Tag: Gordon Marsden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, to which regions the 173 volunteer Enterprise Advisers have been appointed.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is continuing to make excellent progress to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people, including growing its Enterprise Advisers Network. The CEC is responsible for the administrative resources provided to the network. We therefore suggest contacting the company directly for detailed information about the network, including regions to which Enterprise Co-ordinators and Advisers have been appointed. The CEC can be contacted at info@careersandenterprise.co.uk.

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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 role he plans that further education providers and colleges will have in the governance and delivery of the Institute of Apprenticeships.

Nick Boles

The Board of the Institute will be comprised primarily of employers, business leaders and their representatives to ensure that employers continue to drive apprenticeship quality at the highest level. The Institute will also be able to draw on the expertise of education providers, colleges and others in the exercise of its functions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2016 to Question 33944, whether the decision not to change statutory guidance on post-16 transport to education and training will be subject to review as area reviews of further education progress.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Area reviews of post-16 education are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area, and because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, they are well placed to do this. The steering group’s discussions and recommendations are based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns. Recommendations made by the steering group, including mergers, should improve access to better quality teaching delivered by sustainable institutions focused on meeting learner need.

Local authorities are members of area review steering groups and have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. We will reflect this in the next version of the post-16 transport statutory guidance which we plan to update in the autumn.

Most young people already have access to some kind of discount or concession on bus or train travel, either from their local authority, local transport providers, or from their school or college, and we would expect this to continue following any changes to post-16 provision as a result of area reviews. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund will continue to be available to support those young people who most need it, with the costs of attending post-16 education or training such as transport and meals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether a dedicated hotline for postgraduate loan applicants will be established by the Student Loans Company.

Joseph Johnson

There is a dedicated enquiry line for applicants for the new master’s loan for postgraduate study. The number is 0300 100 0031 and the line is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.

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 Resource Account and Budgeting charge of outstanding debt which will be written off for 24+ Advanced Learner Loans in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

Nick Boles

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) models the proportion of loans which we expect will not be repaid – the resource accounting and budgeting charge (RAB charge). The RAB charge is estimated to be 50% in 2013-14 and 55% in 2014-15. BIS is collecting data on learners as it emerges and based on this data we regularly review and update the RAB charge estimate.

We publish the RAB charge once a year in BIS’ accounts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will define the future (a) role and (b) powers of the Visit England Board.

Tracey Crouch

The VisitEngland Board will be an advisory body, responsible for advising the executive and board of the British Tourist Authority on how best to deliver and monitor English activity. The statutory duties and functions of the VisitEngland Board remain as set out in the Development of Tourism Act 1969 and it will remain a unfunded advisory non-departmental public body.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what types of evidence he plans will be considered for assessment for the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Joseph Johnson

The Higher Education Green Paper proposed that judgements about teaching excellence will be made by a panel of independent experts, considering both a common set of core metrics and additional contextual data, both quantitative and qualitative, submitted by the provider. The core metrics proposed in the Green Paper are derived from quality assured national datasets and would measure employment outcomes, retention and student satisfaction.

We are considering the responses to the consultation and intend to publish a further technical consultation which will explore how the evidence should be used.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons he has decided to withdraw funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Boles

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ (UKCES) work over the last parliament has helped in setting the skills agenda for the future; and their activities have created the conditions to move to the next phase of more devolution, greater employer ownership and the apprenticeship levy. We have, however, concluded that we need new structures to move onto that next phase and have announced the establishment in England of a new Institute for Apprenticeships.

In light of this, a decision was taken as part of the spending review by Whitehall Departments to withdraw funding from UKCES during 2016-17 in the context of the need to make savings in non-participation budgets to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will publish the full list of Equivalent or Lower Qualification exempt subjects announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Joseph Johnson

Part time students studying for a second degree in subjects allied to medicine; biological sciences; veterinary sciences, agriculture and related subjects; physical sciences; and mathematical sciences will be eligible for a tuition fee loan from the 2017/18 academic year. These are in addition to the exemption for part time technology, computer science and engineering degrees introduced in 2015/16. Subject lists below these broad headings are published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency at https://www.hesa.ac.uk/component/content/article?id=1787

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, to which regions the 50 Enterprise Coordinators have been appointed.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) is continuing to make excellent progress to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people, including growing its Enterprise Advisers Network. The CEC is responsible for the administrative resources provided to the network. We therefore suggest contacting the company directly for detailed information about the network, including regions to which Enterprise Co-ordinators and Advisers have been appointed. The CEC can be contacted at info@careersandenterprise.co.uk.

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