Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure that registered charities paying the Apprenticeship Levy will receive benefits from the scheme at least equivalent to the cost of the Levy.
Answered by Lord Nash
We have made a commitment to allow employers to transfer digital funds to other employers in their supply chains, sectors or communities in 2018. We have suggested that this should initially be set at 10 per cent.
We have created a new employer working group, including the Charities Finance Group, to help us further develop proposals for a transfers system that works for employers. Alongside detailed research into the needs of employers of all sizes, this group will help us design how transfers should work, the level of funds that could be transferred and what controls are needed to protect the integrity of the apprenticeship system.
Unlike other taxes, levied employers can get back their contributions if they are committed to training sufficient numbers of high-quality apprentices. They will also receive a top up of 10 per cent on their digital funds.
There has been no specific assessment of the amount registered charities and private sector employers paying the Apprenticeship Levy will lose as a result of funds in their digital account expiring because the employer was unable to spend them. Last month we announced an extension to the period employers will have to spend their digital funds, from 18 to 24 months.
We have published estimates of levy payments, and apprenticeship spending, by sector in the attached document.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the charity sector of the proposal to limit the proportion of the annual value of a qualifying employer's Apprenticeship Levy funding pot that can be transferred to another employer to 10 per cent.
Answered by Lord Nash
We have made a commitment to allow employers to transfer digital funds to other employers in their supply chains, sectors or communities in 2018. We have suggested that this should initially be set at 10 per cent.
We have created a new employer working group, including the Charities Finance Group, to help us further develop proposals for a transfers system that works for employers. Alongside detailed research into the needs of employers of all sizes, this group will help us design how transfers should work, the level of funds that could be transferred and what controls are needed to protect the integrity of the apprenticeship system.
Unlike other taxes, levied employers can get back their contributions if they are committed to training sufficient numbers of high-quality apprentices. They will also receive a top up of 10 per cent on their digital funds.
There has been no specific assessment of the amount registered charities and private sector employers paying the Apprenticeship Levy will lose as a result of funds in their digital account expiring because the employer was unable to spend them. Last month we announced an extension to the period employers will have to spend their digital funds, from 18 to 24 months.
We have published estimates of levy payments, and apprenticeship spending, by sector in the attached document.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they have given or will give to enable charities to engage with the Trailblazer process to develop charity-specific apprenticeship standards, including in fields such as financial management and governance.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Trailblazer process is open to any employer group that wishes to come forward to develop a new apprenticeship standard, provided it can meet the Department’s published criteria. Once a new standard is approved for development, a dedicated Relationship Manager is provided to support employers throughout the Trailblazer process.
We welcome any proposals for new standards from the charity sector, where they feel a specific occupation exists that is not already covered by a standard and would meet our criteria. We have recently received a proposal from a group of employers to develop a standard in the occupation of Voluntary and Community Sector Worker. We are currently reviewing the proposal and a decision will be made shortly on whether it meets our criteria to be approved for development.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to ensure appropriate representation of the charity sector on the board of the Institute for Apprenticeships.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Chair and Board members are being appointed in accordance with the public appointments process. It is expected that the members of the Institute’s board will be comprised primarily of persons with a background as employers and business leaders. This is to ensure that employers continue to drive apprenticeship quality. Applications to join the Institute’s board, which have now closed, were open to representatives of all organisations, including those from the charitable sector.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely increase or decrease in the numbers of small and medium-sized enterprises taking on apprentices following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.
Answered by Lord Nash
We are committed to supporting small and medium-sized employers to take on apprentices. We know that nearly 95% of current employers with apprentices are small or medium-sized and that around 60% of all apprentices are employed by small and medium-sized employers https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/555052/Size_and_Industry_of_Businesses_with_Apprentices_Final_Pdf.pdf).
Under new funding policy from May 2017, smaller employers that don't pay the apprenticeship levy will pay a co-investment rate of only 10% towards the costs of apprenticeship training. We are waiving this co-investment requirement for employers with fewer than 50 employees, when they recruit a 16-18 year old or a 19-24 year old formerly in care or with an Education and Health Care plan
As part of the development of funding policy we have considered the potential impact that requiring co-investment will have on starts at small and medium-sized employers. This may cause a small initial fall in demand until employers adapt to the new system. By making sure smaller employers understand the benefits of apprenticeships; that the process of accessing them is simple and easy; and additional financial support is available for younger apprentices or those with additional needs, we believe that small and medium sized employers can and will continue to play a critical role in growing apprenticeship opportunities.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase awareness of the available post-16 apprenticeship options among parents, teachers and pupils.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government is undertaking a range of activities to increase awareness of the available post-16 apprenticeship options among parents, teachers and pupils.
The four-year ‘Get In Go Far’ campaign, which launched in May 2016, aims to influence public perceptions, awareness and attitudes towards apprenticeships as a route into a successful career. It also aims to help young people aged 14-24 get the skills they need and encourage more young people to apply and more employers to offer apprenticeship opportunities.
Schools have a statutory duty to provide independent careers guidance for 12-18 year olds, including information about apprenticeships. The National Careers Service provides independent, professional advice on careers, skills and the labour market, including information on the benefits of apprenticeships and how to apply for vacancies. The Careers and Enterprise Company has a lead role in transforming the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people to inspire them and prepare them for the world of work. Apprenticeships are an essential part of this inspiration and preparation, which the Company are promoting through its nationwide Enterprise Adviser Network, which now has almost 1200 Advisers in place, and other programmes including its £5m 'Careers and Enterprise Investment Fund’.
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) engages with schools to promote apprenticeships, including through the ‘Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools project’; ‘Apprenticeship Champions’ in schools across England, and the ‘Amazing Apprenticeships’ schools’ resources portal. The SFA Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Networks and Employer Ambassadors raise awareness of apprenticeships, partnering with UCAS to test the early advertising of higher and degree vacancies to Year 13 students applying for university.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the total number of apprenticeship starts in the latest year for which figures are available were in (1) jobs for new employees, and (2) apprenticeships for existing employees with their current employer.
Answered by Lord Nash
The ‘Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2015’ report published in October 2016 provides the following key findings on routes into apprenticeships:
New employees
Nearly half (48%) of Level 2 and 3 apprentices were recruited with the intention of doing an apprenticeship.
Compared to Level 2 and 3 apprentices, higher apprentices were less likely to have been specifically recruited to an apprenticeship (32%).
In the 2014 survey a third of apprentices stated they had been recruited specifically as apprentices.
Existing employees
Two-thirds (67%) of higher apprentices were existing employees, down from 80% reported in 2014, but much higher than Level 2 and 3 apprentices (51%).
The vast majority (88%) of Level 5 apprentices were existing employees, compared to a third (34%) of Level 4 apprentices.
Source: Apprenticeships Evaluation 2015 - Learners A report by IFF Research, with the Institute for Employment Research at the University of Warwick, October 2016
The attached document shows information on the recruitment into apprenticeships (Levels 2 and 3), taken from the source above.
Note: The Apprenticeship Evaluation Learner Survey 2015 consisted of quantitative interviews with 5,000 Level 2 and 3 apprentices, as well as 800 higher apprentices, to explore their views of their apprenticeship. This research covered both current apprentices at the time of survey, and recent completers (those that had completed their apprenticeship 12-20 months prior to being interviewed).
The department can only use survey information rather than administrative data to answer this question.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that independent training providers are not unfairly disadvantaged when competing with further education colleges in the delivery of apprenticeships.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has launched the application process for a new register for delivery of apprenticeships from 1 May 2017 – the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. The register will be a list of organisations that have demonstrated their capability to deliver apprenticeship training, thereby encouraging diversity and competition in the provider market. Its application process has been developed in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, which require transparency and equal treatment of applicants. The evaluation criteria that test capability to deliver and quality of apprenticeship training do not differentiate between the types of organisation applying.
From 1 May 2017, employers who will use a digital account to pay for their apprenticeship training will be able to choose any provider from the register to deliver their apprenticeship training.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the finding of the recent British Red Cross research report <i>Are prehospital deaths from trauma and accidental injury preventable?</i> that up to 59 per cent of pre-hospital deaths from injury could have been prevented with basic first aid, what steps they are taking to ensure that all young people have the opportunity to learn life-saving skills at school.
Answered by Lord Nash
We want to provide all young people with a curriculum that prepares them for success in adult life. High-quality personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) teaching has a vital role to play in this, helping young people understand the world around them, building resilience and helping them to make good choices and stay safe.
The national curriculum sets the expectation that pupils study PSHE education in maintained schools, and academies are encouraged to teach it as part of a broad and balanced curriculum.
Schools and teachers should decide what to teach based on their pupils’ needs, and taking account of pupil and parent views, when planning health education as part of PSHE.
Where schools decide to teach first aid they are free to draw on expert advice and resources for teaching, as provided by organisations such as the British Red Cross, when planning their curriculum.
Asked by: Lord Aberdare (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish details of how the apprenticeship levy will affect employers in the devolved UK nations.
Answered by Lord Nash
On 12 August, we published proposals for how apprenticeships will be funded in England from May 2017; these include how apprentices living elsewhere in the UK, but employed in England, will be supported. Details are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/views-sought-on-plans-to-boost-apprenticeships.
We are committed to publishing final funding rates and rules for England by the end of October. Discussions are taking place with devolved administrations to ensure that apprenticeship funding works for employers wherever they are in the UK, when the levy is introduced.
The apprenticeship levy will be payable at 0.5% of pay bill by employers across the whole of the UK. An allowance of £15,000 means that only employers with a pay bill of more than £3 million per year will pay the levy, less than 2% of employers. The levy will come into effect on 6 April 2017.
The UK government has made a commitment that the devolved administrations will receive a fair share of the levy, and discussions are ongoing to deliver this outcome. As skills policy is devolved it is for the devolved administrations to decide how they will fund apprenticeships in their nations.