Tag: Gordon Marsden

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23508, by what mechanisms his Department plans to check and monitor standards and quality of apprenticeships until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017.

Nick Boles

Existing quality checks will remain in place until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017. These include scrutiny and approval of standards and assessment plans by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Education, Skills Funding Agency and education advisors, inspection of training provision by Ofsted, and quality assurance of qualifications by Ofqual.

Employer-led reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships, providing the skills that employers need. All apprenticeships must be full time paid jobs; have a minimum duration of 12 months and involve substantial, sustained training including at least 20% off-the-job training. Apprentices develop transferable skills and English and maths to enable them to progress in their careers. New quality measures for training providers and assessment organisations have also been developed to help employers make informed choices.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress officials in his Department have made on incorporating the proceeds of the £227 million fine imposed on Deutsche Bank in relation to their Libor activities into a new three-year fund to create 50,000 apprenticeships.

Greg Hands

This government will be spending twice as much in cash terms on apprenticeships by 2020 compared to 2010. Spending on apprenticeships in England will be £2.5bn in 2019-20. The BIS spending review settlement for apprenticeships reflects the government’s commitment regarding the proceeds of the Libor fine the FCA announced in April 2015. Further announcements that support the government’s commitment to delivering employment opportunities for young people will be announced in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the three-year residency rule for UK nationals will apply to postgraduate loan eligibility from 2016-17.

Joseph Johnson

The position on residency will be confirmed when the regulations are laid in Spring 2016.

Until the regulations are laid, the Government’s position on loan eligibility is set out in the response to its consultation on postgraduate master’s loans published on 25 November 2015. This is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479703/bis-15-573-support-postgraduate-study-response.pdf.

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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.