Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Bill Esterson Excerpts
Thursday 23rd January 2014

(10 years, 10 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Bill Esterson Portrait Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
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But why have Ministers failed to match their rhetoric with action? Something like what my hon. Friend the Member for Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) suggests in his Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) Bill would create thousands of new quality apprenticeship opportunities by requiring all major suppliers on large public projects to offer apprenticeships.

Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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As I said, we do that on some of the largest procurements. If we are talking about action, the fact that a record number of people are in apprenticeships is action that we should support, and the fact that 1.5 million people across the country have started apprenticeships since 2010 is also action we should all be proud of.