Written questions by Brickell.

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for the completion of Education and Health Care Plans.

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. Plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need.The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help them to identify the barriers to this and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing a specialist special educational needs and disabilities adviser.

When the changes to the Growth and Skills Levy allocation requirements will come into effect.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.From August 2025, we will be introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. This will help more people learn new high quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across England.The first seven foundation apprenticeships will be focused on industrial strategy and priority areas including construction, engineering, health and social care and digital. We expect this to drive up to 30,000 starts on foundation apprenticeships across this Parliament. We are also reducing the minimum duration in legislation to eight months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August. Apprentices in green energy, healthcare, film/TV production and teaching will be among the first set to benefit from shorter duration apprenticeships. The development of the growth and skills offer will be informed by the work of Skills England and its engagement with employers, training providers and others to identify priority skills gaps and how these can be addressed.

What forms of approved training will be covered by Growth and Skills levy funds, in the context of the changes made in April 2025.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners and support the industrial strategy.From August 2025, we will be introducing new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors, as well as shorter duration apprenticeships. This will help more people learn new high quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across England.The first seven foundation apprenticeships will be focused on industrial strategy and priority areas including construction, engineering, health and social care and digital. We expect this to drive up to 30,000 starts on foundation apprenticeships across this Parliament. We are also reducing the minimum duration in legislation to eight months so that shorter apprenticeships are possible from August. Apprentices in green energy, healthcare, film/TV production and teaching will be among the first set to benefit from shorter duration apprenticeships. The development of the growth and skills offer will be informed by the work of Skills England and its engagement with employers, training providers and others to identify priority skills gaps and how these can be addressed.

What assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the National Literacy Trust's findings that one in seven state primary schools do not have a (a) library or (b) dedicated library space.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Bolton West to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 27959.

What assessment her Department has made of (a) trends in the level of completion rates of people undertaking apprenticeships funded by the apprenticeship levy and (b) the quality of monitoring of Higher Education institutions via the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Qualification achievement rates for apprenticeships are published annually at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25. Data for the 2023/24 academic year is available at this link.The department holds all apprenticeship training providers to account for quality delivery through its Apprenticeship Accountability Framework, which encompasses a wide range of quality indicators, including retention rates, employer and apprentice feedback, as well as achievement rates. Further detail about the framework can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework/apprenticeship-training-provider-accountability-framework-and-specification--2.Ofsted routinely inspects the quality of training delivery in all apprenticeship providers, including higher education (HE) providers, and will ensure that all apprenticeship training providers are inspected by September 2025. A summary of Ofsted’s inspection findings up to 31 August 2024 is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-and-skills-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2024/main-findings-further-education-and-skills-inspections-and-outcomes-as-at-31-august-2024#data-4.The Office for Students is the independent regulator of English HE providers and works with other organisations to make sure degree apprenticeships meet the right quality and standards. This includes considering the inspections that Ofsted carries out to decide whether a provider is complying with its conditions of registration in this area. Its regulatory framework can be found at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/regulatory-framework-for-higher-education-in-england/.

Whether her Department has commissioned research into the satisfaction rates of (a) private companies and (b) students participating in apprenticeship levy programmes.

The apprenticeship evaluation surveys commissioned by the department provide insights into the satisfaction rates of employers and apprentices.For employers, overall satisfaction rates were 83% for all commercial employers and 89% for all employers who reported a wage bill of over £3 million. Employers with wage bills of over £3 million were eligible for the Apprenticeship Levy. These figures are published on sheet 55 of the ‘Apprenticeship evaluation 2023: employer survey data tables (overall)’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2023-learner-non-completer-and-employer-surveys.In the 2023 apprenticeship evaluation survey, 86% of all apprentices were satisfied with their apprenticeship overall. Satisfaction rates are not broken down according to whether their employer paid the Apprenticeship Levy. Further details can be found on page 113 of the ‘Apprenticeship evaluation 2023: learner and non-completer surveys research report’, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-evaluation-2023-learner-non-completer-and-employer-surveys.

What steps she is taking to support the outdoor education industry.

The department believes all children and young people should have access to outdoor learning and the opportunity to learn about and connect with nature. Access to green space has been shown to have positive impacts on the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of young people. The National Education Nature Park, a key initiative of our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy, provides the opportunities for children and young people to benefit from spending time in nature.The department is also working to make sure that all children and young people have access to a variety of enrichment opportunities at school, including outdoor learning, as an important part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. We recognise that these activities are a vital way for children and young people to gain skills, supporting them to achieve and thrive. Outdoor education specifically is linked to improved motivation, social capital and sense of belonging in school.Beyond outdoor education through schools, many outdoor education organisations could be considered out-of-school settings. The government recognises that out-of-school settings can supplement schools’ learning and enriching activities for children, with significant educational benefits for children’s mental health, wellbeing, and social development.