Can this be real?

Following some changes to the last budget, we have exclusive news of the new Qualification Levy or what has become known as the "maths tax" and details of a little publicised part of the FS Reform programme that sees a new APP based final exam being developed.  We speculate on how this might work.

This newsletter is edited by Jonathan Wells, 0191 3055045 or [jonathan@forskills.co.uk](mailto:jonathan@forskills.co.uk)

The maths tax

We all know that the Government is very keen on EVERYONE achieving at least level  1 and ideally level 2 in maths and English.  Qualifications of this type are fully funded but take-up (we understand) is still below Government targets.

To encourage take-up, Ministers are floating the idea of a qualification levy covering maths and English.    "The maths tax" will be linked to an individual’s national insurance record. Additional information that shows the highest level of qualification in maths and English will be recorded and an NI premium charged according to that person’s highest qualification level.

• The NI premium for those with Entry Level quals will be 8% added to their current NI premiums.
• ·         For those with Level 1, the NI premium is reduced slightly to 5%.
• ·         The premium will not apply to those with Level 2 or above qualifications thereby, Ministers suggest, encouraging take-up.

·         We understand the Government will call the new tax "a levy" and it will promise to spend the money raised on education, adding a 10% premium to the levy. The new plans were due to be implemented on April 1st 2016, but issues surrounding the qualification database mean they are likely to be deferred to April 1st 2017.

App based exams

The emphasis on the Functional Skills reform programme is very much about the use of maths and English in the digital world.  One idea that we understand is being actively pursued is an App based exam.

Using a combination of retina and fingerprint scanning for identification, users taking the exam will be expected to upload answers in the form and style of a "selfie" to check they did it with face recognition software deployed by the App developers.