Tag: Gordon Marsden

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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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 what powers the Visit England Board will have over the strategic direction and decisions on the Discover England Fund.

Tracey Crouch

The VisitEngland Board will be an advisory body, responsible for advising the executive and board of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) on how best to deliver and monitor English activity, including the Discover England fund. The strategic direction for the Discover England fund will be set out in an England Action Plan. This will be signed off by the Minister for Tourism and will be drafted with advice from the VisitEngland Boardas the Secretary of State’s statutory advisory body on English Tourism, but ultimate accountability for delivery of the plan, and for decisions on the fund, will remain with the Chief Executive and Board of the BTA.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her contribution of 25 January 2016, Official Report, column 12, what funding streams and programmes made up the £70 million which the Government is spending on careers advice in the current Parliament.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The £70 million announced by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016 is to continue to transform the quality of the careers education, advice and guidance offered to young people. We have not yet finalised how much will be spent each year or the allocation process. It will include funding for The Careers & Enterprise Company to continue the excellent work it has begun, including delivery of the new mentoring campaign also announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January.

Further information about our priorities for careers education advice and guidance in this Parliament will be set out in our new careers strategy to be published in the spring

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons the responsibilities planned for the proposed Institute for Apprenticeships could not have been undertaken by the existing UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Nick Boles

The role of the Institute for Apprenticeships (IFA) will be very different to the current role and remit of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).

The IFA must be able to make decisions independently of Ministers and hold direct operational responsibility rather than act in an advisory capacity.

This will require different governance arrangements, with a small Board led primarily by employers and business leaders to steer the processes and decisions that are made.

The IFA will assume functions that Government has so far undertaken in relation to apprenticeship standards and assessment plans and will operate in the context of achieving three million starts by 2020.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans his Department has to promote postgraduate loans in 2016-17; and what expenditure his Department has allocated for such promotion.

Joseph Johnson

The Department is working alongside its delivery partner The Student Loans Company and stakeholders such as Universities UK and Prospects to ensure the correct information and guidance is readily available. The Student Loans Company produces information and guidance materials for institutions and prospective students and expenditure for 2016/17 is expected to be in the region of £120,000.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the Department for Work and Pensions on steps to tackle recent reductions in the number of apprenticeship vacancies.

Nick Boles

Latest data shows that the number of vacancies posted on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website have increased each year 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.

We are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that jobseekers are aware of apprenticeship vacancies. Vacancies posted on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website are visible to jobseekers on Universal Jobmatch.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Further Education Act 1992 gives HEFCE current statutory responsibility for degree standards.

Joseph Johnson

The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 enables the Privy Council to bestow degree awarding powers on institutions which provide higher education, and foundation degree awarding powers on institutions within the further education sector. The Privy Council bestows these powers upon the advice of the Secretary of State who, in turn, obtains information and advice from HEFCE and the Quality Assurance Agency. HEFCE’s role in this process is explained in government guidance. Guidance for foundation degrees is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foundation-degree-awarding-powers.

Guidance for other degrees can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taught-and-research-degree-awarding-powers

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what measures she plans to take to support further education students with additional travel costs arising from mergers of institutions as a result of area reviews of post-16 education.

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.