Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Institutional Partnerships: Further and Higher Education

Monday 17 July 2023 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial steps include building institute of technology colleges with 300 million investment and introducing lifelong loan entitlement.
  • Department supports land colleges and invests 88 million in further education in Yorkshire.
  • Government is enhancing careers advice through the National Careers Service and offering free level 3 courses and apprenticeships.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Alex Sobel Labour (Co-op) Leeds Central and Headingley
Education
Context

The MP noted the importance of increasing learning opportunities by enhancing partnerships between FE and HE.

Question

What steps she is taking to increase partnerships between further education colleges and higher education institutions to help increase learning opportunities?

Answer from Robert Halfon

We are transforming tertiary education by building state of the art prestigious institute of technology colleges, backed by £300 million and led by further education and higher education businesses. We have also introduced the lifelong loan entitlement—it is in the House of Lords at the moment. That will allow higher and further education to collaborate, offering short courses and the transfer of courses between FE and HE institutions.

Answered
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Q2 Alex Sobel Labour (Co-op) Leeds Central and Headingley
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
Context

The MP discussed the need for new skills in agriculture during a meeting with the National Farmers Union at the Great Yorkshire Show.

Question

Last week, I met representatives of the National Farmers Union at the Great Yorkshire Show. We discussed the great need for new skills and a skilled workforce in areas such as agro-ecology. What work is his Department doing to link specialist agricultural colleges with the non-specialist FE and HE sector?

Answer from Robert Halfon

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We have good land colleges and we are doing everything we can to support them. There are two institute of technology colleges in Yorkshire, although not in his area. I am sure that he will be pleased with the investment of £88 million in his area into FE, sixth form and the university technical college, as well as a grammar school. We are doing a lot of work on agricultural T-levels as well.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific initiatives linking specialist agricultural colleges with non-specialist FE and HE sectors were not directly addressed

How: We Have Good Land Colleges, £88 Million Investment In His Area

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Q3 David Evennett Con
Education Employment Benefits & Welfare
Context

The MP asked about ensuring adults are aware of the various opportunities available to learn and upskill.

Question

What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to work with employers, local authorities and jobcentres to ensure that as many adults as possible are aware of the opportunities available to them to learn and upskill?

Answer from Robert Halfon

My right hon. Friend speaks with huge wisdom. We are transforming careers advice through the National Careers Service, which is advising people on adult skills. We are spending hundreds of millions of pounds on boot camps and on more than 400 free level 3 courses. Our apprenticeship scheme offers hundreds of different apprenticeships. Through careers advice and our skills offer, we are ensuring that adults get the skills they need.

Answered
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Q4 Martin Docherty SNP
Education
Context

The MP expressed concern over the government's apparent crackdown on so-called “Mickey Mouse” courses, questioning if it was a ruse to protect home counties' privileges.

Question

As a working-class kid from the constituency I now represent, I am not sure where I would be today if not for the opportunity I had to study for a so-called 'Mickey Mouse degree' at university. After today's media push and the Government's apparent crackdown on students, how does the Minister expect us to believe that this is not just a ruse to protect the privileges of the Timothies and Tabithas of the home counties, as opposed to working-class kids?

Answer from Robert Halfon

The hon. Gentleman could not be more wrong. Why is it right to send somebody to a higher education institution, taking out a significant loan of £9,250 each year, to take a course that leads either to poor completion, poor continuation or poor progression? This Government are stopping that by imposing recruitment caps on such courses. I am proud that record numbers of disadvantaged students are going to university. More disadvantaged students are going to university than ever before.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific impact on disadvantaged students and the need for alternative opportunities was not fully addressed.

How: Sending Someone To Uni For Poor Completion

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Q5 Jonathan Gullis
Education
Context

The MP inquired about the result of the bid made by a sixth form college and university for a free school to provide digital skills.

Question

Parents and pupils across Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke wait anxiously to find out the result of the fantastic bid made by the further education City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College and the higher education Staffordshire University for a free school to unleash the digital skills, in particular, that we want to see in Stoke-on-Trent. Will my right hon. Friend lobby the Schools Minister and the Secretary of State not only to make sure this is announced soon, but to make sure it is delivered quickly so that we get the school places we so desperately need?

Answer from Robert Halfon

I was very pleased to visit Staffordshire University, which is a model university that offers a brilliant policing degree apprenticeship scheme, among others. The Secretary of State is listening carefully to the bid, and I am sure she will make the announcement shortly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The status update on the specific bid was not fully provided; only mentioned as under consideration.

How: Secretary Of State Is Listening

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Q6 Matt Western Lab Warwick and Leamington
Education
Context

The MP supported the introduction of the lifelong loan entitlement but noted regulatory duplication as a barrier to partnership.

Question

The introduction of the lifelong loan entitlement, which we all support, will inevitably require greater collaboration between higher education and further education providers, but under the current regulatory system, as the lines between HE and FE blur, we are seeing significant regulatory duplication and increased burden. This acts as a brake on partnership. Does the Minister not recognise the need to streamline the regulatory system to foster collaboration ahead of, rather than after, the introduction of the LLE?

Answer from Robert Halfon

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that the lifelong loan entitlement of up to £37,000 will be transformative for millions of people across the country, enabling them to take short or modular courses at a time of their choosing. We are looking at regulation across the higher education and further education sector, and we are doing all we can to reduce it, but I recognise some of the issues he raises.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific actions or timeline for streamlining regulations were not provided; recognition only acknowledged.

How: Looking At Regulation, Doing All We Can To Reduce

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