Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new blasphemy guidance being developed by the Home Office and the Department for Education will be legally binding upon schools; how they are planning to make schools aware of their new responsibilities under that guidance; and how that guidance will be enforced.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In response to recent incidents, the Government has been clear that there is no blasphemy law in Great Britain. The Department has no plans to produce specific guidance on blasphemy for schools.
Head teachers are best placed to make the decisions on how to meet the needs of their pupils. In doing so, there are a range of considerations, supported by existing departmental guidance. This includes ensuring political impartiality and promoting respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and beliefs.
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total apprenticeship budget allocated by HM Treasury to the Department for Education in each of the financial years (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, (3) 2018–19, (4) 2019–20, (5) 2020–21, and (6) 2021–22.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts for all employers in England, to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers, and apprentices.
The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT). The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total apprenticeships spend in England from the 2016/17 financial year to the 2021/22 financial year. This reflects the impact of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 on increasing investment in apprenticeships and shows that in the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the budget in England was spent, with only £11 million unspent. Apprenticeships are an employer-led programme, and as is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT, as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
The Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and total apprenticeships spend for the 2016/17 to 2021/22 financial years:
Year | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget (£million) | 1,808 | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 |
Total ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (£million) | 1,649 | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 |
Asked by: Lord Godson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they spent on apprenticeships in total in each of the financial years (1) 2016–17, (2) 2017–18, (3) 2018–19, (4) 2019–20, (5) 2020–21, and (6) 2021–22.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts for all employers in England, to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers, providers, and apprentices.
The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT). The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget, and the total apprenticeships spend in England from the 2016/17 financial year to the 2021/22 financial year. This reflects the impact of the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 on increasing investment in apprenticeships and shows that in the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the budget in England was spent, with only £11 million unspent. Apprenticeships are an employer-led programme, and as is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT, as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
The Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and total apprenticeships spend for the 2016/17 to 2021/22 financial years:
Year | 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget (£million) | 1,808 | 2,010 | 2,231 | 2,469 | 2,467 | 2,466 |
Total ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (£million) | 1,649 | 1,586 | 1,738 | 1,919 | 1,863 | 2,455 |