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24th September – 7th October 2010
Further Education, Skills and the Economy
29th September – John Hayes sets out government commitment to
apprenticeships
Skills minister John Hayes has set out his vision for apprenticeships and spoken of the government
commitment to expand apprenticeships and make them more accessible to learners and businesses
‘the most important objective of all is to make Apprenticeships the primary, though I must stress not
the only, means for people to gain skills in the workplace’.
Speaking to an audience at the Group Training Associations England annual conference, the minister
said that the government would expand and improve the apprenticeships programme by building on
the existing strengths of the GTA sector and said that he has asked the Skills Funding Agency to
review what funding they might make available to support the work of GTAs and to help them expand.
He told the audience that GTAs can and should play a major role in the drive to increase advanced
and higher level skills in growth sectors.
John Hayes set out government plans to reform apprenticeships in order to ‘build on the quality of the
training programme, and better meet the needs of employers and learners’, and said government will
do this in three ways, by:
•
expanding the number of apprenticeship places on offer and prioritising more advanced skills
levels at level three and above;
•
taking a firm approach to establishing what the employer contribution to apprenticeship
programmes should be; and
•
making it easier for businesses, and in particular small businesses, to access apprenticeships. He
pointed to the support GTAs offer in this respect.
John Hayes said the truest measure of the success or failure of this government’s commitment to
apprenticeships will be found in how well-equipped today’s young people will be in future years to
face the shifting challenges of life and work.
On adult education, the minister said ‘change is coming to how we educate adults, whether it’s in the
classroom, in the community or at work. Some of that change we choose and it will be change for the
better. Some is forced upon us by circumstances and we’ll have to make the best of it that we can’.
In his speech, the minister also announced that the work of UKSkills, an independent charity which
champions skills and learning for work through competitions and awards, is to become part of the
Skills Funding Agency.
24th September – Continued debate about skills funding ahead of the spending
review
The Financial Times and the Times Education Supplement have reported that Vince Cable is
‘fighting a fierce battle’ with the Treasury over proposals to cut 40 per cent from the £4.5bn annual
budget for adult skills and training. It is estimated that these cuts could mean up to 80,000 job losses
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and see up to 800,000 college places lost. A number of sector leaders have spoken out citing the
potential consequences of these proposals:
The Association of Colleges has briefed principals that the government is modelling cuts of 25 per
cent and 40 per cent in real terms over four years for its adult skills budget. Martin Doel, chief
executive of the organisation has stated that expensive courses such as science, technology,
engineering and maths could be vulnerable stating ‘you will destroy the very thing you need to see
your way through recovery’. Julian Gravatt, assistant chief executive of the AoC said ‘It’s going to be
bad. Colleges were already financially weakened by the capital problems last year. Ministers have
made it clear that they are not averse to universities or colleges going bust, but it’s not clear how far
they will push it’.
The University and College Union said it would resist the cutbacks. Barry Lovejoy, the union’s head
of FE, said ‘It’s not good for employers, it’s not good for the communities we serve and it’s certainly
not good for FE and adult education which has already has a massive round of cuts. There’s a real
danger that we are damaging the infrastructure of the whole service and we won’t be able to replace
it’.
Alan Tuckett, director of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, said the UK needed 5m
workers over the next decade to replace retiring baby boomers and fill new jobs. Unless older workers
and those outside the labour force were trained to fill the gaps, the UK would face a ‘dive to the
bottom in its industrial performance’.
23rd September – UCAS tariff requirement for Apprenticeships postponed
Following UCAS announcement of 1 July that it would begin a comprehensive review of its tariff
system, John Hayes agreed to postpone the requirement for Apprenticeship frameworks at Level 3
and above to be rated against the existing tariff by April 2011 as previously planned. The government
remains fully committed to ensuring the introduction of a tariff requirement for Level 3 Apprenticeships
as quickly as possible.
1st October – IMI suspends the implementation of the interim Apprenticeship
Framework 5.1
The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has taken the decision to suspend the implementation of the
interim Apprenticeship Framework 5.1. The decision was taken after it became evident that even
though dual running of National Qualification Framework (NQF) and Qualification and Credit
Framework (QCF) qualifications had been agreed in principle by the National Apprenticeship Service
(NAS), ‘the framework could not be implemented in sufficient time to avoid disadvantaging large
numbers of learners’. The IMI intends to use the development work for framework 5.1 to bring
forward the implementation of the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE) and
Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for Wales (SASW) compliant frameworks.
The IMI has reached agreement with two awarding bodies, City & Guilds and IMI Awards Ltd that any
learner registered on a QCF qualification, as part of an Apprenticeship programme (and excluding
Foundation) can be transferred to the relevant NQF qualifications, free of charge.
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5th October – Ofsted: companies and learners gain real benefits from workrelated training
Ofsted has published the results of its survey which set out to determine the benefits of employers’
involvement in government-funded work-related education and training, to identify the features of
good practice and the ways in which the provision could be further improved.
Key findings include:
•
•
•
•
Good employer involvement had benefits for employers, providers and learners. The quality of
provision improved and employees gained the skills valued by their employers. Learners made
better progress towards their qualifications and were better prepared for employment.
Almost all of the involvement of employers seen during the survey was at the instigation of
providers.
Size or lack of resources often make it difficult for smaller provider and employer partnerships
visited to influence the strategic planning and development of provision locally or nationally.
In the best examples, providers trained employers’ staff as mentors and coaches to improve links
between on- and off-the-job training and the quality of provision for learners.
30th September – Family friendly working – next steps
Employment relations Minister Edward Davey has signalled the government’s intention to bring
forward proposals to create more flexible, family friendly workplaces. He announced that:
•
the right to request flexible working will be extended to parents of children under 18 from April
2011. Currently the right to request flexible working is available to parents of children aged under
17, parents of disabled children under 18 and carers of certain adults. It is anticipated that this
change could benefit nearly 300,000 more people; and
•
a consultation will be launched later this year looking at how to extend the right to request flexible
working to all employees, and the design of a new system of flexible parental leave;
The minister said ‘we want to help parents and create a fairer, family friendly society. This immediate
change will give parents of all children regardless of age the same right to request flexible working. It
will also make it simpler for employers and employees to identify whether they are eligible to make a
request.’
4th October – Prime minister appoints Business Advisory Group
The prime minister has convened a Business Advisory Group 1 of business leaders from sectors of
strategic importance to the UK to provide regular, advice on critical business and economic issues
1 The group includes: Angela Ahrendts, CEO, Burberry; Helen Alexander, Chair of Incisive Media and the Port
of London Authority; James Cameron, Vice Chairman, Climate Change Capital; Philip Dilley, Chair, Arup; Sir
James Dyson, Founder, Dyson; Stephen Green, Chair, HSBC; Justin King, CEO, Sainsbury’s; Sam Laidlaw,
CEO, Centrica; Dick Olver, Chair, BAE Systems; Michael Queen, CEO, 3i; Sir Michael Rake, Chair, BT/ Easyjet;
Eric Schmidt, Chair/ CEO, Google; Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP; Andy Street, Managing Director, John Lewis;
Sir Howard Stringer, President/ Chair/ CEO, Sony; Ratan Tata, Chair, Tata; Paul Walsh, CEO, Diageo; Andrew
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facing the country. The deputy prime minister, chancellor and business secretary will also attend
meetings of the group, which will function as a sounding board through which Ministers can listen to
and debate the concerns and priorities facing industry and can discuss the Government’s economic
and business policy. The group will meet quarterly.
1st October – £390 million tax break for half a million small businesses
From 1st October 2010 over half a million businesses will, for one year, get double their usual Small
Business Rate relief. This is as a result of the government's emergency Budget in June 2010 which
set out plans to rebuild and rebalance local economies so that new businesses and economic
opportunities are spread across the country. It is anticipated that a one-year reprieve from business
rate bills will give small companies more freedom to manage their accounts and grow.
A total of 530,000 small businesses with rateable values up to £12,000 will receive double their
normal discount for one year, a move which is set to save them a total of £390 million. Approximately
345,000 of those businesses with rateable values up to £6,000 will pay no rates at all.
1st October – Next Step careers service goes online
The new adult careers service Next Step is now providing an online service, ‘helping adults make
informed choices’ about which skills and courses are best suited to them. The careers support
programme also includes face-to-face and telephone services, offering advice to people looking to
improve their careers and employment prospects.
Next Step offers ‘independent and impartial’ help and advice about careers, skills and the labour
market. It provides information about courses and financial support, data on labour market trends,
and information about occupations. The service is part of the government’s strategy to ‘put learners
at the heart of a flexible and responsive skills system’.
The website will include a section called ‘My Next Step’ where people can access a personal record
of the qualifications they have achieved, their CV and organise their plans for learning and career
development. It will also include a skills assessment tool to help people identify their strengths and
skills gaps, and decide what kind of skills or courses they need to gain to achieve their career goals.
The website is available at www.direct.gov.uk/nextstep
27th September – BBC announces new direction for its learning strategy
The BBC has launched BBC Learning a new strategy ‘to put learning right at the heart of the BBC
and provide learning opportunities for all audiences’. The BBC's learning department, which is part of
BBC Knowledge, is leading the new strategy but all the BBC's platforms, genres, regions and nations
will be involved in making it a reality. A new ‘contestable’ learning fund of £5million is being created
next year to enhance the learning impact of key content across the entire BBC whether made inhouse or by independent streams. A learning exchange will also be set up with a small team being
able to offer advice on education, creativity and partnerships.
Witty, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline; and John Wright, Immediate past National Chairman, Federation of Small
Businesses.
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Providing resources for teachers and students will be ‘critical’ to the work of BBC Learning. So
Bitesize will continue and together with the Teachers site, it will become more interactive. Online
adult learners will be targeted through Skillswise, Webwise and BBC Connect. BBC Learning has
also committed to spend more on television shows aimed at adults who need help with basic skills
and invest in learning projects aimed at older teens on BBC Three.
Controller of Learning, Saul Nassé, said ‘I want to use BBC programmes that are known and loved by
audiences that can serve as springboards for learning, whether that be a drama or a documentary.
Many broadcasters ‘inform’ and ‘entertain’ but we are the only one that has "educate" at the heart of
our public purpose. We have a wealth of content at our disposal and I want to ensure we are making
the most of it – making it accessible and available to all’.
4th October – Get online week 18-24 October 2010
The UKonlinecentres is running a Get Online Week programme to getting 80,000 of the estimated
9.2 million people who do not use computers and the internet online. There is an online pack
available for download which includes posters, articles and website banners which can be used to
publicise the event.
14-19 and Schools
5th October – Michael Gove speaks on education reform
At the Conservative Party conference, education secretary Michael Gove gave a speech which set
out a number of forthcoming educational reforms. On behaviour, the education secretary said that the
government will take ‘radical action’ to deal with schools with ‘the worst discipline problems’ and give
teachers new powers to ensure better behaviour in schools to ensure that they are ‘respected again’.
On curriculum and exam reform, Michael Gove stated English should be reformed by putting ‘the
great tradition of our literature – Dryden, Pope, Swift... at the heart of school life’ and that the
requirement to award a set number of marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar for exam papers
will be reinstated.
The minister also said that maths and science exams for sixteen year olds will be ‘every bit as tough’
as those sat in Massachusetts, South Korea and Singapore. The secretary of state also announced
that British historian, Professor Simon Schma, will advise the government on how to put British history
‘at the heart of a revived national curriculum’. Finally, the minister announced that the Department for
Education has more than 100 buildings, many of which are under-used or empty, and that new
academies would be opened in some Department for Education buildings saying ‘we will, literally, put
education at the heart of everything we do’.
23rd September – Revised remit for the Diploma
The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) has agreed a revised remit with the
Department for Education which outlines the organisation’s responsibilities for supporting the delivery
of the Diploma until the end of March 2011.
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QCDA will continue to support the introduction and administration of the Diploma in schools and
colleges for 2011 awarding. Their responsibilities will be:
•
•
•
delivering support and training to Diploma centres, with a particular focus on new exams officers
and those administering the Diploma for the first time;
publishing an updated catalogue of additional and specialist learning (ASL) in February 2011; and
maintaining the Diploma aggregation service (DAS).
Other QCDA Diploma responsibilities have been stopped and the organisation aims to ensure that all
work in these areas is closed according to due process.
4th October – Professor Munro’s review of child protection: Analysis of the
problems
Professor Eileen Munro has set out an initial analysis of the child protection system in England. The
findings suggest that processes and procedures, and the unintentional consequences of previous
reforms, are getting in the way of social workers spending time with vulnerable children and families.
The final report will be submitted in April 2011.
The problems identified by Professor Munro in the report include:
•
professionals too focused on complying with rules and regulations and so spending less time
assessing children’s needs;
•
a target-driven culture meaning social workers are unable to exercise their professional
judgement;
•
too much emphasis on identifying families and not enough attention to putting children’s needs
first;
•
serious case reviews concentrating only on errors when things have gone wrong, rather than
looking at good practice and continually reflecting on what could be done better;
•
concerns about the impact of delays in the family courts on the welfare of children; and
•
professionals becoming demoralised over time as organisations fail to recognise the emotional
impact of the work they do and the support they need.
24th September – Review of music education
Education secretary Michael Gove has announced an independent review of music education. The
review will be led by Darren Henley, managing director of Classic FM, and will look at improving the
access and opportunities young people have to experience and understand music.
The review is expected to make its recommendations before the end of the year, and will focus on:
•
•
•
•
how to make sure that music funding benefits more young people;
improving the music opportunities young people receive both in and out of school;
improving the teacher training and professional development offered to music teachers;
how to attract more music professionals into schools; and
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•
how best to offer quality live music experiences to all young people.
Michael Gove said ‘It’s a sad fact that too many children in state schools are denied the opportunity to
learn to play a musical instrument... Evidence suggests that learning an instrument can improve
numeracy, literacy and behaviour. But more than that, it is simply unfair that the joy of musical
discovery should be the preserve of those whose parents can afford it.’
5th October – World Teachers’ Day
Created by UNESCO, World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5th October to celebrate teachers
worldwide. Its aim is to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future
generations will continue to be met by teachers.
The Institute for Learning (IfL) has paid tribute to the 200,000 or so teachers and trainers across
further education and skills who contribute to the nation’s economy and social well-being and used
the opportunity to renew its call for an alignment of further education teachers’ professional status
with that of teachers in schools, so that teachers and trainers with Qualified Teacher Learning and
Skills (QTLS) status would have the same official recognition as teachers holding Qualified Teacher
Status (QTS) in school settings.
Higher Education
4th October – David Willetts speaks on universities and skills
In a speech at the Conservative Party Conference, David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities
and Science focused on the ‘big challenge of growth and prosperity’ saying ‘skilled workers are key’.
He encouraged universities to have closer links to industry to ‘bridge the barrier between research
and business’ and stressed the importance of bringing science, engineering and enterprise together,
saying there was a role for government to help by creating the right conditions – ‘affordable finance,
lower taxes and skilled workers’.
He re-iterated the government’s commitment to apprenticeships saying that rebalancing the economy
means ‘more apprentices with proper training in the industries of the future. And with qualifications
that are tried and tested - BTECs, HNCs, HNDs, and City and Guilds. Those are the qualifications we
will be backing’. For the Midlands, he announced a further 3,000 new apprenticeships over the next
three years, specialising in ‘green technologies, business skills and high-tech engineering’ as a result
of a partnership between Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Birmingham Metropolitan College.
In a move to further raise the status of apprenticeships, he announced that apprentices in key sectors
will be officially awarded the title technician – ‘a badge of honour, just like graduating from university’.
Willetts announced that the Browne Review will be published next week and said that ‘it is right’ to
expect people to make a substantial contribution towards the cost of their university education after
they have moved on to a ‘decent income’, but that ‘there should be protection for the lowest paid’.
He stressed the importance of excellent teaching in higher education and said he was ‘determined to
make it easier for other new teaching institutions to challenge existing ones’. He cited the example of
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Kaplan, an independent higher education provider, which is offering 3,000 places across the country
to study for University of London External Degrees, and said that with Vince Cable he was ‘absolutely
determined to ensure more diversity in higher education. It means more two-year degrees, more parttime students, and more courses with placements in business’.
David Willetts also announced that the children of servicemen and women killed on active military
service since 1990 will receive publicly funded higher education scholarships and that the BIS and
MOD funded scheme to pay tuition fees for service leavers undertaking level 3 further education or
undergraduate higher education courses for their first time, will be continued and expanded.
30th September – The supply of part-time higher education in the UK
Universities UK have published The supply of part-time higher education in the UK a report which
explores the supply of part-time higher education in the UK, with particular consideration to the study
of part-time undergraduate provision in England. It is the final publication in the series of reports on
individual student markets that were commissioned by Universities UK following the publication of the
reports on the future size and shape of the higher education sector in 2008/09. It considers the
factors facilitating and inhibiting the supply and growth of undergraduate part-time higher education.
The report concludes that currently flexible, part time provision of higher education is uneven and that
many institutions cannot satisfy demand and students may be deterred from part-time higher
education because of the deterrent effect of current funding arrangements for part-time higher
education. It argues that success in expanding part-time higher education will also depend on the
extent to which policies address the issue of what constitutes ‘useful’ knowledge and to whom, and
how far the distinction between vocational and non-vocational learning is meaningful stating that
unless policies change direction, there is a danger that future part-time study may not expand.
Devolved Administrations
5th October – Scotland updates its skills strategy
The Scottish government has refreshed the Skills for Scotland Strategy, which aims to simplify the
skills system, empower individuals and employers to access help and support more effectively and
better meet the needs of the key economic sectors and industries of the future. Building on the 2007
skills strategy, it takes into account the changed economic climate and the new challenges facing
businesses looking to support sustainable employment.
The refreshed Strategy, Skills for Scotland: Accelerating the Recovery and Increasing
Sustainable Economic Growth, supplements the original Strategy. It recognises progress and
achievements since 2007 and sets out ‘a new flexible, responsive, partnership approach to meeting
Scotland's skills needs’ at a crucial point in our economic recovery.
Skills and lifelong learning minister Keith Brown said ‘Skills are vital to employers of all sizes across
all sectors of the economy and it is crucial that we have a strategy equipped to deal with the
challenges and opportunities arising from the competitive environment we find ourselves in. This
Strategy does just that by targeting support that meets the varying needs of both individuals and
employers and the sectors of the future, including those in the low carbon economy’.
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29th September – Scotland publishes HE attainment and destination data
The Scottish government has published statistics on qualifiers from higher education courses at
Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs) and Scottish colleges for 2008-09. The data has been
published alongside survey information on the first destinations of EU domiciled qualifiers from HEIs
in the same year. The publication reports on all higher education qualifications, including those at
HNC/HND level and students that upgraded their previous higher education qualification.
Key findings include:
Qualifiers
•
The number of Higher Education (HE) qualifiers from Scottish institutions has continued to rise, in
the most recent year by 0.8 percent (695 qualifiers), to a ‘record high’ of 84,030 in 2008-09.
•
Scottish colleges saw an increase in qualifiers of 5.9 percent (1,260), to 22,465 in 2008-09, mostly
due to an increase in the combined numbers of HNC/HNDs awarded (increasing by 1,225 or 8.9
percent). This increase accounts for the majority of the total increase in qualifiers from all Scottish
institutions in 2008-09.
•
Scottish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) saw a decrease in qualifiers of 0.9 percent (565).
This was mostly due to a decrease of 10.1 percent (760) in the number of students gaining
undergraduate qualifications other than at first degree or HNC/HND level. There was an increase
of 1.6 percent (500) in the number of first degree qualifiers from Scottish HEIs.
First Destinations
•
88.4 percent of qualifiers from higher education courses at Scottish Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) were in employment or further study/training 6 months after completing their course. This
is a decrease of 1.4 percentage points on 2007-08.
•
62.3 percent of qualifiers from higher education courses at Scottish HEIs were in permanent or
temporary UK employment 6 months after completing their course. A further 22.5 percent were
engaged in further study or training. 76.1 percent of those in permanent UK employment were
employed in graduate level occupations. 6.1 percent of qualifiers were believed to be
unemployed.
5th October – £13m investment boost for digital technology sector in Wales
Deputy minister for science, innovation and skills, Lesley Griffiths, has launched a £13m investment
designed to boost the growth and competitiveness of the digital technology sector in Wales. The
project is backed by £8m from the European Social Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government.
Software Alliance Wales (SAW) will target support to ICT businesses and professionals working in the
industry to ensure the ‘keep abreast of the rapid pace of technological developments’. It also aims to
increase higher-level ICT skills across all business and industry sectors.
A key part of the project is the creation of a recognised ICT Continuous Professional Development
programme for professionals to acquire new skills in the latest emerging technologies. The project
will also help businesses to gain Accredit UK certification, a quality benchmark recognised throughout
the UK designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of companies. SAW will offer students
the chance to undertake collaborative ICT based development projects within SMEs to improve their
learning while providing knowledge and expertise for the businesses involved.
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Led by Swansea University, and delivered in partnership with Glamorgan, Bangor, Aberystwyth and
Wales Trinity Saint David Universities; it is anticipated that SAW more than 2400 businesses and
individuals will benefit from the initiative over the next four years. Research has highlighted the fact
that, if fully exploited, the ICT sector could generate an additional £1.4billion in the Welsh economy
over the next five to seven years.
4th October – Welsh minister welcomes new Director General
Education Minister Leighton Andrews has welcomed the appointment of Dr Emyr Roberts as the new
Director General within the Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills
(DCELLS). Dr Roberts has been leading DCELLS on a temporary basis in addition to his role as
Director General in the Public Services and Local Government Delivery department.
4th October – New powers for schools and colleges to search pupils for
weapons in Wales
Education minister, Leighton Andrews, has signed an order which means the powers contained in the
Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 will come into effect on 31 October 2010. As a result, Schools and
further education colleges in Wales will soon have the power to screen any pupil for a knife or
weapon. Leighton Andrews said ‘views were sought on the new powers as part of the ‘Safe and
Effective Intervention’ guidance consultation which closed in February. There was a great deal of
support for the powers. We must now make sure schools and colleges understand these new powers
and how to use them. Guidance will be available at the end of October’.
30th September – Minister helps education and business to Connect with £4
million programme
Employment and learning minister for Northern Ireland, Sir Reg Empey, has announced the decision
to make the Connected pilot permanent and has approved a second round of the programme to run
for the next four years.
Connected is funded through the Department for Employment and Learning’s ‘Higher and Further
Education Collaboration Fund which aims to ensure that the Higher and Further Education sectors
can identify and meet, in a coordinated and holistic fashion, the knowledge transfer needs of
businesses in particular, and also of the wider community. The £4 million programme provides a
‘one-stop-shop’ for companies wishing to access research and technical expertise within Queen’s
University, the University of Ulster and Northern Ireland’s six Further Education Colleges. The
programme is described as the first Knowledge Transfer project in the UK to be delivered between
Higher and Further Education sectors.
Sir Reg said ‘since its launch as a pilot programme in 2007, Connected has enabled companies of all
shapes and sizes gain access to world-class expertise, technology and research from Northern
Ireland’s Universities and Colleges, assisting them to boost their competitiveness, develop new
products and increase market opportunities’.
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Local Government and Public Sector
6th October – David Cameron’s speech at Conservative Party conference
David Cameron gave his first speech at a Conservative Party conference as prime minister. The
prime minister spoke across a wide range of government policy including:
Responsibility and Big Society
David Cameron said ‘we need to change the way we think about ourselves, and our role in society...
It's about government helping to build a nation of doers and go-getters, where people step forward not
sit back, where people come together to make life better’. The Big Society is about ‘creating strong
societies, improving quality of life, ensuring everyone feels that they belong’.
Fairness
The prime minister said it is time for a new conversation about what fairness ‘really’ means. Agreeing
that fairness means giving money to help the poorest in society, the prime minister said that it also
means supporting people out of poverty, ‘not trapping them in dependency’. ‘For too long, we have
measured success in tackling poverty by the size of the cheque that we give people. We say: let us
measure our success by the chance that we give’.
The prime minister went on to say ‘Fairness means giving people what they deserve - and what
people deserve can depend on how they behave’.
Growth and social action
David Cameron outlined a number of government schemes designed to build up a more
entrepreneurial economy and encourage social action. These include:
•
A generation of technical schools;
•
A Green Investment Bank ‘so the technologies of the future are developed, jobs created and our
environment protected’;
•
£1bn regional growth fund ‘to stimulate enterprise in those parts of our country where the private
sector is weak’;
•
A New Enterprise Allowance which will offer people who are out of work and entering selfemployment a weekly payment linked to the value of their benefit for a period of up to six months;
•
An International Citizen Service ‘give thousands of our young people, those who couldn't
otherwise afford it, the chance to see the world and serve others. Last century, America's Peace
Corps inspired a generation of young people to act, and this century, I want International Citizen
Service to do the same thing’.
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4th October – Chancellor announces reforms to the welfare system
Chancellor George Osborne has announced two reforms to the welfare system:
Benefits Cap
From 2013, household benefit payments will be capped on the basis of median earnings after tax for
working households, which the Treasury has estimated to be around £500 per week by 2013. All
Disability Living Allowance claimants, War Widows, and working families claiming the working tax
credit will be exempt from the cap. The cap will apply to the combined income from:
•
the main income replacement benefits (Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Employment
Support Allowance);
•
other means-tested benefits (including Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit);
•
child Benefit and Child Tax Credit; and
•
other benefits (including Carer’s Allowance and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
Child Benefit
The government will withdraw Child Benefit payments from all households containing at least one
higher rate taxpayer by 2013. It is anticipated that this will save around £1bn a year from the welfare
bill. HMRC will implement this policy through the existing PAYE and Self-Assessment structures.
This has already generated a level of debate about what is a fair system.
7th October – Iain Duncan Smith announces the introduction of a Universal
Credit
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith has announced the
introduction of a Universal Credit designed to simplify the benefit system and improve work
incentives. The plan is to migrate recipients from the current benefits and tax credits systems onto
the Universal Credit starting in 2013 and finishing in the next Parliament. The reforms will be set out
in more detail in a White Paper later in the autumn and put before Parliament in a Welfare Reform Bill
next year.
The new Universal Credit system aims to:
•
improve work incentives through a combination of improved earnings disregards and/or lower
benefit withdrawal rates;
•
smooth the transitions into and out of work;
•
reduce in-work poverty;
•
simplify the system, making it easier for people to understand, and easier and cheaper for staff to
administer; and
•
cut back on fraud and error.
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7th October – John Hutton calls for higher public sector pension contributions
Lord John Hutton, chair of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission has published the
interim findings of his review into public sector pensions. The findings will be used by Chancellor
George Osborne as he prepares for the forthcoming Spending Review.
The report recommends that the most effective way to make short-term savings is to increase
member contributions, stating that government should decide the manner and level of any increases
in contributions necessary. The commission, however, feels that any increases should be managed
so as to protect the low paid and, if possible, increases in contributions should be staged and need to
be considered with a view to preventing a significant increase in opt out rates. The review also
argues that the final salary nature of public service pensions is ‘inherently unfair’, disproportionately
rewarding those in senior positions. A career-average alternative should be considered instead. It
also calls for the pension age to be raised above current levels.
25th September – Local budgets: building the Big Society from the
neighbourhood up
The Local Government Association has published Local Budgets: building the Big Society from
the Neighbourhood up which sets out how the Government’s spending review can cut bureaucracy
and waste by giving people control over public services in their area. It sets out more of the case for
local decision-making and accountability for local public services arguing that local budgets offer a
way of making savings that protect front-line services. The report argues that local budgets will help
build the Big Society; build from neighbourhoods to the nation’s infrastructure; and build choice and
sets out a model for how a whole local budget might work.
4th October – Localis report ‘Total Neighbourhood - placing power back into the
community’
The think tank Localis has published Total Neighbourhood: placing power back into the
community. The report argues that funding streams must be simplified and pooled within areas; that
early intervention programmes, where possible community-led, can deliver significant improvements
in public sector outcomes; and that, alongside place-based budgets, new financial products should be
developed to fund local social programmes that may have long term cost savings. The
recommendations put forward describe a next step in the localisation agenda – ‘Total
Neighbourhood’. Recommendations include that:
•
central government should look to trial, and then implement place-based budgets, with drastically
reduced specific income streams;
•
local authorities should look to uncover and build an evidence base of potential early intervention
programmes, particularly those that have the potential to create savings.
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Equality and Diversity
1st October – Equalities Act enacted
Around 90 per cent of the Equalities Act has come into force. The Equality Act 2010 provides a new
‘cross-cutting’ legislative framework which aims to protect the rights of individuals and advance
equality of opportunity for all; to update, simplify and strengthen the previous legislation; and to deliver
a ‘simple, modern and accessible’ framework of discrimination law which protects individuals from
unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. The Act simplifies the law by bringing
together nine pieces of legislation under a single banner.
Ministers are considering how to implement these remaining provisions for business and for others
with rights and responsibilities under the Act and these decisions will be announced in due course.
Decisions that the government is still considering include:
•
the socio-economic Duty on public bodies;
•
dual discrimination;
•
gender pay gap information;
•
provisions relating to auxiliary aids in schools;
•
positive action in recruitment and promotion; and
•
prohibition on age discrimination in services and public functions.
New Faces and Awards
28th September – New Permanent Secretary for the Department for Work and
Pensions
The Cabinet secretary and head of the Civil Service, Sir Gus O'Donnell have announced the
appointment of Robert Devereux as permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions in
succession to Sir Leigh Lewis who will be retiring at the end of December. Robert Devereux will take
up his post at the start of January 2011. During his career he has held posts in HM Treasury, the
Department for Social Security, the Department for Work and Pensions. He became Head of the
Policy Profession for the Civil Service in April 2009.
The cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, said ‘I am delighted that Robert Devereux has been
appointed as the new Permanent Secretary at DWP. He has considerable experience throughout
Whitehall which will be vital in helping the Department to deliver its plans to reform the welfare state.
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"I would like personally to thank Sir Leigh Lewis for his work in helping the Department to meet the
considerable challenges of the last five years. He has made an enormous contribution to the Civil
Service throughout his many years at the Department and its predecessors.’
23rd September – Eric Pickles joins Public Expenditure Committee
The Treasury has announced that the prime minister has appointed communities secretary Eric
Pickles to the Public Expenditure Committee. The Public Expenditure (PEX) Committee or Star
Chamber is appointed by the prime minster to lead collective decision-making on spending. It is
chaired by the chancellor of the exchequer and supported by the chief secretary to the Treasury. The
committee will advise the Cabinet on the decisions that will need to be taken in the Spending Review.
6th October – Aaron Porter appointed observer to HEFCE Board
Aaron Porter, National President of the National Union of Students (NUS), has been made an
observer to the Board of HEFCE. This is the first time that an observer from the NUS has been
appointed to the Board. The appointment starts with immediate effect and, as a personal
appointment, will last for the duration of his term in office. Aaron Porter was elected President of the
NUS in June 2010 for an initial 12-month term after serving two years as Vice-President.
Aaron Porter said ‘at a time of great change in higher education the need for greater accountability of
funding decisions means increased powers of scrutiny for the students which colleges and
universities exist to serve. I look forward to the opportunity to observe at close hand the workings of
HEFCE to ensure the interests of students are at the heart of future deliberations on funding’.
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Contact the LSIS policy team
This policy update has been prepared by Angela Nartey, policy research officer, LSIS. Your
comments are welcome – please contact Angela by email on angela.nartey@LSIS.org.uk.
Caroline Mager, Executive Director, Policy, Research and Communications
Caroline.Mager@LSIS.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7929 8733
Jenny Williams, Head of Policy
Jenny.Williams@LSIS.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7929 8713
Angela Nartey, Policy Research Officer
Angela.Nartey@LSIS.org.uk
Telephone: 020 7929 8734
Anyone wishing to arrange a free subscription to these Policy Updates, or the associated Brief
Guides, should subscribe at www.lsis.org.uk/policyupdates
© LSIS October 2010
Published by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS).
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