UK Inquiry Tracker

Developing workforce skills for a strong economy

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 6 Sep 2022 Closed: 24 Feb 2023 Parliament page

In July 2022 the NAO reported that the UK “faces a major challenge in ensuring it has a sufficiently skilled workforce”, with the head of the NAO, the Comptroller and Auditor General, concluding that “There is a risk that, despite government’s greater activity and good intent, its approach may be … Read more In July 2022 the NAO reported that the UK “faces a major challenge in ensuring it has a sufficiently skilled workforce”, with the head of the NAO, the Comptroller and Auditor General, concluding that “There is a risk that, despite government’s greater activity and good intent, its approach may be no more successful than previous attempts to provide the country with the skills it needs.” A skilled workforce is critical to the country’s economic success and to achieving other government aims such as “levelling up”. Economic and societal changes are making the skills challenge more acute - the UK’s exit from the EU has reduced the supply of workers from member states and potentially increased the need for the country to train its own workers. The Government’s commitment to achieve ‘net zero’ greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will create new skilled jobs and around one in five existing jobs is likely to be affected by the transition. But the NAO found that participation in government-funded further education and skills training has declined significantly, particularly in disadvantaged areas. The number of adult learners fell by 48% over the last decade, from 3.2 million in 2010/11 to 1.6 million in 2020/21. From 2015/16 to 2020/21, the number of participants aged 19 and over in England’s 20% most disadvantaged areas dropped by 39%, compared with a 29% drop overall. Largely because of the drop in learners, there was a 46% fall in the Skills Index – government’s measure of the impact of the further education system on productivity – from 2012/13 to 2020/21. The 2022 white paper Levelling Up the United Kingdom set out the government’s plans to address regional and local inequalities, but according to the NAO report “its aims go only some way towards addressing the decline in participation in skills training”. By 2030, the government wants 200,000 more people in England to successfully complete high-quality skills training annually, including 80,000 more people in the lowest skilled areas. Achieving this would only partly reverse the fall of around 280,000 learners in the 20% most disadvantaged areas since 2015/16. The Committee will question senior officials at the Departments for Education. If you have evidence on these findings and issues to inform PAC’s questioning of the departments, please submit it through the tab below by 6pm on Monday 10 October 2022. Show less

6 Recommendations

22 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

1 Event

Activity timeline 4 events

24 Feb
2023

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Thirtieth report from Session 2022-23

14 Dec
2022

Report published

Thirtieth Report - Developing workforce skills for a strong economy

17 Oct
2022

Oral evidence

Developing workforce skills for a strong economy

17 Oct
2022

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Developing workforce skills for a strong economy

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

17 Oct 2022

View on parliament.uk

Developing workforce skills for a strong economy

Carl Creswell · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Paul Kett · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Thirtieth Report - Developing workforce skills for a strong econ…	HC 685	14 Dec 2022	28	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

9 results

3 Recommendation Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

The multiplicity of government skills programmes makes it hard for employers and individuals to navigate...

The multiplicity of government skills programmes makes it hard for employers and individuals to navigate to the training that best meets their needs. As well as DfE’s range of interventions to support skills development, DWP and DLUHC also offer skills … Read more

Government Response

The government will simplify the further education funding system, integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the post-16 qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under the Skills for Life brand, and work closely with other departments to address workforce issues.

HM Treasury

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4 Recommendation Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

Employers are spending less than they used to on workforce training, which risks leaving the...

Employers are spending less than they used to on workforce training, which risks leaving the economy without the skills it needs. DfE’s employer skills surveys indicate that employers’ spending on workforce training per employee fell in real terms from £1,710 … Read more

Government Response

The government will review how it incentivises employers to invest in skills development, including through the apprenticeship levy, and take action to improve the effectiveness of the incentives, with a focus on SMEs and making apprenticeships more flexible.

HM Treasury

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5 Recommendation Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to...

We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to play a full part in the skills system. Colleges play an important role in reaching disadvantaged groups and giving people opportunities they would not otherwise … Read more

Government Response

The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.

HM Treasury

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10 Conclusion Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

DfE has a framework of performance metrics for its portfolio of skills programmes which includes...

DfE has a framework of performance metrics for its portfolio of skills programmes which includes system-level measures, such as participation in FE and skills training by 7 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.17, 2.21, Figure 8 8 Qq 12, 14, 16 9 … Read more

Government Response

The department continues to develop a comprehensive framework of performance metrics, including system-level measures, such as participation in FE and skills training by adults aged 19 and over, and measures for individual programmes, such as the number of apprenticeship starts.

HM Treasury

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14 Recommendation Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

DfE has a range of programmes to support workforce skills development, including well-established programmes such...

DfE has a range of programmes to support workforce skills development, including well-established programmes such as apprenticeships, along with newer initiatives such as Skills Bootcamps. In addition, other government departments, including DWP and DLUHC, run or fund programmes that contain … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees to review the number of skills programmes and eliminate overlap between them, having consulted on proposals for a simpler further education funding system and integrating the Traineeship programme into existing provision from August 2023.

HM Treasury

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16 Conclusion Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

The NAO report highlighted that there exists a complex and sometimes overlapping set of skills-related...

The NAO report highlighted that there exists a complex and sometimes overlapping set of skills-related initiatives, and the system can seem complicated and difficult to navigate. For example, people can access numeracy training through at least three routes: DfE’s Essential … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and will deliver a simpler further education funding system by consulting on proposals, announcing new flexibility for funding in devolved areas, and setting simpler funding rates. It will also integrate the Traineeship programme into existing provision, simplify the qualifications landscape, improve alignment between the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company, deliver joined-up campaigns under a single brand, and work with other departments to address workforce issues.

HM Treasury

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17 Conclusion Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

We asked how DfE was ensuring that the incentives for employers to take part in...

We asked how DfE was ensuring that the incentives for employers to take part in training programmes, particularly traineeships and DWP’s Kickstart scheme were working effectively. Kickstart was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and funded employers to create … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

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18 Conclusion Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

We also asked DfE about the multiplicity of available programmes.

We also asked DfE about the multiplicity of available programmes. It asserted that long lists of programmes could look a little misleading. It explained that the bulk of skills funding went to a relatively small number of interventions, specifically apprenticeships, … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

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26 Conclusion Accepted

Thirtieth Report - Developing work…

In February 2022, DfE announced the creation of a Unit for Future Skills to look...

In February 2022, DfE announced the creation of a Unit for Future Skills to look at data and evidence on where skills gaps exist and in what industries. The Unit will examine the interaction between the jobs and skills markets, … Read more

Government Response

The government agrees with the Committee’s conclusion and details the growth and planned work of the Unit for Future Skills (UFS), with success measured by access to robust jobs and skills information. Success will be assessed by the UFS Board and Chair, Sir Ian Diamond.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 25 of 6 classified

Accepted 9

Acknowledged 12

Not Addressed 1

Rejected 3

Total 6 recs + 22 conclusions