Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of apprenticeship starts for (a) Level 2 apprenticeships, (b) Level 3 apprenticeships, (c) Level 4 apprenticeships, (d) Level 5 apprenticeships and (e) Level 6 apprenticeship in (i) 2020 and (ii) 2021, and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The department does not produce forecasts for apprenticeship starts by level. Apprenticeships are paid jobs and their availability is dependent on employers offering opportunities and hiring apprentices to meet their skills needs; employers can choose which apprenticeships they offer, how many and when.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the amount that employers will pay into the apprenticeship levy in 2020; how much apprenticeships will cost in 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The apprenticeship levy is collected by HM Revenue and Customs from all UK employers with a pay bill in excess of £3 million. In the 2019/20 financial year, it is forecast that UK employers will pay £2.8 billion into the levy. Forecasts for future levy receipts are published by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and updated monthly and they can be found here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-fiscal-outlook-march-2019/.
The amount raised by the levy is distinct from the Department for Education’s ring-fenced apprenticeship budget, which is set to fund apprenticeships in England only. The budget has been set in advance by HM Treasury for the current spending review period which runs until the end of 2019/20.
In 2019/20, over £2.5 billion will be available for investment in apprenticeships in England. Currently, we expect to remain within budget in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 financial years. The level of funding for the programme beyond 2020 will be determined by the forthcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the total spend has been on (a) level 2 (b) level 3 and (c) above level 3 apprenticeships in each of the last three financial years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne Milton
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) publishes details of apprenticeships spend in its annual reports and accounts. Overall spend for the last 3 financial years can be found at the following links: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/727363/ESFA_ARA_2017-18_WEB.pdf, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630972/2016_to_2017_SFA_ARA_web_version.pdf and https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630097/EFA_2016-17_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_PRINT.pdf.
The ESFA does not publish spend by level of apprenticeship. Spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand-led and employers can choose the amount, frequency and level of apprenticeships that they offer.
The following table provides an estimate of spend at level 2, level 3 and level 4 and above in each of the last 3 financial years alongside total published spend.
Estimated apprenticeship participation spend by level from 2015-16 to 2017-18 (in millions of pounds)
Financial year | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4+ | Participation spend | Total published spend |
2015-16 | £756 | £638 | £47 | £1,441 | £1,540 |
2016-17 | £771 | £686 | £75 | £1,533 | £1,632 |
2017-18 | £672 | £724 | £126 | £1,522 | £1,580 |
The analysis provided is based on provider earnings data taken from the Individualised Learner Record and adjusted proportionately to match participation spend figures. The amount that providers claim in earnings may differ from the amount that the provider is paid following reconciliation. These estimated spend figures will therefore not fully align with actual spend. Total spend, published in the ESFA annual report and accounts, which includes participation and non-participation, is provided alongside for reference.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the information gathered by the annual Destinations of Leavers of Higher Education survey; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government believes it is vital students can access detailed and accurate information on the potential outcomes of higher education when making decisions about their future.
The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey is a valuable source of information on the activities of students 6 months after they graduate and is used widely by students, the sector and government. It is overseen by the Higher Education Statistics Agency who in 2017 announced the replacement of DLHE with a new Graduate Outcomes survey. The new survey focuses on outcomes 15 months after graduation, and so will provide a longer-term view of graduate destinations. It uses a centralised collection system with the intention of improving consistency and robustness. Results of the first Graduate Outcomes survey for 2017/18 leavers will be published in 2020.
Further information on the new graduate outcomes survey can be found here:
https://www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk/about-survey.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of universities collecting destination routes of all students beyond the current annual survey of graduate destinations; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
The government believes it is vital students can access detailed and accurate information on the potential outcomes of higher education when making decisions about their future.
The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey is a valuable source of information on the activities of students 6 months after they graduate and is used widely by students, the sector and government. It is overseen by the Higher Education Statistics Agency who in 2017 announced the replacement of DLHE with a new Graduate Outcomes survey. The new survey focuses on outcomes 15 months after graduation, and so will provide a longer-term view of graduate destinations. It uses a centralised collection system with the intention of improving consistency and robustness. Results of the first Graduate Outcomes survey for 2017/18 leavers will be published in 2020.
Further information on the new graduate outcomes survey can be found here:
https://www.graduateoutcomes.ac.uk/about-survey.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding has been allocated to schools and colleges through the large programme uplift in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Anne Milton
The total funding allocated for the large programme uplift since its introduction in the 16 to 19 funding formula in 2016/17 has been as follows:
Academic Year | Large Programme Funding |
2016/17 | £8.14 million |
2017/18 | £7.75 million |
2018/19 | £7.24 million |
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to update its document, Teachers’ standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies, last updated in June 2013; and for what reason care experienced children are not identified as a cohort of children in Standard 5 of that document.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is committed to ensuring that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. There are currently no plans to update the document, Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. The document does reflect the needs of looked after children by setting out the expectation for teachers to: have a secure understanding of how a range of factors can inhibit pupils’ ability to learn and; have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.
Further information, including the reports of the independent review of the Teachers’ standards, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/teachers-standards.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much money from the public purse has been spent by (a) further education colleges and (b) academies in offering subsidies to attract students in each of the last five years.
Answered by Anne Milton
The information requested is not held centrally. The department does not collect information regarding such subsidies.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that school admissions authorities are aware of the guidance to give second highest priority in their over-subscription criteria to children who were previously in state care outside of England.
Answered by Nick Gibb
In December 2017 the Department announced that, when the opportunity arises, it intends to amend the School Admissions Code to require admission authorities to give children who were previously in state care outside of England highest priority for admission into school.
Until such time when the relevant changes to the Code can be made, admission authorities have been asked to use their current flexibilities in setting their own admission arrangements to grant such children second highest admissions priority in their oversubscription criteria.
To further encourage admission authorities to make this change, additional advice was issued about this matter to all local authorities, with a request that it is circulated to all own admission authorities in their respective areas in August 2018.
Asked by: Nic Dakin (Labour - Scunthorpe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2018 to Question 153261 on Teachers: Recruitment, if he will provide the finalised (a) total spending and (b) under-spend on teacher training bursaries in the 2017/18 academic year now that that academic year has concluded.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Following the conclusion of the 2017/18 academic year, we require teacher training providers to complete a rigourous financial assurance exercise to demonstrate that they have properly administered training bursary funding on behalf of the Department. This exercise will be complete at the end of the 2018-19 financial year, at which time finalised spend figures will be available.