Recommendation 41

HM Government Acknowledged

103. The Skills and Productivity Board has recently been established as an expert committee, tasked with providing independent, evidence-based advice to ministers at the Department for Education on matters relating to skills and their contribution to productivity. The board will provide expert advice on skills mismatches and how to make sure the courses and qualifications on offer across the country meet the needs of the economy. 104. The funding available for student support is finite and it is necessary to put limits in place to ensure that all eligible students who wish to enter HE for the first time can do so. The Equivalent or Lower-Level Qualification (ELQ) rules prevent those studying for a second HE course at an equivalent or lower level to their qualification from receiving either tuition fee loans or maintenance support for that course. 105. Generally, students who already hold an honours degree are not eligible for any further student support for another undergraduate qualification. However, there are a number of long-standing exceptions to the ELQ rules, for example, certain exemptions apply for medicine, dentistry and ITT that have been in place for several years. Part-time ELQ exemptions for engineering, computer science and technology were introduced in 2015/15, and these were extended to STEM courses in 2016/17. Exemptions for nursing, midwifery, an allied health profession or operating department practice were put in place from 1 August 2018, and exemptions were further extended to pre-registration courses in dental professional subjects and pre-registration postgraduate courses in nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions from 1 August 2018. Additionally, students with an ordinary degree can access limited support to top up an honours degree. 106. Individuals are eligible for apprenticeship funding for qualifications lower than those they already hold if the apprenticeship will lead to the acquisition of substantive new skills. It is the role of the training provider to conduct a thorough assessment of relevant prior learning to ascertain whether the apprenticeship will lead to the development of new skills. It is possible that an individual may already have some of the learning or experience that make up part of the apprenticeship. In such circumstances, where an individual has prior learning relevant to the achievement of the apprenticeship, a provider must reduce the content, price and potentially duration of the apprenticeship. This is to ensure that funds are not used to pay for skills already attained. Where a recognition of prior learning would reduce the apprenticeship duration to below 12 months, this individual is not eligible for apprenticeship funding. 107. The Augar review recommended that “the government should introduce a single lifelong learning loan allowance for tuition loans at Levels 4, 5 and 6” and the “ELQ rules should be scrapped for those taking out loans for Levels 4, 5 and 6”. 108. As set out in the Lifelong Skills for Opportunity and Growth White Paper, published on 21 January 2021, the Lifelong Loan Entitlement will provide individuals with a loan entitlement, equivalent to four years of post-18 education from 2025 to use over their lifetime. We will consult on the scope and detail of the entitlement in early 2021, including seeking views on objectives and coverage, together with aspects such as the level of modularity, how to incentivise and enable effective credit transfer, and whether Equivalent and Lower Qualifications (ELQ) restrictions should be amended to facilitate retraining and stimulate provision.