Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will guarantee that sufficient resources will be allocated to each Local Skills Improvement Plan trailblazer pilot.
The department will make available £4 million in the 2021-22 financial year to support the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans as part of the Skills Accelerator programme. As we envisage 6 to 8 trailblazers, this funding will ensure that they have the support they need.
In addition, groups of colleges and providers in the trailblazer areas will have access to the £65 million Strategic Development Fund in order to support the changes needed to better align technical skills provision to the priority skills needs of the local area.