Former Culture Secretary Sajid Javid has been appointed to run the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Mr Javid will take over the post of Business Secretary in David Cameron’s new majority Conservative government, moving from his old post at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Sajid Javid has been appointed as the Secretary of State for Business.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) May 11, 2015

It comes after Liberal Democrat Vince Cable, who served in the post for the last five years, lost his seat in Twickenham to the Conservatives on Thursday.

Elected as the MP for Bromsgrove in the West Midlands in 2010, Mr Javid rose through the ranks quickly, promoted to serve as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from September 2012 to October 2013 and Financial Secretary until April 2014, when he was appointed to replace Maria Miller at DCMS following her resignation over an expenses scandal.

He also served for a period as Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Hayes, the former Skills Minister.

Mr Javid was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, but moved to Bristol with his family at an early age, where he was educated at a comprehensive school near the city and at Filton Technical College, now part of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.

Mr Cameron has already confirmed Nicky Morgan will continue to serve as Education Secretary, while further announcements, including Skills Minister, are expected to be made later today.

The Association of School and College Leaders has reacted to news that Nicky Morgan will continue to serve as Education Secretary under the new Conservative majority government.

Ms Morgan, who replaced Michael Gove in the job last July, was re-elected as MP for Loughborough on Thursday with an increased majority as the Conservatives stormed to power with 331 seats.

And the Prime Minister’s office confirmed last night that Ms Morgan would continue to serve in her cabinet role.

Brian Lightman (pictured right), general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “ASCL welcomes Nicky Morgan’s reappointment as Secretary of State for Education and we look forward to working with her during this Parliament.”

He added: “In the constructive dialogue with the Secretary of State, to which we very much look forward, we will be proposing how we can work with government to create the conditions for us collectively to achieve that ambitious and compelling vision for the future of our education service.”

It was also announced yesterday that Mr Gove, who was effectively demoted to the post of government chief whip last summer, is the new Justice Secretary.

The new Business Secretary is expected to be announced tomorrow, replacing Dr Vince Cable, who claimed last October to have fought off suggestions from civil servants in 2010 to cut budgets to a level that would have “killed off FE”, became one of the most high-profile casualties of the General Election on Thursday (May 7) when he lost his Twickenham seat to the Conservatives.

Ms Morgan had already received the Prime Minister’s backing to continue in the role in the event of a Conservative victory, and told FE Week sister newspaper FE Week last weekend that she wanted to stay on.

Speaking during a Q&A with journalists at the NAHT conference, Ms Morgan said: “The Prime Minister said in a speech he gave back in March, he talked about me continuing in the role, and I couldn’t be clearer about how much I love doing this job and very much hope to continue.”

Former Skills Minister Matthew Hancock has been installed as favourite to take over from fallen Liberal Democrat heavyweight Dr Vince Cable as Business Secretary.

Meanwhile, Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna is the bookies’ favourite to succeed Ed Miliband as Labour leader, while former education and skills select committee member Tim Farron [subject of an FE Week profile in February] is being hotly tipped as the man to lead the Liberal Democrats back from electoral oblivion.

Dr Cable, who claimed last October to have fought off suggestions from civil servants in 2010 to cut budgets to a level that would have “killed off FE”, became one of the most high-profile casualties of the General Election on Thursday (May 7) when he lost his Twickenham seat to the Conservatives.

The economist and former Liberal Democrat deputy leader (pictured left) was first elected to Parliament in 1997 and had increased his majority every year until 2010, when he won by more than 12,000 votes.

Ladbrokes was today offering odds of just 5/1 against him being succeeded as Business Secretary by Mr Hancock, who was Skills Minister before being appointed Business, Enterprise and Energy Minister last July, making the Tory favourite for the post.

Ladbrokes spokesperson Alex Donohue said: “The rumour mill has been churning and by no means is political betting slowing down [after the General Election] as punters speculate on future appointments.”

Mr Umunna (below right) was favourite this afternoon among bookies to take over as Labour leader, with Betfair, Paddy Power and BetVictor offering odds of 2/1, Betfred 15/8 and Ladbrokes 13/8.

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt was fifth favourite with each of the same bookies, also behind Andy Burnham, Yvette Cooper, and Dan Jarvis, with his odds ranging from 12/1 to 14/1.

The bookies were not offering odds on whether Nick Boles would stay on as Skills Minister in the new government, with Prime Minister David Cameron expected to announce the make-up his first all-Tory government on Monday.

Mr Boles told FE Week yesterday (May 8) that Mr Cameron had not yet discussed this with him, as he had “been really busy with going to see the Queen and attending a VE Day event”.

Meanwhile, Ladbrokes installed Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Mr Farron (pictured left) as 1/6 favourite to be the next leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Nick Clegg, with Paddy Power also offering 1/5 odds.

Sector leaders have issued their responses to the Conservative victory in the general election.

Martin Doel (pictured right), chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “After offering our congratulations to the new Government, our message is simple – if you want to boost this country’s economy, then the education and training provided by colleges, whether technical and professional or academic, is essential.

“We are deeply concerned that the Conservatives were the only main party not to pledge to ringfence funding for 16 to 18-year-olds.

“This leaves college students extremely vulnerable to further cuts and we appeal to the Prime Minister to think again before risking the education and training opportunities of thousands of young people.

“The Conservative Party manifesto promises to increase the number of apprenticeships, but we must recognise that quality is as important as quantity.

“Apprenticeships are also not the only way to give people the skills they need to get a job.

“For the country to stay competitive and cohesive, we need a wider offer to people to develop themselves and to keep learning. We simply can’t afford to put all of education and training eggs in the apprenticeship basket.

“The adult skills budget has experienced a swathe of cuts in the last few years and we’ve already warned that adult education and training in England will not exist by 2020 if the Government continues with cuts at the same rate.

“We will press the new government to carry out a once in a generation review of education funding to make sure the budget is being fairly divided across the age ranges.

“Skills gaps are beginning to appear in our economy, particularly at technician level, which is where colleges must have a leading role. Colleges are vital to the country in developing a highly skilled and productive workforce but in order to fulfil this role they need the resources to do the job.”

Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE (pictured left), executive director of the 157 Group, said that the Tory win was “of course, surprising”.

“We are especially sad to say goodbye to Vince Cable, who has been very supportive of FE despite the difficult times we have been facing over the past few years. We pay tribute to his work,” she said.

“We will, of course, be engaging with new Conservative ministers on behalf of our member colleges as soon as possible, and we will be working hard to ensure that colleges are given genuine freedoms in order that they can continue to be responsive to the needs of local communities and employers.

“There are now real risks from further spending cuts, but we will be strongly demonstrating the undoubted contribution of FE to the economy in a way that we hope will be hard to resist within the Treasury.

“The Conservative commitment to both apprenticeships and UTCs was made clear during the campaign, and our focus will be on making sure that these initiatives form part of a more coherent whole education system.”

James Kewin, Sixth Form Colleges’ Association deputy chief executive (pictured below right), said: “We look forward to working with the new government but the sector faces some significant challenges that need to be urgently addressed. We are now resigned to the fact that he A-level reforms will be here to stay. There was a lot of uncertainty in the sector about what would happen in that respect if Labour had been elected.

“The biggest issue to us is about future funding cuts, as the Conservatives were the only major party that said they wouldn’t protect 16 to 19 funding in real terms.

“The evidence is clear that the sector has already been cut to the bone and we won’t be able to absorb more cuts without it having an adverse affect on students. We will make it a priority to step out the evidence of the damage past cuts have already done to the sector and argue against any more ahead of the upcoming spending review.”

A spokesman for the University and College Union said: “The government set out plans for some very dangerous cuts ahead of the election and the sector reacted in unity against them.

“The return of a Conservative majority means the sector must redouble its efforts in making the case for FE.

“Those cuts need to be reversed. If they are not then it will be a very difficult time for colleges, the economic recovery will be put at risk and social cohesion in our communities will suffer.

“Whoever picks up the FE brief has to understand that you will not get people back to work without supporting a sector that trains and educates those people.”

David Hughes (pictured left), chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (Niace), said: “Despite the loss of some champions for our sector, there are still many MPs from all parties for whom learning, skills and employment are high priorities.

“We know that many new MPs feel the same. There is a strong cross-party consensus about the skills and employment challenges we face as a country as we strive for sustained and inclusive economic growth as well as for a society where everyone has real life chances.

“We have already set out the priorities for the new Government’s first 100 days in our ‘Ten Policies for Ten People’ proposals. We will be promoting our pragmatic policy proposals with the new Government and look forward to working with what will be a new Ministerial team.”

Stewart Segal, Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) chief executive, said: “We recognise the significance of the Conservatives’ election victory and we will work with the new government as it implements its manifesto.

“We welcome that employment and skills were at the centre of the government’s manifesto because there is a proven return on investment in these programmes in terms of the economy, business competitiveness and wage growth for people in sustainable employment.

“We also welcome the fact that government wishes to grow high quality apprenticeships and that these should be available across all levels and all ages.”

Mr Segal (pictured below right) added: “Reducing youth unemployment must remain a major priority and we look forward to discussing with the government how for example the proposals for a new Youth Allowance for unemployed 18 to 21 year olds will be linked to apprenticeships and traineeships.

“AELP’s own manifesto called for greater integration of employment and skills programmes and we believe that it will be a wasted opportunity if we don’t see more progress on this during the next five years.

“We will work with the government on developing major programmes for the long-term unemployed, including the ‘Work Programme’ and ‘Work Choice’.

“We will urge ministers to drive more coherence between programmes for the unemployed, including more integrated contracting processes, success measures and provider payment methodologies.

“The inclusion of LEPs in the Conservative manifesto is an important aspect of the English devolution agenda.  This needs to be integrated with national programmes such as apprenticeships, traineeships and the main welfare-to-work programme.

“Skills and employment will continue to be a driver behind a sustained economic recovery and training providers will continue to be at the forefront of that delivery.”

Cap main pic: Victorious Conservative Party leader David Cameron

Nick Boles was tonight yet to speak with Prime Minister David Cameron about whether he will be reinstated as Skills Minister, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

Just hours after being returned as the MP for Grantham and Stamford with an increased majority after earning 28,399 votes, he said he had not spoken with Mr Cameron since the Conservative leader had secured the first Tory overall majority since 1992.

Mr Boles, who inherited the Skills Minister brief from Matthew Hancock in July, told FE Week that Mr Cameron “has been really busy with going to see the Queen and attending a VE Day event”.

“I hope that he’s now going take a little bit of time off himself,” said Mr Boles.

Were Mr Boles to be reappointed Skills Minister, he would be in line for a new boss at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with Vince Cable having lost his Twickenham constituency to the Conservatives.

The former Liberal Democrat Business Secretary last October claimed to have fought off suggestions from civil servants in 2010 to cut budgets to a level that would have “killed off FE” — a claim later backed up by former Skills Funding Agency boss David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.

Mr Boles would likely be working under the same boss at the Department for Education however, with Conservative Education Secretary Nicky Morgan having retaken her Loughborough seat, also with an increased majority.

Nevertheless, Mr Boles said he had “hugely enjoyed” his time in the Skills Minister post, but would have no influence over which, if any, role he played in the new government.

But he went on to warn it was likely FE colleges would, under the newly-elected Conservative Government, be expected to generate more income directly from the business community and rely less on government cash.

“I think there will probably need to be slightly more done by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Skills Minister and the FE Commissioner to encourage colleges to look more widely at where they generate income from,” said Mr Boles.

“They can’t just look to the government, through the Skills Funding Agency, as a customer and need to develop better working relationships with, for example, employers who pay for courses directly.

“There are lots of colleges that do this very well already, but others have been slower to adapt. It’s something that can be looked at.”

He added: “Improving apprenticeships formed a key part of our manifesto and we are determined to do that.”

Mr Boles said he was still tired after waiting through the night for the election result, which ended with a Conservative majority in the House of Commons.

“My result did not come through until about 6.50am, so I didn’t really get to bed until 9.30am and didn’t manage to get much sleep after that,” he said.

“However, a General Election only happens once every five years and it’s all worth it, especially when it’s as exciting as this. You find all sorts of new reserves of energy and adrenalin to get through.”

Click here to view the table

The proportion of colleges and independent learning providers (ILPs) ordered to improve by Ofsted is on the rise, FE Week research has found.

Sector bodies have raised concerns the trend in results so far this calender year versus the same period last year is evidence Ofsted has raised the benchmark for FE providers — or is failing to measure them appropriately.

Analysis by FE Week revealed of all 57 general FE colleges, sixth form colleges and ILPs inspected and reported on between January 1 and May 5, 33 per cent had their Ofsted rating changed to a grade three, or ‘requires improvement’. For the same period last year that figure stood at 17 per cent of 64 inspections.

The newly-awarded grade threes all represent a drop from a grade two, apart from the grade given to A4e last year, when it had worked its way back up to a grade three. The proportion of new grade one results fell 3 percentage points, with no new grade ones so far this year compared to two in the same period last year. And new grade two ratings as a proportion of inspection results fell from 50 per cent last year to 32 per cent, while the proportion of grade fours went from 2 per cent to 9 per cent.

For general FE colleges, 31 per cent of the 16 inspected and reported on so far this year dropped to a grade three, up from 22 per cent.

David Corke (pictured), director of education and skills policy for the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “The current Ofsted framework doesn’t fully capture the scope of what colleges do and this is reflected in an increase in the number of ‘requires improvement’ grades given. Ofsted appears to have recognised this, which is why they’re introducing a new framework to inspect schools and colleges in the same way.”

Mr Corke said the new framework “should better assess the complexity of colleges”.

Of the 37 ILPs inspected and reported on this year, 30 per cent got a grade three — up from 17 per cent out of 29 the year before.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal said: “Although the sample of recent inspections is quite small, it does seem that the Ofsted benchmark has been raised and a greater proportion of all providers are getting a grade three than last year. We have said for some time that the pressure on funding in terms of overall budgets and the fact that funding rates have not even kept pace with inflation means that it is really difficult for training providers to get grade one or two.

“Ofsted inspections have to reflect these external factors as well as being driven by success rates and elements such as safeguarding and ‘prevent’ requirements.”

He also called for Ofsted to place more emphasis on satisfaction survey results in its judgements. He added: “With providers under pressure from inspections, it will be important to manage the transition to the new common inspection framework later this year.”

Four sixth form colleges have been inspected and reported on since the beginning of the year and all but one (75 per cent) dropped to a grade three — while in 2014, this happened to just one out of the twelve (8 per cent) inspected. Sixth Form Colleges’ Association deputy chief executive James Kewin said it was “difficult to draw conclusions” from the four colleges and that he was “confident” the grade three colleges would “bounce back”. He added: “The picture for the whole academic year is likely to be less gloomy — we are aware of six colleges that have been inspected recently and their grades have not yet been published.”

An Ofsted spokesperson said: “We would caution against reading too much into inspection outcomes for such a short period.

“Since we aim to raise standards in the sector we prioritise those further education colleges and skills providers that are not yet good or better. We will inspect colleges and providers judged to require improvement within two years. In the meantime, inspectors offer challenge and support to help them provide a better service for learners.”

The figures show providers inspected between the same periods in both 2014 and 2015 where the report was also published within that period. They do not show providers inspected before January where the report was then released between January and May.

What does a grade three mean for providers?

Up until 2012, getting a grade three meant Ofsted saw you as satisfactory.

But since the last change to the Common Inspection Framework (CIF), a grade three means the provider “requires improvement”.

And if a provider gets too many grade threes in a row, Ofsted, under the current CIF has the power to brand them a grade four — inadequate.

Sliding from a grade one or two to a three also means the provider will no longer be eligible to take on new traineeships as a prime contractor — and also barred from the direct recruitment of 14 and 15-year-olds.

But a new, unified CIF, providing one framework for inspecting nurseries, schools and FE, is due to introduced from September.

And, as the unified CIF requires all grade two, or good, providers to be re-inspected at more frequent, three-year intervals, the opportunities to slip into grade three status will come around more often.

A merger between two failing and nearby South East London colleges could be on the table with the FE Commissioner considering both their futures, FE Week can reveal.

Dr David Collins has been sent into Greenwich Community College and Lewisham Southwark College in recent months after they both got disastrous grade four Ofsted results — the second in a row for Lewisham Southwark.

And while his recommendation of a structure and prospects assessment at Greenwich was made public in March, a Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson told FE Week he had recommended the same at Lewisham Southwark and that it was now under way.

The report of Dr Collins’ second Lewisham Southwark inspection has not been published, but the BIS spokesperson further revealed the two colleges, which have around 23,000 learners, had already entered into “discussions” with each other.

Greenwich principal Lindsey Noble, who took over after the inspection by Dr Collins, who placed the college into administered status amid concerns over provision and finances, said: “One option might be merger with a number of possible colleges, including Lewisham Southwark College, but a range of options will be considered.”

A spokesperson at Lewisham Southwark said information about its structure and prospects assessment had “been shared with staff”.

The assessments of the grade four colleges come amid calls for a review of FE provision in South East London in the same vein as the review underway in Nottingham, as revealed on feweek.co.uk this month [click here for more]. And the principals of two other South East London colleges also raised no objection to a review.

Shakira Martin, National Union of Students vice president-elect for FE and Lewisham Southwark students’ union president, said: “I would rather the commissioner focused on provision across the area rather than individual colleges. It could put issues faced by my college and Greenwich in better context.”

Further Education Trust for Leadership honorary president Dame Ruth Silver, a former Lewisham College principal, also backed an area-wide review. But she said: “I think any mergers would be wrong, as existing problems just get bigger with bigger colleges.

“The issues facing colleges in South East London stretch beyond FE, as our sector is missing out on funding to schools and universities for example. I would ultimately like Dr Collins to look at all education in that area and how it could work better overall.”

Danny Ridgeway, principal of grade two Ofsted-rated Bexley College, said: “There are clearly issues with quality in some South East London colleges. We do not object in principle to a review nor to the possibility of federations or mergers.”

Mark Silverman, principal of grade three Ofsted-rated Lambeth College, said: “If there was an area-wide review, then we would expect to contribute. We support anything that can contribute to improving FE.”

The BIS spokesperson said it would be for the new Government to decide whether to launch an area-wide review of South East London.

Keep grade four mess to a minimum

Between them, Lewisham Southwark College and Greenwich Community College have around 23,000 learners — or in Ofsted-esque parlance that many learners are in provision that is inadequate.

Their similarities in Ofsted grades, not to mention their close South East London proximity, might make the suggestion of merger appear logical.

But it’s a move that should not be taken lightly. As Dame Ruth says, we could just end up with one big grade four mess. Merger in itself is no solution — remember K College?

The situation, again as Dame Ruth puts forward, requires a wider view, and on this basis questions should be asked as to why such a review has taken place in Nottingham and not South East London.

The East Midlands city’s two colleges are both (relatively) mere grade three-rated providers and while finances are said to be an issue at one, exactly the same can be said of Greenwich.

It’s just over two years ago that, reporting in FE Week and armed with research on falling Ofsted grades, I asked if we had ‘a capital in crisis?’

So, with the new Government taking shape and potential new Skills Ministers being sounded out, we have an early request for the new post-holder. Give us a review.

 

News, updates and pictures from the eve of the election through to the formation of a new government.

The self-proclaimed ‘saviour of FE’ has been ousted in a disastrous General Election for the Liberal Democrats and Labour.

Former Business Secretary Dr Vince Cable became one of the most high-profile casualties of the General Election on Thursday (May 7) as he lost his Twickenham seat to the Conservatives.

The Liberal Democrat last October claimed to have fought off suggestions from civil servants in 2010 to cut budgets to a level that would have “killed off FE” — a claim later backed up by former Skills Funding Agency boss David Hughes, chief executive of the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.

At the time of going to press, the Conservatives were widely being tipped to claim a majority with around 330 MPs.

Dr Cable, who had led the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) for the past five years, was one of dozens of Liberal Democrats to lose their seats in Parliament.

The economist and former Lib Dem deputy leader was first elected to Parliament in 1997 and had increased his majority every year until 2010, when he won by more than 12,000 votes.

Another high-profile Lib Dem loss was education minister David Laws, who lost his seat in Yeovil. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was the only minister from his party to retain his seat, albeit narrowly.

Conceding defeat to Tania Mathias, who won 25,580 votes to Dr Cable’s 23,563, he said: “Thanks are due to a lot of other people, the people who organised this event, above all to my army of volunteers.”

He said the result was “no reflection” on the work of his team, adding: “The fact is we were hit by a very well-organised national campaign based on people’s fear of a Labour government and the Scottish nationalists.”

The result contrasted with a good night for the Conservatives who saw comfortable wins for Skills Minister Nick Boles and Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who retained their seats in Grantham and Stamford, and Loughborough, respectively. Education Select Committee chair Graham Stuart was also returned to the House of Commons as an MP, reclaiming his Beverley and Holderness seat.

The FE and skills sector’s Labour contingent will also be back at the Commons. Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna won Streatham and Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt retook Stoke on Trent Central. Shadow Skills Minister Liam Byrne reclaimed the seat in Birmingham Hodge Hill, as did Shadow Junior Education Minister Yvonne Fovargue in Makerfield constituency.

And the party’s BIS Select Committee chair Adrian Bailey won West Bromwich West.