Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring staff from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to the Institute for Apprentices to allow continuity of collected labour market information when government funding for that commission ceases in 2016-17.

The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will have a very small research role, focused around its tight set of core functions. It will not continue the UKCES function of carrying out research into the wider labour market.

BIS has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities. These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.