Contribution
The right hon. Member is absolutely right that these things need to be set out, and they will be set out. This Bill is about transferring the role of IfATE to the Secretary of State and enabling the delivery of Skills England.
Skills England will work with key partners, including employers, training providers, mayoral strategic authorities and unions to form a national picture of where skills gaps exist and how they can be addressed. It will ensure employers have the skills they need to drive economic growth while creating opportunities across the country and building a highly skilled workforce.
During this debate, I have heard Members question the need to close IfATE and establish Skills England. This Government have committed to delivering for the skills sector, and we are listening to the needs of employers. This can be seen in our reformed growth and skills offer, but we must go further to address the fragmentation of our skills system so that we can close the most persistent skills gaps. The Bill paves the way for the full establishment of Skills England by enabling the new body to take on and build out from IfATE’s work to shape apprenticeships and technical qualifications to meet the needs of employers and the economy as a whole.
The scale and urgency of the skills challenge that we face means we are setting Skills England up to have a broader strategic purpose than IfATE, including but stretching beyond the work previously undertaken by IfATE. Skills England will, for instance, provide an ongoing authoritative assessment of local, regional and national skills needs, which is absolutely needed. It will combine the best statistical data with insights from employers and other key stakeholders, and will use these insights to ensure the design of technical education and apprenticeships reflects the skill needs that have been identified, so that we can truly build a workforce fit for the future.
Labour markets and the skills required to increase productivity and economic growth vary considerably by region, and we have already heard from many Members about the different skills that are needed in their regions. Skills England will therefore also have a strong regional footprint, working closely with local skills systems so that they can tap into the comprehensive suite of training offers that it will build across the country. Skills England will also ensure that skills sit at the heart of joined-up decision making across Government. It will work closely with the Industrial Strategy Council, so that we have the skilled workforce needed to deliver a clear, long-term plan for the future economy, and with the Migration Advisory Committee, because growing the domestic skills pipeline will reduce our reliance on overseas workers.
While Skills England will have a broad and ambitious strategic agreement, it will not be able to deliver the scale of change that we need without its taking on IfATE’s important work, so the transfer of functions through the Bill is vital. The Bill does not, however, simply aim to transfer functions. It also includes a number of targeted changes intended to allow the system for designing and approving technical qualifications and apprenticeships to become more agile and responsive; we have been listening to employers, who have told us this is crucial if we are to work together to plug the skills gaps at the pace required. The Bill will provide greater flexibility when designing standards and apprenticeships plans and make processes easier to engage with, allowing experts to invest their time and expertise at the right point.
There is so much I would like to say in response to the many points that Members have made, and I apologise now for not being able to respond to the many excellent points and comments. However, there are a few very pivotal points that I do need to mention.
The Bill was amended in the House of Lords to delay its commencement by a year. It is disappointing that peers voted for a delay to the full establishment of Skills England, despite many Members of the other place supporting its aims. This Government are clear that employers need a fully functional Skills England now—as I have said, they cannot wait. The skills gaps in our economy are holding back growth and opportunity, and we need this Bill to give Skills England the key tools to tackle those gaps without delay. I cannot say that enough.
Skills England is in shadow form, and has already engaged widely, with more than 700 different partners representing thousands of individual organisations through roundtables, cross-section webinars and network events, including the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Institute of Directors, as well as a range of employers and representative bodies from priority sectors, including digital, life sciences, green, construction and healthcare, and we will continue to listen to the voices of experts to shape what we do.
Question put, That the amendment be made.