Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of foundation apprenticeships on levels of sectoral skills in (a) Hexham constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) Newcastle, (d) the North East and (e) England.

New foundation apprenticeships will give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills.

Foundation apprenticeships will also support employers in key sectors to meet their current and future skills needs by developing new opportunities to engage with younger employees and build pipelines of talent.

The first seven foundation apprenticeships, which launched in August, focused on industrial strategy and priority areas - construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care, and digital.

The department is working with Skills England to explore which other sectors and occupations would be most suitable for foundation apprenticeships. Further detail will be set out in due course.