Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the lessons learned for her Department of the implementation of the skills electrification project element of the emerging skills projects.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Skills Electrification Project was part of the Emerging Skills Projects, which were pilot projects funded by the department to identify future skills needs and develop high-quality modular courses to help address future skills gaps in key sectors. The Skills Electrification Project, as well as the other emerging skills projects, were developed and run by the Advanced Manufacturing Catapult and completed in March 2022.
The department recognises the changing nature of skills needs, the importance of emerging skills such as electrification and assesses skills needs for such sectors. For example, the National Grid estimates the electricity network workforce will grow by 400,000 roles by 2050. This includes 260,000 brand new roles, and 140,000 to replace natural attrition such as retirement. This is on top of the existing shortage of crucial workers in the sector.
To help meet those needs there are three apprenticeship standards that directly serve the electricity networks sector: community energy specialist (Level 4), building energy management systems (Level 4) and power networks craftsperson (Level 3).
Free Courses for Jobs also offers a range of qualifications in electrical disciplines, as well as digital engineering and electrotechnical installation.
T Levels in engineering and construction teach young people some of the skills that are crucial to the growth of the UK’s energy networks. Relevant T Levels in engineering, manufacturing, and construction can lead to crucial occupations such as civil engineering technician, electrical engineering technician and technical surveyor.
Asked by: Thérèse Coffey (Conservative - Suffolk Coastal)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help increase business investment in Suffolk.
Answered by Alan Mak - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade) (jointly with the Cabinet Office)
The Department for Business and Trade works with local stakeholders to promote investment opportunities in the region to potential overseas investors and provide support for foreign investors wishing to set up in the area. The Government works closely with clients to understand their requirements and to reduce any barriers which may inform the client’s decision to locate in the region.
The Government is also backing the Freeport East to create new jobs and attract new businesses in high growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing and engineering.
The Government supports a range of programmes dedicated to supporting small and medium businesses to grow. This includes free access to the Business Support Helpline, Help to Grow, Growth Hubs, UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisors, and the Export Digital Enquiry Service. Government funded support is also available through the British Business Bank.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help support women in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency to return to work after a career break.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Local Jobcentre teams are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials, all of which can help support women to return to work after a career break.
In addition, one to one support from a Work Coach and Contracted Employment Programmes, the department also offers help with CVs and employability skills, mentoring circles for people aged 50 plus and support with childcare costs. Where a Work Coach identifies a barrier to securing or progressing in employment, they can use the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) to procure clothing, tools, digital devices, and to help with travel to work costs.
In Haringey, we are working with the Construction Youth Trust to support more women into construction roles, with referrals made by Jobcentres across the borough, and funding available to support women who want to work in this sector.
To help facilitate signposting discussions with claimants, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool as well as the new Managed Jobs and Opportunities which ensures that claimants can access tailored support where required. This includes provision aimed at women across London such as Dress for Success, a service that supports women to improve their confidence when attending interviews and Smart Works, a UK charity that provides high quality interview clothes and interview training to unemployed women.
We are also working with Transport for London and the College of North East London on their Women into Transportation and Engineering provision. This provides two weeks of pre-employment training, covering CV writing, and workplace skills, plus a Smart Works coaching and styling appointment designed to give participants the confidence to apply for the roles offered within the programme
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many trained marine systems personnel the Royal Navy has; and what the target number is.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Marine Engineering branch is a vital part of the Royal Navy (RN) these are exceptionally skilled and highly valued personnel, crucial to ensuring the RN can continue to meet its commitments.
The number of trained Marine Engineers (MEs) is a constantly fluctuating number, however as of 17 April 2024:
| ME General Service | ME Submariner |
Officer | 276 | 248 |
Rating | 2,125 | 1,070 |
Total | 2401 | 1318 |
The forecast figures for April 2025 are:
| ME General Service | ME Submariner |
Officer | 298 | 283 |
Rating | 2, 464 | 1,204 |
Total | 2762 | 1487 |
*These figures do not include those currently in the training pipeline to join the branch.
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions officials in his Department have had with (a) Great Western Railway and (b) Network Rail on disruption to rail services to and from Wales during the construction of Old Oak Common Station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, Transport for London and Great Western Railway (GWR) to minimise disruption to rail passengers during Old Oak Common construction. Some GWR services will be diverted to London Euston, providing GWR passengers access to a central London terminal with numerous onward travel connections. Passengers could alternatively use Ealing Broadway station, as they did successfully during the December 2023 engineering works.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of graduate nuclear (a) engineers and (b) scientists required for the military nuclear programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As announced in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) Command Paper: Delivering the UK’s Nuclear Deterrent as a National Endeavor, the Department is investing to increase its intake of nuclear sector graduates by an additional 2,000 personnel over the next four years.
Of these 2,000, over 1,600 are for the DNE, with up to 70% of these graduates expected to join in engineering posts with the remainder in a range of supporting professions such as science (including physics, material science, nuclear science), commercial and finance.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of trends in the level of funding of Adult and Community Education since 2010 on that sector; and whether she plans to restore funding to 2010 levels.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the Multiply programme and Skills Bootcamps.
The AEB is worth £1.34 billion in 2023/24 and approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCA) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for the remaining AEB in non-devolved areas.
In ESFA AEB areas, the department applied a 2.2% increase to the final earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision, excluding associated learner and learning support, in 2022/23 and 2023/24. The department also applied a 20% boost on top of earnings for all AEB formula-funded provision in six sector subject areas: Engineering, Manufacturing Technologies, Transport Operations and Maintenance, Building and Construction, ICT for Practitioners, and Mathematics and Statistics. Additionally, in 2024/25, as part of the AEB transition to the Adult Skills Fund, the department will introduce five new funding rates that will apply to the ESFA Adult Skills Fund with 78% of qualifications seeing a funding increase.
Prior to devolution, the Community Learning portion of the AEB amounted to approximately £230 million in 2018/19. The department does not collect data on what MCAs and the GLA currently spend on Community Learning.
In 2024/25, as part of the Adult Skills Fund, the term Tailored Learning brings together what was the AEB Community Learning, formula-funded AEB non-regulated learning, which was previously delivered through the adult skills, and new employer-facing innovative provision that is not qualification based.
The department is also providing up to £270 million directly to local areas in England to deliver innovative interventions to improve adult numeracy through the Multiply programme. The department is also building the evidence base on what works to improve adult numeracy, including through randomised control trials.
Skills Bootcamps are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills, with an offer of a job interview upon completion. This is supported by £550 million over the current Spending Review period as well as £170 million in grant funding to MCAs and local areas in 2024/25.
Spend by the department on further education is reported through publication of the Annual Report and Accounts. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-annual-reports.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget is for the Engineering Biology Project at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in the (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 2 April 2024 to Question 19791.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to (a) recruit and (b) train more (i) medical physicists and (ii) clinical engineers.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of Scientist Training Programme (STP) trainees in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering has tended to increase, with larger increases in recent years. The number of Higher Specialist Scientist Training (HSST) trainees has remained fairly constant. The following two tables show the number of trainees in the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering STP each year since 2011, and the number of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering trainees in HSST each year since 2014, respectively:
Year | Medical Physics STP | Clinical Engineering STP |
2011 | 61 | 8 |
2012 | 60 | 14 |
2013 | 67 | 13 |
2014 | 72 | 18 |
2015 | 72 | 8 |
2016 | 66 | 9 |
2017 | 73 | 20 |
2018 | 76 | 16 |
2019 | 86 | 13 |
2020 | 77 | 17 |
2021 | 83 | 25 |
2022 | 103 | 12 |
2023 | 118 | 21 |
2024 | 117 | 15 |
Note: The data for 2024 is subject to change, and without the Wales numbers.
Year | Medical Physics HSST | Clinical Engineering HSST |
2014 | 14 | 1 |
2015 | 29 | 1 |
2016 | 26 | 2 |
2017 | 23 | 2 |
2018 | 12 | 2 |
2019 | 15 | 4 |
2020 | 16 | 0 |
2021 | 15 | 2 |
2022 | 11 | N/A |
2023 | 17 | 2 |
2024 | 8 | 2 |
Notes:
- the data for 2024 is subject to change, and without the Wales numbers; and
- data is not available for the year 2022.
The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out the future National Health Service workforce requirements, and includes healthcare science figures, though this is not broken down into Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering workforce targets. The plan assesses that education and training places for healthcare scientists need to increase by 20 to 34%, reaching between 930 and 1,039 places by 2033/34. The ambition set out in this plan is to increase training places for healthcare scientists by 32%, to over 1,000 places, by 2031/32. We will work towards achieving this ambition by increasing training places by 13%, to over 850, by 2028/29.
The workforce plan also sets out the ambition to retain up to 130,000 more staff across the NHS over the next 15 years, through measures to improve staff’s experience of working in the NHS. This applies to all NHS staff groups, including medical physicists and clinical engineers.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to help raise awareness of careers in (a) medical physics and (b) clinical engineering.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Promoting healthcare science careers is a vital part of our NHS Health Careers team’s work, covering 350 careers in the National Health Service. Almost 240,000 people accessed information on healthcare science careers over the last 12 months.
As part of National Careers Week and Healthcare Science Week, an estimated 10,000 students heard directly from a range of NHS staff, including an apprentice Clinical Engineer and other healthcare scientists, as their stories were shown in classrooms across the country.
We will continue to promote all healthcare science careers, including Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering, as part of our work to raise awareness of all careers in the NHS, and encouraging people to join the NHS workforce. There are several case studies promoting careers in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering on the National School of Healthcare Science website.