Tag: Peter Kyle

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has made to the Prime Minister on the Apprenticeships Adviser role since the current Prime Minister took office.

Robert Halfon

Please refer to the answer given by the Prime Minister to PQ 46313 on 10 October 2016. This is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-09-13/46313/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have contacted his Department on the future of the Homelessness Prevention Grant in the last six months.

Mr Marcus Jones

Homelessness prevention grant is part of our £500 million investment in local authority and voluntary sector homelessness services. It has helped local authorities to prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless since 2010 and assisted 220,800 in 2014-15 alone.

The Government does not evaluate the effectiveness of local authority grants including the Homelessness Prevention Grant. As democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent from Central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities. Since 2010, local councils have had more flexibility over how they spend the money they receive from central government. Together with the money raised through council tax and other local sources, they have considerable freedom to work with their residents to decide how best to spend available resources on local priorities.

My Department regularly engages with a wide range of partners on homelessness prevention. We have received five written representations directly from local authorities on the future of the grant since April 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what level of spending will be required from (a) the Government, (b) other public sector bodies and (c) private employers to create three million quality apprenticeships by 2020.

Nick Boles

The budget for apprenticeships in England is demand-led and the level of spending responds to local employer and learner demand. Apprenticeships are jobs with training – availability is determined by employers offering opportunities.

The Government is introducing a UK-wide levy for all larger employers in the public and private sector to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training. This levy will put employers in charge of how apprenticeship budgets are spent by creating a fund which they can use to pay for the cost of external training for their apprentices.

Further details on the rate and scope of the levy will be set out by my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the autumn Spending Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans for the new business-led body to set standards for apprenticeships as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 to come into operation.

Nick Boles

It is our intention that the Institute for Apprenticeships will be fully operational by April 2017 and we expect it to begin operating in shadow form during 2016, taking on functions in a phased transition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 6.14 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what steps his Department will take to ensure employers are still encouraged to take on 16 to 18 apprentices following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

Nick Boles

We are working through the policy implications of the levy. Ministers and officials are conducting end to end meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of getting the detailed design of the levy right before its implementation in 2017.

We want 16-18 year olds to play a key part in the success of apprenticeships. The lifetime benefits associated with the acquisition of apprenticeships are significant, and there is a high level of return to investment delivered by the apprenticeship programme. We will continue to encourage employers to take on 16-18 year olds as apprentices.

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 assessment he has made of the risk of employers waiting until the new digital voucher funding mechanism is in place before taking on new apprentices.

Nick Boles

The current apprenticeships funding mechanism is being reformed to deliver a high-quality, employer-led system. In the transition period, we will be continuing to use the current system (which has delivered strong apprenticeships growth) and work with employers to help them take on apprentices. We will monitor take-up prior to the levy introduction.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 23617, what the length will be of the time limited period of membership of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.

Nick Boles

There is no set time limit for membership of the Apprenticeships Delivery Board, this will be reviewed by the Chair and refreshed accordingly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January to Question 22232, when he plans to publish the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study.

Claire Perry

The Study is expected to be completed shortly, and the Government will subsequently consider the timeframe for releasing the study findings, including our response.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in discussions with the devolved administrations on the drawing-down of funds on apprenticeships when the apprenticeship levy is introduced in April 2017.

Nick Boles

Skills policy is a devolved area so the devolved administrations will continue to have control over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.

We are working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure they get their fair share of the levy and can work out how best to use it to complement their own apprenticeships and skills policies.

We have been engaging with skills ministers in the devolved administrations on how to make the levy work for employers and would-be apprentices across the UK and will continue to do so following the elections in May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 119 of the Teaching excellence framework: technical consultation for year two, published by his Department on 16 May 2016, how the estimates for the performance metrics were reached; whether there is scope for making adjustments to those estimates in the future; whether those estimates will be used as part of formal guidance for the operation of the teaching excellence framework; and if he will publish the methodological framework and evidence for how those estimates were reached.

Joseph Johnson

In developing our proposals for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) we used a set of indicative metrics, with data constructed using the methods set out in Chapter 2 of the TEF: Technical Consultation for Year Two. The statement that providers will fall into a bell curve was based on observing the number of providers with positive and negative significance flags against the core metrics.

The actual TEF assessments will be made against the most recent data which we anticipate will follow a broadly similar pattern. As stated in the Technical Consultation, we expect the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to construct the guidance to assessors in such a way that will lead to a distribution similar to that set out in paragraph 119; however, assessors will not be obligated to check that the awards follow this distribution, only that they have followed the guidance.

Our consultation response will outline the final metrics and HEFCE guidance will set out the detailed methodology of how the metrics are constructed.