Asked by: Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop new qualifications to align with the needs of The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy, published on 23 June.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Skills England will help ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access. It will focus on the industrial strategy priority growth sectors to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the industrial strategy.
This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will give greater flexibility to employers and learners and increase access to talent across the eight industrial strategy sectors. We will continue to roll out shorter duration and foundation apprenticeships to give more people across the country the opportunity to learn and earn in industrial strategy sectors. We will also introduce short courses, funded through the growth and skills levy, which will support industrial strategy sectors starting from April 2026.
Post-16 qualifications are being reformed to offer high-quality options aligned with economic needs. From August 2025, 140 reformed qualifications at levels 2 and 3 will be available, with more level 3 qualifications launching in August 2026. These include areas such as digital, health, and science, aligned with occupational standards and new funding criteria to meet the needs of both learners and employers.
Asked by: Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to give the role of the creative freelance champion, announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, published on 23 June, to a relevant minister or an external appointee.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The appointment process is still to be determined, though we plan for the role to go to an external appointee, not a minister. We will work with industry to develop Terms of Reference.
The Freelance Champion will be a role appointed by DCMS which will give freelancers a voice within government. We envisage that the role will help represent the interests of creative freelancers in areas such as the development of the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Small Business Commissioner, the Fair Work Agency, and the Department for Business and Trade’s Small Business Growth Forum.