Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sailors have completed the Navy’s apprenticeship programme in each year since 2019; and in which sectors those apprenticeships were completed.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The following table provides the requested information:
Sector | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 * |
Business, Administration and Law | 75 | 52 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies | 846 | 578 | 362 | 801 | 274 |
Health, Public Services and Care | 414 | 303 | 245 | 387 | 106 |
Information and Communication Technology | 364 | 392 | 83 | 18 | 21 |
Leisure, Travel and Tourism | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Retail and Commercial Enterprise | 110 | 39 | 54 | 113 | 45 |
Grand Total | 1,803 | 1,374 | 751 | 1,319 | 446 |
*Information covers period to date.
Information provided by Training Management Group, Directorate of Personnel and Training.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have completed the RAF’s apprenticeship programme in each year since 2019; and in which sectors those apprenticeships were completed.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The below table details the number of people who have completed the Royal Air Force Apprenticeship programme and the sectors in which those apprenticeships have been completed.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Health, Public Services and Care | 141 | 278 | 43 | 220 | 175 | 14 |
Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies | 738 | 567 | 494 | 475 | 487 | 84 |
Information and Communication Technology | 135 | 219 | 221 | 218 | 247 | 36 |
Retail and Commercial Enterprise | 74 | 118 | 97 | 126 | 111 | 6 |
Leisure, Travel and Tourism | 0 | 3 | 27 | 21 | 13 | 0 |
Arts, Media, and Publishing | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
Data for 2024 is from 1 January 2024 to 8 March 2024
Asked by: Jack Brereton (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the value engineering report for the design of the proposed Handsacre Junction of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
There have been no value engineering reports on Handsacre junction since Network North. Previous decisions to change the design of Handsacre junction were made to reduce costs and disruption for passengers on the West Coast Main Line during construction, which was value for money given the previous plan to deliver Phase 2a on an accelerated timeframe would have resulted in the use of the junction for more than 1 train per hour in each direction only for a very short period.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has had discussions with international partners on DNA synthesis screening.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In September 2023, Government established the UK Biosecurity Leadership Council (BLC), bringing together leading academics and industry figures from across the engineering biology, life science and biotech sectors. The BLC provides Government with impartial and expert advice on emerging biosecurity risks and how to encourage responsible behaviour.
As stated in the National Vision for Engineering Biology, Government is prioritising looking at the case for domestic gene synthesis and customer screening, including through discussions in the BLC and with international partners.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to encourage collaboration between colleges and universities to (a) widen participation in tertiary education and (b) promote social mobility.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department is investing in Institutes of Technology (IoT). IoTs are prestigious, high-quality education providers that are created through innovative collaborations that bring together the best of existing further education (FE) colleges and higher education (HE) providers with local employers. To date the IoT Network comprises 77 colleges, 35 HE providers and 99 employers. By offering a range of specialised courses, from Higher Technical Qualifications to apprenticeships, IoTs empower students to develop the practical skills and knowledge required to excel in key sectors such as engineering, healthcare digital technology and manufacturing.
FE and HE Providers across the country already collaborate at local levels to deliver education and training, ensuring learner and employer needs are met. Some of these partnerships are formal, longstanding arrangements for colleges to deliver degrees but less formal arrangements with specific courses in FE occurring to ensure progression for those who wish to go into HE.
In Plymouth, City College is working with Plymouth Marjon University and the University of Plymouth to offer foundation degrees, higher national certificates and higher national diplomas, as well as traditional degrees.
Collaborative working forms a significant part of the department’s HE access and participation reforms, which were launched in 2021. As part of these the department has tasked the Office for Students to strongly encourage universities to work with schools and colleges to drive up standards and encourage aspiration and attainment. The department wants to see universities stepping up to support students through the paths that benefit them the most, including through apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications, and vocational education as well as degrees.
The department is aware that diversifying modes of study can be an important method of broadening access and participation. HE providers have been strongly encouraged to set themselves ambitious, measurable targets to significantly increase the proportion of students on higher and degree apprenticeships, Level 4 and Level 5 courses and part time study. The department is also providing £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision.
Uni Connect, which the department is funding at £30 million for the 2023/24 academic year, brings together partnerships of universities, colleges and other local organisations to offer activities, advice and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support students with the cost of living.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department has frozen maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years to deliver better value for students. By the 2024/25 academic year, maximum fees will have been frozen for 7 years.
The government has continued to increase maximum loans and grants for living and other costs each year. Maximum support has been increased by 2.8% for the current 2023/24 academic year, with a further 2.5% increase announced for 2024/25.
Students awarded a loan for living costs for the 2023/24 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the tax year 2023/24 has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.
Decisions on student finance have had to be taken to ensure the system remains financially sustainable and the costs of HE are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university.
The government recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that are impacting students. The department has already made £276 million of student premium and mental health funding available for the 2023/24 academic year to support successful outcomes for students including disadvantaged students.
The department is making a further £10 million of one-off support available to support student mental health and hardship funding. This funding will complement the help universities are providing through their own bursary, scholarship and hardship support schemes.
Further the department is investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high-quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.
That is why the department has asked the Office for Students (OfS) to maintain student premium and mental health funding for the 2023/24 financial year at the same levels as the previous year and to ensure providers are aware they can draw on the Student Premium to support students in financial hardship. The department will continue to liaise with the OfS on the impacts of cost-of-living pressures.
Between 2022/23 to 2024/25, government will have provided support worth £104 billion, an average of £3,700 per household, to help families throughout the UK with the cost-of-living including to meet increased household energy costs. This will have eased some of the pressure on family budgets and so will in turn enabled many families to provide additional support to their children in HE to help them meet increased living costs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to engage with schools to help ensure young people are aware of opportunities available to them in the armed forces.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces enjoy good relationships with schools, primarily in terms of engagement to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) curriculum areas but this also extends to careers engagement. The Armed Forces only visit when they have been invited by a school to support activities. The visits cover a range of activities such as career events, citizenship talks, science and maths challenges and other indoor or outdoor exercises.
The Cadet Expansion Programme has focussed on growth in the state sector. Since introduction in 2012, the number of cadet units in state schools has grown by 417% (268 schools). Some new units have also been opened in Independent Schools and here there has been a 12% increase (total 201).
It is important to note that the Armed Forces do not target recruitment activity at under-16s, and no visits to schools by the Armed Forces are directly linked to recruitment, other than specific Careers/Jobs Fairs which generally involve a range of employers. While presentations may be given highlighting the careers available in the Armed Forces, no pupil is ever signed up or able to make a commitment to become a recruit in the Armed Forces during the course of a visit.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish a housebuilding workforce plan to help tackle skills shortages in the housebuilding sector.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Primary responsibility for the skills and workforce pipeline of any sector must sit with that sector – something that is particularly the case in a profitable sector such as housebuilding.
The Government has an extensive programme of work in augmenting skills development across multiple industries, including through the role of vocational qualifications such as T-Levels.
In May 2023, the Department for Education commissioned an independent review of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and the Construction Industry Training Board. The review is in its concluding stages and ministers will consider the Government response to the report and publication in due course.
Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to minimise reputational damage to the UK’s Armed Forces capability, following recent issues regarding the material state of the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The recent issue on HMS Queen Elizabeth was identified during pre-sailing checks and is corrosion on a coupling on the starboard shaft caused through general wear and tear. It is not the same issue experienced by HMS Prince of Wales in 2022. It is not uncommon to have maintenance issues with state-of-the-art ships which contain complex engineering and technology. HMS Queen Elizabeth is a decade old and has thousands of miles under her hull, conducting operations around the world.
As a replacement, HMS Prince of Wales was able to deploy to take part in Operation Steadfast Defender in seven days, which is a huge undertaking. This ability to rapidly deploy another carrier to an urgent task underlines the importance of having two aircraft carriers, providing flexibility and the ability to project power around the world.
The Royal Navy continues to meet its operational commitments at home and abroad.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support effective collaboration between (a) employers and (b) education providers to help ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled (i) electrical maintenance, (ii) pipefitting and (iii) other workers in the oil and gas sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government and industry are working collaboratively to train the existing workforce in England through programmes including Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Government is working with trade associations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board to encourage career pathways across the energy sector, including in offshore oil and gas.
The Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan for publication in the first half of 2024, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.