Adult and Further Education

My hon. Friend makes an important point and I thank him for his intervention. Absolutely, I do ag...

The hon. Lady is making some very interesting points, and I agree with some of them on adult educ...

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. I will come on to that point later in my speech.

Thank you for sticking to the guidance on the time limit, which is much appreciated.

3.49 p...

I am very grateful to the Backbench Business Committee and the Liaison Committee for their suppor...

Having further education facilities is so important for developing new skills, unlocking careers ...

I agree. I am sure that my hon. Friend will champion the need for FE in his area, under whatever ...

I will take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to East Sussex College. It is equally as ...

I absolutely recognise that scenario, and I welcome that contribution from my hon. Friend, anothe...

As a member of the Education Committee, may I say that my hon. Friend is making some excellent po...

My hon. Friend reflects the concerns—amply spelled out in the report—about not removing pathways ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am happy to give way to the Opposition spokesman.

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. Regarding his Committee’s ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that clarification. I am sure my right hon. Friend the Mi...

Before my hon. Friend moves any further into his excellent speech, the witnesses to our inquiry w...

Yes, absolutely. My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that specific issue; I was going to...

My hon. Friend is making some good points, but there are two issues. First, bursaries to do maths...

My hon. Friend raises two very valid challenges. It is also worth noting that the IFS analysis sh...

I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood) for securing today’s imp...

Like other Members of Parliament, I am frequently invited to local schools in my constituency, to...

It is a privilege to contribute to this estimates day debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the M...

I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour from Greater Manchester for an excellent speech. Trafford Co...

My hon. Friend makes an important point, and he is a champion for further education in his consti...

indicated assent.

The report acknowledged that extra funding announced in the 2019 and 2021 spending reviews would ...

It is a pleasure to speak in today’s estimates day debate, which I think is the fifth allotted da...

My hon. and learned Friend is making a passionate speech, focusing on key land-based educational ...

It comes as no surprise that my hon. Friend is absolutely right. With his veterinary background, ...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Worcester (Mr Walker), who chairs the Education Committee, and...

I have a great relationship with the wonderful Runshaw College in Leyland, and I am in the Chambe...

If I have understood the hon. Lady’s point correctly, she and I are in agreement that there needs...

I am pleased to participate in this important estimates debate on post-16 education, as I am a gr...

Leyland loves engineering. It has been famous for making trucks for hundreds of years. As my righ...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. I welcome what she has told us: it is an exciting time. W...

My right hon. Friend is making a passionate speech from his personal and professional perspective...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. That is something that colleges and local authorities should l...

My right hon. Friend is making an excellent speech on the need for more funding and appropriate r...

When I was lecturing we did go to various halls and other places, so we were in the community rat...

I thank the alliance between Wirral and Worcester for forging this debate. I must warn my hon. Fr...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the recruitment problems in further education are seen not o...

I do not want to keep quoting the right hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford, because it beco...

Does the right hon. Member not agree that the reason that people may make other choices, includin...

That is a really good point, and I think that is right: we have to pay the going rate. At the mom...

I congratulate the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, my right hon. Frien...

For childcare, as for many sectors, this is obviously about attracting other people into the sect...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend that the prestige of working in early years, and indeed ch...

I have worked in the further education sector for 22 years—I hear the Minister’s inner voice sayi...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech, as I knew she would given her experience in the sec...

I thank my hon. Friend for his expertise, and he is absolutely right. However, many students when...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent point, because Britain is an outlier in not doing maths to ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As we have been able to do with phonics and literacy-based su...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood) and my hon. Friend the Member...

I thank the Chair of the Education Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker)...

In these debates, we have heard a lot about parity. Does my hon. Friend agree that now that there...

I absolutely agree. I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention.

FE colleges such as Loughb...

I call the shadow Minister.

6.3 pm

It is a tremendous pleasure to respond to this excellent debate. I thank my hon. Friend the Membe...

I am pleased to respond to the debate. When my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker), ...

That is a very interesting comment on the people who are doing BTECs at the moment. We were told ...

First, as I say, a significant number of BTECs remain and will remain. There are new qualificatio...

rose—

I want to come on to FE funding, but I cannot not let the hon. Gentleman in.

I am grateful. There is much I would like to come back to the Minister on, but I want to ask spec...

I absolutely understand the reason why. There will, of course, be some worry when we change to a ...

rose—

The hon. Member for Wirral West spoke passionately about adult education, and I want to let her k...

Before the Minister moves on from FE, it is worth acknowledging that only a few weeks ago, the Un...

The right hon. Gentleman will know that FE colleges are autonomous on these matters, so they have...

This has been a really useful, wide-ranging debate, and I thank everybody who has taken part in i...

The Question necessary to dispose of the motion stands over until 7 o’clock under Standing Order ...