Full information on the ‘going rates’ for eligible occupation is published on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-going-rates-for-eligible-occupations.

We are on schedule to deliver an additional 50,000 nurses by the end of March 2024, with a further 32,000 nurses currently working in the National Health Service, compared with September 2019. The Government has funded an additional 1,500 medical school places each year for domestic students in England, which was completed in September 2020 and delivered five new medical schools. The first graduates from this expansion entered foundation training in August 2022.

Health Education England has undertaken a three-year review of education and training, which is being implemented through the Dental Education Reform Programme. In July 2022, we announced measures to reform NHS dental services to increase access for patients and remunerate dentists fairly for caring for patients with complex needs. We are also working with NHS England and the sector on longer-term improvements to make NHS dentistry a more appealing place to work.

Emergency medical technician training is undertaken through an apprenticeship qualification whilst employed in an ambulance service trust. Some EMTs can progress to a registered paramedic through additional education programmes.

NHS England’s retention programme seeks to understand why staff leave and provide targeted interventions to support staff to stay, with each trust required to have in place retention action plans that will target support where needed locally. The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention.

The labour shortages in the sector are longstanding.

We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to ensure that jobseekers can find employment or training in the industry as quickly as possible.

We are also working with the Department for Education in supporting the logistics sector make the most of the opportunities provided through the apprenticeship levy.

There is a range of Government backed apprenticeships, delivered by training providers and manufacturers, encouraging training of technicians and mechanics to work on heavy goods vehicles.

We recognise the crucial role that individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading.

Arts Council England (ACE) has already distributed £104m through its Emergency Response Package to ensure the immediate resilience of this vital sector. The package included £80.7 million of support for cultural organisations, and £23.1 million of financial support for individuals, including freelancers. More than 9000 organisations and individuals were successful in applying for this emergency funding.

To complement Government Funding, ACE have made over £115m of funding available for individuals, including freelancers, to apply for. This includes:

• £17.1m through the Emergency Response Fund for individuals;

• £18m through their Developing Your Creative Practice fund;

• £75m through National Lottery Project Grants (available to both individuals and orgs); and

• £6m distributed by a series of Benevolent Funds focused on the self-employed.

The Secretary of State announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for the cultural sector which will benefit the live events sector by providing support to venues and many other cultural organisations to stay open and continue operating. £333 million was awarded to 1973 arts organisations which had applied for grants less than £1 million from Arts Council England. Funded organisations included venues, festivals, theatres, museums and cultural organisations. Over the coming weeks further Culture Recovery Fund awards will be announced - including grants over £1 million, and the Capital Kickstart and Repayable Finance programmes.

The Chancellor has announced the Winter Economy Plan to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming months, once the existing Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme come to end. We are also offering businesses who face a drop in demand for their services and possible cash flow issues generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans.

We continue to engage with the sector to discuss the on-going challenges facing the industry.

The government wants to encourage more students into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and training at all stages from primary school to higher education, which will equip people with the skills needed for such roles. We are investing an additional £406 million in skills, including maths and digital. This includes the Advanced Maths Premium and an £84 million programme to improve the teaching of computing.

It is crucial we encourage more young people to consider STEM careers, including careers such as laboratory scientist technicians. We have committed to improving STEM careers advice in schools in the government’s careers strategy which ensures that STEM encounters, such as with employers and apprenticeships, are built into school career programmes by updating school and college statutory guidance.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy also funds a number of programmes that aim to inspire more young people to study science subjects, such as the STEM Ambassadors programme, and the CREST awards, which engage students in STEM-related projects.

T levels will also provide alternative routes into laboratory and science technical careers. T levels will be a new gold-standard in technical education, providing a distinctive and rigorous alternative to A levels and apprenticeships. T level panels of employers are defining the outline content for the new programmes and we recently announced that T levels in the Health and Science route, which includes Laboratory Sciences, will be taught by selected providers from 2021.

Apprenticeships are available in the sector across a range of levels including Laboratory scientist (degree); Laboratory scientist Level 5; and Laboratory technician Level 3. These standards are being developed by employer groups, including groups in the health and science sector such as Pfizer, GSK, Astra Zeneca, Sterling Pharma Solutions, 3M. A full list of standards is available on the Institute for Apprenticeships’ website at https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/.

To stimulate apprenticeships growth across all sectors, we are first and foremost ensuring that apprenticeships are a quality product recognised by individuals and employers – setting individuals on a path to a to great career and providing employers with the home-grown skills they need to grow their businesses and increase productivity.

We are also currently carrying out a review of higher technical education, looking at how level 4 and 5 classroom based technical education meets the needs of learners and employers. This forms part of our commitment to support routes to higher-earning technical roles and address the skills needs of the economy. Our ambition is to reform higher level technical education so that it delivers the skills employers and the economy need and offers attractive routes to higher earning technical roles. We also intend to establish a system of employer-led national standards for higher technical education.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The Government does not currently have any plans to introduce a licensing and accreditation scheme for technicians working on electric and automated vehicles. However, the Department recognises the need to develop servicing skills to support the UK’s transition to these vehicles. With regards to electric vehicles, the 2020 Vision for English Apprenticeships supports an industry-led approach to skills training that allows employers to lead on new apprenticeship standards. The establishment of the employer-led Institute for Apprenticeships and the introduction of an employer levy fund provides an opportunity for these sectors to shape the development of training programmes to meet the skills needs they have identified.

It is too early to develop a training, licensing, and accreditation scheme for automated vehicles. We will continue to liaise with the relevant technology and professional bodies; as automated vehicle technology matures, we will be able to consider if such a scheme would be suitable, and what, if any, Government intervention would be needed.

The Government is working with industry and skills bodies to achieve this goal, and Government-backed skills initiatives such as the Apprenticeship Levy and the National College for Nuclear are examples of actions taken to date. The National College for Nuclear aims to train 7,000 people by 2020, with the first intake of students to begin in September 2017.

The Government plans to deliver the majority of skills needed for the sector through national Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, including apprenticeships and higher education in combination with organisations’ in-house training and targeted support from accredited skills bodies.