Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Snowden Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend has evidently had a busy week in his constituency, and I know he champions young people and the need to drive up standards in education. Under our plan for change, we are starting learning earlier through accessible and affordable early years education. We are ensuring that all young people will have the skills that they need to seize opportunity, with strong pathways into post-16 learning. We also want to ensure that throughout people’s lives, they have the chance to get on at work. The changes that I set out during National Apprenticeship Week—we are cutting red tape to create more than 10,000 apprenticeships—will make a big difference to adult learners in his constituency and right across our country.

[Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)]

This slogan word salad of a question talks about breaking down barriers to opportunity. Many of my constituents want to know how on earth implementing an education tax on the independent school sector breaks down barriers to opportunity. It puts up those barriers for parents who have scrimped and saved to put their children through independent school. It is a policy of spite that will hurt the state school sector. What this Government are doing is far from breaking down barriers; it is putting up barriers to aspiration.

[Bridget Phillipson]

This Labour Government are aspirational and ambitious for all our children, including the vast majority of children who go to school in the state system. I was going to say that the Conservatives have not got much to say on education, and that is true, but the one policy that they actually have is to reverse the tax change that Labour has introduced in order to invest more in our state system. We need to hear from them where they would find the money to pay for the teachers and wider support that all our children deserve. Despite all the scaremongering that we have heard from the private schools lobby, at national offer day last week, more children got their first-choice place. What the scaremongers predicted has just not come to pass.

Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Snowden Excerpts

Monday 27th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

I thank pupils, teachers and school leaders for their resilience since the original buildings were closed in August 2023. We have delivered high-quality temporary modular accommodation that the school will use until its new permanent buildings are ready. We will continue to work closely with the trust and the local community to find a permanent solution.

[Mr Andrew Snowden (Fylde) (Con)]

When I worked at the University of Salford, I was proud to be part of the revolution in higher degree apprenticeships that saw thousands of people finding new technical careers following higher education. With unemployment rising and with recruitment agencies reporting significant reductions in job postings as companies squeeze their payroll following the Government’s national insurance increases, what new measures are the Government taking to protect apprenticeship levels in this economic climate?

[Janet Daby]

After the Conservatives left us with a collapsing apprenticeship system as well as skills shortages, Labour has listened to employers and is redrawing the system through Skills England, a new growth and skills levy and new foundation apprenticeships.