My Lords, in moving Amendment 7, in my name and those of my noble friends Lady Thornton and Lady Wilcox, I also lend my support to the other amendments in this group: Amendment 8 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Addington, and Amendment 11 in the name of my noble friend Lord Watson. I declare an interest as a former student of Birkbeck College, to which I will refer during my remarks.
I will speak primarily to Amendment 7, under which the Government would have to publish regular updates on the important potential impacts of the Bill. The Second Reading debate raised a lot of questions, not least the almost total lack of detail in what is—as has already been highlighted—a very short Bill. This amendment would ensure that those questions do not remain unanswered or unconsidered in future. The timing of the proposed first review, by the end of 2026, would also identify any issues with how the rollout is affecting particular groups for whom the lifelong loan entitlement must work in order for it to fulfil its promised transformation.
Labour will be particularly interested in the extent to which the Bill helps to get people back into education. The amendment would allow us to establish whether this is working in practice for those who have already undertaken an undergraduate degree, for example. We are not at day zero, and this is intended to cover a wide range of people, many of whom may view their involvement in formal education as a distant memory.
How would a residual entitlement be worked out? I declare an interest as a former languages student. Would someone who, 10 or 20 years ago, had chosen a four-year course, including a year abroad or work
placement, be entirely excluded from future educational opportunities with funding? Will these definitely be subject to a lower fee limit, as suggested by the Minister in her earlier remarks? I am concerned that an unintended consequence would be lower take-up of longer undergraduate courses. The Minister will be aware that there is also concern from stakeholders that, if the structure around fee limits is not right or it has unintended consequences, this could limit the amount and type of courses offered, which would also limit student choice. Although we support the Bill, we want to ensure that any issues are dealt with swiftly, which a review would allow.
During the Second Reading debate, a number of noble Lords raised concerns about the potential impact of this legislation on the take-up and provision of part-time study. Indeed, this was discussed previously today. Birkbeck College has raised concerns about whether the Government appreciate the risk to part-time study inherent in the Bill. I ask the Minister whether the Government intend to see the end of part-time study in favour of modular study and, if not, will she commit to the Government accepting the need to review the implementation of the Bill to provide a safeguard against this happening?
During the Second Reading debate, it was highlighted that, despite the fact that the UK needs the most adaptable and flexible approach to learning and skills, employers are failing to invest in the skills system. There has been a 28% drop in spending by employers in real terms since 2005. We know that employer investment in skills is less than half the average in EU countries. We on the Labour Benches think that the Government need to ensure that this does not fall further.
We already know that the apprenticeship levy is used poorly by employers. We do not want—and I do not believe that the Minister wants—the lifelong loan entitlement to put the onus for paying for learning to develop skills within roles on to employees without employers having to pay their fair share. This amendment would allow the Government to review whether this pretty dire situation is getting worse. The Labour Party thinks that it would help to guard against a situation in which employers use the system to push their employees and potential hires into further debt to fulfil internal skills gaps. We need both this lifelong loan entitlement and more investment from employers.
Finally, the biggest unintended consequence that this Bill might have would be in effect to undermine the financial viability of institutions that are in some cases already struggling financially. I spent Saturday afternoon playing Jenga with two of my nieces. It strikes me that an unintended consequence of not building in a review of the operation of the legislation while changing the fundamental approach to funding through fees is a bit like playing Jenga blindfolded. Including the financial sustainability of the sector, the Student Loans Company and the Office for Students would allow the Secretary of State to consider this issue formally as part of the overall assessment of how the approach is working. I think that it makes total common sense to build in a review.
I look forward to hearing from the Minister both responses to my questions and whether the Government will incorporate a review into the Bill going forward. I beg to move.
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