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  • Alex Burghart – 2023 Article on a Strengthened Procurement Regime

    Alex Burghart – 2023 Article on a Strengthened Procurement Regime

    The article by Alex Burghart published in The Times on 7 June 2023 and republished by the Cabinet Office as a press release.

    Protecting the nation’s security has always been government’s primary responsibility. In an increasingly interconnected world, defending the realm goes well beyond the “front line”. It means using every lever of government to further our nation’s security and protect us from ever increasing threats.

    We know that states across the world increasingly are using the tools at their disposal to project their influence and potentially threaten our security. These hybrid threats include using economic channels to attempt to undermine and compromise our government and society.

    So we have to act. Today we are strengthening the Procurement Bill, which will have its report stage in parliament next week, with changes in three areas.

    First, to ensure that we are alive to potential national security risks which some suppliers may pose, we are establishing a National Security Unit for Procurement. This new team, based in the Cabinet Office, will investigate suppliers who may pose a risk to national security, and assess whether companies should be barred from public procurements.

    The specialist team will work across government, ensuring we use our resources to protect our citizens, and helping those responsible for public procurement avoid signing contracts with bad actors.

    Second, we will introduce new powers to ban certain suppliers from specific sectors. This means that we can adopt a precautionary approach, banning companies which may pose a risk to sensitive areas of government, for example GCHQ.

    Finally, we are committing to publish a timeline for the removal of surveillance equipment produced by companies subject to China’s National Intelligence Law from sensitive central government sites. We have already taken firm action in this area. Last year we halted the installation of such equipment on sensitive government sites and asked departments to consider their removal. By publicly committing to this timeline, we are providing reassurance and urgency around the removal plans.

    These measures show the proactive approach that we are taking in ensuring that companies cannot threaten our national security through procurement.

    But the Procurement Bill is about so much more than protecting national security, it constitutes a major piece of legislation that will repeal an array of EU rules. The Bill will deliver better value for money for the taxpayer, through slashing red tape, boosting growth and driving innovation.

    The new rules will support smaller businesses by making it easier to win public contracts. For example, for the first time we are legislating to ensure that contracting authorities must help SMEs overcome the barriers they face when trying to win public contracts.

    It will create a more transparent procurement system, with clearer and faster competition processes for emergency buying.

    So we believe the Procurement Bill, which we call on all sides of the house to back, will deliver for Britain, protecting our security, growing our economy and helping small businesses.

  • Alex Burghart – 2023 Statement on the List of Ministers’ Interests and Ministerial Code

    Alex Burghart – 2023 Statement on the List of Ministers’ Interests and Ministerial Code

    The statement made by Alex Burghart, the Cabinet Office Minister, in the House of Commons on 24 April 2023.

    I am pleased to confirm that the latest list of Ministers’ interests was published last week on 19 April by the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on Ministers’ interests, Sir Laurie Magnus. The list has been deposited in the Library of the House and is also available online on gov.uk.

    I note that the hon. Lady’s question talks of a register of ministerial interests. I am afraid that I must point out, for the sake of clarity, that that is not an accurate term. It is important that I provide a little explanation about the list, what it contains and the role it performs. The ministerial code makes it clear that

    “Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise.”

    It is their personal responsibility

    “to decide whether and what action is needed to avoid a conflict or the perception of a conflict, taking account of advice received from their Permanent Secretary and the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ interests.”

    On appointment, each Minister makes a declaration of all interests. They remain under an obligation to keep that declaration up to date throughout their time in office. Ministers are encouraged to make the fullest possible disclosure relating to themselves, their spouses and partners, and close family members, even where matters may not necessarily be relevant. The information supplied is then reviewed and advised upon by their permanent secretary and also by the independent adviser. Where needed, steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential conflicts of interest. That is the process by which Ministers’ interests are managed. It is thorough and ongoing, and it provides individual advice to all Ministers that reflects their circumstances and responsibilities.

    Twice a year, a list is published, covering those interests that are judged by the independent adviser to be relevant to each Minister’s portfolio. The list is not a register. It is designed to be read alongside the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which is maintained by this House, and the register of Members’ interests that operates in the other place. For that reason, the list does not generally duplicate the information that is available in the registers.

    The independent adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, makes it clear in his introduction to the list published last week that it would not be appropriate for all the information gathered as part of the ministerial interests process to be made public. He states that such a move would

    “represent an excessive degree of intrusion into the private affairs of ministers that would be unreasonable, particularly in respect of”

    hon. Members’ families. I am sure hon. Members will understand that the system is designed to gather the fullest amount of information, provided in confidence, so that the most effective advice can be given.

    All Ministers of the Crown uphold the system that I have described. That is true for all Ministers, from the Prime Minister, who has been clear that all his interests have been declared in the usual way, all the way down to, and including, an assistant Whip. In the latest list, the independent adviser highlights the importance of Ministers and their permanent secretaries remaining alert in the context of their respective portfolios if Ministers’ interests change. That is, of course, right. Importantly, though, Sir Laurie Magnus provides his opinion as independent adviser on Ministers’ interests that

    “any actual, potential and perceived conflicts have been, or are in the process of being, resolved”.

  • Alex Burghart – 2023 Statement on the Draft Border Target Operating Model

    Alex Burghart – 2023 Statement on the Draft Border Target Operating Model

    The statement made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, in the House of Commons on 17 April 2023.

    An important follow-up to Brexit is border controls on goods, including sanitary and phytosanitary checks critical to the protection of animal and plant health and potentially even human health. On 28 April 2022, the right hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg) announced that the UK Government decided to delay the introduction of the final set of planned controls on EU imports. We have instead worked with industry to develop a new model for imports into Great Britain. On Wednesday 5 April 2023 we published the draft “Border Target Operating Model”. We have also started a period of engagement with stakeholders across all affected sectors and all parts of the United Kingdom, and the EU, to ensure that they understand the coming changes and are ready to continue to move goods across the border on that basis.

    The Model sets out the rules and processes that will apply to the importation of all goods into Great Britain. It will, for the first time, implement security and biosecurity controls on imports from the EU. These controls will ensure our environment is protected, deliver food that is safe to eat whilst maintaining security of supply for consumers, and disrupt criminal activity before it can harm our communities.

    The Model will fulfil the UK’s domestic and international obligations with regard to biosecurity and public health, upholding our reputation for high regulatory standards that underpin our agri-food trading relationships. Through the UK single trade window, we will simplify the way importers provide information to Government. This is significantly less burdensome than our original plans, and it supports our wider efforts to drive UK exports.

    The gradual roll-out of controls will ensure impacts and costs are managed: we will implement the Model through three major milestones, the first of which importers and their suppliers should begin to prepare for now:

    31 October 2023 – The introduction of health certification on imports of medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food—and feed—of non-animal origin from the EU.

    31 January 2024 – The introduction of documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high risk food—and feed—of non-animal origin from the EU. At this point imports of sanitary and phytosanitary goods from the rest of the world will begin to benefit from the new risk based model.

    31 October 2024 – Safety and security declarations for EU imports will come into force from 31 October 2024. Alongside this, we will introduce a reduced dataset for imports and use of the UK single trade window will remove duplication where possible across different pre-arrival datasets.

    We will phase in controls on the west coast for Irish goods from October 2023, while ensuring that Northern Ireland businesses have unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain, whether they move goods directly or indirectly through Ireland to Great Britain. Further to the Windsor Framework, this will entrench a significant competitive advantage for NI business on the island of Ireland, reflecting Northern Ireland’s integral place in the United Kingdom’s internal market.

    Following the engagement period we will publish a final version of the Target Operating Model later this year.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on Government Transparency and Accountability

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on Government Transparency and Accountability

    The statement made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, in the House of Commons on 15 December 2022.

    My noble Friend the Minister of State (Baroness Neville-Rolfe) has today made the following written statement:

    Since 2010, the Government have been at the forefront of opening up data to allow Parliament, the public and the media to hold public bodies to account. Such online transparency is crucial to delivering value for money, cutting waste and inefficiency, and ensuring every pound of taxpayers’ money is spent in the best possible way.

    The Government will continue to look at how the range of information published by the Government can be improved and made as useful as possible to the public, press and Parliament. The following subject areas include documents and information that the Government are due to publish.

    Routine transparency data on Ministers, special advisers and senior officials

    Departments will today be publishing routine transparency data on Ministers’, special advisers’ and senior officials’ gifts, hospitality, travel and external meetings, for the period of July to September 2022. This data covers the returns for the Prime Minister, Government Chief Whip and Leaders of the House of Commons and the Lords, as well as the Cabinet Office.

    Departments will also be publishing the business appointment rules advice summary for the same period.

    List of ministerial responsibilities

    The Government will today be publishing the list of ministerial responsibilities on gov.uk. Copies will also be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The list includes details of ministerial Departments, the Ministers within each Department, their portfolio responsibilities and private offices and the executive agencies within each Department.

    Salaries of Members of His Majesty’s Government

    The Government will today be updating the salaries of Members of His Majesty’s Government with information for the financial year 2022-2023 on gov.uk. This indicates the salaries to which Ministers are entitled and the actual salaries that they claim, along with supplementary information on ministerial salaries, allowances and payments on leaving office.

    Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2021-22

    This annual report and accounts will also be laid before Parliament today. The publication includes the Cabinet Office’s audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 and a review of performance and governance arrangements. The annual report will be published on gov.uk.

    Cabinet Office accounting officer system statement 2022

    This publication is a single statement setting out all of the accountability relationships and processes within the Department. This update takes into account change since the previous version was published in 2020.1 have requested that a copy of the accounting officer system statement be deposited in the Libraries of both Houses. The publication will also be published on gov.uk.

    Cabinet Office: Spend control data for July to September 2022

    Along with all Government Departments, in 2010 the Cabinet Office committed to publish quarterly data on its planned spending that has been subject to the Cabinet Office spend controls. The spend controls covered are digital and technology, commercial, property, advertising, marketing and communications, and contingent labour (as for equivalent figures published by other Departments). For the quarter covered, 12 separate items of the Cabinet Office’s own spending (with a total value of £734 million) were approved under the cross-Government Cabinet Office spending control.

    Monthly workforce management information (September and October 2022)

    As standard, the Government are today publishing our monthly breakdown of workforce headcount and pay costs. This is a routine publication and will be published on gov.uk.

    Public procurement review service—progress report 2021-22

    The Government will today publish their annual progress report, detailing trends in issues raised to the public procurement review service. In this publication, we look to consider such trends and make recommendations on how to improve the service moving forwards. The report will be published, as usual, on gov.uk.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Speech on Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Speech on Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests

    The speech made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, in the House of Commons on 30 November 2022.

    The Government welcome the opportunity to stress again the importance of the role of the independent adviser and this Government’s commitment to it. The Prime Minister has been very clear that the appointment of a new independent adviser is a priority and that the appointment process is under way. Hon. Members will understand that an appointment of this nature is significant and has to be done well. Much as hon. Members might wish me to, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on specifics of what is an ongoing appointments process. Let me assure hon. Members: the adjudication of issues of ministerial conduct does not stop because the independent adviser is not yet in post. Conduct matters and conduct issues will be dealt with quickly and appropriately, irrespective of that appointment process.

    That is what hon. Members will have seen with regard to complaints made against the Deputy Prime Minister. On receipt of formal complaints by the Cabinet Office, the Prime Minister requested that an independent investigation be conducted by an individual from outside Government, and Adam Tolley KC has been appointed to conduct the investigation. The terms of reference have now been published. The process is under way, and Mr Tolley will provide his report to the PM in due course. It is right that these matters are investigated fully, but it would not be right to comment further on them when that process is ongoing.

    I would also like to reassure hon. Members that the process of managing the interests of Ministers continues in the absence of an independent adviser. The permanent secretary, as the policy expert on each Department’s remit, leads the process in their Department in the absence of an independent adviser. The Cabinet Office is able to provide advice in line with precedent. All relevant interests are declared by Ministers upon taking office and are kept up to date at all times. The publication of the list of Ministers’ interests is the end point of the ministerial interests process, and it takes place at regular intervals to make the public aware of the relevant interests of Ministers.

    I will end by reiterating that as soon as there is an update on the process to appoint an independent adviser on Ministers’ interests, the Government will update the House.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Speech on Documents Relating to Suella Braverman

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Speech on Documents Relating to Suella Braverman

    The speech made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, in the House of Commons on 8 November 2022.

    It is a pleasure to respond to this Opposition day debate, 10 days into the job though I am; this is a very important subject. It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson). I should say at the outset that I can answer one of her questions: the Prime Minister will appoint an independent adviser in the very near future. I am sure that the House will hear about that in due course.

    We have had a far-ranging debate. At times it ranged slightly further than you might have liked, Madam Deputy Speaker, from some very interesting insights into the thoughts of constituents in Guildford and Aberconwy to a minor digression on sausage making from the hon. Member for Gordon (Richard Thomson). Central to the motion, despite the digressions, is a serious issue that affects the very real business of government and how it is conducted: the question whether advice given to Ministers and Prime Ministers in private, in confidence, should be made public. Conservative Members are clear that it should not.

    These are very serious matters that the Government take seriously. It is because we are taking them seriously that we cannot agree to the disclosure of the information set out in the motion. The thrust of this debate is that the Opposition seek to see inside the internal processes of ministerial appointments and to make public the discussions that may form part of any appointment. As my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General said, there are compelling and common-sense reasons why that desire should be resisted.

    Lee Anderson

    I am very confused. I have sat through this debate for three hours now. Can my hon. Friend explain why the Opposition are hearing from people in their droves asking to see these documents, yet nobody is asking Conservative MPs? Are the Opposition just playing politics?

    Alex Burghart

    I am shocked and surprised to hear that my hon. Friend has views. It is the first time that he has ever shared them with me. The Opposition have not entirely turned out to take part in this Opposition day debate, it is true.

    Hon. Members will know that it is essential to the functioning of government that conversations that occur around appointments can take place in confidence, as my hon. Friends the Members for Devizes (Danny Kruger), for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) and for Heywood and Middleton (Chris Clarkson) mentioned.

    Stuart C. McDonald

    Let us say that we accept that the Government do not want to release these papers. As a compromise, will the Minister undertake to ensure that the new independent ethics adviser looks retrospectively at the appointment? Then everybody could be happy.

    Alex Burghart

    That is a matter for the last Administration. Also, as hon. Members across the House know, it is a very long-standing practice observed by Governments of all types that they do not give over advice given in confidence. It is a practice that respects the confidentiality of the advice given and the confidentiality owed to the adviser. To place all advice in a position in which it might subsequently be published and made public would have an absolutely deadening effect on the business of government, as my hon. Friend the Member for Clwyd South (Simon Baynes) says.

    What this really amounts to is gameplay by the Opposition. It is Labour Whips’ trick No. 666: ask the Government for information that they know but that Governments never release, and then feign horror and surprise when they do not release it. The fact is that a Labour Government would never publish such information. If the Opposition commit tonight to releasing such information should they be in power in future, the next Labour Government—may they never come—will bitterly regret that decision.

    The shadow Home Secretary, the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper), can say that it is a simple matter of showing us what happened, but as a highly experienced legislator, Minister and Select Committee Chair she knows that this is not a simple matter. It was not a simple matter for the Labour party when it was asked to reveal the legal advice on Iraq, but in opposition it suddenly decided that it was a simple matter to get the Government to display their legal advice on Brexit. Several Members have noted that it is the case that Governments of all stripes do not release such information, and those on the Opposition Front Bench know it to be the case as well.

    There is, as we have said, a very long-established process for the appointment of Ministers. It is the Prime Minister who decides who sits on the Front Bench. The Labour party knows as well as we do that Ministers hold office for as long as they retain the confidence of the Prime Minister, that it is for the Prime Minister to decide who sits in the Cabinet, and that it is for the Prime Minister to pick the best team to solve the problems that the country faces. If the Opposition do not like his choices, it is normally a sign that he has picked the right team. On immigration, the Prime Minister has picked my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Fareham (Suella Braverman) because he knows that she has the talent and knowledge that are necessary to help him to solve the small boats crisis in the channel. It is pretty clear tonight that the Labour party knows that too, and that is why it is seeking to undermine her. As we heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Ipswich (Tom Hunt) and for Ashfield, Labour is doing that because it is scared that she will get the job done.

    As my hon. Friend the Member for Aberconwy (Robin Millar) and a number of others have said, many important issues could have been debated tonight other than a motion asking for the release of papers that the Opposition know will not be released. The shadow Home Secretary said that “bit by bit” trust was being undermined. I will tell the Opposition what causes trust to be undermined: political games which call for the release of papers that cannot be released and which report rumours as facts, double standards which call for the release of papers that Labour would not have released when it was in power, and double standards which say that Ministers cannot be rehabilitated. I remember the very great Peter Mandelson being brought back on two occasions, but Labour will not forgive this Home Secretary once.

    The truth is that this is a motion tabled with the aim of playing political games to try to tie up Ministers in process and reporting, to try to hurt the Government by asking them to deviate from long-standing practice that has previously been respected on both sides, and to try to distract attention from the fact that while the Government are busting a gut to solve the problems in the channel, the Opposition have no solutions. There is a reason why they want to talk about personnel, process and appointments: it is because they do not want to talk about policy.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II

    The tribute made by Alex Burghart, the Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar, in the House of Commons on 9 September 2022.

    It is a real honour to be called in this debate, on a day when there have been so many moving contributions from both sides of the House. I cannot help but feel that, once again, Her late Majesty has brought out the best in all of us. It is also a real honour to represent my constituents of Brentwood and Ongar in Essex. More fervent royalists are not to be found on this Earth.

    I have been thinking over the past 24 hours of my great-grandmother, who lived with me when I was growing up, because the feelings I am experiencing now are similar to those I experienced when she died. It is a strange sensation, because it reminds me that family is not limited to blood, to the people we know or to the people we have met. Indeed, one of the powerful things about the chemistry of nationhood is that it gives us deep affection for and deep loyalty to people we have never met and will never meet, and this is true both across the nation as it is today and across the nation through time. This is something that Her Majesty embodied in her 70 years on the throne and in her 96 years of life.

    She connected us not just with one previous generation but with many. She had known her grandfather George V, who had known his grandmother Queen Victoria, who as an infant had met George III. George III had spent his youth surrounded by people involved in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. So it is within four conversations that the whole modern scope of our constitutional monarchy was brought together—four pecks on the cheek that bring those generations to one point.

    We can take things further, because today is the 935th anniversary of the death of William the Conqueror in 1087, as I am sure the House is aware. When one thinks that Her late Majesty’s life encompassed more than one tenth of that time, it makes us realise how close the centuries are. When we think of our great Union between England and Scotland—315 years old this year— 22% of that time saw her on the throne. She was not just a witness to history, she was a part of it, and she leaves it to us as her legacy.

    A nation may chase after its past, but it will not catch it. What it can hope to do is to imitate it and to use its strengths to fight the monsters of today and the future. This Her late Majesty knew, and this we will do in her memory. God save the King.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Comments on Reforming Apprenticeships

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Comments on Reforming Apprenticeships

    The comments made by Alex Burghart, the Minister for Skills, on 27 May 2022.

    We have transformed apprenticeships so they offer a high-quality route into professions as diverse as engineering, healthcare, and digital for young people starting their careers, or adults hoping to retrain and upskill.

    We now want to focus on making the system as simple and user-friendly as possible, reducing bureaucratic burdens on employers and providers and giving apprentices the best possible experience.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on the Level 3 Qualifications Review

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on the Level 3 Qualifications Review

    The statement made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 11 May 2022.

    Today I am announcing the next stage of the Government’s reforms to post-16 qualifications at level 3 in England—the publication of the provisional list of qualifications that overlap with waves 1 and 2 T-levels. We debated these reforms to level 3 as part of the Skills and Post-16 Education Act, and I am happy to provide an update on the next phase of implementation.

    This is a vital component of our reforms to technical education. Transforming post-16 education and skills is at the heart of our plan to build back better and level up the country by ensuring that students everywhere have access to qualifications that will give them the skills to succeed. Now more than ever, it is vital that the qualifications on offer meet the needs of employers and support more people into higher-skilled, higher- wage jobs.

    The keystone of the reforms is the introduction of quality technical qualifications such as T-levels. These are designed by employers to give young people the skills they need to progress into skilled employment, or to go on to further study including higher education. The breadth and depth of T-levels is unmatched giving students a thorough understanding of the sector and skills needed to work in specific occupations, all backed and designed by employers.

    We are providing a variety of support to the sector to ensure that providers are able to deliver successfully, including over £400 million capital funding for new facilities and industry standard equipment, and free learning and development for all T Level teachers that has benefited over 8,500 individuals.

    The rigour of T-levels, combined with the meaningful industry placement of at least 45 days in a genuine workplace, will equip more young people with the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to access skilled employment or further technical study. T-levels are being scaled up at pace throughout the country, currently offered at over 100 providers, with over 6,000 learners across the country, and there are around 400 providers who are planning to deliver T-levels from 2023. We have invested £200 million over the past four years to help providers build their capacity and networks with employers to deliver high-quality placements.

    But these essential reforms will only have their full benefit if we simultaneously address the complexities and variable quality of the broader qualifications system. We want every student to have confidence that every qualification on offer is high quality, and to be able to easily understand what skills and knowledge that qualification will provide and where it will take them. These changes are part of our long-term reforms to technical education, building on the recommendations in the Sainsbury report, published in 2016, itself building on the findings of the Wolf review of 2011.

    In August 2021 the Government confirmed that they would remove funding approval for more than 5,000 qualifications at level 3 and below that had no or low enrolments. Funding approval for these qualifications will be removed later this year, streamlining the qualifications landscape.

    The next phase of our reforms is to remove funding for qualifications that overlap with T-levels, which will give T-levels the space needed to flourish and reduce complexity for learners and employers. That is why today we are publishing a provisional list of 160 qualifications that overlap with waves 1 and 2 T-levels. Subject to the outcomes of the appeals process, we will withdraw funding approval at 16 to 19 from these qualifications from August 2024 as part of our reforms to improve the quality of post-16 qualifications. This provisional list is only a small proportion of the qualifications available at level 3, and as announced by the Secretary of State in November 2021, funding will be withdrawn one year later than originally planned, to allow additional time for the sector to prepare.

    This review has been led by evidence. We commissioned independent assessors to conduct in depth reviews of the qualifications. All qualifications placed on the provisional overlap list were rigorously assessed and considered against three tests:

    That they are technical qualifications

    That they have demonstrable overlap of content and outcomes with wave 1 and wave 2 T-levels already on offer

    That they are aimed at supporting entry to the same occupation(s) as those T-levels.

    Only those qualifications which meet all three of these tests were included on the list, to ensure that we do not leave gaps in provision. We also excluded qualifications where they were aimed at supporting entry to occupations covered by wave 3 and 4 T-levels, since these are not yet on offer; or where they were primarily aimed at people already in work.

    As the post-16 qualifications review continues, we will assess the quality of qualifications that we continue to fund alongside A-levels and T-levels. We are clear that other qualifications, including BTECs and similar qualifications, will continue to play an important role. We will continue to fund these qualifications where they are high quality and where there is a clear need for them.

    Both Ofqual and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will have a role in approving these qualifications. This phase will see the most significant changes to the level 3 landscape, when reformed qualifications are approved from 2025. Ofqual have recently consulted on their approach to regulating these qualifications, and both Ofqual and the institute will consult further ahead of the criteria being published later this year. We have published guidance today setting out the timeline for this. In autumn 2022, we will publish details of the process which awarding organisations will need to follow for every qualification to be approved for funding, including details of the quality and other criteria. In the future, all qualifications at level 3 and below will need to meet these criteria to ensure that they are high quality.

    Awarding organisations with qualifications on the list have been notified, as have the Federation of Awarding Bodies and Joint Council for Qualifications, and all further education providers. We have also published appeals guidance, and awarding organisations have until Friday 8 July to appeal these overlap assessments. We will confirm the final list in September after the appeals process has been completed.

  • Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on Further Education Capital Transformation

    Alex Burghart – 2022 Statement on Further Education Capital Transformation

    The statement made by Alex Burghart, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 19 April 2022.

    My noble Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Education (Baroness Barran) made the following written statement on 4 April 2022.

    I am pleased to announce the outcome of the bidding round for the further education capital transformation programme (FECTP). The bidding was open to all FE colleges and designated institutions, and 62 FE colleges across England have been successful.

    The successful colleges have been offered grants, for 78 projects to upgrade buildings and transform campuses, helping to level up opportunities for more people. The total value of the funding from this round is up to £405 million, and colleges will also make a match funding contribution to their projects.

    The FE capital transformation programme delivers the Government’s £1.5 billion commitment to upgrade the estate of FE colleges and designated institutions in England, promoting parity of esteem between FE and other routes. Improving the condition of FE colleges is important in ensuring students have the opportunity to develop skills in high-quality buildings and facilities, and in addressing skills gaps in local economies.

    In September 2020, £200 million was allocated to FE colleges and designated institutions to undertake urgent remedial condition improvement works and to provide a boost to the economy and the education system.

    In April 2021, we announced our plans to work in partnership with 16 colleges to upgrade some of the worst condition sites in England. We have worked with these colleges to develop their plans further and to manage procurement of their projects, with construction work now beginning.

    This investment should be seen in the wider context of our reforms to further education, as set out in the White Paper “Skills for Jobs Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth and our plans to spread opportunity more equally across the UK, as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/levelling-up-the-united-kingdom.

    The successful colleges are listed online via this link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-capital-transformation-fund-stage-2-successful-applicants

    Attachments can be viewed online at:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2022-04-19/HCWS769/