Tag: Gordon Marsden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department’s policies of providing bursaries and mathematics enhancement programmes to teaching staff in the further education sector on the total number of mathematics teachers in that sector; and on what evidential basis he made the decision to offer bursaries and mathematics enhancement programmes to teaching staff in the further education sector.

Nick Boles

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) began offering bursaries to graduates to train to teach maths in the academic year 2013/14. 61 and 136 people took up such bursaries in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively. It is estimated that 167 maths bursaries will be taken up in 2015/16.

The maths enhancement is a joint BIS/Department for Education supported programme and commenced in the academic year 2013/14. During 2013/14 and 2014/15 over 2,450 existing further education teachers participated in the maths programmes. During 2015/16 we are continuing to support access to a pipeline programme to enhance the maths skills of existing teachers. This is being delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. We have not made an estimate of the number of programmes that will be taken up in 2015/16.

Emerging findings from the evaluation of the further education (FE) workforce programmes have shown a positive impact on the confidence and effectiveness of FE teachers delivering maths either as a core subject or in vocational context. The evidential basis for intervention in maths teaching was based on the clear need to raise the Maths attainment rates of students in further education; and improve the quality of Maths teaching as identified by Ofsted inspection reports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Oral Contribution of the Chancellor of Exchequer of 25 November 2015, Official Report, column 1370, how sixth form colleges that (a) have not been involved in area reviews, (b) are currently involved in area reviews and (c) have previously been involved in area reviews which have now concluded or will soon conclude will apply for academy status.

Nick Boles

Detailed guidance on the criteria and application process for area reviews will be published in February 2016. All sixth form colleges in England will have the opportunity to apply as part of the relevant area review. Their applications will be considered alongside other recommendations from the review in their area.

The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit will work with the sixth form colleges included in the first wave of reviews, which is currently under way, to ensure that they have the opportunity to develop information to support an application and to prepare applications in advance of the publication of detailed criteria in February.

Three sixth form colleges were included in two pilot post-16 area reviews earlier this year. These reviews have now concluded and their recommendations are being implemented. We are currently considering how to ensure that these colleges have the opportunity to apply during later stages of the area reviews programme whilst maintaining current progress towards implementation of the earlier reviews’ findings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many full-time equivalent staff there were in the Skills Funding Agency in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15.

Nick Boles

The table below outlines the total number of staff employed by full-time equivalence in the Skills Funding Agency:

2010-11	1459
2011-12	1580
2012-13	1200
2013-14	1142
2014-15	788

Staffing numbers have reduced as part of the Civil Service reform programme. Alongside this, the Skills Funding Agency has prioritised its resources to focus on 3 million apprenticeship starts. The latest Statistical First Release shows an upward trajectory of apprenticeship starts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for further education and skills providers of European Social Fund allocations being assigned to local enterprise partnerships, instead of on a co-financing basis; and what representations he has received from further education and skills providers and organisations on the effect of those changes on cashflow and delivery of programmes.

Anna Soubry

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) had not received any representations made by providers regarding the role of LEPs in procurement activity. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) established an External Advisory Group with representation from all provider sectors, the Association of Colleges, Association of Employment and Learning Providers and third sector organisations and also from Local Enterprise Partnerships, including the LEP Network. This provided a forum for the SFA to consult on how European Social Fund (ESF) programme funds would be deployed under the new arrangements. This forum was supported by BIS, SFA and Department for Work and Pensions representation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to ring-fence funding for adult basic skills within the adult skills budget for 2016-17.

Nick Boles

No. Funding for basic skills is a crucial part of the Adult Education Budget. But a ring-fence means central Government deciding how money should be spent. We prefer to allow colleges and other providers to decide how best to meet the needs of the communities they serve. The interests of learners who lack basic skills are protected by statutory entitlements to free provision in basic English and maths.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of how much European Social Fund funding will be allocated to local enterprise partnerships by the end of March (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Anna Soubry

Information on the combined allocation for European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund to each Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area for the 2014-20 period can be found on the GOV.UK website at ‘EU Structural Funds: UK allocations 2014 to 2020’.

Each LEP area was asked to prepare a strategy setting out its priorities for how its allocation should be spent, including how much should come from the European Social Fund. Information on the individual LEP area Strategies for 2014-20 can be found on the website ‘The Network of LEPs-LEP Network’, searching by European funding.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will continue to pay for training to enable apprentices to achieve Level 2 or GCSEs in English and mathematics, as required, once the Apprenticeship Levy has been introduced.

Nick Boles

Apprentices have to meet a minimum standard in both English and maths up to Level 2. There are specific qualifications they must achieve. If an apprentice does not already have these, they may need to do an English or maths course. We will pay providers directly, for the Level 1 and 2 English and maths training they provide to apprentices.

Further information on the amount that will be paid for English and maths training for apprentices who require it, will be published provisionally in June 2016 and confirmed in October 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many universal credit claimants there were in Blackpool South constituency in (a) June 2015, (b) December 2015 and (c) the latest month for which figures are available.

Priti Patel

The information you have requested is available in the official Universal Credit statistics: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the expected Resource Accounting and Budgeting charge is for student loans paid out to EU students studying in England.

Joseph Johnson

The Resource Accounting and Budgeting (RAB) charge, which represents the value of the part of the loan that is not expected to be repaid, is not calculated separately by the nationality of the students. We estimate that the RAB charge for full time tuition fee and maintenance loans is between 20% and 25%.

My Department publishes an updated estimate of the RAB charge each year, close to the time of the publication of BIS accounts. The most recent estimate of the RAB charge was published on 18 February 2016. The estimate, together with a simplified version of the model for calculating the RAB charge can be found here:

http://tinyurl.com/stepmodel

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 45104, when her Department plans to publish its final policy on apprenticeship funding reforms.

Robert Halfon

We will be publishing details of our final funding policy for apprenticeships in England from May 2017 shortly.