| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 July 2009 : Column 1098W—continued
The National Apprenticeship Service has developed a 16-18 Apprenticeships Action Plan and is taking forward a range of actions to increase the number of young people starting an apprenticeship. These include: an £11 million investment to provide 3,000 additional places with large businesses that have a track record in offering high-quality apprenticeships, with 1,800 places for 16 to 18 year-olds; a £7 million investment in Group Training Associations which can help attract new and hard to reach employers and new individuals to become apprentices; a focus on increasing the number of apprenticeship places available in the public sector by 21,000 this year with a specific focus on health, education, central and local government; and the publication of OGC guidance to enable Central and Local Government to utilise the £175 billion spent each year on procurement contracts to increase apprenticeship numbers and investment in training.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made towards provision of the proposed 1,500 apprenticeships under the New Opportunities, New Challenges strategy. [286188]
Kevin Brennan: In the Manufacturing: New Opportunities, New Challenges strategy, the Government committed to extend and expand high quality Apprenticeships by approximately 1,500 new places, by inviting bids from larger manufacturers to train additional apprentices, including for their supply chains.
On 1 December 2008 the Apprenticeship Expansion Programme Prospectus was launched, inviting Expressions of Interest from employers or groups of employers who are already delivering high-quality Apprenticeship programmes.
On 13 May the majority of the successful bids were announced. Out of the approximately 3,000 additional Apprenticeships created under the Expansion Programme, at least 1,400 will be in the Engineering and Manufacturing sector. The first additional apprentices will be taken on in September 2009.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department has spent on level four apprenticeships in each year since 2001. [286798]
Kevin Brennan: Our records show that in 2006-07, £115,000 was spent on funding level four apprenticeship places. This rose to £202,000 in 2007-08, as more learners started apprenticeships and we continued to fund the programmes of those who had started in the previous year. In previous academic years, level four apprenticeships were not available.
Apprentices: Females
Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of apprenticeships were completed by women in each of the last 10 years. [284282]
Kevin Brennan: The table shows the volume and proportion of apprenticeships completed by women in each year from 2003/04 to 2007/08.
| Apprenticeships completed by women | ||
| Volume | Proportion (percentage) | |
| Note: Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred, and percentages to the nearest per cent. Source: WBL ILR | ||
In many areas the take up of apprenticeships reflects the gender divide in the workplace. For example 1 per cent. of construction apprentices are women but in the care sector women comprise 97 per cent. of apprentices. We do not accept this and we have asked that the new National Apprenticeship Service to take action to address inequalities within the Apprenticeship programme.
Apprentices: Hertfordshire
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships to be taken up by those over the age of 24 years in (a) Hemel Hempstead constituency, (b) Dacorum and (c) Hertfordshire in the next five years. [285889]
Kevin Brennan: The table shows apprenticeship starts in Hemel Hempstead parliamentary constituency and Hertfordshire local authority in 2007/08, the latest year for which we have full-year information. Information is not available at local authority district level and hence figures for Dacorum, which is part of Hertfordshire local authority, are not shown.
| Apprenticeship starts in 2007/08 | ||
| Area | ||
| Age at start of programme | Hemel Hempstead constituency | Hertfordshire local authority |
| Notes 1. Area is based on home postcode of learner. 2. Figures for parliamentary constituency have been rounded to the nearest ten and figures for local authority have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Therefore figures may not sum to the total due to rounding. 3. Age is calculated based on age at start of programme. Source: WBL ILR | ||
Nationally, in 2008/09 we anticipate that more adults than ever before will start an apprenticeship. As part of our unprecedented investment in apprenticeships we
have seen tremendous growth in the adult (25 plus) Apprenticeship programme from just 300 starts in 2006/07, to over 27,000 in 2007/08 in England. We are delighted that this trend has continued and demand from employers for adult apprenticeships remains very high. This demonstrates that apprenticeships provide a high-quality, all-age offer for businesses and that employers recognise the benefits of continuing to train in the current economic climate. The Government's Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11 (due in autumn 2009) will set out national projections for apprenticeship starts for 2009/10 and 2010/11 academic years.
Apprentices: Thames Valley
Tony Baldry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships which will be taken up by those over the age of 24 years resident in (a) the Thames Valley and (b) Oxfordshire in the next 12 months. [285595]
Kevin Brennan: The following table shows apprenticeship starts in Oxfordshire in 2007-08, the latest year for which we have full-year information. Information is also provided for all of the local authorities covered by the Thames Valley Local Learning and Skills Council.
| Apprenticeship starts in 2007-08 | ||||
| Age at start of programme | All starts | |||
| Local authority | Under 19 | 19-24 | 25+ | |
| Notes: 1. Area is based on home postcode of learner. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and may not sum to the total due to rounding. 3. '-' indicates a value of less than 50. 4. Age is calculated based on age at start of programme. Source: WBL ILR | ||||
Nationally, in 2008-09 we anticipate that more adults than ever before will start an Apprenticeship. As part of our unprecedented investment in Apprenticeships we have seen tremendous growth in the adult (25+) Apprenticeship programme from just 300 starts in 2006-07, to over 27,000 in 2007/08 in England. We are delighted that this trend has continued and demand from employers for adult Apprenticeships remains very high. This demonstrates that Apprenticeships provide a high-quality, all-age offer for businesses and that employers recognise the benefits of continuing to train in the current economic climate.
Better Regulation Executive
Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the projected expenditure by the Better Regulation Executive is for each of the next five years. [283431]
Ian Lucas: The Better Regulation Executive has a formal budget for 2009-10 and an indicative budget for 2010-11 as set out:
| £ million | ||
| 2009-10 (formal) | 2010-11 (indicative) | |
These budgets were set out in the comprehensive spending review (CSR) 2007, covering the financial years 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11. Budgets for future years will be decided as part of the next spending round, which has not yet been announced by HM Treasury.
Business: Billing
Mrs. McGuire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many times cases under (a) the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 2002 and (b) other late payment legislation have been brought in UK courts in the last four years. [286711]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Ministry of Justice does not hold any statistical information about court applications (including Scotland) relating specifically to (a) the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 2002 and (b) other late payment legislation.
This is because the administrative computer systems used in the courts do not presently identify these specific application types. While the relevant cases will be logged on the system, they cannot be distinguished from other types of claims issued. Changing the administrative systems to create specific case types for these types of cases would incur disproportionate cost.
Mrs. McGuire: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what research has been carried out into the size of companies bringing court cases under late payment legislation. [286712]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Ministry of Justice does not hold any statistical information about court applications (including Scotland) relating specifically to late payment legislation.
This is because the administrative computer systems used in the courts do not presently identify these specific application types. While the relevant cases will be logged on the system, they cannot be distinguished from other types of claims issued. Changing the administrative systems to create specific case types for these types of cases would incur disproportionate cost.
Business: Coastal Areas
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage business growth in seaside resorts in England. [284759]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Support is available to established businesses, new businesses and those wanting to start a business throughout England, including in seaside resorts, via Business Link. Business Link is the Government's multi-channel business support service providing access to information and advice and directing clients to private and public sector support.
This Department sponsors the nine English RDAs. The RDAs are the delivery vehicle for business development at a sub-national level and are responsible for the day-to-day management of Business Link. The RDAs have an important role to play, with other partners, in helping coastal areas in their regions to achieve their full economic potential, as part of wider regional strategies to deliver sustainable growth.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |