Large employers will soon be able to transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship levy funds to multiple businesses, helping to boost the number of high-quality apprenticeships across the country.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton announced the move today (26 June) at an event attended by over 160 top businesses to celebrate apprenticeships and the significant contribution they are making to their businesses and the wider economy.

The apprenticeship levy is giving employers a real opportunity to invest in high-quality training, helping to grow their business and get the skilled workforce they need to thrive and succeed. Only around 2% of employers pay the levy but that investment has funded more than 40% of the apprenticeships started in the last year.

Currently, levy-paying employers can transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship service funds to one other employer. After listening to businesses, the Minister’s announcement today goes further and provides even greater flexibility for businesses, so that from July, employers will be able to make transfers of up to 10% to as many other employers as they choose.

This move will lead to more quality apprenticeships being created and will help employers to work together in partnership, supporting them to take on apprentices who may not have done so otherwise.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said:

It’s fantastic to see so many businesses taking advantage of the opportunity that the apprentice levy provides. As well as kick starting their apprenticeship programmes, business is now recognising the benefits an apprentice brings to the work place with enthusiasm and new ideas.

We want to keep improving apprenticeships for everyone and I am delighted that we are now extending the flexibility of the apprenticeship levy. If we look at what the Berkeley Group and Norfolk County Council are doing, this is business and the public sector using the apprenticeship programme to change people’s lives.

The Berkeley Group Executive Director Karl Whiteman said:

The construction industry is at a crossroads with more people leaving than joining, just as we need to build more homes. The Berkeley Group has always supported our supply chain to recruit apprenticeships. Over the last 2 years, we have had more than 850 apprentices on our sites and in our offices. We welcome the opportunity to continue this not just in an advisory capacity but financially with the new changes which allow us to share our levy with many more contractors.

Norfolk County Council was the first organisation to make a transfer of apprenticeship service funds. A spokesperson for the council said:

From the moment the levy was first announced, Norfolk County Council’s leadership team wanted to ensure that some of our levy could be used to support Norfolk people who have all the necessary skills and abilities to complete an apprenticeship successfully but have barriers that sometimes prevent them from achieving successfully.

Working with TrAC, we have developed a pilot designed to help 30 young people to get and achieve an apprenticeship and Norfolk County Council is transferring levy to TrAC to support these apprentices.

All of these apprentices are referred by the council and will be employed by TrAC who will place them with other host employers throughout their programme. Both the apprentice and the host employer receive additional bespoke support throughout the programme.

The announcement follows another significant boost to apprenticeships this week, with new high-quality apprenticeship standards in bricklaying and plastering being approved for delivery by the Institute for Apprenticeships. Around 4,000 apprentices are expected to enrol on the bricklayer apprenticeship every year and up to 1,500 apprentices to undertake plastering each year.

The new standards were designed by employers and are backed by the Federation of Master Builders. Construction is a growing and important sector and the new standards will give apprentices the skills that the construction sector needs.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), said:

These higher quality construction apprenticeships have the potential to help solve the construction skills crisis. The bricklayer and plasterer apprenticeships were designed by employers which will ensure they produce the tradespeople they need. The apprenticeships are longer in duration and cover a broader range of knowledge and hand-skills. This not only benefits the employers but also the apprentices who will be arming themselves with a wider range of skills for their future careers.

Sir Gerry Berragan, Chief Executive of the Institute for Apprenticeships, said:

As sector specialists, the Bricklayer and Plasterer Apprenticeship Trailblazer Group really understood employers’ needs, and they’ve worked hard to include the skills and experience that would best serve both employers and apprentices in these occupations for the future. Ultimately, these apprenticeships will produce well trained, skilled employees who can add significant value and help their organisations thrive.

Landlords, leaseholders and tenants will be armed with vital information on their rights and responsibilities thanks to new online rental guides published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government today (26 June 2018).

These guides form a key part of government’s continuing crackdown on poor practice by a minority of landlords and agents in the private rented and leasehold sectors. Evidence shows that Citizens Advice helped 65,000 private renters with more than 100,000 problems about their tenancy in 2017.

As part of government’s commitment to ensure everyone has a decent, safe place to live, the ‘how to’ guides include checklists for new and existing tenants, landlords and letting agents to ensure they are complying with their legal responsibilities.

Published on GOV.UK today the guides have been produced in partnership with landlord, tenant and letting and managing agent groups, professional bodies and local housing authorities and aim to drive up living standards in the sector.

The ‘how to’ series comprises:

How to let

This new guide will help private landlords learn more about their key legal responsibilities and best practice when letting a property, including how to protect tenancy deposits, carry out gas safety checks and install smoke and carbon dioxide alarms.

How to lease

By reading this new document, leaseholders can learn about their unique set of rights and responsibilities. For example, a managing agent or landlord could be responsible for running a leaseholder’s block or estate – but the leaseholder does have a say in how they do it.

How to rent a safe home

This document will help current and prospective tenants identify potential unsafe conditions in rented properties. It gives tenants an overview of the most common hazards to look out for in rented properties, including gas and electrical safety, damp and mould and trips and falls hazards, and how they should report dangerous conditions.

How to rent

This updated guide provides a step-by-step process to renting privately. Tenants can learn how to challenge poor practice and understand private landlords’ legal obligations. It is a legal requirement for all landlords to provide their tenants with this document.

Housing Minister Heather Wheeler MP said:

Every day across the country thousands of people move house – from young people leaving home for the first time, to those relocating after years in the same property.

Whatever the circumstance, we want to ensure renters, landlords and leaseholders are armed with information so they know their rights, responsibilities and can challenge poor behaviour.

The guides will be reviewed in light of any new legislation to ensure tenants, landlords and leaseholders are supplied with up-to-date information.

Government is committed to protecting the rights of tenants and giving them more security. We will shortly be launching a consultation seeking views on the benefits and barriers to landlords offering longer and more secure tenancies in the private rented sector.

We have already announced our intention to require private landlords to belong to a redress scheme, and that we will require all letting agents to be regulated and belong to a client money protection scheme in order to practice.

Our consultation on ways to make redress more accessible and effective across housing closed on 16 April and we will issue a response in due course.

• CognitionX co-founder Tabitha Goldstaub to chair new AI Council and become AI Business Champion
• Professor Dame Wendy Hall confirmed as first Skills Champion for AI in the UK
• Announcement follows appointment of Roger Taylor as chair of world-first Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, and launch of AI Grand Challenge

Globally-renowned AI expert Dr Demis Hassabis will today be confirmed as an adviser to the new Office for Artificial Intelligence as the UK looks to cement its place as a world leader in the fast-growing technology.

Hassabis, who is the co-founder of leading AI research company DeepMind, will provide expert industry guidance to help the country build the skills and capability it needs to capitalise on the huge social and economic potential of AI – a key part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy.

Digital Secretary Matt Hancock will also confirm Tabitha Goldstaub as the chair and spokesperson of the AI Council, a new industry body tasked with increasing growth in the AI sector and promoting its adoption in other sectors of the economy.

Tabitha Goldstaub is the co-founder of AI company CognitionX, an online platform which provides companies with information and access to AI experts to boost their businesses, and runs CogX, one of the largest gatherings of AI experts in the world.

She led the team who wrote the influential report London: the AI Growth Capital of Europe, and was the co-founder of Rightster, the largest online video distribution company outside the US. She is also the co-founder of Future Girl Corp and an adviser to Founders 4 Schools.

The announcements form part of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, and follow the Grand Challenges announced by the Prime Minister to use the county’s power in research and innovation to ensure the benefits of technology are felt by everyone. It also builds on the £1 billion joint Government and private sector investment announced earlier this year to put the nation at the forefront of the global AI industry.

One of the four Grand Challenges is on AI and data, which is at the centre of the Government’s plans to unlock the potential of the data-driven economy and put the UK at the forefront of AI technologies. It will be led by a Business Champion and a Skills Champion, working alongside Ministers and responsible for engaging industry voices and raising the profile of the challenge.

Matt Hancock will also today announce Dame Wendy Hall, who led last year’s independent review on AI, as a Skills Champion for AI, and Tabitha Goldstaub as the AI Business Champion.

Speaking in London, Digital Secretary Matt Hancock is expected to say:

Whether it’s improving travel, making banking easier or helping people live longer, AI is already revolutionising our economy and our society.

Britain is already an authority in AI, with the world’s best AI company and the leading use of AI in Government. We are determined to capitalize on this position.

Cutting-edge technology is the basis of the future of our economy. Under this Government, investment in the tech sector doubled in the last year, is growing at three times the pace of the rest of the economy, unemployment is at a 40-year low, inequality is falling, and we are seeing the first sustained fall in debt in a generation. We must build on these strengths.

We want to harness the best possible AI leadership to help us seize this opportunity. Demis Hassabis, Tabitha Goldstaub, and Wendy Hall have the expertise and vision to help us make sure the huge benefits of this powerful new technology are available to everyone.

Dr Demis Hassabis CBE, adviser to the Office for AI and CEO and co-founder, DeepMind, said:

I’m honoured to be taking on the role of Adviser to the Office for AI, and look forward to the huge opportunity that lies ahead.

I’ve always believed that AI could be one of the most important and widely beneficial breakthroughs of the 21st century – and as a proud Londoner, it’s fantastic to see the UK’s world-class universities and start-ups already making major scientific advances.

Alongside the research, I’m very excited about the role the UK can play in making the case globally for AI’s safe and ethical deployment.

Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder of CognitionX, said:

Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform our world for the better but to be successful we need to galvanize people in businesses right across the country.

I’m honoured to be named chair of the AI Council because I’m passionate about championing the rapid and responsible adoption of this cutting-edge technology.

By focusing on skills, data ethics and diversity, we can boost innovation and funding and put the UK at the forefront of this exciting and revolutionary sector.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall, University of Southampton, said:

I am glad to see the Government taking forward one of the key recommendations of my review. These appointments will help lay the foundations for the UK AI industry to thrive and provide the leadership we need to help it grow.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Greg Clark said:

Artificial intelligence provides significant opportunities for future economic growth, which is why we made it a crucial part of our modern Industrial Strategy and worked with industry on a sector deal that outlines how we will ensure the UK is best placed to realise this potential.

The knowledge and experience Demis and Tabitha will bring to their new roles is invaluable and underlines our ambition to be at the forefront of the AI and data revolution.

Further info

• Research suggests artificial intelligence could add £654 billion to the UK economy by 2035, and the country is already recognised as the number one place in the developed world in readiness for AI.

• Today’s appointments follow Roger Taylor being confirmed as the chair of the new Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, new plans to for an AI masters scheme and a commitment to develop a new National Data Strategy.

• The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation will advise the government on how to enable and ensure ethical, safe and innovative uses of data, including for AI. It will work with, and advise, Government and existing regulators.

• The Office for AI is based in the UK Government and is responsible for overseeing implementation of the UK’s AI strategy.

• As well as advising government on how to improve its use of the technology, the AI Council will promote industry-to-industry cooperation, boost the understanding of AI in the business world, and identify barriers to growth and innovation.

Grand challenges

The modern Industrial Strategy sets out Grand Challenges to put the UK at the forefront of the industries of the future, ensuring that the UK takes advantage of major global changes, improving people’s lives and the country’s productivity.

One of the four challenges is on AI and data, which is at the centre of the Government’s plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business.

The Prime Minister also recently announced plans for how we can transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia by 2030.

The Government has since opened a competition, with £50 million of funding available, for a new set of radiology and pathology images, to help develop important new AI algorithms to fight disease.

This is an important step to digitise all pathology networks by 2025, which lays the groundwork for even greater adoption of AI-based technology.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The Government’s modern Industrial Strategy sets out a long term plan to boost the productivity and earning power of people throughout the UK. It sets out how we are building an economy/a Britain fit for the future – how we will help businesses create better, higher-paying jobs in every part of the UK with investment in skills, industries and infrastructure.

Demis Hassabis

Demis Hassabis is co-founder and CEO of DeepMind, a neuroscience-inspired AI company which develops general-purpose learning algorithms and uses them to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

A child chess prodigy, Demis coded the classic game Theme Park aged 17. After graduating from Cambridge University, he founded videogames company Elixir Studios and completed a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at University College London. Science declared his research on imagination and memory as one of 2007’s top breakthroughs.

He is a five-time World Games Champion, recipient of the Royal Society’s Mullard Award, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Academy of Engineering, winning the Academy’s Silver Medal. In 2017 he featured in the Time 100 list of most influential people, and in 2018 he was awarded a CBE for services to science and technology, elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Imperial College London.

Tabitha Goldstaub

Tabitha Goldstaub is the co-founder of AI company CognitionX, an online platform which provides companies with information and access to AI experts to boost their businesses, and runs CogX, one of the largest gatherings of AI experts in the world.

She led the team who wrote the influential report London: the AI Growth Capital of Europe, was the co-founder of Rightster, the largest online video distribution company outside the US. She is also the co-founder of Future Girl Corp and an adviser to Founders 4 Schools.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall

Dame Wendy Hall, DBE, FRS, FREng is Regius Professor of Computer Science, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International Engagement) at the University of Southampton, and is the Executive Director of the Web Science Institute.

With Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Sir Nigel Shadbolt she co-founded the Web Science Research Initiative in 2006 and is the Managing Director of the Web Science Trust, which has a global mission to support the development of research, education and thought leadership in Web Science.

She became a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the 2009 UK New Year’s Honours list, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

She has previously been President of the ACM, Senior Vice President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, was a founding member of the European Research Council and Chair of the European Commission’s ISTAG 2010-2012, and was a member of the Global Commission on Internet Governance.

She is currently a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on the Digital Economy, and is co-Chair of the UK government’s AI Review, which was published in October 2017.

After careful consideration, the Attorney General Jeremy Wright QC MP has decided not to order an independent inquiry into the prosecution of Eleanor De Freitas.

The request for a new inquiry or review was made by Ms De Freitas’ father David De Freitas. Ms De Freitas was charged with perverting the course of justice by the Crown Prosecution Service in 2014.

The Attorney concluded that there has already been a sufficient review of the case within the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), including by Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecution. The internal review process carefully considered the points that Mr De Freitas and others have raised, and reasonable conclusions have already been reached.

Commenting on his decision, the Attorney General said:

I recognise that this was a difficult case with a tragic outcome and I extend my deepest sympathies to Mr De Freitas and his family. However, I have carefully considered the concerns raised by Mr De Freitas and I am satisfied that this case has already been subject to extensive scrutiny within the CPS, and that it was right for the prosecution to go ahead.

Figures from the Department for International Trade published today (Tuesday 26 June) show 2,072 projects recorded, 75,968 new jobs were created and that 15,063 were safeguarded, amounting to nearly 1,500 new jobs per week across the country.

Overall the UK remained the number one destination for inward investment in Europe, with the wholesale, food and drink, electronics, and infrastructure sectors all seeing an increase in the number of new jobs.

International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox said:

Two years since the EU referendum, the UK has record employment and seen an increase in new jobs as a result of inward investment.

We remain the top destination in Europe and third in the world for foreign direct investment. As an international economic department, we continue to promote the strengths of the UK as a great inward investment destination, with an open, liberal economy, world-class talent and business-friendly environment.

The increase in new jobs result from investment from across the whole globe, with jobs from German investment up by over 60%, increasing to 9,357. New jobs from Indian investments increased from 3,999 to 5,659 and from US investment, jobs surged to 26,570 – an 8% increase on the previous year.

Looking across the UK, inward investment continues to spread to the regions and nations:

• Wales attracted 57 projects with 3,107 new jobs created
• in Scotland 4,148 jobs were created as a result of 141 projects
• Northern Ireland secured 28 projects, which created a total of 1,251 jobs
• the Northern Powerhouse attracted 315 projects, creating 10, 691 new jobs
• the Midlands Engine attracted 243 projects which resulted in 13,138 new jobs being created
• in the South, 487 FDI projects created 11,126 new jobs
• in London, there were 740 new projects, resulting in 17,478 new jobs

Read:

The department records wider types of inward investment projects including mergers and acquisitions and those that are not publicly announced by foreign investors. Therefore, the FDI projects figures reported are different from those reported by external organisations, such as EY and FT, who track FDI project flows mostly based on investment announcements.

These external organisations report on calendar year, while the department’s statistics are for financial year.