Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Burghart Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

2. What progress he has made in rolling out institutes of technology.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Alex Burghart)]

The Government are investing £290 million to establish a network of 21 institutes of technology throughout the country, actively targeting the areas where they are needed the most. Wave 1 has already established 12 IOTs across 50 locations, and wave 2 will add a further nine IOTs. We are getting the best of the further education sector, alongside the best of the higher education sector and the best of British employers, to deliver world-class technical education.

[Peter Aldous]

It is concerning that, after two waves of IOTs, a vacuum has emerged in East Anglia that places local learners at an unfair disadvantage compared with those elsewhere. I am grateful to the Minister for Higher and Further Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan), for the briefing that she provided to Suffolk and Norfolk MPs following the decision to reject the east of England bid; will she or my hon. Friend convene a meeting of those who prepared the bid, the two county councils and MPs to agree a strategy to fill the vacuum as quickly as possible?

[Alex Burghart]

As my hon. Friend noted, he had a meeting with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Higher and Further Education on this issue. I know he is a passionate advocate for education in his area and wants to see the excellent success of our IOTs replicated in his region. At this time, there are no plans to extend IOTs, but we very much keep the policy under review and want to see them go from strength to strength.

[Paula Barker (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab)]

3. What steps he is taking to engage with families with disabled children on the SEND Green Paper.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)]

7. What steps the Government are taking to help prisoners retrain and reduce the risk of reoffending.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Alex Burghart)]

The Government absolutely recognise the importance of preparing prisoners for employment upon their release. That is why we are, for the very first time, changing the law to enable serving prisoners who are close to release to start apprenticeships, helping them to retrain and upskill, and providing them with direct routes into jobs with businesses in their communities.

[Alexander Stafford]

Retraining prisoners is vital for rehabilitation. Does my hon. Friend expect these welcome plans for prisoner retraining to reduce reoffending, leading to a safer society for all of us? Will these plans be under way as soon as possible so that we can all start to see the benefits immediately?

[Alex Burghart]

I can absolutely give my hon. Friend that reassurance. Officials in the Department for Education are working at pace with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice to make sure that we tear down the barriers so that people leaving prison can have had the best chance to rebuild their lives, earn money for themselves, and contribute to their communities. We expect to make progress on that this calendar year.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

8. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to student loan requirements on social mobility.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)]

T9. Does my hon. Friend agree that essay mills have the potential to cause severe damage to academic integrity? What steps are being taken to tackle them?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Alex Burghart)]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: essay mills denigrate the excellent work that the vast majority of students do by allowing a tiny minority to cheat. That is why, in our Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, which will soon receive Royal Assent, we are outlawing them, and we will punish everyone involved in them.

[Kim Leadbeater (Batley and Spen) (Lab)]

T7. Will the Minister join me in congratulating all the girls who took part in the FA’s “let girls play” biggest ever football session last week? Will he update the House on the steps that his Department is taking to ensure that girls have equal access to football in schools, and on the work that it is undertaking to ensure that PE is not squeezed out of the curriculum due to the academic over-testing of children?