Tag: Gordon Marsden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the likely impact of freezing the earnings repayment thresholds for 24+ Advanced Learner Loans on the Resource Account and Budgeting charge of outstanding debt which will be written off for 24+ Advanced Learner Loans.

Nick Boles

We estimate the RAB charge under option 1 (freeze threshold for all Plan 2 loans, existing and new borrowers from April 2016 to April 2021) will decrease by about 5 percentage points from the current level of 55% to 50%.

Further information on the impact of freezing the earnings repayment thresholds for 24+ Advanced Learning Loans on future repayments is shown in the Consultation on freezing the student loan repayment thresholds, which has been published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/freezing-the-student-loan-repayment-threshold

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff by full-time equivalence there were in his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2014-15; and how many staff by full-time equivalence he expects there will be in his Department in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17 and (iii) 2017-18.

Joseph Johnson

The staff figures (full-time equivalent) for 2010/11, 2012/13 and 2014/15 are set out below:

Year	FTE (Core BIS only, not UKTI)	Source/Notes
2010/11	2,781	Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2011 (Core Dept (3,373) minus UKTI (592))
2012/13	2,692	Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2014/15
2014/15	2,627	Published in the BIS Annual Report & Accounts 2014/15

In the further years of this Parliament, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is expecting to make further headcount reductions in the core Department, in line with our Spending Review settlement and our efficiency programme ambitions. The exact figures for full time equivalents in these years are not available at this stage.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what additional checks on standards and quality his Department and the National Apprenticeship Service plan to introduce in response to the targets listed in his Department’s publication, English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, published on 7 December 2015.

Nick Boles

The Institute for Apprenticeships, a new independent body led by employers, is being established to oversee the quality of apprenticeships in England.

The Institute for Apprenticeships will put in place transparent mechanisms for the approval of apprenticeship standards and assessment plans, and maintain clear quality criteria so that only standards that are valued by employers will be approved and funded.

It will be fully operational by April 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how he plans to secure comprehensive analyses of skills shortages in the UK economy after funding is withdrawn from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Nick Boles

In the context of needing to make savings in non-participation budgets to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities.

These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for UK universities of the proposal for a £1,000 a year levy on all businesses employing skilled non-EU staff.

Joseph Johnson

The Government is considering carefully the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations on the rate and scope of the Immigration Skills Charge. In advance of finalising the regulations that will introduce the charge from April 2017, we will take account of evidence about the likely impact on different types of organisation, including universities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Skills Funding Agency data release of 5 April 2016, what discussions he has had with (a) education and training providers and (b) employer organisations on recent reductions in the number of apprenticeship vacancies.

Nick Boles

The number of vacancies on the `Find an Apprenticeship` website has been increasing from 71,060 in 2010/11 to 200,460 in 2014/15. The data does not reflect all vacancies as some employers choose alternative methods for advertising their apprenticeship opportunities.

English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision sets out our plans to work with providers and employer organisations to reach our commitment of 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.

The new Apprenticeship Delivery Board will encourage more businesses to develop quality apprenticeships. Members act as apprenticeship champions within their sector, working with employers of all sizes to increase both the number of apprenticeship places on offer and the supply of talented candidates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with other government departments on the future roles of HEFCE and the Quality Assurance Agency.

Joseph Johnson

The Government published a Green Paper ‘Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice’ on 6 November 2015. This set out our proposals to drive up the quality of teaching in higher education, and for simplifying the higher education regulatory landscape with a higher education regulator that has the student interest at its core. The consultation closed on 15 January 2016 and we received over 600 responses. In developing both the Green Paper and our response to the consultation, we have consulted extensively across the sector and continue to do so. No decisions have yet been taken and the Government will issue its response in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Government plans to introduce a Sharia-compliant Takaful alternative finance product for students unable to access 24+ Advanced Learning Loans as well as for students undertaking higher education courses.

Joseph Johnson

The November 2015 Higher Education Green Paper (Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice) confirms the Government’s intention to introduce, for the first time, a new system of alternative student finance. Work on the new system is ongoing, and includes careful consideration of where and how alternative student finance can deliver the most benefit for students. Subject to Parliament, the Government plans to introduce the system through new primary legislation.

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 discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on specific support under the Youth Obligation programme to enable young people with backgrounds of homelessness to access apprenticeships.

Nick Boles

Preparations for the Youth Obligation have been discussed at the Earn or Learn Taskforce. These discussions have included how to help Youth Obligation participants of all backgrounds into apprenticeships.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the likely impact of proposed changes to student loan repayment thresholds on repayment regimes for those students who take out 24+ Advanced Learner Loan and who study for an Access to HE qualification but then do not complete an HE qualification.

Nick Boles

Where a learner takes out a loan to fund an Access to HE Diploma course, and then goes on to complete their HE Diploma course, then the 24+ Advanced Learning Loan is written off.

The impact of freezing the threshold for students who take out 24+ Advanced Learning Loans to study for an Access to HE qualification but do not complete an HE qualification will be similar to the impact for all 24+ Advanced Learning Loan borrowers.

Estimates of the impact of freezing the repayment thresholds for 24+ Advanced Learning Loans borrowers are illustrated in the consultation document, which has been published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/freezing-the-student-loan-repayment-threshold

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