Always helpful to remind ourselves of good news. Thanks to autoenrolment, most employees are now part of a pension. Of course more to do to widen eligibility further & raise amounts being saved. But this is good news!

NEW DfE accounts suggest Government raised c£829m more from the apprenticeship levy than it spent on apprenticeships in 23-24. Levy raising more as nominal wages rise, DfE apprenticeship budget not raised in line, limiting numbers & funding rates. H/t Mark Corney

Why does a teacher of a 16-year-old in a school sixth form deserve a pay rise, but not a teacher of a 16-year-old in a college? If, like me, you think all teachers deserve the pay rise, please sign this petition👇 chng.it/d8cbBjG5Yw #loveourcolleges #publicsectorpay

Huge thanks to Sam Freedman for his 🥇Olympic preview & results threads. Really helped me to follow & tune in at the right times. Thank you Sam, and hope you enjoyed the 🚴today.

Another argument in favour of expanding adult education, learning & social prescribing. Arts & crafts boost wellbeing, study finds. theguardian.com/society/articl….

Agree with the Secretary of State, the best way to limit the benefits bill is to maximise people’s opportunities in life. Only 1 in 10 out of work disabled people get help to find work each year. Changing that likely to have more effect than cutting benefit rates & eligibility

“The budget is running to stand still...we need a more fundamental step change to close the training gap with other countries, but doing so would pay off by increasing growth.” Stephen Evans & Learning and Work Institute research in Financial Times article on UK skills crisis ft.com/content/8422f5…

A really good piece in today's Financial Times, on 'the UK skills crisis holding back growth'. Includes a very sobering chart setting out the decline in investment in adult skills since 2009, from both government and employees - both of which will need addressing.

Thank you Peter Foster Amy Borrett Anna Gross for covering this vital issue. 👏👏👏 Falls in government & employer investment in skills create a growth doom loop. Those with fewest qualifications & opportunities are missing out the most.

Great to see Learning and Work Institute data featuring in Financial Times piece today. Hopefully one day the charts will go in the right direction. Right now, disturbing is the word - we’re lagging other countries, it’s holding us back, and we’re not investing to catch up.

Interesting DWP research paper: it compares people marginally either side of AET line which determines allocation to either the 'Intensive Work Search' or 'Light Touch' regimes. Study suggests people in IWS regime earn £100 more per month after 12 months. gov.uk/government/pub…

📢Do you want to… ☑️Learn a bit of Welsh? ☑️Receive top tips about Welsh? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Join Learn Cymraeg’s 'Welcome to Welsh' session this Wednesday 4th Sept, 7-7:30pm. 💻buff.ly/4fZRts8 #neverstoplearning #learnwelsh