My Lords, I will attempt to respond to various points, but again, due to the lateness of the hour, I will try to keep my remarks brief. Where I do not respond to points I will endeavour to get further information to noble Lords relatively quickly.
The Government are committed to reaching 3 million apprenticeship starts in England in 2020. Clause 2 will place a duty on the Secretary of State to report annually on progress towards meeting that target. The amendments that have been tabled would place additional reporting requirements on the Secretary of State to publish a range of information as part of the annual apprenticeship reporting requirement set out in the Bill.
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In relation to Amendments 68 and 68A, tabled by the noble Baronesses, Lady Sherlock, Lady Manzoor, and Lady Nye, and the noble Lords, Lord McKenzie, and Lord Young, I can reassure noble Lords that the Government already report on apprenticeship figures by region, age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sector, qualification and level as part of their quarterly statistical first release. We will continue to do this and I can assure the noble Baroness that we will report a breakdown of figures on age and disability. We also publish information on the courses in which apprentices are enrolled in each academic year as part of our national aims report and we will continue to do this as part of the annual reporting requirement set out in the Bill.
The Government do not provide information on other protected characteristics, as set out in the Equality Act 2010, such as sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, in order to lessen the burden on training providers, which we are keen to do. In addition, these characteristics do not determine funding. I can reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Nye, that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills measures the destinations of apprentices once they have completed an apprenticeship in a number of ways. This includes measuring longer-term wage and employment outcomes, short-term employment outcomes, self-reported impacts and the progression of advanced apprentices to higher education. We will continue to publish this information.
In relation to the first part of Amendment 69, tabled by the noble Baronesses, Lady Campbell and Lady Grey-Thompson, and the noble Lords, Lord Low and Lord Addington, where a young person has applied for a vacancy via the “find an apprenticeship” system and has self-reported their disability status, it is possible to count applications made. BIS is currently exploring whether it is then possible to track whether a young person has subsequently started an apprenticeship. However, it is not possible to count the number of applications made direct to employers. Therefore, on the basis that the information would be incomplete, we do not believe it is practicable to require the Secretary of State to report in this way.
I turn to apprenticeship quality and the second part of Amendment 68. I can reassure noble Lords that the Government are already committed to a range of measures to ensure the quality of apprenticeships. I know that this subject is very dear to the heart of the noble Lord, Lord Young, and we have discussed it on several other occasions. We have already ensured that all apprenticeships are real paid jobs, have a minimum duration of a year, include substantial on and off-the-job training and include English and maths when not already achieved. In addition, as announced by the Chancellor in the spending review, the Government intend to establish a new institute for apprenticeships. This will support employer-led reforms to ensure quality. We anticipate that this will be active from 2017 onwards The noble Lord, Lord Young, asked about the role of UKCES. It has played a valuable role since its launch but the Government have decided to create the new body which I have just mentioned. We are therefore working with UKCES to explore the implications of the spending review and will make an announcement in due course. In answer to the noble Lord’s question about small business access to apprenticeships, small businesses are directly involved in all phases of trailblazers, such as the Test Factory for digital industries. We have made clear in the implementation plan and trailblazer guidance that standards must have wide support from employers across the sector.
In relation to careers advice, noble Lords will be aware that schools are legally required to secure independent careers guidance for 12 to 18 year-olds. This must be delivered in an impartial manner and include information about a range of options, including apprenticeships. Statutory guidance published in March 2015 is clear that schools should give employers, and other providers delivering apprenticeships, the opportunity to inform all pupils directly, on school premises, about what they offer. Finally, on timetables for the apprenticeship levy, more detail will be available in due course. I cannot say any more than that at this point. Ofsted and Ofqual will also continue to play an essential role in ensuring the quality of apprenticeships.
Finally, I turn to the latter part of Amendment 69. The Government believe that the overwhelming majority of young people with special educational needs and disabilities are capable of sustainable, paid employment with appropriate preparation and support, and we already know that thousands of disabled people have benefited from apprenticeships. In 2014-15, 44,090 of those starting an apprenticeship declared a disability
or learning difficulty; that is, 8.8% of total starts. I reassure noble Lords that we are committed to building on this success.
As the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, mentioned, Peter Little OBE undertook a detailed review of the inclusiveness of apprenticeships for people with learning difficulties or disabilities, and since its publication we have done more to try to ensure that apprenticeships are accessible. For instance, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education has produced an employer toolkit and the Education and Training Foundation’s Excellence Gateway contains a section on special educational needs and disability with resources. In addition, apprentices can apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace and training providers can use funding to support the apprentice’s learning. Reasonable adjustments are available for qualifications to ensure that an apprentice with a disability has the chance to show what he or she knows or can do. Appropriate adjustments will depend, among other things, on the individual, their disability, and the qualification, but may include extra time, a special room, assistive technology or the use of a scribe.
Turning to the third part of the amendment, I reassure noble Lords that the Skills Funding Agency has funded a number of case studies in recent years specifically looking at accessibility and best practice for apprentices with learning difficulties or disabilities, which are available for employers to access through the employer toolkit.
Again, I apologise for the quick run through. As I say, I will endeavour to get back to noble Lords on
other points that I have missed, but I hope that, on the basis of this explanation, noble Lords will consider not pressing their amendments.