Oral Answers to Questions

Janet Daby Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

9. What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to funding for level 7 apprenticeships on people aged 22 and over.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

Apprenticeship starts by young people collapsed under the Conservatives. Labour is rebalancing the system towards young people to help them get on in life by backing them and giving them the skills they need to get jobs and grow our economy.

[Greg Smith]

Over 95,000 apprenticeships are being undertaken in the health, public services and care sector, and NHS Employers and many others have raised concerns about the impact of the Government policy to cease funding for level 7 apprenticeships for those over the age of 22. Can the Minister tell us what plans are in place to ensure that the people supporting all of us and all our constituents are given essential training and support? More particularly, what discussions has she had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about the impact of this decision on our NHS?

[Janet Daby]

We are encouraging more employers, including the NHS, to invest in upskilling their staff who are over 22 years old and to deliver level 7 apprenticeships where they benefit those businesses and individuals. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training, and there are other training opportunities available at level 7, including non-apprenticeship routes. Our reforms will support 120,000 new training opportunities and up to 13,000 foundation apprenticeship starts. Apprenticeship starts, participation and achievements are all up under Labour, and we are continuing to go much further.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

I welcome the Government’s plans to create those 120,000 training opportunities for young people, including these higher-level apprenticeships. However, we know that there are significant shortages of those able to provide training and mentorship. With only 65% of 55 to 64-year-olds employed, does the Minister agree that there is an opportunity to retrain older workers so they can pass on their experience to the next generation?

[Janet Daby]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we continue to support and train adults, and many adults with seniority in their professions will continue to offer excellent support, mentoring, internship and guidance to younger apprentices. The change we have put in place will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards younger people and will create more opportunities for those entering the labour market.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Neil O’Brien (Harborough, Oadby and Wigston) (Con)]

Ministers recently announced that they were axing level 7 apprenticeships. Strangely, they made the announcement during recess; and also strangely, it was only the day after the announcement that they finally answered my parliamentary question from April, revealing that they were making a 90% cut in those apprenticeships. This is blowing a huge hole in the NHS workforce plan, leading to a shortfall of 11,000 nurses. If Ministers will not listen to the many employers saying that this will make it much more difficult for people who are not so well-off to get into the professions, will they at least rule out cutting level 6 apprenticeships next?

[Janet Daby]

I can reassure the shadow Minister that level 6 apprenticeships are a core part of our offer, and we will continue to fund them. I also say politely to him that we will take no lessons from Liz Truss’s previous Health Minister; that Government left our NHS on its knees, and we are having to rebuild it from its foundations again.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Ian Sollom (St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire) (LD)]

The number of health visitors in England has reached an all-time low, with just 7,000 remaining, and there is a forecast shortfall of 37,000 community nurses by 2036. The Department’s own Skills England sectoral report shows that the health and social care sectors face the highest vacancy rates, at 41%. Has there been any specific assessment of how removing level 7 apprenticeship funding for those over 21 will impact the pipeline of specialist community public health nurses into critical shortage roles, and is Skills England working with the Department of Health on NHS workforce planning?

[Janet Daby]

Skills England is taking a pivotal and active role. Also, of the 2.5 million workers in critical demand occupations, which includes the NHS, the majority require a qualification lower than degree level. We are rebalancing opportunities towards younger people, whose rates of apprenticeship starts have fallen more dramatically than the overall decline over the last decade. To create more opportunities for young people, we will need to prioritise public funding towards those at the start of their working career and at the lower apprenticeship levels, rather than those who are already in work with higher levels of prior learning or qualifications.

[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

10. What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of outdoor education provision in the national curriculum.

--- Later in debate ---

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

13. What steps she is taking to reduce the time taken for the adoption of children in foster care.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

Where adoption is the right option for children, it needs to happen without delay, and early permanence placements are a crucial way to offer children stability. Labour believes that children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life, which is why we have provided £250,000 in funding for Adoption England to promote the practice. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill represents the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation, and it is a shame that Opposition Members opposed it.

[Josh Newbury]

I thank the Minister for that response. As an adoptive parent and a foster carer, I know the transformative effect that early permanence can have on the lives of children in care. It is not right for every child or for every parent, but adoption agencies could make much wider use of it. Would the Minister be willing to meet me and adoption charities to discuss how we can maximise the benefits of early permanence?

[Janet Daby]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important topic; he is a champion for children in Cannock Chase. I agree that we should continue to promote early permanence. Adoption England has published national standards to promote and shape early permanence practice across the country. I regularly meet the organisations my hon. Friend has mentioned, but I am more than happy to meet him, too.

[Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)]

Adoptive parents right across my constituency are rightly concerned about the impact of Labour’s recent cuts to the adoption and special guardianship support fund. Following last week’s spending review, what hope can be offered to families in my constituency and up and down the country who need the additional support that has been taken away under those cuts?

[Janet Daby]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for the concern she has expressed. The adoption and special guardianship support fund has not been cut. Demand is ever increasing, and we have chosen an approach to manage tight resources in the face of increasing demand for support. The adoption and special guardianship support fund still enables those eligible to access a significant package of therapeutic support tailored to meet their individual needs.

[Dr Simon Opher (Stroud) (Lab)]

14. What steps she is taking to improve mental health support in schools.

--- Later in debate ---

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

T5. The work of Fife college is essential in equipping thousands of my constituents with skills for success. Does the Minister share my deep concern at the real-terms cuts that the SNP Scottish Government are inflicting on the college as they deprioritise Fife in favour of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen? Will she join me in urging them to think again?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

I agree with my hon. Friend that it is time for a new direction for Scotland with Scottish Labour. In England, we are making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028-29 to support young people into the industries of the future. That is because we are unlocking opportunity and driving growth through our plan for change.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.