asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What action they will take to increase the number of apprenticeships in the private sector to 400,000 per year by 2020, as recommended in the Leitch review of skills.

My Lords, World-class Apprenticeships: Unlocking Talent, Building Skills for All, sets out the actions planned to deliver 400,000 public and private sector apprenticeships in England as part of meeting my noble friend Lord Leitch’s recommendation of 500,000 UK apprenticeships by 2020. The key to this is establishing the National Apprenticeship Service in 2009. Apprenticeship policy is a devolved matter and decisions on apprenticeship arrangements in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are matters for the devolved Administrations.

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for that Answer. Does she agree that the National Apprenticeship Service faces a big challenge, in view of the fact that in the private sector in this country there is only a 10 per cent take-up of apprenticeships, out of 1.4 million VAT-registered businesses? In view of that, the scheme has to be robust. Will the Minister assure us that there will be members on the board who have experience in the workplace so that they are able to represent, in particular, small businesses? Moreover, will small businesses be given the financial and other help they need? If so, in what way?

My Lords, I am delighted to be able to reassure the noble Lord that the National Apprenticeship Service will mark a major step forward in the realisation of the development of apprenticeships throughout the UK. I have reason to be optimistic about this because the Government have seen the number of those successfully completing apprenticeships rise from 40,000 in 2001-02 to over 100,000 today. While we believe that there is reason to be optimistic, the noble Lord is right to say that this is a major challenge.

My Lords, the Minister said in her reply that the target included the public as well as the private sector. Can she make clear what specific action the Government have taken in connection with their Skills Pledge to encourage enterprises and concerns in the public sector to offer apprenticeships? Further, will she consider the extent to which young people in secure settings can be helped by public-sector employers to gain apprenticeships?

My Lords, the noble Lord is extremely knowledgeable about these matters and he is absolutely right to draw attention to the important role of the public sector. As a Government we have to take the lead and put our own house in order because we do not do as well as we should. For example, in my department the Permanent Secretary, Ian Whatmore, is leading a government-wide initiative to make sure that we make our full contribution and that we expect to see new apprenticeships created in government, starting with at least 500 new apprenticeships this year. Moreover, in DIUS we aim to ensure that we have new apprenticeships beginning this year as well.

My Lords, can the Minister cite any hard evidence to show that targets have improved the quality of apprenticeships rather than simply increased the time needed for filling in forms by employers?

My Lords, the noble Baroness asks a very interesting question. I argue absolutely that this Government have rescued apprenticeships from obscurity. We have seen an enormous change in the quality of apprenticeships; that is exemplified by the increase in the number of completions. We are looking for high quality apprenticeships where there is close involvement and which are employer-led. The noble Baroness is right to highlight that that is a challenge, but this Government take it very seriously and are prepared to invest by 2010 over £1 billion in making it happen.

My Lords, is not the real issue not the number of young people in apprenticeship programmes but that of quality? What consultation takes place of apprentices who have been through the system, many of whom complain about the inadequacy of training arrangements at the workplace and in colleges of further education?

My Lords, my department takes very seriously the involvement of learners and students in the development of our policies. The noble Lord is right to highlight quality and to draw attention to the fact that in the past not all apprenticeships have lived up to the standards that we would expect, but we believe that access to apprenticeships will play a key role in achieving the kind of skills that we need in this economy to compete globally in the future. With the kind of work that the National Apprenticeship Service will make possible through the involvement of expert members on the board—I apologise for not picking up that question—and through the provision of services for small or medium-sized sized employers, we aim to get more apprenticeships with more employers in all sectors so we can deliver a practical vocational option for all young people who feel that they can benefit.

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on their action on apprenticeships. How many apprenticeships are being started and followed through in prisons? This group of people are among the least well educated and in need of the greatest support, and they could start important training while inside.

My Lords, I apologise to the noble Baroness. That is a very good question. I do not have those figures in my brief, but I will write to her on the matter. I know that we have a Question coming up on that subject shortly.

My Lords, given the lack of employer commitment to apprenticeships, what incentives might be offered through taxation, including perhaps tax breaks, which could be of particular help to small businesses?

My Lords, my department is thinking carefully about the incentives that we can offer to employers. The most important incentive for taking part in an apprenticeship scheme is to ensure that the skills base of their business is improved. That is highly valuable to employers. We must remember that the training provided in association with apprenticeships is free to the employer. We are looking at what other incentives we can offer. We are going to pilot the question of direct payments and look at how that can particularly help small to medium-sized employers.