Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on improving skills training in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.

The department regularly discusses skills matters with other government departments, including the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, but not specifically about individual constituencies.

The department is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over the Parliament to ensure individuals across the country, including those living in Kingston upon Hull North, have access to the skills they need to build a fulfilling career in jobs the economy needs.

The department has boosted funding by an extra £1.6 billion for 16-to-19 education in 2024/25 compared with 2021/22. This is the biggest increase in 16-to-19 funding in a decade, and will help to fund the additional students anticipated in the system, 40 extra hours per student, and an affordable increase in funding rates per 16-to-19 student.

This additional funding will help providers such as Hull College, Wyke Sixth Form College, and Wilberforce Sixth Form College, who serve the Kingston upon Hull area. Collectively, their curriculum offer includes T Levels, apprenticeships, an extensive range of qualifications from Entry Level to Higher Education, and adult education programmes. Across each institution, their provision is shaped in collaboration with local employers to ensure it meets local skills needs.

Within Kingston upon Hull, there are several providers that are offering T Levels or preparing to do so. Wyke Sixth Form College and Wilberforce Sixth Form College commenced delivery of T Levels in 2021. Hull College, Ron Dearing UTC and St Mary’s College (academy) all plan to commence T Level delivery in 2023. There are also several other local further education colleges offering T Levels to students in the area, such as East Riding College (Part of TEC Partnership) and Bishop Burton College who are both located in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire.

The department is increasing investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25 and supporting employers in all sectors and all areas of the country to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need. Since May 2010, there have been a total of 11,880 apprenticeship starts in Kingston upon Hull North.

The department has also introduced the Free Courses for Jobs scheme, which enables adult learners nationwide without a level 3 qualification (or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage) to gain a qualification for free.

In addition, there is the introduction of Skills Bootcamps which are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer. Residents in the Kingston upon Hull North Constituency can access engineering Skills Bootcamps being delivered in the city, such as Fibre Engineer and Heat Pump Engineer Skills Bootcamps as well as a range of Skills Bootcamps available online.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) with funding of £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 academic year. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.