Policy Watch December 2023

 Final Policy Watch of the Year!

Looking at policy news through a motor industry lens.

Devolved Nations updates

Northern Ireland: Since May 2022, there has been no elected government in Northern Ireland. UK government has made a £3.3bn 'final offer' to Northern Ireland in bid to restore power-sharing. The deal includes a new needs-based funding formula set at 124% in the Barnett formula from 2024-25, similar to that in Wales. It is hoped the extra funds will break the deadlock.

Wales: Luke Fletcher MS, Member of the Senedd for South Wales West, said that the recent cuts to the Welsh Government’s apprenticeship budget undermine their recently announced renewed economic priorities. The IMI released a statement regarding this and can be found here.

Mr Drakeford will step down in March, with a new Welsh Labour leader due to be elected before Easter.

Scotland: Shona Robison presented her first budget on behalf of the Scottish National Party. Points of interest include

·         Overall Investment in Education and Skills: The education and skills resource budget has been increased by £144 million, which is a 4.8% increase. This indicates a significant commitment to these areas despite the financial constraints faced by the government.

·         Support for Colleges and Universities: Despite the overall increase in the education budget, there is a mention of cuts to the Scottish Funding Council, which funds colleges and universities. This could potentially impact the financial resources available to these institutions.

·         Addressing Poverty in Education: A significant portion of the budget is dedicated to tackling the poverty-related attainment gap. This includes a commitment to invest £1 billion during the current parliamentary session to improve outcomes for children and young people, with recent statistics showing improvements in literacy and numeracy at primary and secondary levels.

·         Support for the Education Workforce: The budget includes £145.5 million for councils to maintain teacher numbers and enable permanent contracts for the education workforce.

·         Skills Development and Employability Services: An investment of up to £90 million is planned in devolved employability services in 2024-25 to support people re-entering the workforce, which indirectly affects skills development.

While apprenticeships are not explicitly mentioned in the context of the Scottish budget 2024-25, various budget measures could indirectly impact these areas, particularly through investments in infrastructure, public transport, employment services, and education. The official record can be found here.

English Education updates

The proportion of apprenticeship starts in the 2022/23 academic year by male and females in the under 19 and 19+ age groups are shown in the table below:

Department for Education written question from Baroness Blower, Labour – answered at on 21 December 2023 by Baroness Barran.

 “To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have spent more than half the funds in their apprenticeship levy account, for each of the past five financial years.”

Lord Polak, Conservative also received a written response on the same day regarding his question for care leavers aged 18 to 25, Baroness Barran responded with a reference to apprenticeships within the description of the support currently offered. Full written response in Hansard.

Changes made to the technical guidance for 14 to 19 technical and applied qualifications have been made. Added ‘Performance Measures Qualifications: amendments for 2026’ Detail can be found here.

Department for Education non-executive appointments made: April 2023 to March 2024’ with the appointment of Sir Ian Bauckham CBE as interim Chief Regulator of Ofqual and Frances Wadsworth CBE as interim Chair of Ofqual.

Central government Updates

The 2023 Automated Vehicles Bill will set the legal framework for the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles in Great Britain. Raised in the House of Lords, at the time of writing the Bill was at it’s second reading. The IMI has been invited by the DfT to contribute to the work. The policy scoping notes set out current thinking on how the government intends to exercise the delegated powers in the Automated Vehicles Bill. They cover the policy intent and the possible content of secondary legislation, which will be subject to consultation. The final policy position may differ from that set out here.

Tesla was mentioned in the House of Lords during a written answer regarding self-driving cars. Lord Davies of Gower, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport). Citation “Tesla does not currently operate a self-driving system, within the meaning of the Automated Vehicles Bill. The Bill will prohibit the sale of vehicles as self-driving if they do not meet the safety requirements set out in the Act to do so. The Bill also envisages the appointment of inspectors who would be excellently placed to investigate technical concerns about self-driving vehicles.” Full written response in Hansard.

Government, through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, a joint DfT and DBT specialist policy unit, has jointly committed with industry more than £600m to the development of Automated Vehicles between 2015 and 2025. CCAV is currently supporting 20 projects with £50m of government funding to further operationalise CAM technologies and services. In the recently published Advanced Manufacturing Plan, Government also committed to long-term support for Connected and Automated Mobility with up to £150m in the five-year period to 2030.

Apprenticeship Minimum Wage - From April 2024, the department is increasing the apprentice minimum wage by 21.2% to £6.40, from £5.28 per hour. This is a cash increase of £1.12 and will benefit an estimated 40,000 apprentices, including young apprentices under 19 and those in their first year of an apprenticeship.

Government news

Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1pc in the three months to September, according to the Office for National Statistics. Initial estimates had indicated the economy flatlined in the third quarter, and the subsequent estimates that the economy shrank by 0.3pc in October means the fourth quarter could also show a contraction. Two consecutive quarters of economic contraction are the definition of a technical recession.

Jeremy Hunt has hinted at further tax cuts in the spring in the hope an anticipated fall in interest rates will lower the cost of servicing Britain’s debt. The Chancellor described a faster-than-expected drop in inflation last month as “really good news”, adding that Downing Street was already eyeing further tax cuts.

Defense Apprenticeships - Rolling-out through 2024, the Pan Defence Skills Framework (PDSF) has been developed as a new Whole Force approach to identifying, defining, and managing the skills of Defence’s people and their associated roles. By combining expertise across Defence, the PDSF will provide a single common language for skills that will help teams to be more agile and flexible. The PDSF will be used by civil servants and Regular and Reserve Armed Forces personnel, giving Defence a whole-force view of the skills we have and allowing us to see the places where we need to focus our resources. For employment beyond Service, the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership provides specific employment pathways to facilitate the transition from military Service to the Defence sector. A full response from Dr Andrew Murrison, Conservative, answering a question regarding skills development for the Ministry of Defence can be found in Hansard.