Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Portrait

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride

Labour - Life peer

Became Member: 21st June 2018

Shadow Spokesperson (Business and Trade)

(since October 2023)

Shadow Spokesperson (Scotland)

(since October 2023)

Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lords)
21st Apr 2020 - 26th Oct 2023
Opposition Whip (Lords)
4th Sep 2018 - 15th Apr 2020


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord McNicol of West Kilbride has voted in 436 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Lord McNicol of West Kilbride Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Callanan (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(69 debate interactions)
Lord Offord of Garvel (Conservative)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
(22 debate interactions)
Baroness Williams of Trafford (Conservative)
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
(18 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Home Office
(49 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(44 debate contributions)
Department for Business and Trade
(43 debate contributions)
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View all Lord McNicol of West Kilbride's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord McNicol of West Kilbride, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord McNicol of West Kilbride has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord McNicol of West Kilbride has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 47 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
27th Nov 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times the UK has been subject to legal action through investor-state dispute settlement which has been brought either individually or as part of a wider claim; how many times such claims have been successful against the UK; and what was the legal costs of defending those claims.

The UK has investment agreements with Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions with around 90 trading partners. There has never been a successful ISDS claim brought against the UK, nor has any claim reached arbitral proceedings for the UK to defend.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Sep 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many businesses they expect to participate in the UK pavilion at the Osaka Expo 2025.

UK Government will be working with as many British businesses as possible to showcase the UK across Japan and the Asia Pacific region, as well as promote foreign direct investment in the UK. This work is on-going; the total number of businesses that will be involved is not yet confirmed.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Sep 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government when construction of the UK pavilion for the Osaka Expo 2025 will (1) commence, and (2) be completed.

Construction for the UK pavilion in Osaka will commence in early 2024. Construction will be completed ahead of the Expo opening on 13 April 2025.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Sep 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the staffing costs for the UK pavilion at the Osaka Expo 2025.

Requirements for staffing the UK pavilion are still being scoped and therefore estimated costs are not currently known.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Sep 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they estimate will be spent by each department on organising the UK pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025; and how much funding they estimate will be provided by (1) UK businesses, and (2) other organisations, to support the organisation of the UK pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025.

The Department for Business and Trade is organising the UK Pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025 on behalf of His Majesty's Government. The Department's estimated total budget for delivering the UK's presence is £58.39m. This is funded from contributions from existing budgets.

Significant additional funding is being sought from the private sector to offset costs to the taxpayer. This work is in train - it is not therefore possible to accurately estimate private sector funding levels at this point.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
18th Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the outcome of COP27; and what plans they have, if any, to address the issues raised at the conference.

COP27 established a new fund for responding to loss and damage as part of other funding arrangements relevant for loss and damage. This progress is significant in supporting the most vulnerable.

We maintained the focus from Glasgow on the urgent action needed to keep 1.5 alive and secured further work on mitigation to accelerate and implement emission reductions.

The deal in Egypt preserves the historic commitments countries agreed to last year in the Glasgow Climate Pact, and the UK will continue to push for international ambition and implementation of the Glasgow Climate Pact and the Paris Agreement.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
7th Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many high-temperature gas-cooled reactors they intend to authorise for construction in the UK to provide certainty to the UK nuclear fuel supply chain.

The Department’s Advanced Nuclear Fund includes funding for an Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) Programme which aims to enable a High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) demonstration by the early 2030s to understand the potential of the technology.

We have published a stakeholder engagement note which set out a proposed three phase approach. The development of the UK nuclear supply chain will be considered as part of the Programme.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
7th Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish the nuclear energy roadmap for deployment referred to in the Net Zero Strategy, published on 19 October 2021.

New nuclear has an important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, as well as contributing to our energy security and delivering a low-cost, diverse, and resilient energy system. The Government will publish a roadmap for new nuclear deployment, including large-scale and advanced nuclear technologies, this year.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Insolvency Practitioners Association 2021 Monitoring Report will be published.

The Insolvency Service expects to publish its Monitoring Report relating to the Insolvency Practitioners Association by the end of February.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation they have undertaken (1) within, and (2) without, the insolvency industry that has suggested the Insolvency Service as a suitable candidate to be a Single Regulator of the Insolvency Industry; and whether they will puliish that evidence.

The Government is consulting on proposals to reform, strengthen and modernise the insolvency practitioner regulatory framework.

The Government previously consulted through a call for evidence on whether there should be a different regulatory framework, including a greater role for Government. Since then further discussions have been held with stakeholders to help develop proposals for consultation.

The consultation and its associated impact assessment were published on 21 December 2021 and will close on 25 March. During the consultation period, the Government will continue to engage directly with key stakeholders and welcomes responses from all interested parties on the proposals, including suggestions on how they could be improved and on their likely impact.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what independent documented evidence they have that the current (1) structure, and (2) model, for insolvency regulation is failing to deliver (a) consistent outcomes, (b) robust outcomes, and (c) the breadth of regulation required for an effective modern regulatory regime.

The Government is consulting on proposals to reform, strengthen and modernise the insolvency practitioner regulatory framework. These proposals arise from a call for evidence conducted previously and other evidence collected by the Insolvency Service in its role as oversight regulator on behalf of the Secretary of State. The consultation document, along with the associated impact assessment which were published on 21 December 2021, summarise the evidence used (including the responses to the call for evidence) to draw up the proposals for reform.

The consultation closes on 25 March.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
18th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what independent documented evidence there is of inconsistent regulatory outcomes between different Recognised Professional Bodies in the regulation of Insolvency Practitioners.

The Government is consulting on proposals to reform, strengthen and modernise the insolvency practitioner regulatory framework. These proposals arise from a call for evidence conducted previously and other evidence collected by the Insolvency Service in its role as oversight regulator on behalf of the Secretary of State. The consultation document, along with the associated impact assessment which were published on 21 December 2021, summarise the evidence used (including the responses to the call for evidence) to draw up the proposals for reform.

The consultation closes on 25 March.

Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
8th Sep 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the results of their call for evidence on loot boxes in video games, which closed on 22 November 2020.

We want to ensure that all players can enjoy games safely. This is a responsibility that the Government shares jointly with the games industry.

We received over 30,000 responses to our loot box call for evidence, and continue to engage with industry to discuss issues identified from the call for evidence. We will publish our response to the call for evidence on loot boxes in the coming months.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
30th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate loot boxes under the Gambling Act 2005, as recommended by the Select Committee on the Social and Economic Impact of the Gambling Industry.

Ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely by players, including children and vulnerable people, is a priority for the Government. That is why the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport launched a call for evidence in September 2020 to examine concerns relating to loot boxes, including evidence of potential harms.


We continue to evaluate the full scope of the evidence gathered from over 30,000 responses received. Potential solutions and preferred actions, including considerations around regulatory proposals, will be set out in the Government’s response to the call for evidence. The response will be published in the coming months and we stand ready to take action should the findings from the call for evidence support taking further measures. Officials continue to monitor the emergence of new research around loot boxes, including reports published by organisations such as GambleAware as the Government response is developed.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
30th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Dr James Close and Dr Joanne Lloyd Lifting the Lid on Loot-Boxes, published by GambleAware in April; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the use of loot boxes by children does not lead to future gambling addiction.

Ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely by players, including children and vulnerable people, is a priority for the Government. That is why the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport launched a call for evidence in September 2020 to examine concerns relating to loot boxes, including evidence of potential harms.


We continue to evaluate the full scope of the evidence gathered from over 30,000 responses received. Potential solutions and preferred actions, including considerations around regulatory proposals, will be set out in the Government’s response to the call for evidence. The response will be published in the coming months and we stand ready to take action should the findings from the call for evidence support taking further measures. Officials continue to monitor the emergence of new research around loot boxes, including reports published by organisations such as GambleAware as the Government response is developed.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
30th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of recovering gambling addicts relapsing as a result of loot boxes in video games.

Ensuring that video games are enjoyed safely by players, including children and vulnerable people, is a priority for the Government. That is why the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport launched a call for evidence in September 2020 to examine concerns relating to loot boxes, including evidence of potential harms.


We continue to evaluate the full scope of the evidence gathered from over 30,000 responses received. Potential solutions and preferred actions, including considerations around regulatory proposals, will be set out in the Government’s response to the call for evidence. The response will be published in the coming months and we stand ready to take action should the findings from the call for evidence support taking further measures. Officials continue to monitor the emergence of new research around loot boxes, including reports published by organisations such as GambleAware as the Government response is developed.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
21st Mar 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a GCSE course in the Kurdish language; and what support the Department for Education provides for the teaching of this language.

There are no current plans to add additional language GCSEs to the existing range of subjects. It is exam boards who are responsible for deciding, based on the existing modern foreign languages subject content, which language GCSEs are offered. The government would support an exam board in developing a language GCSE, including in Kurdish, if the board considered there was a strong case to do so, including sufficient demand.

It is up to schools to decide which languages are taught as part of their curriculum in both primary and secondary schools. There are several supplementary schools in England which teach Kurdish to children and young people outside of their regular schooling, where parents may choose to send their children for Kurdish tuition. Further information on supplementary schools can be found on the National Resource Centre for Supplementary Education’s website at: www.supplementaryeducation.org.uk.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
13th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many trained mental health first aiders there are in secondary schools in England.

The department does not hold data on the number of Mental Health First Aiders in schools and we believe it is important that schools are able to decide what training they offer to their staff based on the individual circumstances of the school.

However, we have made sure that schools have access to a range of training, so teachers understand and respond to the mental health and wellbeing issues that pupils face, including those issues that are as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The response to the consultation on the ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in July 2018, confirmed our commitment to provide mental health awareness training for a member of staff from all state-funded secondary schools in England by March 2020. ​The Department of Health and Social Care awarded the final year (19-20) of this 3 year programme to deliver Mental Health Awareness Training to all eligible secondary schools to the Anna Freud Centre, having previously been delivered by Mental Health First Aid England.

For the longer term, we announced £9.5 million on 10 May 2021 to offer senior mental health lead training to around a third of all state schools and colleges in the 2021/22 academic year, as part of its commitment to offer this training to all state schools and colleges by 2025. A senior mental health lead is a strategic leadership role in a school or college, responsible for overseeing the settings whole school or college approach to promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as supporting those who need help with their mental health to receive appropriate support. The role is not mandatory, and the senior mental health lead training will not be compulsory.

Since applications opened in October 2021, over 8,000 eligible schools and colleges have applied for a senior mental health training grant. Over 6,500 of these have booked onto a Department for Education quality-assured training course and over 3,500 senior leads are estimated to have begun their training.

Ahead of this, to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, our recent £15 million Wellbeing for Education Recovery and Return programmes provided free expert training, support and resources for school and college staff dealing with children and young people experiencing mental health issues. Information provided by 95% of local authorities, on how they delivered training and support using Wellbeing for Education Return funding, suggests that training and support reached over 12,000 education settings. Many local authorities have also told us that this funding has enabled and accelerated cross-system collaboration to support education settings, staff, children and young people and their families. Local areas continue to share examples of practice (promotional materials, worksheets, presentations, links to recorded sessions and local directories and evaluations) with us and each other.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
13th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a dedicated mental health first aider in every secondary school in England.

The department does not hold data on the number of Mental Health First Aiders in schools and we believe it is important that schools are able to decide what training they offer to their staff based on the individual circumstances of the school.

However, we have made sure that schools have access to a range of training, so teachers understand and respond to the mental health and wellbeing issues that pupils face, including those issues that are as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The response to the consultation on the ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in July 2018, confirmed our commitment to provide mental health awareness training for a member of staff from all state-funded secondary schools in England by March 2020. ​The Department of Health and Social Care awarded the final year (19-20) of this 3 year programme to deliver Mental Health Awareness Training to all eligible secondary schools to the Anna Freud Centre, having previously been delivered by Mental Health First Aid England.

For the longer term, we announced £9.5 million on 10 May 2021 to offer senior mental health lead training to around a third of all state schools and colleges in the 2021/22 academic year, as part of its commitment to offer this training to all state schools and colleges by 2025. A senior mental health lead is a strategic leadership role in a school or college, responsible for overseeing the settings whole school or college approach to promote children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as supporting those who need help with their mental health to receive appropriate support. The role is not mandatory, and the senior mental health lead training will not be compulsory.

Since applications opened in October 2021, over 8,000 eligible schools and colleges have applied for a senior mental health training grant. Over 6,500 of these have booked onto a Department for Education quality-assured training course and over 3,500 senior leads are estimated to have begun their training.

Ahead of this, to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, our recent £15 million Wellbeing for Education Recovery and Return programmes provided free expert training, support and resources for school and college staff dealing with children and young people experiencing mental health issues. Information provided by 95% of local authorities, on how they delivered training and support using Wellbeing for Education Return funding, suggests that training and support reached over 12,000 education settings. Many local authorities have also told us that this funding has enabled and accelerated cross-system collaboration to support education settings, staff, children and young people and their families. Local areas continue to share examples of practice (promotional materials, worksheets, presentations, links to recorded sessions and local directories and evaluations) with us and each other.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
8th Sep 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide additional resources to schools for addressing mental health issues experienced by young people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have prioritised keeping schools open above all else because they are vital for children and young people’s wellbeing, as well as their education.

We are investing £3 billion to boost learning, including £950 million in additional funding for schools which they can use to support pupils’ mental health and wellbeing.

In May, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, we announced more than £17 million of mental health funding to improve mental health and wellbeing support in schools and colleges. This includes £7 million additional funding for local authorities to deliver the Wellbeing for Education Recovery programme. This builds on our £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme in 2020/21, which provided free expert training, support and resources for staff dealing with children and young people experiencing additional pressures from the last year. Wellbeing for Education Return has been used by more than 90% of councils since its launch last summer.

Up to 7,800 schools and colleges in England will be offered funding worth £9.5 million to train a senior mental health lead from their staff in the next academic year, which is part of the government’s commitment to offering this training to all state schools and colleges by 2025.

Training will provide senior leads with the knowledge and skills to develop or introduce a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing in their setting. It will encourage staff to develop their own understanding of issues affecting their pupils, giving young people a voice in how their school or college addresses wellbeing and working with parents and monitoring pupils where appropriate.

Additionally, our Mental Health in Education Action Group, has worked to identify and put in place further specific help to education settings to provide support for children and young people’s mental wellbeing at this critical time, and in the longer term.

This support for practice in schools is in addition to the £79 million boost to children and young people’s mental health support we announced in March, which will include increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams. The support teams - which provide early intervention on mental health and emotional wellbeing issues in schools and colleges - will grow from the 59 set up by last March to around 400 by April 2023, supporting nearly 3 million children.

The department has recently brought together all its sources of advice or schools and colleges into a single site, which includes signposting to external sources of mental health and wellbeing support for teachers, school staff and school leaders: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges#mental-health-and-wellbeing-resources. This also includes guidance to support relationships, sex and health education curriculum planning, covering of the key issues children and young people have been concerned about throughout the COVID-19 outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teaching-about-mental-wellbeing.

Baroness Barran
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
7th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Social Mobility Commission's report The road not taken: the drivers of course selection, published on 30 March, what steps they intend to take to provide targeted support resources to address the challenges faced by disadvantaged pupils.

Enabling every child, irrespective of their background, to realise their potential at school has been at the centre of this government’s education policy since 2010. We do not design education policy that exclusively targets specific groups of pupils, for example based on their ethnicity or gender. Our policies are aimed at improving the education of all disadvantaged children and young people, especially as we know that their education has been impacted most heavily by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In June 2020, as part of the £1 billion Covid catch up package, we announced £350 million to fund the National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged students for the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate pupil progress, and we want to extend this opportunity to disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. The programme provides additional, targeted support for those children and young people who have been hardest hit from disruption to their education as a result of school closures. Teachers and school leaders should exercise professional judgement when identifying which pupils would benefit most from this additional support. This investment was announced in tandem with the £650 million Catch-Up Premium, additional funding for all schools to support education recovery in academic year 2020/21.

On 24 February 2021, we announced a £700 million Education Recovery package, building on the £1 billion from last year. As well as a range of measures to support all pupils to recover lost learning, the package includes significant funding aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This includes a new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium, which includes £22 million to scale up proven approaches, for state funded schools in the 2021/22 academic year. This grant will further support pupils who need it most. Allocations will reflect disadvantage funding eligibility and will have additional weighting applied to specialist settings, recognising the significantly higher per-pupil costs they face.

In addition to this we announced a further recovery package on 2 June 2021, which provides an additional £1.4 billion to support education recovery for children aged 2 to 19 in schools, colleges and early years settings. It focuses on high quality tutoring and great teaching, where the evidence shows that this investment will have the greatest immediate impact on disadvantaged children.

The government has also invested over £400 million to support vulnerable children in England to continue their education at home. To date, over 1.3 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers.

The ongoing provision of Pupil Premium funding, which is worth £2.5 billion this financial year, aims to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. School leaders use this extra funding to tailor their support, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, and invest in proven practice to improve outcomes, such as that showcased in resources published by the Education Endowment Foundation.

7th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Social Mobility Commission's report The road not taken: the drivers of course selection, published on 30 March, what steps they intend to take (1) to focus on educational inequalities up to age 16, and (2) to target specific disadvantaged groups.

Enabling every child, irrespective of their background, to realise their potential at school has been at the centre of this government’s education policy since 2010. We do not design education policy that exclusively targets specific groups of pupils, for example based on their ethnicity or gender. Our policies are aimed at improving the education of all disadvantaged children and young people, especially as we know that their education has been impacted most heavily by the COVID-19 outbreak.

In June 2020, as part of the £1 billion Covid catch up package, we announced £350 million to fund the National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged students for the academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22. There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate pupil progress, and we want to extend this opportunity to disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. The programme provides additional, targeted support for those children and young people who have been hardest hit from disruption to their education as a result of school closures. Teachers and school leaders should exercise professional judgement when identifying which pupils would benefit most from this additional support. This investment was announced in tandem with the £650 million Catch-Up Premium, additional funding for all schools to support education recovery in academic year 2020/21.

On 24 February 2021, we announced a £700 million Education Recovery package, building on the £1 billion from last year. As well as a range of measures to support all pupils to recover lost learning, the package includes significant funding aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This includes a new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium, which includes £22 million to scale up proven approaches, for state funded schools in the 2021/22 academic year. This grant will further support pupils who need it most. Allocations will reflect disadvantage funding eligibility and will have additional weighting applied to specialist settings, recognising the significantly higher per-pupil costs they face.

In addition to this we announced a further recovery package on 2 June 2021, which provides an additional £1.4 billion to support education recovery for children aged 2 to 19 in schools, colleges and early years settings. It focuses on high quality tutoring and great teaching, where the evidence shows that this investment will have the greatest immediate impact on disadvantaged children.

The government has also invested over £400 million to support vulnerable children in England to continue their education at home. To date, over 1.3 million laptops and tablets have been delivered to schools, trusts, local authorities and further education providers.

The ongoing provision of Pupil Premium funding, which is worth £2.5 billion this financial year, aims to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. School leaders use this extra funding to tailor their support, based on the needs of their disadvantaged pupils, and invest in proven practice to improve outcomes, such as that showcased in resources published by the Education Endowment Foundation.

7th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Social Mobility Commission's report The road not taken: the drivers of course selection, published on 30 March, what steps they intend to take (1) to promote progression routes, (2) to combine technical and academic courses, and (3) to ensure T Levels are properly recognised and fully transferable qualifications.

The department is reviewing post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below, to ensure that every qualification approved for public funding has a distinct purpose, is high quality and supports progression to positive outcomes.

Our recent consultation on level 3 qualifications and call for evidence on study at level 2 and below set out proposals to ensure students have the best opportunities for progression into further or higher education, or into skilled employment, including support for students not ready to start level 3 at age 16. The consultation set out our proposals for clear academic and technical routes post-16, with A levels and T Levels as the qualifications of choice for each route. We are considering responses to the consultation and call for evidence, and will publish a full response to the level 3 consultation, and proposals for consultation at level 2 and below, later this year.

Alongside this, we need outstanding information, advice and guidance to support students to make the best decisions at age 16, including both academic and technical options. The Skills for Jobs White Paper set out a roadmap for how we will achieve this, including support for students to choose the route that best supports their career and study aims.

The consultation above recognised the need for mixed programmes on the academic route to allow students to combine A levels with a number of high quality alternative qualifications. T Levels are technical programmes but are classroom-based delivered by a further education provider, where students will spend 80% in the classroom and 20% on the job during an industry placement of a minimum of 315 hours.

Higher Technical Qualifications are largely classroom based, taught in further education colleges, universities or independent training providers. Although Higher Technical Qualifications are primarily designed for entry into skilled employment or those looking to retrain or upskill, they can also allow progression to further study and/or training.

T Levels, once fully rolled out, will give access to high-quality technical education for thousands of young people, so they can progress to the next level, whether that is getting a job, going on to further study or an apprenticeship. T Levels are more rigorous and substantial than most existing technical qualifications and earn UCAS points in line with 3 A levels. Therefore, we expect T Levels to provide a route into higher level technical study, including degree courses and higher apprenticeships in relevant subject areas. We are working with a wide range of higher education providers and employers to ensure that they are able to make a judgement about the suitability of T Levels for their courses and recruitment approach.

The content of T Levels has been developed in collaboration with panels of over 250 employers ranging from leading national businesses to small and medium sized enterprises. These panels set out the knowledge and skills needed to perform skilled occupations in their industry, using the approved standards which are common to apprenticeships. They also advised on specific maths, English and digital requirements necessary for occupational competence. The core content of the T Level provides underpinning knowledge and breadth of skills to support adaptability and prepare the student for work in their chosen industry. This breadth of knowledge and understanding, combined with core employability skills relevant to all occupations in the route, like problem solving, teamwork or communication skills, provides a firm foundation for a variety of roles. The occupational specialism, which students will choose, will develop technical competence in the area the student wishes to work in.

All students who take T Levels will undertake a substantial industry placement for a minimum of 45 days, so students can be confident that they will get the opportunity to gain real experience of work and develop many transferable skills that employers look for.

7th Jun 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Social Mobility Commission's report The road not taken: the drivers of course selection, published on 30 March, what steps they intend to take to reintroduce a form of Education Maintenance Allowance in England.

The department provides a range of financial support for students to enable them to participate in post-16 education. This includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education (travel, books and equipment), support for childcare and assistance with residential costs.

We have recently changed the way we allocate funding for discretionary bursaries to colleges, school sixth forms and other providers of 16-19 education, following a consultation. As a result, institutions whose students will tend to face higher travel costs, who travel further or live in rural areas, will receive more funding to provide support to students who need it. As normal with the 16-19 bursary fund, it will be for those institutions to identify which students need this support and how to provide this, for example, to purchase or contribute to the cost of a travel pass. We are now transitioning to the new allocation method, beginning in the 2020/21 academic year. Overall, this will ensure a better match between bursary allocations and the needs of students.

We have no plans to reintroduce an Education Maintenance Allowance.

7th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper UK-India free trade agreement: the UK’s strategic approach, published on 13 January, whether they have produced any short-run estimates for the impact of the prospective UK-India free trade agreement on (1) wages, and (2) output, by sector, measured by gross value added.

The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model used to estimate these benefits produces long run results: although not explicitly modelled, this is typically assumed to refer to a period of around 15 years after implementation. Because the model used is static, all changes resulting from the agreement are incorporated at once and therefore it does not capture short run impacts.

India is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050 and as India’s middle class grows to nearly a quarter of a billion middle class consumers, greater access to this market is expected to benefit UK firms.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
7th Dec 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their policy paper UK-India free trade agreement: the UK’s strategic approach, published on 13 January, to what extent they consider the long-run estimates within the document applicable to the UK in the first 15 years of the trade deal being in effect.

The Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model used to estimate these benefits produces long run results: although not explicitly modelled, this is typically assumed to refer to a period of around 15 years after implementation. Because the model used is static, all changes resulting from the agreement are incorporated at once and therefore it does not capture short run impacts.

India is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050 and as India’s middle class grows to nearly a quarter of a billion middle class consumers, greater access to this market is expected to benefit UK firms.

Lord Johnson of Lainston
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
18th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 18–19 year olds, (2) 20–29 year olds, (3) 30–39 year olds, (4) 40–49 year olds, (5) 50–59 year olds, (6) 60–69 year olds, (7) 70–79 year olds, (8) 80–89 year olds, and (9) 90+ year olds, they estimate to hold an expired driving licence.

The tables below show the number of motorists holding a valid driving licence and those with an expired driving licence. The figures for expired licences do not include licences where the entitlement has been revoked or disqualified or where the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received a notification of death.

Current Provisional Driving Licence

Current Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

462,318

39,185

501,503

18 - 19 years old

741,300

392,429

1,133,729

20 - 29 years old

2,520,194

4,808,402

7,328,596

30 - 39 years old

1,821,295

7,118,901

8,940,196

40 - 49 years old

1,407,598

7,440,012

8,847,610

50 - 59 years old

1,347,238

8,573,873

9,921,111

60 - 69 years old

842,409

6,900,127

7,742,536

70 - 79 years old

16,423

4,164,481

4,180,904

80 - 89 years old

2,179

1,410,138

1,412,317

90 years and over

104

132,573

132,677

Total

9,161,058

40,980,121

50,141,179

Drivers with expired provisional driving licences

Drivers with expired full licences

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Expired Provisional Driving Licence

Expired Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

109

10

119

18-19 years old

1,138

1,134

2,272

20-29 years old

29,711

39,755

69,466

30-39 years old

63,643

77,325

140,968

40-49 years old

75,451

81,943

157,394

50-59 years old

76,886

99,674

176,560

60-69 years old

52,804

89,343

142,147

70-79 years old

512,104

1,450,408

1,962,512

80-89 years old

306,819

1,123,896

1,430,715

90 years and over

159,556

705,743

865,299

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
18th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals the DVLA estimate hold an expired driving licence.

The tables below show the number of motorists holding a valid driving licence and those with an expired driving licence. The figures for expired licences do not include licences where the entitlement has been revoked or disqualified or where the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received a notification of death.

Current Provisional Driving Licence

Current Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

462,318

39,185

501,503

18 - 19 years old

741,300

392,429

1,133,729

20 - 29 years old

2,520,194

4,808,402

7,328,596

30 - 39 years old

1,821,295

7,118,901

8,940,196

40 - 49 years old

1,407,598

7,440,012

8,847,610

50 - 59 years old

1,347,238

8,573,873

9,921,111

60 - 69 years old

842,409

6,900,127

7,742,536

70 - 79 years old

16,423

4,164,481

4,180,904

80 - 89 years old

2,179

1,410,138

1,412,317

90 years and over

104

132,573

132,677

Total

9,161,058

40,980,121

50,141,179

Drivers with expired provisional driving licences

Drivers with expired full licences

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Expired Provisional Driving Licence

Expired Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

109

10

119

18-19 years old

1,138

1,134

2,272

20-29 years old

29,711

39,755

69,466

30-39 years old

63,643

77,325

140,968

40-49 years old

75,451

81,943

157,394

50-59 years old

76,886

99,674

176,560

60-69 years old

52,804

89,343

142,147

70-79 years old

512,104

1,450,408

1,962,512

80-89 years old

306,819

1,123,896

1,430,715

90 years and over

159,556

705,743

865,299

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
18th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 18–19 year olds, (2) 20–29 year olds, (3) 30–39 year olds, (4) 40–49 year olds, (5) 50–59 year olds, (6) 60–69 year olds, (7) 70–79 year olds, (8) 80–89 year olds, and (9) 90+ year olds, hold a valid driving licence issued by the DVLA.

The tables below show the number of motorists holding a valid driving licence and those with an expired driving licence. The figures for expired licences do not include licences where the entitlement has been revoked or disqualified or where the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has received a notification of death.

Current Provisional Driving Licence

Current Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

462,318

39,185

501,503

18 - 19 years old

741,300

392,429

1,133,729

20 - 29 years old

2,520,194

4,808,402

7,328,596

30 - 39 years old

1,821,295

7,118,901

8,940,196

40 - 49 years old

1,407,598

7,440,012

8,847,610

50 - 59 years old

1,347,238

8,573,873

9,921,111

60 - 69 years old

842,409

6,900,127

7,742,536

70 - 79 years old

16,423

4,164,481

4,180,904

80 - 89 years old

2,179

1,410,138

1,412,317

90 years and over

104

132,573

132,677

Total

9,161,058

40,980,121

50,141,179

Drivers with expired provisional driving licences

Drivers with expired full licences

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Expired Provisional Driving Licence

Expired Full Driving Licence

Total

Under 18 years old

109

10

119

18-19 years old

1,138

1,134

2,272

20-29 years old

29,711

39,755

69,466

30-39 years old

63,643

77,325

140,968

40-49 years old

75,451

81,943

157,394

50-59 years old

76,886

99,674

176,560

60-69 years old

52,804

89,343

142,147

70-79 years old

512,104

1,450,408

1,962,512

80-89 years old

306,819

1,123,896

1,430,715

90 years and over

159,556

705,743

865,299

Total

1,278,221

3,669,231

4,947,452

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Sep 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to bid for the UK to host future Expo events.

There are currently no plans for the UK to bid to host a future Expo.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
6th Feb 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Scottish Government since it projected a potential £1 billion resource spending gap in 2024–25, rising to £1.9 billion by 2027–28.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury engages regularly with the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance to discuss matters relating to Scottish Government funding. They met most recently in Edinburgh on 25 January at the Finance: Interministerial Standing Committee.

The UK Government is providing the Scottish Government with a record block grant settlement of £41 billion per year over this Spending Review. On top of this, the Scottish Government is receiving over £2 billion in additional funding through the Barnett formula over 2023-24 and 2024-25 as a result of decisions taken at fiscal events.

In August 2023, the UK and Scottish Government reached agreement on an updated Fiscal Framework for the Scottish Government. This included provision to maintain the Scottish Government’s preferred block grant adjustment methodology to account for tax and welfare devolution, remove drawdown limits from the Scotland Reserve and increase the Scottish Government’s borrowing and reserve limits in line with inflation each year.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
15th Jan 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they consider that the Financial Ombudsman Service and Financial Services Compensation Scheme protections enacted under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which underpin retail investor confidence in the UK financial industry, remain "an expression of UK national policy".

The government believes that it is important that consumers of financial services have appropriate routes to seek redress without having to go through the court system. The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 established both the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) for this purpose.

The FOS provides consumers and small businesses with a free, independent service that enables the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of disputes with financial services firms. It is designed as an alternative to resolution of cases through the courts, which can be expensive for both firms and consumers and delay redress.

The courts also continue to play an important role alongside the FOS in ensuring consumers have access to redress and in some cases may be a more appropriate route to ensuring effective resolution of disputes.

The FSCS is the UK’s compensation scheme of last resort and pays compensation to consumers when authorised financial services firms fail. However, the FSCS does not cover losses that arise purely from investment performance. The UK does not operate a zero-failure regime in financial services and individuals have responsibility for choosing investments that are suitable for their risk profile.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
23rd Nov 2023
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Insurance Fund is classified as a liability or a contingent liability on their balance sheet.

It is neither a liability nor a contingent liability but is recorded as an asset on the government balance sheet.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
28th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made for the levels of over-indebtedness in the UK; and what independent evidential basis informs that assessment.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent public body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. As such, the Government is unable to comment on the FCA’s assessment of their consumer research work and the evidence base that impacts their assessment. The Government has therefore passed this enquiry on to them directly and they will respond to the noble Lord by letter.

Baroness Penn
Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
24th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Financial Conduct Authority has made of the reasons for the high levels of personal debt in the UK; and what independent evidential basis informs that assessment.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent public body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. As such, the Government is unable to comment on the FCA’s assessment of their consumer research work and the evidence base that impacts their assessment. The Government has therefore passed this enquiry on to them directly and they will respond to the noble Lord by letter.

Baroness Penn
Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
5th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided as part of its supervision strategy to make no independent periodic checks on the compliance of FCA regulations by authorised firms, in particular the accuracy of key consumer protection information such as representative annual percentage rates.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

5th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the last six years, how many Skilled Persons Reports the Financial Conduct Authority has commissioned where the issue of representative annual percentage rates (APRs), including the formulation or deployment of representative APR in the market, has been the “matter concerned”.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

5th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in each of the last six years, (1) how many times the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has asked a firm to outline how it calculates its annual percentage rates (APRs) except at the point of granting of authorisation; (2) where the FCA has discovered representative APR breaches, how many times it has required changes to a firm’s (a) website, and (b) product literature; and (3) how many firms have been referred to the enforcement division for resolution.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

16th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what independent information resource is available to consumers to check that representative APRs are fairly stated; and what action the Financial Conduct Authority advises customers to take where they are concerned they have been mis-sold under a representative APR that was not fairly stated.

Firms are required by FCA rules to include a representative APR in certain circumstances. The FCA’s handbook provides further rules and guidance on when a representative APR must be shown, how it should be denoted and the level of prominence it must be given.

If an advertisement includes an interest rate or any amount relating to the cost of credit, it must also include a representative example. This must contain certain standard information including a representative APR. The example must be clear and concise and must be no less prominent than the information that triggered the inclusion of the example.

If a customer is concerned that they have been mis-sold a credit agreement, the customer can make a formal complaint to the firm in question in the first instance. If they feel that their complaint has not been dealt with satisfactorily, they are able to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) – an independent body set up to provide arbitration in such cases.

16th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has requested a firm to outline how it calculates its APR in the last six years, other than at the point granting authorisation; in any cases of representative APR breaches discovered, how many times the FCA has required changes to the firm’s website and product literature; and how many firms have been referred to the enforcement department for resolution.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

16th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Financial Conduct Authority has decided not to make independent periodic checks on the compliance of Financial Conduct Authority regulations by authorised firms, particularly the accuracy of key consumer protection information such as representative APR.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

16th Dec 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many skilled persons reports under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 section 166 the Financial Conduct Authority has commissioned where the issue of representative APR has been the matter concerned, in each of the last six years.

This question has been passed on to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA will reply directly to the noble Lord by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

18th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of individuals holding an expired British passport.

Data cannot be provided in accurate volumes. This is due to exceptions, including where a passport has not been automatically cancelled on renewal, and where a passport holder is deceased, and their passport record has not been updated.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
18th Nov 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) 18–19 year olds, (2) 20–29 year olds, (3) 30–39 year olds, (4) 40–49 year olds, (5) 50–59 year olds, (6) 60–69 year olds, (7) 70–79 year olds, (8) 80–89 year olds, and (9) 90+ year olds, they estimate to hold an expired British passport.

Data cannot be provided in accurate volumes. This is due to exceptions, including where a passport has not been automatically cancelled on renewal, and where a passport holder is deceased, and their passport record has not been updated.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)