Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to provide information on vocational pathways to young people in the same way as information on university pathways.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has legislated to ensure that young people are supported to develop the knowledge and understanding of all pathways at key transition points. Schools have a legal duty to provide at least six opportunities for all pupils, during school years 8 to 13, to meet providers of approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.
A range of digital and in-person support is also available through the Apprenticeship and T Levels Ambassador networks and the Skills for Careers apprenticeships support page. The page can be found here: https://www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/apprenticeships.
We fund the Careers and Enterprise Company to oversee a national network of 44 careers hubs that bring together schools, colleges and employers to improve the quality of careers programmes for young people. Over 400 leading employers and 3,700 business volunteers inspire young people about a range of exciting career opportunities, including the vocational and academic pathways into their sectors.
Careers hubs use data and frontline insight to support conversations about barriers to take up of technical and vocational pathways. Local partners devise solutions to meet local needs.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve skills in the maritime sector.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department remains committed to supporting the development of the UK’s future maritime workforce. Maritime training transforms opportunities, contributing to UK economic growth, boosting individual earnings, employment prospects, and social mobility.
Seafarer training is being future-proofed through the DfT and MCA managed Cadet Training and Modernisation programme and Ratings Review. The Department’s £18m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) fund supports 50% of the cost of cadet training and a range of apprenticeships are available for ratings and wider maritime roles at sea and ashore.
The Maritime Skills Commission, which reports to the Department and Maritime UK, assesses the current and future skills needs of the sector and is currently focusing on areas such as skills for emerging technologies.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by The Sutton Trust entitled The Opportunity Index, published in May 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Sutton Trust’s valuable report highlights that too many children face barriers to success because of who they are or where they come from. This is why, through the Opportunity Mission, we will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success, by tackling child poverty, ensuring all children have safe and loving homes, get the best start in life, achieve and thrive in school and develop skills to succeed in life.
We agree with the report that these challenges are multi-faceted and require a complex package of measures. That is why we have started to make progress by expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit, have delivered the largest ever uplift to early years pupil premium, are driving school improvement through our regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, and launched foundation apprenticeships as part of a Youth Guarantee so that all 18 to 21 year-olds in England have access to education, training or help to find a job or an apprenticeship.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to fund level 6 apprenticeships for all ages for 2027-28.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Level 6 apprenticeships are a core part of our apprenticeships offer and continue to be funded by government.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase the level of apprenticeship opportunities within his Department.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The 'Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship' (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.
We are also working on aligning our apprenticeship approach with our capability framework. For example, we are exploring new apprenticeship opportunities to scale our approach and build internal capability on Data and AI.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is an improved transition from T-levels to (a) Level 4, (b) Level 5 and (c) Level 6 apprenticeships in the (i) creative arts, (ii) media and (iii) computing sectors.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are currently 21 T Levels available in a range of subjects, including three in the digital sector. T Levels in Craft and Design, and Media, Broadcast and Production were introduced for the first time in September last year.
T Levels are based on the same occupational standards as apprenticeships, and include industry placements of at least 45 days, making them excellent preparation for higher-level apprenticeships. Students progressing from a T Level may be able to complete an apprenticeship more quickly in recognition of their prior learning. Early data shows that T Levels are providing a particularly strong route into higher apprenticeships across a range of subjects. Among the first cohort of T Level completers doing an apprenticeship, almost three quarters (72%) had progressed to a Higher or Degree apprenticeship. This is significantly higher than the rate for all level 3 learners (24%), where the vast majority go on to do an apprenticeship at the same level (52%) or at a lower level (24%).
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of Level 7 apprenticeships offered by local authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58023 on 13 June 2025.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeships available in her Department.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19th May 2025 to PQ51804.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, CP 1336, published on 11 June 2025, how she plans to allocate the additional spending on (a) training and (b) apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The government is providing £1.2 billion of additional investment per year by 2028/29. This includes funding to support 1.3 million 16 to 19-year-olds to access high-quality training, supporting 65,000 additional learners per year by 2028/29. It will also deliver £625 million between 2025/26 and 2028/29 to train up to 60,000 skilled construction workers, as announced at Spring Statement 2025.
Further detail on funding within this allocation will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Spending Review 2025, CP 1336, published on 11 June 2025, what the constituent parts are of the commitment to making at least 5% savings and efficiencies other than the changes already announced to Level 7 apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Spending Review 2025 delivers on the Plan for Change and sets out spending plans for the rest of the Parliament. The settlement for the department ensures that we can invest in excellence for every child, so that we break the unfair link between background and success.
As set out in the Department for Education's section of the Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans, the department will deliver efficiencies in both its frontline and non-frontline spending.
95% of the department spending goes to the frontline and we will continue to support frontline providers in getting maximum value from every pound spent.
In relation to children’s social care, for example, the programme (joint with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) to reform the sector focuses on preventative activity which avoids families’ needs escalating, reducing costs and demand in the system. In relation to schools, the department will work alongside the sector to go further to get best value from their resources and is expanding the suite of productivity initiatives available. We will also work with the further education (FE) sector to improve the value for money of government spend by providing FE Commissioner support to colleges and other relevant providers. We are seeking to provide opportunities for economies of scale arising from more 16 to 19-year-olds moving into post-16 education and training, simplifying processes and reducing data collection burdens, and providing greater certainty of capital funding to enable colleges with estate planning, and exploring commercial efficiencies. Further information can be found in the Departmental Efficiency Delivery Plans.