Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) Bill

Debate between Catherine McKinnell and Andrew Gwynne

Friday 1st November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and a very reasoned case for the Bill, which, it seems to me, will also create a level playing field for businesses. Businesses want legislation such as this because, although there are patches of good practice, if that good practice existed throughout the country, there would be a level playing field not only for the young people who will benefit from the Bill, but for the businesses that invest in them and, at present, must compete with those that do not bother to do so.

[Andrew Gwynne]

My hon. Friend is right. Over the past few months, when I was drafting the Bill, I spoke to numerous companies, large and small, which were bidding for public procurement contracts. They made precisely the point that my hon. Friend has made. If a public body requires apprenticeships to be part of the tendering process, the standards of the bids will be levelled upwards, so that a company that pursues good practice by providing apprenticeships will no longer be undercut by another that does not invest in skills and training.