| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Skills Training
Lord Maginnis of Drumglass asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the opportunities and provisions for retraining individuals aged 25 to 40 who wish to change from desk-bound employment to trades where there are shortages, for example plumbing and carpentry. [HL3518]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): Improving adults' access to training, whether to develop their existing career or to move into an entirely new area, is one of the aims of the skills strategy.
Our skills strategy set out further opportunities and reforms to enable individuals to retrain. It committed us to develop apprenticeships for adults to meet skills needs in response to employer demand. We and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are working with sector skills councils (SSCs) that are either already licensed or expected to be so in the near future, to trial appropriate provision in a small number of sectors in England starting later this year.
SSCs are influential employer bodies, licensed by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in consultation with Ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to tackle the skills and productivity needs of their sector throughout the UK. There are SSCs covering both plumbing (SummitSkills) and carpentry (ConstructionSkills).
SummitSkills aims to support employers and employees to achieve appropriate recognition of their plumbing skills. Mature apprenticeships will be introduced in some parts of the UK during 2004. The local plumbing training centre will be able to advise on the provision in each area. For Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland there are differences in provision and the local centre will provide specific guidance.
ConstructionSkills has identified addressing the issue of retraining adults as a priority but the work is still at a very early stage.
The Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) programme was announced in 2001. These centres, which are based within colleges and other training providers, receive extra funding to enable them to develop high quality skills training to meet employers' current and future skills needs.
There are now 260 centres offering adult learners a wide and diverse range of skills training for careers in many industries including construction (including plumbing and carpentry skills), which is currently served by 40 centres (15 per cent of the network). More centres will follow as the LSC is committed to creating a network of 400 centres by March 2006.
From 2006, when the full network is in place, it will provide 40,000 qualifications and awards each year at levels 2 and 3, and 800 foundation degrees. It will have increased levels of employer engagement, with 20,000 employees benefiting from tailored provision paid for by their employers.
Dyslexia
Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
What arrangements they have to explore and evaluate all possible methods of providing support and help to children with dyslexia. [HL4034]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The department has no set procedure for evaluating methods of providing support for children with dyslexia, many of which are available as commercial services. We have, however, supported a number of research reviews by Dr Angela Fawcett of Sheffield University, which are available through our special educational needs website. We have also given grant in support of the British Dyslexia Association's international dyslexia conference, where different techniques are presented and discussed.
Special Educational Needs
Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether their intention that it should be no more difficult to obtain a special school place than previously, contained in the statutory guidelines following their Special Education Needs Code of Practice, has been met; and, if so, on what evidence this conclusion is based. [HL4045]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 strengthened the right to a place in a mainstream school for children with statements of SEN while at the same time fully preserving parents' right to express a preference for a special school place. The statutory guidance Inclusive Schooling published in 2001 followed the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act and provided further explanation of, and guidance on, the operation of the statutory framework, setting out the reasonable steps that could be taken to ensure a child's inclusion in mainstream schools and providing examples of instances where inclusion may not be appropriate.
The numbers of pupils in mainstream special schools remains broadly static with 88,930 pupils (full and part time) in 2003, down slightly from 89,790 in 2002.
Defence Procurement
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Which defence procurement programmes, where the prime contractor is yet to be chosen, have a value over £1 billion. [HL3842]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): The following projects have formally passed their initial gate approval point, are expected to cost most than £1 billion, but have not yet down selected to a single preferred prime contractor:
Indirect Fire Precision Attack—An incremental acquisition programme, which will provide a wide range of network-enabled munitions.
Future Rapid Effects System—Will provide a family of medium weight armoured fighting vehicles, deployable by air and with levels of mobility,
7 Sept 2004 : Column WA112
survivability, lethality, battlespace awareness and availability significantly greater than those vehicles currently in service.
Support Vehicles—Replacing the current in-service cargo truck fleet.
Defence Information Infrastructure (Future)—Will deliver a defence-wide information infrastructure to enable business process improvements across the MoD.
UKMFTS—An incremental programme which will provide a future flying training system for all three services.
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will provide their 12-month forecast of procurement announcements of a value over £250 million. [HL3843]
Lord Bach: The Ministry of Defence does not maintain a rolling 12-month forecast of procurement announcements. The timing of announcements depends on a number of factors, including the time required for project approvals, progress on contract negotiations and how decisions relate to the departmental financial planning cycle. It is therefore difficult to predict these announcements accurately this far in advance. However, the following announcements are expected to be made over the next six months on equipment programmes that are valued in excess of £250 million:
Defence information infrastructure (future)—Preferred bidder
Typhoon tranche two—main gate and contract
Watchkeeper—main gate and contract
Future carrier CV(F)—confirmation of alliancing arrangements
In addition, as my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence made clear in his Statement on 21 July, we are reviewing our capability requirements and plans for our future helicopter programme. We plan to make a further announcement in due course which will clarify the position.
Afghanistan: International Security Assistance Force
The Earl of Sandwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
7 Sept 2004 : Column WA113- Assistance Force under NATO command; and what additional United Kingdom forces will be sent at the time of the presidential elections in October. [HL3855]
Lord Bach: There are some 490 personnel from the United Kingdom's Armed Forces currently serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. As with any commitment, we keep the size and composition of our contribution to the ISAF under constant review. Plans are already in hand to increase the capacity of our Provincial Reconstruction Teams in north-west Afghanistan during the election period from within our forces already deployed in the area.
| Next Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |