Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what were the contents of the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve on 31 December 2023.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the contents of the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve as of the first week of December 2023, the latest period for which data is available:
Equipment | December 2023 |
Enteral feed pumps | 1140 |
Humidifiers | 4714 |
Mechanical ventilator - Anaesthetic | 53 |
Mechanical ventilator - Emergency | 5093 |
Mechanical ventilator - ICU | 3083 |
Mechanical ventilator - Transport | 949 |
Non-invasive Ventilator (NIV) bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPaP) | 3339 |
NIV continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) | 6682 |
NIV high flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) | 187 |
Oxygen concentrators | 2874 |
Oxygen regulators | 1564 |
Patient monitors | 2439 |
Suction pumps | 307 |
Syringe drivers | 21319 |
Volumetric pumps | 1588 |
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when the Government lease expires on the warehouse space currently used to house the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The warehousing of the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve is managed by NHS Supply Chain on behalf of the Department.
There is no dedicated warehouse space allocated to the reserve. It is stored across multiple sites, in and amongst NHS Supply Chain’s wider holdings, making the best use of the capacity available. The Department pays for this storage on a ‘per pallet, per week’ basis, resulting in zero costs once all holdings have been disposed of following closure of the reserve.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 15 December 2023 (HL453), why they have decided to abolish the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve in March 2024 when they have not yet completed their preparation for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Reserve was set up in April 2020, in response to shortages in key respiratory equipment and in anticipation of increased demand during the pandemic. Over the last two years, the National Health Service has not needed to access the reserve to manage increases in the numbers of respiratory patients. With lack of demand from the NHS, and increasing costs associated with storing and maintaining ageing equipment, the decision was taken to close the reserve by March 2024. Until then, the reserve will continue provide a reserve capable of supporting 1,000 ICU beds.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprenticeship starts at level 6 were for legal, finance and accounting in 2021–22 and 2022–23; how many of these apprentices were employed in levy-paying organisations; and how many there were in each region.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Level 6 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the tables below, along with breakdowns by region, and where starts were supported by apprenticeship service account levy funds.
Level 6 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
960 | 900 |
Of which supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
890 | 850 |
Of which by region:
Region | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
East Midlands | 30 | 50 |
East of England | 140 | 130 |
London | 270 | 300 |
North East | 30 | 10 |
North West | 90 | 90 |
South East | 130 | 120 |
South West | 90 | 50 |
West Midlands | 80 | 70 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 70 | 50 |
Outside of England and unknown | 40 | 30 |
Notes for tables:
(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.
(2) Data source is the individualised Learner Record.
(3) Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England or not known it is included in the 'Outside of England and unknown' category.
(4) Geographies are taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup.
(5) Please see the 'Further education and skills statistics: methodology' document for more information about how 'supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds' is derived.
(6) Route information is based on the latest information held on the IfATE 'Search the apprenticeships' page at the point of publication.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 12 December 2023 (HL688), how many apprenticeship completions were recorded on the Senior Leadership route in 2022–23.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes apprenticeship achievements (where all parts of the apprenticeship are successfully completed) rather than apprenticeship completions. In the 2022/23 academic year there were 4,020 achievements on the Senior Leader (ST0480) apprenticeship standard.
The department also publishes achievement and retention rates for individual apprenticeship standards within the National Achievement Rate tables. The latest figures cover the 2021/22 academic year. For leavers on the Senior Leader (ST0480) apprenticeship standard that left their apprenticeship the 2021/22 academic year, the retention rate was 56.8% (the proportion getting to the end of their apprenticeship, regardless of whether they subsequently passed their apprenticeship), whilst the achievement rate was 56.2% (the proportion getting to the end of their apprenticeship and subsequently passing). The table is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/6fe2fb17-4a75-4af4-b7cb-08dbfa51496d.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 15 December 2023 (HL453), whether their planning scenarios specifically include (1) a respiratory pandemic that creates greater demand for critical care than the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) a respiratory pandemic that affects a different demographic, in particular one that disproportionately affects children and babies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We cannot perfectly predict the characteristics of a future pandemic or know precisely which groups will be most affected by it. We are therefore strengthening our pandemic preparedness by considering the flexible and scalable response capabilities that can be adapted to any threat that the health and social care system may need to respond to.
The National Risk Register 2023 outlines the most serious threats facing the United Kingdom with an updated assessment of likelihood and potential impact. Risk 54 describes the risk from a pandemic and provides a reasonable worst-case scenario (RWCS) for an unmitigated respiratory pandemic, as well variations based on different pathogens with different routes of transmission. A copy of the register is attached.
The RWCS assumes that 50% of the UK’s population fall ill during the whole course of the pandemic, with approximately 1.34 million people estimated to require hospital treatment, possibly resulting in up to 840,000 deaths.
We continue to review our pandemic planning in response to information and lessons learned from COVID-19 and other disease outbreaks.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 16 October (HL10485), over what period they plan to maintain the strategic reserve of intensive care unit equipment originally established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and whether, in considering the future of that strategic reserve, their planning scenarios include (1) a respiratory pandemic that creates greater demand for critical care than the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) a respiratory pandemic that affects a different demographic, specifically one that disproportionately affects children and babies.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve will hold equipment on hand for emergency use in the National Health Service until March 2024. The Government continues to prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios, in line with our revised assessment of the pandemic risk. This includes preparing for all five routes of disease transmission.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprentices aged 25 and over who started an apprenticeship in 2021–22 and 2022–23 were enrolled for (1) a level 3 engineering apprenticeship, (2) a digital support technician level 3 apprenticeship, (3) a level 4 engineering apprenticeship, and (4) a level 4 software engineer or developer apprenticeship; what proportion each of these apprenticeships represents of the total number of apprenticeship starts for those aged 25 and over, in each of those years; and what proportion each represents of total starts on those specific apprenticeship standards.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The tables below contain the apprenticeship starts figures for the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years:
.
Level | Sector Subject Area (SSA) tier 2 | Apprenticeship starts age 25+ | Proportion of all 25+ apprenticeship starts | Proportion of all age starts on specific SSA at level | |||
2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||
3 | Engineering | 3,110 | 2,780 | 1.9% | 1.7% | 16.6% | 14.6% |
4 | Engineering | 760 | 870 | 0.5% | 0.5% | 67.9% | 70.9% |
Level | Standard name | Apprenticeship starts age 25+ | Proportion of all 25+ apprenticeship starts | Proportion of all age starts on specific standard at level | |||
2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||
3 | Digital Support Technician | 180 | 240 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 38.9% | 52.9% |
4 | Software Developer | 510 | 440 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 49.3% | 45.9% |
Notes:
(1) Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
(2) Age is based on age at the start of the programme.
(3) Data source is the Individualised Learner Record.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of apprentices starting their apprenticeships in 2021–22 and 2022–23 were apprentices aged (1) 25–34, (2) 35–44, and (3) 45 and over.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The proportion of apprenticeship starts split by the age groups specified are shown in the table below:
Academic years | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | ||
Apprenticeship starts | Percentage starts | Apprenticeship starts | Percentage starts | |
25-34 | 85,640 | 24.5% | 80,320 | 23.8% |
35-44 | 49,200 | 14.1% | 49,770 | 14.8% |
45+ | 30,510 | 8.7% | 30,530 | 9.1% |
Total - all ages | 349,190 | 100% | 337,140 | 100% |
Notes:
(1) Data source is the Individualised Learner Record.
(2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10. Proportions have been calculated using rounded figures.
(3) Starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one Apprenticeship will appear more than once.
(4) Age for starts is based on age at the start of the programme.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprenticeship starts at level 7 there were in in (1) 2021–22, and (2) 2022–23 which fell within the legal, finance and accounting route; how many of these were employed in levy-paying organisations; and how many there were per region
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeship starts at Level 6 and 7 in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the following tables. All apprenticeships at Level 6 and Level 7 are classed as degree-level apprenticeships.
Apprenticeship level | Age group | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Level 6 | Under 19 | 2,190 | 3,220 |
19-24 | 8,500 | 8,600 | |
25+ | 12,860 | 13,220 | |
All ages | 23,550 | 25,030 |
Apprenticeship level | Age group | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
Level 7 | Under 19 | 360 | 450 |
19-24 | 7,630 | 7,770 | |
25+ | 11,700 | 13,540 | |
All ages | 19,680 | 21,760 |
Level 7 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the tables below, along with breakdowns by region, and where starts were supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds.
Level 7 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
10,450 | 10,650 |
Of which supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
8,420 | 8,670 |
Of which by region:
Region | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
East Midlands | 680 | 670 |
East of England | 1,110 | 1,060 |
London | 2,360 | 2,460 |
North East | 300 | 310 |
North West | 1,450 | 1,350 |
South East | 1,660 | 1,780 |
South West | 880 | 930 |
West Midlands | 1,010 | 1,050 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 800 | 850 |
Outside of England and unknown | 200 | 200 |
Apprenticeship starts on the Level 7 Senior Leadership standard in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the tables below, along with breakdowns by region, and where starts were supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds.
Level 7 Senior leader apprenticeship starts:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
4,880 | 6,110 |
Of which supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds:
2021/22 | 2022/23 |
4,210 | 5,270 |
Of which by region:
Region | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
East Midlands | 390 | 510 |
East of England | 520 | 640 |
London | 810 | 1,100 |
North East | 280 | 310 |
North West | 600 | 750 |
South East | 840 | 1,040 |
South West | 450 | 470 |
West Midlands | 580 | 650 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 350 | 560 |
Outside of England and unknown | 70 | 80 |
There were 5,540 achievements in the Business and Administration Route in the 2022/23 academic year. Of these, 4,020 were on the Senior Leader (ST0480) apprenticeship standard.
Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, which can be accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Notes for tables:
(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.
(2) Data source is the individualised Learner Record.
(3) Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England or not known it is included in the 'Outside of England and unknown' category.
(4) Geographies are taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup.
(5) Please see the 'Further education and skills statistics: methodology' document for more information about how 'supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds' is derived.
(6) Route information is based on the latest information held on the IfATE 'Search the apprenticeships' page at the point of publication.