Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the standard time interval after graduation at which employment outcomes are measured for higher education leavers; whether that interval varies by subject area; and what assessment they have made of whether the 15-month Graduate Outcomes survey measurement point adequately captures career trajectories in subjects characterised by freelance, self-employed and portfolio working, including fine art, craft and design.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Higher education (HE) employment outcomes are measured at multiple points after graduation, including after 15 months in the Graduate Outcomes survey, and after 3, 5 and 10 years in the HE Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) publication data. Together these datasets provide evidence to inform policy. The HE LEO publication can be found at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/leo-graduate-and-postgraduate-outcomes/2022-23.
The department recognises that employment trajectories differ by occupation and industry sector and takes the full range of data and evidence into account in its research and policy design.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how current higher education outcome metrics for creative subjects align with their plans to grow the creative industries as a priority sector as part of the Industrial Strategy 2025; and whether the Department for Education plans to review, in consultation with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, whether existing measurement methodologies adequately reflect the labour market structures and earnings patterns of the creative economy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department works with Skills England to identify which occupations are the highest priority to the creative industries and which educational pathways lead to these occupations. These occupations cover many skill sets, such as IT, alongside those in creative subjects.
The Creative Industries Sector Plan is a 10-year plan to tackle barriers to growth and maximise opportunities across the sector, with the aim of making the UK the number one destination for creativity and innovation. It sets out how government is partnering with industry to build a skills landscape that meets business needs and ensures that our creative workforce is fit for the future. This includes policies such as short courses, funded through the Growth and Skills Levy, in areas such as digital and artificial intelligence.
The department has had discussions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on ways of measuring the wider value of higher education subjects, including on matters of culture and heritage.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what employment and earnings data they hold for graduates in (1) fine art, (2) craft, (3) design, and (4) other creative industries, at (a) 15 months, (b) three years, (c) five years, and (d) 10 years, after graduation; and how that data are used in assessing the long-term economic contribution and student loan repayment profiles of those graduates.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department holds employment and earnings data for graduates across all industries in various datasets and at multiple points after graduation. This includes the Graduate Outcomes survey at 15 months after graduation, and the higher education (HE) Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) publication data at up to 10 years after graduation.
The LEO data will be used alongside Labour Force Survey data to estimate the longer-term economic contribution of graduates in this year’s upcoming update of the Institute for Fiscal Studies report on the impact of undergraduate degrees on lifetime earnings. LEO data is also used alongside the Student Loans Company and HMRC data to inform the department’s forecasts of student loan repayments, as detailed in the methodology accompanying to the department’s published student loan forecasts. The forecasts and methodology are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how graduates in portfolio careers are classified in official statistics where their principal recorded source of income differs from their professional or creative practice; whether secondary occupations and ongoing creative activity are captured in the Graduate Outcomes survey or related datasets; and what assessment they have made of the effect of such classification practices on measured estimates of the size of the creative workforce.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Earnings and employment outcomes in the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) official statistics cover all employment and income reported to HMRC, whether from salaried employment, self-employment or freelance work.
The Graduate Outcomes survey publication provides annual pay information for graduates’ main employment during census week, 15 months after graduation. This question is not mandatory and salaries are self-reported, whether salaried work, self-employment or freelanced work. Salary information is published by annual salary bands or medians.
Skills England estimated the workforce size and demand levels in the creative industries sector in their publication ‘Assessment of priority skills in 2030’. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-of-priority-skills-to-2030/assessment-of-priority-skills-to-2030.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how graduate employment and earnings data are used by (1) the Office for Students, and (2) the Department for Education, when assessing course quality, value for money and student number controls; and whether early-career earnings are used as a primary proxy for course value in the assessment of creative subjects.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Office for Students and the department measure graduate employment and earnings outcomes using multiple data sources including the Graduate Outcomes Survey and Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data. The OfS uses Condition B3 measures to help monitor and ensure course quality, which in particular includes progression to high-skilled employment. The LEO publication data measures outcomes 3, 5 and 10 years after graduation, and helps inform research on value for money in higher education. Course value in all subjects is informed by a wide range of factors, including graduate earnings at different points in graduates’ careers. Student number controls are no longer an active policy.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how graduate employment and earnings data are used by the Treasury when assessing course quality, value for money and student number controls.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
His Majesty’s Treasury does not assess higher education provider quality and value for money, as these assessments are undertaken by the department and the Office for Students.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the suitability of early-career earnings as a measure of university course value in sectors characterised by self-employment, income volatility and delayed earnings growth, including the creative industries; and what consideration they have given to alternative indicators such as business formation rates, intellectual property generation or contribution to cultural exports as supplementary measures.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Outcomes from various data and at multiple points after graduation are considered by the department to understand graduate outcomes across different sectors. This includes 15 months after graduation in the Graduate Outcomes survey, and 3, 5 and 10 years after graduation in the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) publication data. The Office for Students uses Graduate Outcomes survey data for their B3 condition of registration measures to help ensure course quality, but these B3 measures do not include graduate earnings.
The department also considers the wider potential benefits of higher education, when designing policy. These may include increased innovation and exports, contributions to cultural and heritage capital, potential intergenerational effects on children’s outcomes and potential associations with health or crime rates.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether current Census and labour market statistics adequately capture employment in freelance and portfolio-based sectors, including crafts and the visual arts; and what discussions they have had with the Office for National Statistics about this issue.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) capture everybody who is in work, with further detail about the type of work and contractual arrangements, which allow better understanding of different employment circumstances such as freelancing. The LFS and APS use the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 and Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2020 frameworks for capturing the industry and occupation of responders. These aim to be comprehensive and for everyone who is in work to allocate the respondent an occupation, which will include those in crafts and visual arts, and an industry, such as "creative, arts and entertainment activities". In terms of the adequacy of the statistics themselves, the estimates available for those occupations on LFS/APS depends on having sufficient levels of response and any measures of accuracy calculated for estimates generated by users.
However, we recognise that the current definition of crafts using SIC2007 does not fully capture the crafts sector and does not adequately meet all of our stakeholder needs. As part of the ONS revision of the UK SIC framework, we have worked with stakeholders and the ONS to improve the way that DCMS sectors, including crafts and visual arts, are classified. As a result of this work, the updated proposed SIC2026 framework published by the ONS in February 2026 includes a new SIC code for “Physical three dimensional visual arts and craft creation activities” which will improve the identification of the crafts sector. The final framework will be published by the ONS on 31 March.
As part of the DCMS Sector Economic Estimates series, DCMS publishes official statistics on the number of self-employed jobs in DCMS sectors, including crafts and visual arts, which form part of the creative industries. These statistics are based on ONS data from the LFS and APS.
We have engaged with the ONS to understand the impact of reduced sample sizes of the LFS and APS on the quality of ONS labour market data and, in turn, the impact on the quality of our DCMS employment estimates.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 22 October (HL10982), when they intend to advertise the position of Creative Freelance Champion, as announced in the 2025 Creative Industries Sector Plan; what the remit and responsibilities of the role will be; and by when they expect the appointment to be made.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We committed in the Creative Industries Sector Plan to appoint a Freelance Champion, who will advocate for the creative sector’s freelancers within government and be a member of the Creative Industries Council.
As this is a new role, we have spent time working closely with the sector to develop the role’s remit, identify the priorities within that and understand how the roleholder will engage with the sector once in post. We will make a direct ministerial appointment soon, and will publish a job description at that time.
The role remit will be intentionally broad, in order to allow the appointee scope to decide what issues to look into. Upon appointment, we expect the Freelance Champion to establish their priorities and develop a workplan to address them.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce statutory transparency obligations requiring AI developers to maintain and disclose records of copyright works used in training models; and if so, whether those obligations are being considered independently of any copyright exemption.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government will publish a report on the use of copyright works in the development of AI systems by 18 March. This report will consider the policy options set out in the government’s consultation on copyright and AI, set out the evidence and views we have gathered and outline our next steps in areas such as transparency.