Tag: Gordon Marsden

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students in English state schools took at least one GCSE in a foreign language at the end of Key Stage 4 in 2014-15; and whether her Department made an estimate of the number of students expected to take at least one GCSE in a foreign language under the planned 90 per cent English Baccalaureate target.

Nick Gibb

The number and percentage of pupils in English state-funded schools who were entered for a foreign language GCSE in the 2014/15 academic year is published as part of the key stage 4 school performance tables.[1]

To enter the EBacc, pupils must enter an approved qualification at key stage 4 in either an ancient or a modern foreign language. This means that when 90% of pupils are taking the EBacc, at least 90% of pupils will enter at least one language qualification.

[1] https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/download-data?currentstep=datatypes&regiontype=all&la=0&downloadYear=2014-2015&datatypes=ks4

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote the availability of loans to part-time students.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has developed marketing materials and information aimed at part time students and these are made available online and through schools and further education colleges as part of the annual Student Finance Tour. Since the new non-means tested part time fee loans were introduced in 2012 the number of students taking out loans has risen from 34,000 in 2012/13 to 55,000 in 2013/14.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which colleges he plans are to be included in (a) the third wave Area Reviews for Lancashire (Pennines) further education colleges and (b) in the fourth wave Area Reviews for Lancashire (Coastal) further education colleges.

Nick Boles

We have published indicative information in relation to the future waves, 3 to 5, of the area reviews. This includes the proposed reviews for the Lancashire area. I met with the Lancashire College Group yesterday and discussed with them the timing of the two Lancashire reviews and the colleges to be included in each. We will review the future waves in light of further discussions and ongoing assessment of risk and we will publish updated information on this in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to amend social care charging guidance so that compensation awarded to military veterans injured before 6 April 2005 is fully disregarded from financial assessments for support.

Alistair Burt

Armed forces veterans injured in service receive payments either through the War Disablement Pension (WDP) or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS). The AFCS applies to veterans injured from 6 April 2005. These payments are divided into a personal injury compensation element and other payments. Traditionally, only the personal injury compensation payment has been fully disregarded.

Since October 2012 Guaranteed Income Payments made to veterans under the AFCS have been disregarded. The Department has been in discussion with the Royal British Legion about how WDP payments are treated. Currently the first £10 per week of WDP payments is disregarded. The Government is considering how WDP payments to veterans should be treated in the financial assessment for social care charging in future.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to collect data on trends in the UK labour market after funding is withdrawn from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Nick Boles

I refer the hon Member to the reply to question UIN 25901.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the potential number of large employers who will require existing training expenditure as a result of the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles

The Government is committed to significantly increasing the quantity and quality of apprenticeships in England to 3 million new starts by 2020.

Overall, there has been a steady decline in the amount and quality of training undertaken by employers over the last 20 years. This has been bad for productivity.

We need a step change to reverse these trends and secure a high quality, sustainable apprenticeship programme, which is why we are introducing a levy on larger employers.

The introduction of the apprenticeship levy will put employers in control of funding and incentivise them to train more apprentices. Large employers can potentially get out more than they put into the levy and will therefore have greater reward if they invest significantly in training their workforce.

We are working closely with employers on the details of the design of the apprenticeship levy in preparation for its launch in April 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether apprenticeship levy funds will be usable to pay for qualifications that are not embedded in apprenticeship standards.

Nick Boles

Employers will be able to use their levy funding (up to a maximum which will depend upon the standard or framework that is being trained against) to cover the costs of an apprentice’s training, assessment and certification. Apprenticeship training can either be on an apprenticeship standard, or on an apprenticeship framework.

Where a qualification is a requirement for achieving the standard or framework employers will be able to use levy funds to pay for the qualification. Levy funding cannot be used to fund other qualifications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to (a) receive and (b) publish the final recommendations for wave 1 of the area reviews of post-16 education and training.

Nick Boles

As each area review reaches its conclusion, we will receive confirmation of the recommendations that have been agreed and I have agreed to meet with MPs from the area to discuss those recommendations.

As we have set out in the published guidance for area reviews, we will publish a report relating to each review once it has finished. This will include the final recommendations agreed by each review.

The exact timing of both of these will depend on the progress of each individual review. We expect most reports from the first wave to be published before the Summer recess.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to his Department’s White Paper, Success as a knowledge economy: teaching excellence, social mobility and student choice, published on 16 May 2016, what assessment his Department has made of the potential level of subscriptions which higher education providers will contribute to fund the Office for Students.

Joseph Johnson

The Impact Assessment for the Higher Education and Research Bill will be published shortly. It will include estimates of the total contribution of higher education providers towards the costs of Office for Students. The Government will consult on the specific structure of the registration fees to ensure they are fair and affordable for the higher education providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the subjects most likely to be affected by a reduction in the number of people taking them in the event of a significant proportion of young people required to take a foreign language GCSE.

Nick Gibb

In implementing the EBacc, the Government remains fully committed to ensuring all pupils receive a well-rounded education. All state-funded schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. We expect all schools to continue to offer a wide range of options beyond the EBacc, so that pupils have opportunities to study subjects that reflect their individual interests and strengths.

The EBacc has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for other subjects. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils.[1] For many pupils, taking the EBacc will mean taking seven GCSEs; and for those taking triple science, it will mean taking eight. This means that there will continue to be room for pupils to study other subjects.

We set out our EBacc proposals in our consultation on implementing the English Baccalaureate. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

[1] https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&geographic=all&region=0&phase=secondary&for=Key%20stage%204%20performance&basedon=Exam%20entries&show=All%20pupils&&schoolTypeFilter=allSchools

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