Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his officials have had with the CBI on the content of that organisation's education and skills annual report published this month.

My officials have not discussed the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) education and skills annual report with the CBI. We are aware of the need to deliver a national policy that is effective and delivers the cultural change in adult skills that is needed. That is why the National Retraining Scheme is being driven by a key partnership between the CBI, Trade Union Congress and government who are working together to develop a national policy that will genuinely make a difference.

We have also recently published findings from our Employer Skills Survey, which interviewed over 87,000 employers about their skills needs and challenges: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-skills-survey-2017-uk-report. The survey findings will inform various Department for Education policies including the science, technology, engineering and mathematics strategy.