Third report - A plan for an adult skills and lifelong learning revolution

Select Committee
Education Committee HC 278 19 December 2020
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 45 items (33 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 45 of 45 classified)
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 10
Acknowledged 10
Deferred 6
Not Addressed 7
Rejected 5
Government response
Third Special Report - A plan for an adult skills and lifelong learning revolution: Government Response to the Committee’s Third Report · published 12 Mar 2021
Read the government response ↗ Response on the tracker
Clear

Recommendations & Conclusions

7 results
2 Recommendation Accepted
The Government must commission analysis to identify where the nation’s immediate and longer-term skills needs...
Recommendation
The Government must commission analysis to identify where the nation’s immediate and longer-term skills needs lie. This should be regularly updated, as real-time labour markets data is essential for ensuring that reforms to adult skills and lifelong learning are properly … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states it is already undertaking analysis through various means, including the recently announced Skills and Productivity Board which will provide expert analysis, and the ongoing Employer Skills Survey. It also mentions future consultations and reviews of funded qualifications to adapt to changing economic needs.
Department for Education
View Details
3 Conclusion Accepted
Para 15
Government policy on adult skills and lifelong learning has tended to be short- term, piecemeal,...
Conclusion
Government policy on adult skills and lifelong learning has tended to be short- term, piecemeal, and initiative-led. The result has been a substantial churn of adult education initiatives which has worked against the implementation of a coherent, long-term strategic vision … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the need for adult support and states its "Skills for Jobs White Paper" sets out a long-term strategy to reform adult learning, addressing the committee's concerns about short-term, piecemeal policies.
Department for Education
View Details
7 Conclusion Accepted
Para 26
The ability to study bite-size modules rather than commit to full qualifications is a much-needed...
Conclusion
The ability to study bite-size modules rather than commit to full qualifications is a much-needed reform that will make it easier for adults to upskill and retrain. Developing qualifications that can be taken in modules will enable adults with busy … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the value of flexible and modular learning, highlighting existing flexible provisions and committing to making the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (from 2025) usable for modules at higher technical and degree levels.
Department for Education
View Details
32 Recommendation Accepted
Para 91
Employer investment in training is in decline, with low paid, low skilled workers hardest hit...
Recommendation
Employer investment in training is in decline, with low paid, low skilled workers hardest hit by the decline. A skills tax credit to incentivise employers to invest in training for workers with no or low qualifications will help to revitalise … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government states that training expenditure is already tax deductible and highlights existing incentives like the Apprenticeship Levy, which funds employer-led apprenticeships, implicitly addressing the call for a skills tax credit.
Department for Education
View Details
33 Recommendation Accepted
Para 92
The Government must support employers to invest in the development of their workforces.
Recommendation
The Government must support employers to invest in the development of their workforces. The Government should introduce a skills tax credit, for employers who invest in training for workers. This should be tapered so that the tax credit is more … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government does not commit to introducing a new skills tax credit, instead highlighting existing tax deductions, the Apprenticeship Levy, and various other government investments and financial support mechanisms already in place or recently announced to encourage employer investment in skills.
Department for Education
View Details
36 Recommendation Accepted
Para 101
Part-time higher education student numbers have been decimated, and numbers of part-time learners from the...
Recommendation
Part-time higher education student numbers have been decimated, and numbers of part-time learners from the most disadvantaged backgrounds fell by 42% between 2010 and 2015. Flexible part-time university study is a key route for delivering a highly skilled workforce and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government agrees on the need for flexible study, outlining past steps taken such as loans for part-time learners. It also commits to introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement from 2025, which will make it easier for adults to study flexibly, and will consult on its details later this year.
Department for Education
View Details
42 Recommendation Accepted
Para 117
The new UK Shared Prosperity Fund offers an opportunity to improve on the design and...
Recommendation
The new UK Shared Prosperity Fund offers an opportunity to improve on the design and administration of European Structural Investment Funds in relation to the funding of adult skills. Cross-government working will be critical to delivering the cross-cutting agenda this … Read more
Government Response Summary
The government confirms it is working closely with other departments to establish the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and will work in partnership with devolved administrations and local communities, who will have a place within the fund's governance structures. Further details on the investment framework will be published in the spring.
Department for Education
View Details