Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support joined up working in the development of skills in the environmental health sector.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out reforms to the skills system to ensure skills provision is aligned to the needs of the Industrial Strategy and support people to train in sectors which support growth and meet priority skills needs. The department is working across government to achieve these aims.

Several universities deliver Environmental Health provision spanning BScs, MScs, and degree apprenticeships. All courses are professionally regulated by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and support people to access careers in this occupation.

The Environmental Health Practitioner apprenticeship allows individuals to develop the knowledge and skills needed to work in areas such as environmental protection, food safety, housing standards and public health.

Skills England works with employers to ensure that apprenticeship content is relevant and up to date. It will soon be updating the Environmental Health Practitioner assessment plan in line with new Apprenticeship Assessment Principles to ensure that the assessment is proportionate, timely and efficient while retaining rigour and validity.

These reforms and polices are applicable in England. Skills policy in Scotland is devolved and is a matter for the Scottish Government.