Gavin Williamson’s resignation aside, this year’s political omnishambles has momentarily paused. Once again, we have a whole new Department for Education team.
The third prime minister of 2022, Rishi Sunak has already described skills as his “silver bullet”. Unfortunately for those looking for quick progress or a radical reform agenda, the skills and FE sector might find itself a long way behind a frankly terrifying raft of national and international crises on number 10’s to-do list.
With Downing Street distracted, it might come as reassurance to some that the new ministerial team brings some much-welcome experience and, hopefully, competence. Most of the new line-up have worked in the DfE before, or have a background in education. They’ll certainly need this sector knowledge to deal with what could prove a massively challenging few months ahead. The team must navigate industrial action on pay, big budget cuts, the much-promised, but not yet confirmed, apprenticeship levy review, the ongoing T level roll-out, and the lifelong learning entitlement.
