My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to this group of amendments. If I may, I shall start by responding to the words of the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, and his challenge to the Government. I do not want to be flippant, but there is nobody in this Chamber more aware than me of just how many former Secretaries of State for Education and former Education Ministers I am surrounded by. In listening to the noble Lord, I was reminded of the time when I worked in the City, where I was advised early on that “This time it will be different” were the most expensive words for an investor—so I hear him.
In trying to answer the noble Lord’s point about why it will work this time, I am grateful to him for pointing out that this is an enormously difficult and challenging area. He will be aware that, in the White Paper, we set out a number of planks through which we will try to address the entrenched issues that he raised. LSIPs—I think that by this stage in the debate I am allowed an acronym—are an important plank, and our reform of technical and vocational qualifications
is another, along with how further education is funded in this country. I shall come on to the points that my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe, and the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, raised about accountability, and the fact that we need to stay honest and keep checking how this works in practice, if necessary course-correcting to make sure that it delivers what the House resoundingly wants it to deliver. That is also an important part of it, albeit in future. So I thank the noble Lord for giving me the opportunity to set that out.
I turn to the detail of the amendments, and first to Amendments 8 and 9 from my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, on consideration of skills deficiencies in specific fields when developing local skills improvement plans—skills described as absolutely crucial by the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale. I know that my noble friend brings enormous experience from boardrooms around the country to her amendment; she rightly raises the importance of digital skills and innovation. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, has great insight into the issues surrounding the food system and biodiversity. We also heard from the noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, about his very practical and relevant expertise and experience in engineering skills. These are all areas that the Government are actively trying to address in our skills policy. We have introduced, as noble Lords know, digital and other skills boot camps, covering construction and, most recently, HGV. So we are trying to be responsive to needs. On T-levels, we have introduced them recently in engineering and other related areas.
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Of course, it is really important that designated employer-representative bodies take into account robust evidence on national and local skills needs and priorities, as well as employer and stakeholder views, when they are developing their local skills improvement plans. This will be made clear in the statutory guidance, which is in turn informed by the work of the national Skills and Productivity Board. We are trying to link in a coherent way local with national needs, which I think is at the heart of these amendments.
We believe that strategies and priorities are likely to change over time. Indeed, my noble friend referred to her own experience in relation to the need for energy-related skills. We feel that referencing them in statutory guidance which can be updated regularly, rather than in legislation, which cannot, will ensure that key relevant skills needs and priorities are considered when developing and refreshing local skills improvement plans.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for sharing his personal experience. The building industry’s loss is this House’s gain.
I shall respond to some of the questions posed in relation to this group. My noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe asked why net zero and environmental goals were in the Bill but not digital or other crucial areas. We believe that through our amendment local skills improvement plans will be an important tool supporting the Government to meet our legally binding environmental targets, which have been set via the Environment Bill. As I have touched on already, other current priorities and skills shortages are likely to change and evolve
over time, so we believe that describing them in guidance that can be regularly updated, rather than in legislation, is the best way in which to future-proof the Bill.
My noble friend and the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, asked how the Secretary of State would monitor designated employer-representative bodies and their plans and hold them to account. I absolutely agree on the importance of this; designated employer-representative bodies will be accountable to the Secretary of State for Education, and those arrangements for effective monitoring will be informed by evidence from the trailblazers that are running at the moment and will be set out in the statutory guidance.
My noble friend asked how the geography for a local skills improvement plan will be determined. This will be based on functional economic areas. The prospectus for the trailblazers sets out the
“geographical area that is sufficiently compact and coherent to enable effective decision making and delivery, while also encompassing a critical mass of employers and providers needed to make a demonstrable impact”.
The noble Lord, Lord Ravensdale, asked about the role of SMEs. Obviously, that will vary depending on the geographic make-up of the local skills improvement plan area. We clearly expect the designated employer-representative body to draw on the views of a wide range of local employers of all sizes, reaching beyond their membership, if it is a membership organisation, and covering both private and public employers. We will set that out in guidance. I spoke to one of the trailblazer areas last week, and the vast majority of its employers locally have 10 or fewer employees—so they may be even at sub-SME level—and it is very much incorporating those views in its plans.
I turn to Amendments 11 and 12 from the noble Lords, Lord Watson and Lord Aberdare, regarding local skills improvement plans. Forgive me; I do not know if there is a particular technical definition of “place-based”, which the noble Lord, Lord Watson, referred to, but with our local footprint we are looking very much at a place-based approach. We absolutely agree that local is an important part of the answer.
As well as engaging a wide range of employers, a designated employer representative body should work closely with all relevant providers, local authorities—which the noble Lord stressed—mayoral combined authorities and other key stakeholders to develop the plan. Without such widespread consultation and engagement, the plan will not be effective. Mayoral combined authorities play a particularly important role as commissioner and convener in their areas, and their views and priorities need to be brought to bear. Other key stakeholders with valuable local intelligence include the Careers & Enterprise Company, local careers hubs and National Careers Service area-based contractors. As the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, predicted, this will be set out clearly in statutory guidance. As mentioned earlier, this guidance can be updated regularly to reflect evolving needs and priorities as well as best practice. It also enables the required level of detail to be captured.
Clause 1 already places duties on relevant providers to co-operate with employer representative bodies, to ensure that their valuable knowledge and experience directly inform the development of the plans so that
they are evidence-based, credible and actionable. Clause 4 makes it clear that relevant providers include independent training providers.
I turn to Amendments 13, 16 and 19 from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham on local skills improvement plans and the employment prospects of people with disabilities. The criteria for designation of employer representative bodies in the Bill are intentionally focused on the most important characteristics and capabilities required for the role. Of course we want all employers to demonstrate best practice in equality and diversity in employment, including in relation to disability, but the designation process for employer representative bodies to develop local skills improvement plans is not the best mechanism to achieve this.
The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford asked what we expected to learn from the trailblazer pilots. This is an important area in which to explore their experience and, as appropriate, include it in the statutory guidance.
The disability employment gap, while absolutely still too large, has narrowed significantly in recent years, from 33.8 percentage points in 2014 to 28.6 percentage points in 2021. However, since it is still too large, the Government’s national disability strategy, which the right reverend Prelate referred to, sets out how we will help disabled people to fulfil their potential through work and reduce this employment gap still further.
I turn now to Amendments 14, 18 and 21 from the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, which in effect would require designated employer representative bodies to take account of and inform employer-led occupational standards approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education. We expect designated bodies to engage effectively with other relevant employer and sector groups and to have regard to employer-led occupational standards, among other things, when developing local skills improvement plans. For example, a plan might point to existing employer-led occupational standards and the related technical education and training that relevant local providers can start offering, or offer more of, to meet new or changing demand for skills in the local area. However, rather than in primary legislation, the best place to set this out is in statutory guidance that can be updated as needed as we move towards a national system where the majority of technical education and training is based on employer-led standards by 2030.
Amendment 20 from my noble friend Lord Lucas, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Garden, was about consultation with other government departments when designating employer representative bodies. I fully agree with him that we need a coherent approach to designating them. I also reassure him that in delivering this policy, which was introduced in a government White Paper, and in exercising the power on behalf of the Government to designate an employer representative body, the Secretary of State for Education will continue to work closely with the Secretaries of State referred to in the amendment to give, in my noble friend’s words, a coherence across government.
My noble friend and the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, asked about the future of the trailblazer sites. Their purpose is to test and understand how the employer
representative bodies can best work with employers, providers and key local stakeholders, including local authorities, mayoral combined authorities and career hubs, to implement an employer-led approach to skills planning. Although the trailblazers themselves are time-limited, they will be subject to an independent evaluation which will feed directly into the plans for the future rollout.
I turn to Amendments 10 and 66 from the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, regarding a national review and plan for addressing the attainment gap. I hope this House will agree that supporting students who are yet to achieve a GCSE grade 4 or above, or equivalent level 2, in English and maths is fundamental to building a strong and productive labour market. That is why we already have a clear plan to support those who have not achieved grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs, whichever pathway they are on, both while in full-time education and training up to 19 years old and into adulthood. This includes a study requirement for all learners on 16 to 19 year-old study programmes who do not currently hold a GCSE grade 4 to 9 in their English and maths. We also apply this policy to transition years, such as the T-level transition programme and traineeships.
Advanced apprenticeships and T-levels have exit requirements so that all learners must achieve a level 2 in English and maths via GCSEs or functional skills qualifications to complete the programme successfully. Apprentices at level 2 need to complete functional skills qualifications at level 1 to achieve their programmes. We also support adults by fully funding GCSE and functional skills qualifications in English and maths up to level 2 through the adult education budget.
In response to the disruptions to education during the coronavirus pandemic, a further £222 million—