Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper

Baroness Rafferty Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

Although the noble Earl did not revert to the language that some of his colleagues have used about university degrees, I share the view that, if we are expecting both young people and the state to invest in higher education, it needs to be of high quality. That is why I support the Office for Students in its current work to have a better definition of “quality” for higher education courses and why we have made it clear that we will want to link future increases in tuition fees to that measure of quality.

[Baroness Rafferty (Lab)]

My Lords, I too commend the work of the Open University in opening access to higher education. Can my noble friend the Minister confirm that there is a targeted pathway in place to reduce the numbers of young people not in employment, education or training?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I can absolutely confirm that to my noble friend. Since my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions took on the role, it has been a key priority to tackle the 900,000 young people who are neither earning nor learning. That level is far too high and has been in existence for far too long. That is the reasoning behind the investment this Government are making in the youth guarantee, for example.