Debate on the Address

Andrew Miller Excerpts

Wednesday 8th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

I concur with the spirit of the remarks made by the hon. Member for Banbury (Sir Tony Baldry) about carers. The House needs to get to grips with that hugely important subject. A number of aspects of the Queen’s Speech spill over into that complicated debate, and I hope that we can progress in such a way that carers, especially lifelong carers, can feel comfortable that there will be a long-term practical economic solution to their needs. That is a hugely important part of the challenge we face.

The third sentence of the Gracious Speech states:

“My Government’s first priority is to strengthen Britain’s economic competitiveness.”

That is clearly the case and I want to address it by considering three aspects of the Gracious Speech. First, in his eloquent, witty and far-ranging speech the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) referred to one serious issue in particular, namely his passion and commitment to engineering and engineering skills in this country. I welcome the fact that the Gracious Speech refers to apprenticeships. We need to ensure that apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships are developed in conjunction with the engineering professions so that the industries for which we are creating the next generation of necessary skills have a long-term feedstock of them.

During the previous Session I was privileged to attend an awards ceremony in the House arranged by Cogent, the skills sector council for the chemicals sector. One of the most impressive speeches was by a young woman who was an advanced apprentice working for Novartis. She was articulate and knew her industry inside out. She started as an apprentice and is now undertaking an advanced apprenticeship, and she got a degree through the company. She added proudly that, as a result of that process, she does not have a student debt. That programme, which was worked out in partnership between training agencies, universities and employers, provides an important way forward. If we are serious about apprenticeships, we need to develop such programmes in a meaningful way.

A number of important companies are working in that field. The Science and Technology Committee heard a very good presentation from an advanced apprentice from the National Grid. Most people of her age would have struggled to describe her business in the same way as she did, but she grew up with it and has developed skills at an extremely high level. Both of the cases I have mentioned deal with graduates. Interested colleagues will be able to participate in a Westminster Hall debate next Thursday on a Science and Technology Committee report to which the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire has referred.

This is a hugely important area and commitments have been made to it by those on both Front Benches. The Leader of the Opposition and the Prime Minister commended the comments of the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire and I want this House to unite and create the momentum needed to create the required skill sets.

The Queen’s Speech also referred to the curriculum. We are missing a serious trick, partly because of this House and partly because of the guidance given to Ofsted. I want to comment on two aspects of the curriculum that are relevant to the development of the skills that we need. First, on science practicals, I was privileged to address a conference alongside Sir Mark Walport, the then head of the Wellcome Trust who is now the Government’s chief scientist. Sir Mark and I sang off exactly the same hymn sheet. We need to get young people to learn about scientific experimentation and the value of how to analyse scientific results, rather than teach them simply how to get the process right in a mechanical way. That is not teaching them how to explore, which is what we need to do.

We also need to break the naive assumption that still exists in some parts of the academic world that there is a brick wall between vocational and academic skills. They are part of a continuum, as shown by my good examples of advanced apprenticeships. We need to look at schools such as the JCB academy in Derbyshire, which has done inspirational work on developing young people aged 14 to 19 in order to prepare them for higher level skills in industry and the university sector. Beyond schooling, we need to think about how to build stronger bridges between universities and industry, and consider the examples of the advanced manufacturing centre in Sheffield, the Warwick manufacturing group and the current work being undertaken at the university of Chester—I am proud to be a part of this—where, having acquired the Shell research centre at Thornton, we have created a partnership. By working with companies in the chemical and chemical engineering sectors, we hope to develop the skills they need in the future. Those are important ways forward. The continuum covers all aspects of the skill sets we need. I presume that the issues of apprenticeships and the curriculum will result in Bills, and I hope that the House will be able to unite around them.

As an aside from my general theme, I join the hon. Member for South Antrim (Dr McCrea), my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr Wright) and others in welcoming the important reference to asbestos in the Gracious Speech. It is a hugely welcome step, but the devil is in the detail. We need to look at how bereaved families fit into the equation. The issue is not as simple as it seems and I hope that the Government will enter into urgent and open consultation on it.

My third theme, having covered apprenticeships and the curriculum, is immigration, which links back to competitiveness. It was also touched on by the hon. Member for Banbury. It is a hugely important area and one understands the Government’s desire to address the public’s concerns. I want to make two points.

First, as the Leader of the Opposition said—joined, curiously, by the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood)—we need to consider some workplace issues. Last week, I listened to some vox pops from Lincolnshire on Radio 4. Sadly, the BBC did not challenge the farmer who said that he was happy to hire labour through a gangmaster. Dealing with such issues and considering the agency workers legislation that I sought to drive forward in the last Parliament will be central to finding a solution. If we do not have properly regulated working practices at the heart of those parts of the economy that need transient labour, we will obviously be a magnet for the populations that have been referred to.

My second point brings me back to education. There is an urgent need for the Government to decouple overseas students from the broader immigration debate. I strongly urge the Government to work with Universities UK to find a better way to deal with this massive industry. Something like £7 billion is at stake in the British economy. We have already seen losses from the Indian subcontinent. Given that about one in eight Chinese hopes to have their child educated abroad and that by 2020 that figure is predicted to be one in three, this is a massive potential market. I would like there to be a dialogue between the Government and Universities UK on creating a regulatory framework. That would put significant responsibilities on universities that some have perhaps not maintained in the recent past. We should separate the process of determining whether somebody is coming here to study from the broader immigration debate. It is important that the figures are separated because this is an enormously important industry, and I use the word “industry” deliberately. We must develop university structures that have tight mechanisms for dealing with applicants for such courses.

That takes me back to my opening point. The Government say that economic competitiveness is their first priority. We need to get the framework of the economy working properly. That will involve the development of skills at all levels. There are challenges with the broader student population and, in particular, with overseas students. My challenge to the Government is to ensure that in the weeks and months ahead, as we develop the legislation proposed in the Gracious Speech, the issues of skills and training are at the heart of the thinking in this House.