Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of (a) graduate job vacancies and (b) apprenticeship starts in (i) Coventry North East constituency, (ii) Coventry, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) England.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
We recognise that a number of education leavers will face challenges gaining employment due to the ongoing adverse impact on the UK labour market and economy of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Recent data from the Office for National Statistics shows that unemployment amongst graduates in the UK has been consistently lower than the total unemployed. The unemployment rate for recent graduates remains below the youth (16-24 years of age) unemployment rate. This data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/graduateslabourmarketoutcomesduringthecoronaviruscovid19pandemicoccupationalswitchesandskillmismatch/2021-03-08. We do not hold data about graduate-specific job vacancies and how these vary by region.
The government is doing all it can to help people who are at the start of their career journey. The Department for Work and Pensions is aiming to have a nationwide network of 27,000 Work Coaches in place by the end of March 2021 to support jobseekers and match them with employers who are recruiting.
As part of the government’s skills recovery package Plan for Jobs announced on 8 July 2020, we are investing an additional £32 million in the National Careers Service up to March 2022. This investment will provide individual careers advice for 269,000 more people whose jobs or learning have been affected by COVID-19. On 29 September 2020 we added additional courses to The Skills Toolkit covering digital, numeracy and employability skills. The new content includes a range of courses to develop ‘work readiness’ skills that employers report they value in their new recruits.
The Department for Education is working with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students, and the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates who are looking to enter the labour market or continue their studies at this challenging time.
Apprenticeships are more important than ever in helping businesses to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need. In recognition of the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak we introduced a number of flexibilities to ensure that apprenticeships can continue where possible. This includes flexibilities to off-the-job training to support remote learning and making it possible for furloughed apprentices to continue their apprenticeships and undertake end-point assessments.
To help employers across the country offer new apprenticeships we have increased the duration and level of incentive payments. Employers will be able to claim £3,000 for each apprentice they take on as a new employee between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 under the government’s Plan for Jobs. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/incentive-payments-for-hiring-a-new-apprentice.
Apprenticeships starts in the first quarter of 2020/21 academic year (reported to date) in the requested geographies, and the equivalent 2019/20 academic year figures are shown in the attached table.
The latest data on apprenticeships and traineeships is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of young people remaining in (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have been supporting all colleges and post-16 learning providers to deliver high-quality education and training to their students, including apprentices. Providers have worked flexibly and innovatively to adapt to the situation to engage students, delivering both remote and face-to-face learning.
Latest figures show that the number of young people who were Not in Education or Training fell from 2019 to 2020.
Age 16: 4.7% (5.0% in 2019) -0.3pp
Age 17: 3.6% (8.1% in 2019) -4.6pp
Age 18: 27.3% (31.9% in 2019) -4.6pp
These figures relate directly to participation and this annual change provides the best way to evaluate those remaining in or starting further education.
It is hard to predict the longer-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the higher education (HE) sector. We are working extremely closely with providers, the Office for Students and across government to ensure that the interests of current and future students are protected. We will ensure that students, the wider public, and an international audience understand that the HE sector remains “open for business” and that it is committed to maintaining its world class status.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the spend on literacy programmes for children under seven in England in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Government is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards, ensuring all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can read fluently and with understanding, and literacy is a key aspect of overall school funding. In cash terms, the total funding allocated to schools was £47.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, an increase of 36.1% compared to the £35 billion allocated in the 2010-11 financial year. The total school funding per year, across the past 10 years, is set out in the annual school funding statistics publication which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-funding-statistics. School budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, £4.8 billion in the 2021-22 financial year and £7.1 billion in the 2022-23 financial year, compared to the 2019-20 financial year.
The Department for Education also currently funds, and has funded, a range of programmes to support literacy development for children under 7. In 2018, we launched a £26.3 million English Hubs Programme dedicated to improving the teaching of reading in Reception and Year 1, particularly for disadvantaged children. Since its launch, we have invested a further £17 million in this school-to-school improvement programme, which focusses on systematic synthetic phonics, early language, and reading for pleasure. The programme has provided targeted support to several thousands of schools across England and, in this academic year (2020-21), it is providing intensive support to over 850 partner schools.
Through the Early Years Professional Development Programme, we are investing £20 million to provide practitioners in nurseries with access to high-quality training to raise practitioners’ skills in supporting young children’s development in early language, literacy, and Mathematics. We have also invested £9 million of National Tutoring Programme funding in improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most this academic year, through the Nuffield Early Language Intervention.
Additionally, the £90 million Opportunity Areas programme is targeting support to 12 of the most disadvantaged areas in England. 11 of the 12 areas have made improving phonics and literacy a priority, and 8 of those have particularly focussed on improving speech and language in early years. The exact amounts spent on these issues vary across the areas.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to reduce barriers to university for people from disadvantaged backgrounds in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
It is more crucial than ever before that we tap into the brilliant talent that our country has to offer, and make sure that university places are available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.
All higher education (HE) providers wanting to charge higher level fees must have an Access and Participation Plan agreed by the Office for Students (OfS), in which they set out the measures they intend to take to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups to access and succeed in higher education.
In our latest strategic guidance to the OfS we asked them to urge providers to do more to ensure that all students, particularly those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, are recruited on to courses that will deliver good outcomes. Too many students are being let down by courses with low completion rates and courses which have no real labour market demand and therefore do not lead them into skilled employment.
We want to help disadvantaged students by driving up standards, not by levelling down. True social mobility is when we put students and their needs and career ambitions first, be that HE, further education or apprenticeships.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to tackle educational disadvantage in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry.
Answered by Vicky Ford
Disadvantaged pupils have always been at the heart of our education policy. Since 2011 we have been providing extra funding - £2.4 billion this year alone - through the pupil premium for school leaders to boost the progress and attainment of their disadvantaged pupils. This year, schools in Coventry North East are sharing additional funding of £6.7 million from the pupil premium; the figure for Coventry city is £18.1 million.
To ensure schools have the tools to make effective use of the funding we established the £137 million Education Endowment Foundation. It carries out extensive research to produce guidance reports for schools setting out how they can use the additional funding to best improve their disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes. This guidance is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/evidence-summaries/pupil-premium-guide/.
Alongside this, our £1 billion catch-up package for the current academic year includes a £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils. This is increasing access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people, helping to accelerate their academic progress and tackling the attainment gap between them and their peers.
Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak we have distributed over one million laptops to disadvantaged pupils so they can continue their studies remotely. On 24 February 2021, the government announced a £700 million Education Recovery package, focusing on an expansion of one-to-one and small group tutoring programmes, as well as supporting the development of disadvantaged children in early years settings, and summer provision for those pupils who need it the most. This includes a one-off Recovery Premium for the next academic year that will be allocated to schools based on the same methodology as the pupil premium. In this way, schools with more disadvantaged pupils will receive larger allocations.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support the financial stability of early years and childcare providers in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Vicky Ford
During the COVID-19 outbreak, we have provided unprecedented support to the early years sector by continuing to fund the free childcare entitlements, making grants and loans available and ensuring early years providers can access the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for their non-government funded income, and childminders the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). We continue to ensure that providers can access the support available.
As long as the staff meet the other criteria for the scheme, schools and early years providers are able to furlough their staff if they have experienced a drop in either their income from parents or government. Eligible nurseries can also benefit from a business rates holiday and can access the business loans as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This is inclusive of Coventry North East constituency, Coventry, the West Midlands, and England. We have not taken different approaches in different areas.
On 17 December, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that both the CJRS and SEISS would be extended to April 2021. We also updated the CJRS guidance for early years so that all providers who have seen a drop in their overall income are able to furlough any staff (who were on payroll on or before 30 October) and who aren’t required for delivering the government’s funded entitlements. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-education-early-years-and-childrens-social-care.
Where early years providers are struggling financially, they may be eligible to access support from the Additional Restrictions Grant, if not eligible for the Local Restrictions Support Grant schemes. Details on both grants are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-additional-restrictions-grant and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-the-coronavirus-local-restrictions-support-grant-for-open-businesses.
We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate, and affordable childcare is available for those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department has provided to students affected by the covid-19 lockdown.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
The government is aware of the disproportionate impact this crisis will have on some students. Officials are working with the sector to continue to monitor the situation.
We have worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to help clarify that providers can draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. Providers are able to use the funding, worth around £256 million for academic year 2020/21, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment, and mental health support. We are also making available an additional £50 million of hardship funding this financial year. In total we have made £70 million of funding available for student hardship given the £20 million made available to higher education (HE) providers in December 2020.
Providers will have flexibility in how they distribute the funding to students, in a way that will best prioritise those in greatest need. We will continue to monitor the situation to look at what impact this funding is having.
We have worked with the OfS to provide Student Space, which has been funded with up to £3 million by the OfS. Student Space is a mental health and wellbeing platform that aims to bridge any gaps in support for students arising from this unprecedented situation and is designed to work alongside existing services. I have been clear that ensuring students have access to quality mental health support is my top priority, which is why I asked the OfS to look at extending the platform. I am delighted they have been able to extend the platform to support students for the whole 2020/21 academic year, because no student should be left behind at this challenging time. This resource provides dedicated one-to-one phone, text and web chat facilities, as well as a collaborative online platform providing vital mental health and wellbeing resources.
Furthermore, we have asked the OfS to allocate £15 million towards student mental health in 2021/22 through proposed reforms to Strategic Priorities Grant funding.
On 13 January, I wrote to the OfS, the regulator for HE providers in England. I outlined government expectations of the HE sector. Universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students, regardless of their background, have the resources to study remotely.
The government will continue to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department has issued to (a) schools and (b) colleges on the use of clear face coverings to aid the learning of deaf students during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department’s guidance on face coverings can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.
As the guidance outlines, during national lockdown, in schools and colleges where Year 7 and above are taught, face coverings should be worn by adults (staff and visitors), pupils and students when moving around indoors, outside of classrooms and other teaching situations, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain.
Based on current evidence and the measures that schools and colleges are already putting in place, such as the system of controls and consistent bubbles, face coverings will not generally be necessary in the classroom.
Children in primary schools do not need to wear a face covering.
Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools and colleges.
Face coverings can make it more difficult to communicate with pupils and students with additional needs or those who many rely on lip reading or facial expressions for understanding. We expect staff to be sensitive to these needs when teaching and interacting with pupils and students.
We continue to provide information to the sector on our guidance, and any changes to it, through regular departmental communications. We also continue to work with the sector to understand the impact of the system of controls on staff, pupils and parents.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much capital funding his Department has provided to further education colleges in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
The department has provided the following capital funding to further education colleges that fall under (a) and (b) in the 2020-21 financial year. This was provided under the Further Education Capital Allocation.
| 2020-21 financial year |
(a) Coventry College is the only college in the North East constituency. Prior to 2017 it was Henley College | £1,044,481 |
(b) Coventry as a whole: Coventry College (prior to 2017- City College Coventry & Henley College and Hereward College) | £1,131,010 |
Between financial year 2015-16 and the present, Local Economic Partnerships have had devolved responsibility for allocating skills capital funding via the Local Growth Fund.
Between financial year 2010-11 and financial year 2014-15, capital funding for colleges was the responsibility of the Skills Funding Agency. It awarded the following funding to Coventry College’s predecessor colleges:
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
(c) Coventry College is the only college in the North East constituency. Prior to 2017 it was Henley College | £2,000,000 | £120,000 | £310,000 | £82,945 |
(d) Coventry as a whole: Coventry College (prior to 2017- City College Coventry & Henley College and Hereward College) | £2,100,000 | £120,000 | £310,000 | £82,945 |
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the closure of Coventry College’s Henley Campus on (a) further education provision and (b) social mobility in Coventry North East constituency.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Coventry College has two campuses, City and Henley, located less than two miles apart. The further education commissioner and the team have undertaken two visits to Coventry College in 2020, on the 9 and 10 March and 22 September. Space utilisation at both sites is below 30%, with Henley requiring significant capital investment to bring it up to a good standard. Travel to learn patterns indicate that learners travel from across the city to access provision at Henley and as such will not be adversely affected by the move to City.
Local authorities have a critical role to play in ensuring adequacy of provision and support for young people to access and participate in education and training. Their responsibilities and duties relating to participation are set out in the published statutory guidance for local authorities. This includes securing sufficient suitable education and training provision for all young people in their area who are over compulsory school age, but under 19 or aged 19 to 25 and for whom an education, health and care plan is maintained. This is a duty under the Education Act 1996. To fulfil this, local authorities need to have a strategic overview of the provision available in their area and to identify and resolve gaps in provision. More information on provision and support for young people in education and training can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/561546/Participation-of-young-people-in-education-employment-or-training.pdf.
Where local authorities feel that there is a specific gap in provision that cannot be addressed by existing providers, there is a process by which this can be brought to the attention of the Education and Skills Funding Agency for consideration and action as appropriate.
No colleges have closed in Coventry in the past ten years. In 2017 City College Coventry merged with Henley College to form Coventry College. No campuses have closed in Coventry in the past ten years. Three college sites have closed across the West Midlands in the past ten years.
In recent years capital funding has been managed by the local enterprise partnerships via the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. However, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, announced in June 2020 that an initial £200 million of the £1.5 billion capital funding to upgrade the further education estate was to be brought forward to this financial year (2020-21). This was paid to all eligible further education colleges and designated institutions in September 2020. Coventry College received £1.044 million. The Further Education Capital Transformation Fund, which will invest the remaining £1.3 billion over the coming 5 years, to upgrade the further education estate, opened for bids from colleges on 21 January 2021.
As part of the review, undertaken by the further education commissioner, and during recent engagement with Coventry College the availability of this capital funding has been discussed. Given the poor space utilisation at both Henley and City sites (less than 30% at each), the board agreed to close the Henley site and focus capital investment on creating enhanced facilities on the City site.