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Who is Anne Milton? 11 facts about the new skills minister

FE Week has today exclusively announced that our sector’s new apprenticeships and skills minister will be Anne Milton, a former nurse and MP for Guildford.

Here we have pulled together a few key facts about Anne, to help you get to know your next FE and skills representative:

Anne Milton was born on November 3, 1955, in Sussex

READ MORE: An interview with Anne Milton
She was educated at Haywards Heath Grammar School (which later became Haywards Heath Sixth Form College in 1980, then Central Sussex College Sixth Form Campus in 2005)
She trained as a nurse at London South Bank University and St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London
Ms Milton worked as a nurse for the NHS for 25 years, specialising in palliative care
She has four children and lives with her husband in Guildford, where she has been the Member of Parliament for Guildford since 2005
From May 2015 to June 2017 Ms Milton was deputy chief whip in the House of Commons – she was reportedly one of the most effective and respected whips in her party

READ MORE: Will Milton be moved in 2018 reshuffle?
In March 2015, she was appointed to the Privy Council, the body which advises the Queen on carrying out her duties
Milton was parliamentary under-secretary (the lowest of three tiers of government minister) for the department of health between May 2010 and September 2013
In summer 2007 David Cameron appointed her shadow minister for health, and the year before this she was shadow minister for culture and tourism
Her voting record shows that she voted in favour of scrapping the education maintenance allowance in England on Jan 19, 2011
Her election campaign leaflet championed the need for young voters to turn out, saying: “It’s always a huge pleasure to visit schools, colleges and the university to make sure young people understand more about politics and why it’s so important for them to be involved.”

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Images: PA/PA Archive/PA Images

Halfon loses apprenticeships and skills ministerial role in reshuffle

It is a change that will shock the FE sector.

Apprenticeships and skills minister Robert Halfon has this evening been told he will not return to his ministerial role, FE Week understands.

Mr Halfon, who took up the role of Apprenticeships and Skills Minister from Nick Boles on July 17, 2016, is well known for his passion for FE and skills and had spent his first year in the job visiting many providers across the country.

His replacement has not been confirmed, but education secretary Justine Greening has kept her position in the cabinet. Ms Greening was appointed secretary of state for education and minister for women and equalities on July 14, 2016.

Mr Halfon has a strong record of interest in the FE sector and took part in an FE Week profile interview back in November 2011. At the time he spoke of his enthusiasm for apprenticeships and university technical colleges, and the importance of basic literacy.

In 2013 he was presented with a Politician of the Year award from Avanta, a large employment and training provider, for his work promoting an apprenticeship scheme.

From May 2015 to July 2016 he was a minister without portfolio, meaning that although he did not have a specific responsibility he still attended cabinet meetings.

The ministerial change comes in the middle of a wide and deep FE reform programme, and Halfon worked on introduction of the apprenticeship levy, college area reviews, devolution of the Adult Education Budget and the launch of a Post-16 Skills Plan.

In his first opinion piece for FE Week in September 2016, he set out his case for “boosting social justice, economic productivity, and our country’s skills base”.

He said at the time: “We cannot treat apprenticeships in isolation as a way to solve the skills gap. “This is why we are building our apprenticeship programme alongside improving careers guidance in schools, boosting the quality of our FE colleges and ensuring we build the clearest paths for technical and vocational education.”

In an interview with our editor Nick Linford in October of the same year, Mr Halfon faced questions about the government’s choice to soften proposed cuts to the 16-18 apprenticeship framework rates, after FE Week campaigned on the issued.

He responded by saying that the changes were a mark of his willingness to listen to public opinion.

“It’s been an honour to have served as Apprenticeships Minister. I’m proud we have a record 900K apprentices & to have passed the FE/TE Bill – Halfon tweet this evening

He said: “People are saying this is a U-turn, but actually I would describe it as listening with elephant-sized ears.

“I made it clear at party conference. I made it publicly clear in articles that we have listened –and that’s what my job is to do.”

Mr Halfon has also attended FE Week events to contribute and listen to the views of attendees.

He was present at the launch of the FE Week #SaveOurApprenticeships campaign in September 2016, and our #SaveOurAdultEducation campaign in February this year, both of which took place in the Houses of Parliament.

In April this year he spoke to FE Week shortly after the snap election was announced. At the time he admitted there was “a lot more work to do” on the issue of mandatory GCSE English and maths resits for grade D students, but added that he was “very proud” of the progress being made on apprenticeships.

“We’ve got 900,000 apprenticeships in our country at the moment. Highest on record,” he said.

Exclusive: New minister for apprenticeships and skills revealed

The new minister for apprenticeships and skills is Anne Milton, MP for Guildford, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

The Department for Education are expected to confirm the appointment tomorrow, but FE Week understands she is already meeting with key FE sector officials.

Who is Anne Milton? 11 facts about the new skills minister

According to the DfE website, Anne Milton “was appointed to the Health Select Committee, serving until December 2006, following her appointment as Shadow Minister for Tourism. In summer 2007 David Cameron appointed her Shadow Minister for Health. Between 2010 and 2012 she served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Public Health), Department of Health and was appointed a Government Whip in 2012.”

The ministerial post became vacant after Robert Halfon was sacked yesterday, as exclusively reported by FE Week.

Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “We’re delighted that we have a new skills minister who has taken a close interest in the future for young people in her own constituency and we welcome her to her new post.

“The minister will appreciate from a local perspective how vital it is that the reforms work well for smaller businesses as well as Guildford’s large employers that wish to offer young people apprenticeships and so we will be asking her to make the non-levy funding allocations her highest immediate priority.

“We will also ask her to involve providers in the earliest stages of the design of the proposed new National Retraining Scheme. The expertise and experience of AELP members with their employer links could make a major difference in ensuring that the programme gets off to a successful start.”

English college group wins applied engineering Saudi contract

A three-year contract worth £58 million, to run a higher education applied engineering college in Saudi Arabia, has been secured by Lincoln College Group.

A spokesperson said LCG had to bid against several international college and university groups to secure the deal – meaning it will continue run the Applied Engineering College, formerly known as the Technical Trainers College, on a long-term basis.

It comes after FE Week revealed in April that the college planned to extend its involvement with the Saudi Arabian Colleges of Excellence programme.

A spokesperson has now told FE Week: “We took this college on before on a one year contract, and it was put out to tender for a formal biding process at the end of that period.

“The contract we subsequently secured has a value over the life of the contract of £58 million.”

The AEC has educated around 1,400 mechanical and communications technology teachers in Riyadh, at Bachelors degree level, over the last year.

This complements Lincoln College Group’s existing female college at Qatief, which has 2,000 students.

Chief executive Gary Headland claimed the new contract was a significant milestone, in the 130-year history of Lincoln College and the wider group.

“I am often asked about why we have chosen to export education to Saudi Arabia and China,” he said.

“In the words of the Department of Industry and Trade, businesses that trade internationally are on average 34 per cent more productive, 75 per cent more innovative, undertake three-times as much research and development and are in general terms more resilient than businesses that do not trade.

“Winning this bid, which represents a huge amount of work from our team, reaffirms the importance of our mission.”

The college group told FE Week in April that it “remains committed to operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for at least the next 20 years”, while confirming that it was involved in the bidding process for the technical trainers’ college contract.

The spokesperson also dismissed a rumour that CoE could close this year, saying the programme was “in no sense in jeopardy”, and was now focused on “the expansion of existing programmes and the opening of new colleges”.

Colleges of Excellence was founded in 2013 to boost technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia, through partnerships with international providers, including a number of English providers.

Lincoln College was the only one from England to enter the CoE programme on its own.

It was awarded a huge contract worth £250 million in 2014 to establish three colleges in the Kingdom.

However, it announced in January 2016 that its two colleges in the Al-Aflaj region would be closed by the end of the month, as was subsequently reported in FE Week.

A statement on its website said: “Unfortunately, the number of students able to participate in this unique education in Al-Aflaj is not sufficient.”

Lincoln also faced some financial hardship in the process of getting its Saudi project off the ground.

In March last year a spokesperson told FE Week there had been “exceptional costs” related to the “initial mobilisation and recruitment for a male college, which was discontinued by CoE and replaced with the female college in Al-Qatif”.

However, when speaking to FE Week on April 19, the spokesperson said: “Lincoln College International will make a surplus from 2017 onwards.”

Who gets the skills post? Two junior ministerial appointments confirmed

Two new junior ministerial appointments have been made to the Department for Education, after it was reported by our sister paper FE Week that Nick Gibb would be staying on.

This evening Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby and Anne Milton, MP for Guildford, have been appointed.

However, it has yet to be confirmed which will take the apprenticeships and skills brief, after Robert Halfon was dismissed earlier this evening, as reported exclusively by FE Week.

The second vacancy at the DfE is the children’s brief, created by Edward Timpson, who lost his Crewe and Nantwich seat to Labour last week.

More to follow.

3m apprenticeship starts target is bad policy

Conservative manifesto pledge: Continue with the target of 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020

Joe Dromey argues AGAINST

The three million target mostly fosters growth at level two, and gives little progression, argues Joe Dromey

The Conservative manifesto again included a commitment to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020. It’s easy to see why. It is clear and comprehensible pledge which works well for a party seeking to rebrand itself and pitch for the votes of ordinary people. But it is a bad policy which risks driving a focus on quantity alone, potentially at the expense of quality.

Even before the recent reforms to the apprenticeship system, there were concerns about the focus on quantity over quality. The growth in apprenticeships in recent years has been driven by a surge in the number delivered at lower levels. Most apprenticeships are at level two, and 94 per cent are below level four. While the numbers of higher and degree-level apprenticeships is growing, they are a fraction of the total.

The labour market returns for vocational qualifications at level two are relatively poor. We may be less concerned about poor wage returns for low-level apprenticeships if they lead to higher-level qualifications, but for too many the level two apprenticeship is the end.

READ MORE: 3m apprenticeship starts is the correct target

In seeking to make the system more employer-led, the government has introduced the levy, which will raise £3 billion from large employers by 2020/21, delivering a huge boost to employer investment in apprenticeships. At the same time, the government has put employers in charge of designing apprenticeship standards and removed the requirement for apprenticeships to contain a recognised qualification.

The levy is a welcome recognition of the need to intervene to boost employer investment in training. UK employers invest far less in training than our EU neighbours, and investment has declined. However, there is a risk that under the new system employers will seek to recoup their levy funds by rebadging existing training as low-level apprenticeships, which offer limited benefit to the individual, and limited progression.

Labour committed to keeping the apprenticeship levy, but not the target. It would double the number of apprenticeships delivered at level three. In 2015/16, there were 191,000 apprenticeship starts at this level, 37 per cent of the total. They have also pledged to guarantee trade union representation on the Institute of Apprenticeships.

Whoever forms the next government needs to focus not just on the quantity of apprenticeships, but on the quality of training and how employers are using skills in the workplace to boost productivity.

While employers should be given a role in shaping the system, empoyees deserve a say too

The arbitrary target should be abandoned, with the focus shifting to quality and progression. The government should drive up both the proportion of apprenticeships delivered at level three, four and above, and ensure that level two leads to career pathways and higher qualifications. There should be robust monitoring and reporting of outcomes following apprenticeships, to ensure that they are delivering strong wage returns and progression to higher level qualifications.

We also need to look again at the governance of the system. There are benefits in an employer-led approach and it might work well in high-skill sectors with a strong sense of occupation formation and a collective commitment to training the next generation of employees. However, it is less likely to work in the low-skill, low-productivity sectors which account for much of the growth in apprenticeships, and much of the low-quality provision.

As part of a modern industrial strategy, we must develop strong sectoral institutions to drive a collective commitment to skills. These institutions should support demand for, investment in, and use of skills as part of a drive to boost productivity. While employers should be given a role in shaping the system, employees deserve a say too, both at sector level, and in relation to the way standards are set through the Institute of Apprenticeships.

We should learn from the most successful apprenticeship systems on the continent, which are characterised by a social partnership approach, with government, employers and unions working together to ensure the system delivers high quality training that works for all. While employers are vital in shaping the system, employees must be given a voice too.

Joe Dromey is a senior research fellow at IPPR

‘New approach’ called for after principal quits

The principal of Salford City College has reportedly quit after just two years at the helm, with a “new approach” now being called for following academic success but sweeping job cuts.

John Spindler, who joined in April 2015, will leave his post at the end of this month. A college spokesperson told FE Week this was “to pursue new challenges and opportunities”.

The college has maintained a ‘good’ Ofsted rating during his time in the post, but been dogged with financial concerns and union anger over job losses.

Accounts showed it ran a £426,000 operating surplus, for the year ending last July – but a £2.6 million loss overall once pension scheme contributions were taken into account. The overall loss in 2014/15 was £2.4 million.

The average number of people employed at the college fell to 589 last year, down from 811 in 2013/14.

In announcing the imminent departure of Mr Spindler, a college spokesperson told FE Week: “In the time he has been with the college, he has successfully carried out a business transformation programme, and put in place an effective annual review programme to help the college’s future sustainability.”

But University and College Union north-west regional official Martyn Moss said that the college had “suffered three rounds of major redundancies under the retiring principal’s watch”.

He added: “We would like to see a period of stability now and believe the college needs to ensure that local people have the opportunities they need to get on and contribute to the local and regional economy. We hope a new approach at the top will share this vision.”

Most recent accounts also showed that the college also spent just under £1.5 million on “fundamental restricting costs” in the last two years.

Yet an Ofsted short inspection in November 2015 said it continued to be ‘good’, with areas identified for improvement including advanced-level study programmes, GCSE maths courses and analysis of destination data.

For the year ended July 31, 2016, the college’s achievement rate for 16- to 18-year-olds was 81.4 per cent, and for 19 years+ was 90.6 per cent. The overall apprenticeship success rate was 84.6 per cent.

The college’s spokesperson added Mr Spindler, paid £163,000 in 2015/16, had “successfully worked concurrently on six strategic priorities, and has been effective in putting in place provision which is responsive to student needs”.

“He has overseen the college in a period when it achieved the Educate North College of the Year, and the BTEC Student of the Year for both Science and IT,” she added.

“The college wishes John well in his future endeavours.”

The college was allocated £9.2 million for 2016/17 by the Education and Skills Funding Agency as of March this year – up just over £100,000 from a year earlier.

Before joining Salford City College, Mr Spindler was deputy principal of Hopwood Hall College for seven years and vice principal of Southgate College for a year and a half.

He has also worked at City and Islington College and Uxbridge College in the past.

In June 2016 Salford City College was among a number of colleges which came under criticism from then skills minister Nick Boles for dragging their heels during the Manchester area review process, particularly over possible merger proposals.

Apprenticeship starts, not completions, are the correct target

Conservative manifesto pledge: Continue with the target of 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020

Mark Dawe argues FOR

Fears over quality are misplaced: three million is a modest target, but the right one, claims Mark Dawe

The Conservatives were right to retain their 2015 pledge of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020. Even without the subsequent levy-related reforms, the original target was always going to be a fairly modest goal, especially if we recall that there were over 2.5 million starts during the coalition government of 2010-15.

Nor does the three million figure present the scale of challenge, or tension over quality, that some observers want us to believe. Three quarters of apprenticeships are delivered by independent training providers, and the latest Ofsted annual report found that 82 per cent of ITPs were good or outstanding. The government’s own ‘Get in, Go far’ campaign also rightly stressed the positive outcomes that apprenticeships generate for both employers and young people.

READ MORE: Why 3m apprenticeship starts target is bad policy

The worries about using starts as a target have been overstated. We are not suggesting that they represent the ideal measure of success, but a switch to a programme completions target would be a mistake.

Since the May administration entered office, ministers have referred to apprenticeships as a “ladder of opportunity” and a driver for social mobility, and AELP has always stressed the programme’s importance in terms of social inclusion. If we moved to a completions target, then employers and providers would shift their recruitment of apprentices to only those most likely to complete, when presently there are thousands of young people who start an apprenticeship from a position of disadvantage who then make amazing progress and go on to build a successful career for themselves.

In the same vein, ministers deserve credit for recognising that level two apprenticeships provide a vital starting point for many young people and the social mobility agenda demands that there should be no departure from this policy. If the new ministers get a grip on the current reform issues after the election, employers and young people can look forward to benefiting from quality apprenticeships up to level seven.

The Conservative manifesto started by setting out ‘five giant challenges’ that Britain has to meet and we believe that skills and apprenticeships have a fundamental role to play in overcoming all of them as follows:

The need for a strong economy: Improved productivity through increased skills
Brexit and a changing world: Support many industries in replacing their workforce by making lower-level skills training available
Enduring social divisions: Availability of training opportunities no matter where you live, whatever your starting point
An ageing society: Making retraining and apprenticeship opportunities available to anyone whatever the size of employer

Fast-changing technology: Proper investment in digital skills development at all levels, embedded in all programmes.

The emphasis on making opportunities available wherever you live is why AELP is pressing for properly sustained and guaranteed support in the non-levy-paying business community – which is not just a reference to apprenticeships. But above all, the three million apprenticeships target should not be achieved with apprentices only employed by levy-payers. We need guaranteed apprenticeship funding for non-levy-paying SMEs of at least the current level of £1 billion per year and the non-levy-payers on the apprenticeship system as soon as possible in order to generate a genuine employer-led system. An immediate review of the impact of employer contributions on the SME apprenticeship starts is also required.

On quality, the Institute for Apprenticeships should work with key stakeholders to ensure that all existing and new apprenticeship standards are fit for purpose, their assessments are valid, reliable and available, and there is adequate funding to deliver a quality programme. Until these criteria are met, apprentices shouldn’t be started on new standards.

Mark Dawe is CEO of the Assocation of Employment and Learning Providers

Nottingham College mega-merger goes through 10 months late

The creation of one of the largest colleges in the country in Nottingham has finally happened – 10 months after the merger was supposed to complete.

The legal coming together of New College Nottingham, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in January, and Central College Nottingham, which also recently received a grade two from the inspectorate, was confirmed in a joint statement on June 8.

The new body is called Nottingham College, and is set to be one of the largest colleges in the country, in a merger that was originally supposed to complete on August 1 last year.

“Merging two colleges of this size is an extremely complex process, so we have had to deal with a mix of financial and legal processes including many partners and funders to ensure that everyone is on the same page at the same time,” said a spokesperson.

“While it has taken longer than we had hoped, we are now over the line and look forward to the journey to transition to Nottingham College.”

The new institution’s chief executive, John van de Laarschot, was full of enthusiasm for the merger on Thursday.

He said: “Today we begin a radical transformation of post-16 education in Nottingham.

Today we begin a radical transformation of post-16 education in Nottingham

“We have a unique opportunity to bring students and employers into a single, dynamic learning environment and I want to encourage employers, partners, parents and students to join us as we design a new and very different kind of college.

“We’ve already entered into discussions with representatives of local and national employers to make sure that the Nottingham College curriculum is designed around their needs for a sustainable and skilled workforce and we will continue to prioritise investment in areas of our business which support the region’s economic growth plans.”

FE Week reported in May last year that Mr van de Laarschot, a former chief executive of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, who had reportedly received a £230,000 voluntary redundancy pay-off from the local authority just six months previously, had been appointed to lead two merging colleges.

With an estimated annual turnover of over £80 million, a spokesperson said Nottingham College expects to employ 1,500 staff and support up to 40,000 full and part-time students into employment, higher-level apprenticeships or degree courses.

She added that the agreement to merge followed “extensive public consultation last year, as well as subsequent discussions with staff, students, employers and the unions”.

The board of governors will be made up of four members from each of the two pre-merger boards, plus three independent members plus staff and student governors.

Carole Thorogood, designate chair of Nottingham College, said: “I wish to publicly acknowledge the contribution of colleagues and partner organisations who have worked tirelessly to bring this merger over the line.

“The guidance of the Education and Skills Funding Agency, and the partnerships forged with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Barclays Bank and Nottingham City Council have been invaluable. But the really exciting work starts now.

“Nottingham College is being built on the very best that Central and NCN have to offer and I want to thank board members, staff, students and partners for their unwavering commitment to moving forward as one team.

“I am confident that our ultimate ambition to create one of the best colleges in the country is now underway.”