Tag: Peter Kyle

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the £1.5 billion for the Better Care Fund by 2019-20 announced in the Autumn Statement 2015 is in addition to existing NHS financial allocations for the next five years.

Alistair Burt

From 2017 the Government will make adult social care funding available to local government, to be included in an improved Better Care Fund, rising to £1.5 billion in 2019-20. This is in addition to the NHS’s mandated contribution to the Better Care Fund, which will continue in real terms over the Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the Government’s response will be published to the Dowling Review of Business-University Research Collaborations.

Joseph Johnson

We are grateful for the insights and recommendations provided in Dame Ann Dowling’s Review of Business-University Research Collaborations. We recognise and support the conclusion it has reached and Innovate UK is already working to simplify its product offering. Alongside the recent Higher Education Green Paper and Sir Paul Nurse’sreport, it will now be taken forward in our review of the funding landscape to make it, as recommended by Dame Ann, more strategic, coherent and effective.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his plans are for the future of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Nick Boles

As announced in the 2015 Spending Review, in order to prioritise funding to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms, savings are being made from the supporting budgets including the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).

Whitehall Departments will be withdrawing their funding for UKCES during the 2016-17 financial year. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is working with UKCES to manage the implications of this decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-25.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish monitoring his Department undertook on the impact on micro-businesses of the changes to dividend taxation included in the Finance Bill.

Mr David Gauke

At Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced that the dividend tax credit will be replaced by a new £5,000 tax-free dividend allowance from April 2016, and that dividend tax rates would be amended from the same date.

A tax information and impact note setting out expected impacts was published on 9 December. This is available to view at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-changes-to-dividend-taxation/income-tax-changes-to-dividend-taxation.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 20728, when his Department plans to publish the 2013-14 report on the prior qualification levels of apprentices.

Nick Boles

A submission on this report is due to be sent up to Ministers shortly requesting approval for publication. The findings are broadly in line with last year’s study.

This report is being finalised and will be published in due course.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the present amount of Continued Professional Development funding for training teachers in the new computing curriculum will be maintained for future academic years.

Nick Gibb

Over the last three years, the Department has spent more than £4.5 million to support the implementation of the new curriculum and is committed to support the high quality teaching of computing. This includes £3m to establish the Network of Teaching Excellence in Computer Science, building a national network of over 300 ‘Master Teachers’ whom schools can commission to provide training for their teachers; £1m for Computing at School (CAS) to meet the needs of primary schools teachers who lacked the specialist computer science subject knowledge required to teach the new curriculum; and a £500,000 competitive match-funded scheme that has supported innovative approaches to promoting excellent computing teaching and lever additional investment and engagement from business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 36124, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the apprenticeship levy on apprenticeship completion rates.

Nick Boles

The apprenticeship levy is part of a range of reforms which we are introducing to increase investment in apprenticeships, raise their quality and make them more relevant to employers’ needs.

High quality training that is more relevant to the needs of employers will encourage apprentices to complete their apprenticeships so that they are fully competent in their occupations.

Information on apprenticeship achievement rates in England is published in the Statistical First Release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on the consultation into how the proceeds of the immigration skills charge should be spent.

Robert Halfon

The income raised from the Immigration Skills Charge will support the provision of skills for the resident population, to address the skills gaps that employers face. The amount of funding generated will depend on employer use of the Tier 2 route. Further information will be set out in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many people completed more than one apprenticeship at the same qualification level between May 2010 and May 2015.

Nick Boles

Individuals who have successfully completed an Apprenticeship are not normally allowed to repeat an Apprenticeship at the same Level. A recent piece of research focusing on value added post learning shows that of the 280,000 people with a Level 2 Apprenticeship as their highest qualification held between 2004/2005 to 2010/2011, 8,000 (3 per cent) had previously achieved a Level 2 Apprenticeship in the same period. And of the 233,000 people with a Level 3 Apprenticeship as their highest qualification held between 2004/2005 to 2010/2011, 5,000 (2 per cent) had previously achieved a Level 3 Apprenticeship in the same period.

Funding for Apprenticeships is managed by the Skills Funding Agency through funding rules. These rules state that Apprentices who have successfully completed an Apprenticeship at any level are not expected to start a second Apprenticeship at the same or lower level. Apprentices will be expected to progress to a higher level.

In general, to receive funding for an Apprenticeship, the training provider and SFA must be satisfied that, for all Apprentices, this is the most appropriate learning programme and that they are carrying out a new job role or an existing job role where the individual needs significant new knowledge and skills. If an individual changes jobs, remaining in the same sector or changing sector, and fulfils these criteria, funding is available for an Apprenticeship.

In certain circumstances, Apprentices may need to be multi-skilled. In this case, the SFA will fund an Apprenticeship at the same or lower level if the Apprenticeship is supporting the Apprentice in an extended job role.

However, individuals who have a prior qualification at Level 4 or above are only eligible for funding for a Higher Apprenticeship at Level 5 or above. They are not eligible for funding for an Intermediate Level (Level 2), Advanced Level (Level 3) or Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship, even if they change their job role or the sector they work in.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-19.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on the feasibility study into the Brighton Main Line 2 proposals announced as part of the Summer Budget 2015 on 8 July 2015.

Greg Hands

Last week, the government published the terms of reference of the London-South Coast Rail Corridor Study. This will consider the case for investment in existing and new capacity on this important corridor, including the feasibility of a second Brighton Main line, and will recommend priorities in the short, medium and long term.