Oral Answers to Questions

Alex Cunningham Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

I would be absolutely delighted to visit Kirklees College, and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his apprenticeship fair. I note that the college has a great record on apprenticeship achievements, and that 970 apprentices have started their future. Overall at Kirklees since 2010, there have been something like 12,300 apprenticeship starts in my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

T8. An estimated 6,000 children in England are attending illegal or unregistered schools that provide limited or no appropriate education, often in an unsafe environment. Does the Minister agree that while efforts to introduce a home education register to keep track of children who are outside a school setting are welcome, more legislation is needed to close the loopholes exploited by proprietors of illegal schools and ensure that children are kept safe and educated appropriately?