Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to increase representation of ethnic minorities in the further education workforce.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills is not the employer of the further education workforce. Further education providers are independent organisations responsible for all matters relating to the recruitment of their staff.

In awarding grants or contracts, the Department does include within the terms and conditions of funding, a requirement that every provider must comply with relevant legislation. This includes being mindful of and meeting responsibilities laid out in the Equality Act 2010. Contracts and grants also pass on the Public Sector Equality Duty, which was introduced in April 2011, and describes equality responsibilities.

The Education and Training Foundation was established in 2013 as the independent sector owned and led organisation. It is responsible for professionalism in further education and has Government endorsement. The Foundation is playing an active role in supporting the sector to address findings from further education workforce surveys and improve the diversity of the further education workforce.