Business of the House

Andrew Jones Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lansley]

I am interested in what happened at the Welsh Grand Committee. In fact, the Deputy Leader of the House and I visited it yesterday morning for the first hour of the debate. Like my hon. Friend, I was astonished to hear the Opposition saying that they were opposed to this major extension of devolution to Wales. We are in a position to give the people of Wales the opportunity, through a referendum, to decide whether they want devolution. The Opposition seem to be against that.

[Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)]

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, we have one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in the country. I recognise that we are seeing falls in youth unemployment nationally, but the level still remains worryingly high. Please may we have a debate about preparing young people for work?

[Mr Lansley]

I hope we will have further opportunities to debate that matter. The coalition Government can be proud of their achievements, including the 1.5 million apprenticeships during this Parliament, the extension of traineeships, and the commitment that young people should be in education, employment or training and that the skills they acquire should be increasingly appropriate for work in the future. We should take opportunities to discuss those achievements and support them.