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Written Question
Apprentices
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people applied for an apprenticeship in each academic year since 2016-17.

Answered by Robert Halfon

Apprenticeships offer a high-quality and popular route into nearly 700 occupations from entry level to expert roles. The table below shows the number of apprenticeship vacancies that were advertised and the number of apprenticeship applications that were submitted through the ‘Find An Apprenticeship’ (FAA) service in each academic year from 2016/17 to 2022/23. Due to the data protection policy in place prior to 2021/22, the department does not hold an accurate record of the number of applications submitted between 2016/17 and 2020/21.

Academic year

Vacancies advertised

Applications submitted

2016/17

185,160

N/A

2017/18

173,520

N/A

2018/19

151,720

7,950

2019/20

98,530

16,990

2020/21

134,460

360,100

2021/22

189,430

681,090

2022/23

148,720

669,450

Employers can choose to advertise apprenticeship vacancies through their own websites, recruitment agencies or local job centre instead of, or in addition to, the FAA service. As a result, the actual number of apprenticeship vacancies and applications will be higher.

Apprenticeship vacancies can now be browsed on the University and Colleges Admissions Service website and later this year they will also be able to use the service to apply for apprenticeships. In January 2024, the department also launched the ‘It all starts with skills’ campaign which is encouraging people to find out more about the different apprenticeship and wider skills programmes available.


Written Question
Work Experience
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in full-time education have completed a work experience placement of (a) five days and (b) more than five days in each academic year since 2010-11.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The careers statutory guidance makes it clear that schools and colleges should offer every young person at least one experience of a workplace by age 16 and a further experience by age 18. This captures a range of activities such as job shadowing, workplace visits and volunteering. This guidance is accessible at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-provision-for-young-people-in-schools.

Data on experiences of the workplace is captured by the Careers and Enterprise Company and their latest findings are available at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/our-evidence/evidence-and-reports/insight-briefing-gatsby-benchmark-results-2022-2023/. This data is based on a national dataset of 4,534 state-funded secondary schools and colleges. In the 2022/2023 academic year, 68% of schools reported that the majority of students had some experience of the workplace by the end of year 11, and over 77% of schools reported that their students had experience of workplaces in year 12 or year 13.

At post-16, 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 working with external employer(s), which equates to approximately 45 days. Since T levels were first introduced in 2020, 94% 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.


Written Question
Apprentices
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12581 on Apprentices, when her Department plans to publish the National Achievement Rate Tables for the 2022-23 academic year.

Answered by Robert Halfon

I refer the honourable member to the answer of 20 October 2023 to Question 199983.


Written Question
Mortgages
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 8 March 2023 to Question 157639 on Mortgages, whether he plans to publish a response to the report entitled Releasing the Mortgage Prisoners, published on 1 March 2023.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government understands that being unable to switch your mortgage can be extremely stressful and, alongside the Financial Conduct Authority and industry, have shown we are willing to act, such as through the introduction of a ‘modified affordability assessment’.

The Government remains committed to this issue, and we are considering the proposals put forward in this report very carefully. While we cannot force lenders to lend to borrowers they consider too high a risk, we welcome views on any further practical and proportionate solutions that would meaningfully assist affected borrowers and be fair to other borrowers in the wider market. We are also regularly in contact with key stakeholders, including recently with the UK Mortgage Prisoners campaign group, to discuss potential solutions.


Written Question
Apprentices
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprentices completed their endpoint assessment (a) on the date of, (b) one to three months after, (c) three to six months after and (d) more than six months after completing their apprenticeship in the 2021-22 academic year.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The below table shows achievers (rounded to the nearest 100) on apprenticeship standards in the 2021/22 academic year.

Months from last learning to end of EPA

Achievements

Proportion of total (%)

EPA within a month of last learning

12,000

10.5%

EPA 1-3 months after last learning

76,300

66.3%

EPA 3-6 months after last learning

18,200

15.8%

EPA more than 6 months after last learning

8,600

7.5%

Total

115,100

100%


Written Question
Apprentices
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 11344 on Apprentices, for what reasons were there no apprenticeship starts in the two lowest funding bands in the 2022-23 academic year.

Answered by Robert Halfon

There are no apprenticeship standards that have funding bands of £1,500 and £2,000.


Written Question
Apprentices
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2024 to Question 10141 on Apprenticeships, whether her Department holds this data for any academic year since 2010/11.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department does not hold information on the number of apprentices starting during the 2010/11 academic year onwards that do not go on to subsequently complete their apprenticeship. Data is published on apprentices who were due to achieve (successfully complete) their apprenticeship in a particular academic year, regardless of the year they started.

The following links provide achievement rates for which we have data published going back to 2012/13:

National Achievement Rate Tables 2012/13 to 2018/19: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sfa-national-success-rates-tables.

National Achievement Rate Tables 2019/20 to 2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22#content-12.

National Achievement Rate Tables 2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23#content-7.


Written Question
Apprentices
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of apprenticeship courses were not completed in each academic year since 2016-17.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department does not hold information on the number of apprentices starting during the 2010/11 academic year onwards that do not go on to subsequently complete their apprenticeship. Data is published on apprentices who were due to achieve (successfully complete) their apprenticeship in a particular academic year, regardless of the year they started.

The following links provide achievement rates for which we have data published going back to 2012/13:

National Achievement Rate Tables 2012/13 to 2018/19: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sfa-national-success-rates-tables.

National Achievement Rate Tables 2019/20 to 2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2021-22#content-12.

National Achievement Rate Tables 2021/22: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2022-23#content-7.


Written Question
Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education: Staff
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many members of staff of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are working on (a) apprenticeships, (b) T Levels, (c) Higher Technical Qualifications, (d) Level 3 and below qualifications and (e) occupational maps.

Answered by Robert Halfon

This is a matter for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. I have asked its Chief Executive, Jennifer Coupland, to write to the hon. Member for Feltham and Heston, and a copy of this reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.


Written Question
Higher Technical Qualifications
Thursday 1st February 2024

Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of how many (a) colleges and (b) universities offer Higher Technical Qualifications (i) nationally and (ii) in each English region.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department is delivering reforms to increase profile, prestige, and uptake of higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). HTQs are level 4 and 5 qualifications (such as HNDs and Foundation Degrees) that have been approved against employer-developed standard and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE). This means students and employers can have confidence that HTQs provide skills employers need.

HTQs are currently available across the country and are being taught in colleges, universities, Institutes of Technology’s (IoTs), and Independent Training Providers (ITPs) across Digital, Construction and Health & Science subjects. These qualifications give the learner the skills for a range of great jobs including Cyber Security, Quantity Surveying, Sports Coaching and Nursing Associate.

There are 140 providers approved to begin teaching of HTQs in the 2023/24 academic year available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-higher-technical-qualifications. The published list can be broken down by provider type and includes 111 FECs and 18 HEIs which are able to deliver HTQs from the 2023/24 academic year. While the data cannot be broken down by region, it is instead broken down by postcode and location. The department is updating the list of approved providers as new HTQs enter the market and more providers are onboarded to deliver the qualifications. An updated list will be ready in Spring 2024.

To support HTQ provision, £115 million in funding has been provided to colleges, universities, IoTs and ITPs to help grow provision across the country, on top of up to £300 million to create a network of 21 Institutes of Technology.

To date 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across seven occupational routes (Digital, Construction & the Built Environment, Health & Science, Business & Administration, Education & Early Years, Engineering & Manufacturing and Legal, Finance & Accounting), for first teach beginning between September 2022/20 to 2024.

To help HTQs be studied flexibly and around other commitments, since September 2023, HTQ learners are eligible for both tuition fee and maintenance loans whether they are studied full or part-time, on the same basis as degree level courses. HTQs will also be among the first courses eligible for modular funding when the Lifelong Learning Entitlement launches in the 2025/26 academic year.