To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department’s press release of 2 February 2010, on apprenticeships, if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) full dataset of the snapshot findings and (b) accompanying analysis. (319116)

This snapshot of information, voluntarily provided by local authorities, was used to help inform policy. Aggregate information was included in the press notice, ‘John Denham Urges Councils to Create 3,000 More Apprenticeships’. The Department has no plans to publish the full data set.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to his Department’s press release of 2 February 2010, on apprenticeships, what criteria were used to determine which local authorities would be eligible for local authority green space apprenticeships. (319118)

Funding to support the training and employment costs of the first year of each additional apprenticeship was offered to local authorities which met the following criteria:

Had been defined as urban under DEFRA’s current (post-April 2009) rural definitions and local authority classifications;

Had already take on apprentices or had put schemes on hold due to financial constraints, but would be ready to restart given this funding;

Would be able to provide any additional funding required to run the schemes for their whole duration.