Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the devolved administrations arising from the new apprenticeship funding model.
Answered by Lord Nash
The devolved administrations will receive a fair share of the money raised by the levy and it will then be for them to decide how to use it in their own administrations. We are also working with the devolved administrations to ensure that funding for apprenticeships works for employers and learners wherever they are in the UK. The funding policy we announced on 25 October will allow employers in England to use their levy funds to train apprentices from elsewhere in the UK, provided they are working in England. We are aiming to agree reciprocal arrangements with devolved administrations.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to make available the teaching of the Welsh language in schools in England.
Answered by Lord Nash
Primary and secondary schools can choose to teach the Welsh language to pupils if there is sufficient demand. It is possible for a pupil in England to take privately a Welsh language GCSE offered in Wales if an examination centre is willing to accept them. This will include a revised Welsh Second Language GCSE available for first teaching from September 2017.