1. Select committee chairs elected
The new chairs for the parliamentary select committees were announced this week. This followed elections that took place on Wednesday 9 June. Adrian Bailey MP was elected as Chair of the Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee, while Graham Stuart MP was elected Chair of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee.
Click here for full listings of the new select committee chairs.
2. Simon Hughes elected as Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader
Simon Hughes MP has been elected as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party. Hughes is MP for Bermondsey, and has traditionally been seen as to the left of the party. He has previously been President of the party, and has twice run in party leadership contests.
In his first speech following his successful election, Mr Hughes emphasised the Liberal Democrat Party’s position of tuition fees, warning that his party and the Tories would “go our different ways” if student debt was allowed to rise.
3. Parliamentary questions
Nandy – Adult Education
Thursday 10 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take in relation to implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper, The Learning Revolution.
Mr Hayes: The "Learning Revolution" White Paper was published by the previous Government. We now have a new Government and a fresh chance to reassess the principles that underpin public policy in order to build a better society founded on social mobility, social justice and social cohesion.
I have long been a believer in the power of adult and community learning and the contribution it makes to the development of stronger, healthier and more confident communities. These views are shared by my Secretary of State and by the Prime Minister. We want everyone to have the chance to be inspired by learning, so that their lives, their families and their communities can benefit.
We want people to rise as high as their talents and ambitions will take them. We will achieve this by reducing bureaucracy, by putting an end to the previous preoccupation with targets and by making adult and community learning universally available, targeting public support for disadvantaged areas and those people who have had least opportunity to learn in the past.
Baldry – Apprentices
Thursday 10 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who will have responsibility for allocating new apprenticeship places which are created in the next 12 months.
Mr Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds announced on 24 May 2010.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills by what mechanism the announced £150 million of funding for adult apprenticeships will be made available to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Hayes: This Department is working with the National Apprenticeship Service and the Skills Funding Agency to implement the redeployment of £150 million of Train to Gain funds which will support adult Apprenticeship places focused on small and medium-sized enterprise. Further details will be provided shortly.
Smith – Further Education: Finance
Wednesday 9 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to ring-fence funding for further education.
Mr Hayes: The announcements on savings to reduce the fiscal deficit made by the Government on 24 May 2010 included a reduction of £200 million in the train to gain budget in 2010-11, however this resource is being reinvested in more apprenticeship places and further education capital projects. We will set out our plans for future years, including details of any ring-fences, in the forthcoming Spending Review. In general, we will aim to enable each of the sectors we fund to plan ahead with comparative certainty, although every Government needs to retain a capacity, subject to parliamentary scrutiny, to be able to respond to changing circumstances.
Smith – Further Education: Finance
Tuesday 8 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding he plans to allocate to further education in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.
Mr Hayes: The funding levels for further education in 2010-11 were published as part of the Skills Investment Strategy in November 2009. A copy was placed in the Library of the House. On 24 May this year, as part of the Treasury announcements on the £6.2 billion of savings to tackle the deficit, the Chancellor announced a £200 million reduction in the Train to Gain budget, with those savings reinvested into additional apprenticeship places and new investment in FE capital projects. The Secretary of State will write to the Skills Funding Agency reflecting these updated priorities and the impact on funding shortly.
Funding for future years will be determined as part of the spending review process.
Hopkins – Higher Education: Finance
Wednesday 9 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of students studying for a higher education qualification in (a) a further education college and (b) other institutions in 2008-09 were (i) directly funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, (ii) funded via a university and (iii) funded by the Learning and Skills Council.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to make in year changes to his Department's budgetary provision for each university in the West Midlands in 2010-11.
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) announced provisional allocations to institutions for academic year 2010/11 on 18 March 2010. As in previous years, final allocations taking into account any further changes, including those resulting from the Chancellor's statement on 24 May 2010, will be announced by HEFCE in July this year.
Chris Ruane – Higher Education: Student Numbers
Wednesday 9 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were in higher education in each (a) constituency and (b) local authority area in (i) 1997 and (ii) the latest year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the number of young people likely to be in higher education in each such area in the next three years.
Mr Willetts: The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), showing young undergraduate enrolments by constituency and local authority, will be placed in the Libraries of the House. Figures for the 2009/10 academic year will be available from HESA in January 2011.
The Department does not make forward estimates of student numbers below national level. Estimates for the next three years are therefore not available by age group, local authority or constituency.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the change in the number of students studying at universities in the west midlands between academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Mr Willetts: The number of students in each institution will depend upon the recruitment decisions taken by individual institutions. However, we are making available funding for an additional 10,000 places in academic year 2010/11 which will be allocated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Stephenson – Apprentices
Tuesday 8 June 2010 | House of Commons - Oral Question
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he plans to take to encourage people to undertake apprenticeships.
Mr Hayes: The Government are committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships, in particular, advanced apprenticeships that confer technician status. We know that the demand from young people and adults for good quality employer-owned apprenticeships is high. To meet this demand and to build an advanced economy we need advanced skills. The Government's decision to redeploy £150 million of our savings for 2010-11, creating an additional 50,000 places, demonstrates our commitment to high-quality skills. We are investing in our future and training the next generation, as well as developing the existing workforce, which is vital as we emerge from recession.