support Technician. In the 2022/23 academic year, the number of starts in the Information and Communication Technology sector subject area grew to 25,100 starts, up 10% from 22,820 from 2021/22. The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes and in all sectors offer high-quality apprenticeship opportunities.
Employers can also make use of the department’s Skills Bootcamp offer, which provides free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support she provides to employers to help their workforce gain a Level (a) 2 and (b) 3 IT qualification.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Digital and computing skills are critical to achieving the government’s science and technology superpower ambitions, which the department set out in the UK Science & Technology Framework in March this year.
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. Through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the department 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 through 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 to19 year olds. Where students are identified as having low levels of digital skills, education providers will integrate essential digital skills development, where it is needed, into their learning programme.
The department has also funded 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.
From next year, the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) will continue to support both qualifications and tailored learning, which includes community learning type provision, so adults can retrain and upskill in the most effective way.
Ensuring that all children, regardless of their background, have the world class computing and digital knowledge and skills they need for the future is a key priority of this government. The department introduced computing as a statutory national curriculum subject in 2014, from key stages 1 to 4 inclusive. The new computing curriculum supports pupils to become digitally literate and acquire the knowledge and skills they need to become competent, confident, and creative users of technology. Through computing, pupils are taught how to analyse problems in computational terms and write computer programs, how to use technology safely and responsibly, and how to create digital artefacts.
The department has invested significantly in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the teaching of computing and drive up participation in computer science at GCSE and A level. To date, over 13,000 teachers have engaged with subject knowledge courses offered by the NCCE, helping to create more confident teachers of computing.
The department has introduced three Digital T Levels: Digital Business Services, Digital Production, Design and Development, and Digital Support Services. These are the gold-standard Level 3 technical qualifications, designed with employers to meet industry standards and with a significant industry placement built in. These will help to give important experience of work within the digital sector. Digital skills are increasingly important across all occupations, which is why every T Level has the digital skills necessary for employment embedded into its curriculum.
Additionally, employers have developed more than 30 high-quality digital apprenticeships to support them develop the skilled workforces they need. Apprenticeships include Level 3 Information Communications Technician, Level 3 IT Solutions Technician and Level 3 Digital Support Technician. In the 2022/23 academic year, the number of starts in the Information and Communication Technology sector subject area grew to 25,100 starts, up 10% from 22,820 from 2021/22. The department is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes and in all sectors offer high-quality apprenticeship opportunities.
Employers can also make use of the department’s Skills Bootcamp offer, which provides free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department and has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides details of the funding spent on advertising and publicity as part of its annual reports and accounts, which are published in the usual way on GOV.UK:
The department uses marketing to support the delivery of strategic aims and government priorities, including to recruit teachers, reform the skills landscape, and drive take up of products and services like apprenticeships, T Levels and childcare entitlements. Since 2010, there are now 27,000 more teachers working in state-funded schools across the country, 5.4 million apprenticeship starts and the department is delivering the largest ever expansion of free childcare in England.
Spend includes different types of marketing activity, including advertising. Figures for the last three financial years are:
Financial Year | Total Department Spend on Marketing |
2020/21 | £20 million |
2021/22 | £26 million |
2022/23 | £40 million |
The department does not hold complete records of budget profiles for marketing and communications compared to final confirmed spending.