Written questions by White.

Whether her Department has set a minimum quality threshold under the apprenticeship accountability framework for training providers to continue offering new starts on a standard in the apprenticeship programme in England for the academic year 2025-26; and when she plans to communicate information about the required threshold to providers.

The Apprenticeship Accountability Framework (AAF) is the department’s main tool for improving apprenticeship quality. The AAF evaluates Qualification Achievement Rates alongside nine other quality indicators, such as Ofsted outcomes, withdrawal rates and feedback from apprentices and employers, using updated data throughout the year.The AAF sets minimum thresholds for each quality indicator, reflecting the department's baseline expectations for apprenticeship quality. If a provider's performance falls below these thresholds, it triggers a management conversation between the department and the provider, rather than an automatic cessation of starts on a standard.The quality indicators and their minimum thresholds are detailed in the Apprenticeship Accountability Framework and Specification, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework-and-specification--2#accountability-policy-for-apprenticeship-training-providers. The department will continually review these indicators and thresholds, using the latest available data from the current and previous academic years, while considering sector consultation and feedback to ensure they are appropriately set.Any changes to the AAF, including updates to quality indicators and their minimum thresholds, will be communicated to the sector.

Whether any (a) devolved and (b) delegated responsibility agreements with devolved authorities prohibit them from setting up individual learning accounts within the Adults Skills Fund.

The government has devolved approximately 60% of the Adult Skills Fund to the nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England, and West Yorkshire, and delegated to the Greater London Authority.Devolved authorities are responsible for ensuring learners have access to the training they require to progress in life. It is therefore at the discretion of devolved authorities on what training or funding their learners have access to.

What progress she has made on introducing tooth brushing lessons in primary schools.

The department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to help promote and deliver supervised toothbrushing programmes for 3 to 5-year-olds in the most deprived communities.The department recognises that prevention is better than cure. For this reason, we will be targeting the areas of highest need to have the greatest impact on young children’s oral health.Further information on the implementation timetable will be confirmed in due course.Currently all state-funded schools in England are required to teach about good oral hygiene as part of the statutory health education set out within relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. Independent schools are required to cover health education as part of their responsibility to provide personal, social, health and economic education.

How many employers who (a) pay and (b) do not pay the apprenticeship levy started new learners on apprenticeship programmes in the 2023-24 financial year.

The below table shows the number of apprenticeship service employers accounts with apprenticeship starts in the 2023/24 academic year.Employer Type2023/24Levy13,157Non-levy57,017Total70,174 The figures are for the number of employer accounts instead of employers. An employer may have more than one apprenticeship service employer account.

What the total underspends for the non-devolved adult education budget were in England in each year since 2018-19.

The budget and the actual spending of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) element of the Adult Education Budget from 2018/19 to 2023/24 financial year is set out in the table below. Funding to providers is allocated on an academic year and underspends are based on a financial year basis; therefore, underspends in a financial year predominantly reflect provider delivery in the preceding academic year (i.e. 2018/19 academic year is reflected in 2019/20 financial year).The ESFA allocates grant funding to providers. Providers who underdeliver on their allocations by more than 3% will have their funding recovered through a reconciliation process (allowing providers who can over deliver to grow their allocation by up to 10%). BudgetUnderspend2018/2019£1,347,300,000£3,125,005 2019/2020£904,829,000-£2,710,548 2020/2021£742,706,000£56,090,670 2021/2022£701,527,000£115,118,943 2022/2023£633,659,000£80,083,526 2023/2024£572,004,000£43,192,844

What steps her Department is taking to ensure all schools teach financial literacy.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Basstettlaw to the answer of 14 October 2024 to question 7255.

What steps her Department is taking to identify children who are educated outside school.

The department is committed to giving every child the best start in life, regardless of where and how they are educated. We cannot ignore the rising numbers of home-educated children and official data which shows that growing numbers of children have been moved into home education due to mental health concerns or lack of provision for special educational needs in their local schools.Local authorities have legal duties to be satisfied that all children are receiving a suitable education. However, this duty is undermined by the fact that parents have no obligation to inform their local authority of their decision to home educate. This means that local authorities are unable to fulfil their duties. There is a risk that children are going under the radar and missing out on the education they deserve that will enable them to access the best opportunities in life.For this reason, the government will use the Children’s Wellbeing Bill to require English local authorities to maintain registers of children not in school. Parents and certain out-of-school education providers will be required to provide information for those registers. This will help local authorities piece together a fuller and more accurate picture of those children who are receiving education otherwise than at school and target resources to locating and supporting those who are missing out on education. Local authorities will also have a duty to provide support to those home-educators who request it, which will act as an incentive for families to register.The registers will contain information on those children who are registered on a school roll and are receiving education otherwise than at school. It will not include children who are on a school roll but failing to attend. The department is taking separate action on that important issue of persistent absence.In terms of this new system of registration, parents can be assured that the registers will not be used to criminalise any parent who does not send their child to school. Parents who do not provide information for the registers will result in their local authority being unable to be satisfied that a child is not receiving a suitable education and so the local authority will need to proceed to a formal request for evidence about that education. If that evidence is not forthcoming, or is insufficient, this will usually lead to the local authority needing to issue a School Attendance Order. This is the same mechanism that exists in the current law; no change will be made.The government takes the matter of data protection very seriously, including any threats to privacy and personal data. Local authorities will be legally restricted as to whom they may share register information with and for what purposes. The usual provisions of the UK-GDPR will apply to all data processing activities.The department continues to work with local authorities on existing non-statutory registers and to collect data from those registers.