Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Dean Excerpts

Monday 28th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hon. Lady will know that we have confirmed £50 million for ’25-26. Further considerations will be for the spending review. We have made changes in order to maximise the number of children who can access the fund. In addition to the funding that is provided there, we are also trialling kinship allowances, investing more in foster care and investing another £0.5 billion in providing local authorities with the support they need to provide preventive services. I agree that it is important that vulnerable children who have been through the adoption system and beyond get the support that they need to thrive.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

T6. We know that young people are at the sharp end of the mental health crisis, so can the Minister update the House on the progress his Department is making on our manifesto commitment to put specialist mental health support into our schools, and tell us how gaps in support for neurodivergent pupils—as highlighted in the trailblazer programme—will be addressed?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

This Government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school so that every young person has access to early support, including those who are neurodivergent. NHS-funded mental health support teams will continue to roll out across schools and are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils this year.

Access to Sport: PE in Schools

Josh Dean Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Leigh Ingham) for securing this debate. I will say from the outset that sport and PE was not my favourite part of the school week, and in preparing for this debate many memories of running in the cold on Monday mornings came back. As I am often reminded, it was not that long ago for me. I was the boy at the back of the class, hoping that the bell would not ring, because I desperately did not want to go and do PE. Members might wonder why I have chosen to speak in this debate, and I am sure some of my PE teachers—blessed to have witnessed my sporting skill—will similarly wonder why.

One of the many joys of this job is the way it helps me to see things in a new light, even in the community I know best, where I grew up and which I call home: Hertford and Stortford. I have had the privilege of visiting almost half of the roughly 50 schools in my constituency since I was elected, and at each one I have been amazed at and impressed by the quality of their sports and PE provision, the positive difference it makes for the young people and their success at it.

To give some examples, it was great to hear how Herts and Essex high school’s under-14 girls team recently won silver medals after reaching the national hockey finals. Bishop’s Stortford high school pupil Luke Dunham, who is a member of Herts Phoenix Athletic Club, based in Ware, came third in the under-17 race in the inter-counties cross country championships last month. I was also privileged to visit new secondary school Avanti Grange at the end of last year. We have touched on the importance of resilience and mindfulness, and at that high school I saw one of its new yoga classes. Having those built into its curriculum and classes is a way to ensure that their young people are resilient, mindful and prepared for the challenges of school and life. I think that is fantastic.

When young people find a sport that they enjoy at school, they will often progress to one of the many fantastic local sports clubs in our community, such as Hertford Town football club or the Bishop’s Stortford Community football club—to say nothing of our fantastic offering in Ware and Sawbridgeworth. Some will go even further, like premier league footballer Oliver Skipp, who, like me, went to Richard Hale school. Without digressing too far from the topic of the debate, for young people it does all start at school. Sport builds our young people’s confidence and is good for their mental health and wellbeing. According to Sport England, children who are active are happier, more resilient and more trusting of others.

I would be grateful if the Minister could address two specific points regarding the provision of PE and sport in schools. First, given that the final report on the curriculum and assessment is due later this year, will she ensure that children’s mental and physical wellbeing as well as academic achievement is right at the heart of that review? Additionally, in December 2024 Sport England highlighted the impact of the pandemic on young people. Children aged seven to 13 are now less likely to have positive attitudes towards activity, and they have a lower sense of opportunity. Will the Minister set out what the Department is doing to improve and foster positive attitudes towards physical activity and exercise among young people?

I mentioned at the start the many memories I have of not enjoying sports or PE at school, but it has been a privilege to see the amazing provision in my local communities and to know the confidence it is building in our young people and how good it is for their mental health and wellbeing. I want to say a huge well done, not only to the young people representing our schools and communities in competitions across the country, but to all the young people who just want to give sport a go and improve their physical and mental wellbeing—and enjoy it too.

Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [Lords]

Josh Dean Excerpts

Report stage
Monday 31st March 2025 Commons Chamber

The Bill offers a chance to bring real, tangible benefits to south-east Cornwall, so that we have the skills and opportunities to thrive. I look forward to working with the Government to ensure that the Bill delivers on its promise.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I will aim to keep my remarks brief, having spoken on Second Reading and served on the Bill Committee. Before I speak about why we should not amend the Bill to include new clauses 1 and 4 and amendment 6, I will set the scene. Madam Deputy Speaker, you will be unsurprised to hear that I warmly welcome the role that the Bill will play in paving the way for Skills England. It is right that we crack on and allow the Secretary of State to transfer to Skills England the tools to find and fill the skills gaps across the country, so that the workforce is equipped with the skills to power economic growth.

My constituency sits just next to Stansted airport, and we have many young people undergoing courses at the Stansted airport college, which I was privileged to visit last Friday. I did not take a whirl on the simulator to learn how to fly a plane; I saved that for a future visit. I was delighted to find out how the college uses our local talent in Hertford and Stortford to fill the critical, growing skills gaps in the aviation and aerospace sector, and to see the careers-focused courses that are giving young people skills for work and life.

Just this morning, I was proud to welcome the Minister for School Standards to Manor Fields primary school in Bishop’s Stortford, where we heard about the impact of the teaching assistant apprenticeship for local support staff, and met the fantastic providers of those courses. It was really moving to hear the apprentices talk about how their confidence had been built by taking those courses.

For a young person, the opportunity to find and develop a skill or something they are passionate about does not just get them into the workforce; it builds their confidence and helps them to find the path that is right for them. That is why it is so important that we get Skills England set up and do not delay getting the Bill through. I know about this from personal experience, having left school at 16. I did not follow the path of an apprenticeship. I did not know what the direction was for me. Apprenticeships are so important for young people who need to find a path and need the certainty of a career at the end of it, but perhaps do not want to stay in traditional education. It builds their confidence, and helps them find their place in the world. This is work that we simply cannot delay.

Young people are being let down by a skills system that is not working for them. One in eight young people is not in education, employment or training, which is holding them back, and the economy back, too. In 2022, more than a third of UK vacancies were due to skills shortages. We need urgent reform—we cannot afford to delay. I urge hon. Members to pass the Bill unamended this evening so that the Government can get on with reforming the skills system and delivering Skills England, to create the opportunities for young people in Hertford and Stortford and across the country that will build their confidence, help them find a path that is right for them, and make a difference to their lives.

[Peter Swallow]

I was proud to serve on the Bill Committee for this vital legislation. It is a small Bill, but, by goodness, it is mighty. I rise to speak against amendment 6. In doing so, I will highlight a local success story in recognition of the third National Supported Internship Day. It took place on 27 March, which also happens to be my birthday.

For 15 years, Bracknell and Wokingham college—my local college—and Activate Learning have been working together with over 100 employers to offer supported internship placements for learners with special educational needs. The scheme offers invaluable opportunities, and provides the skills, confidence and qualifications necessary to thrive in the workplace. Their partners include the National Grid, the Royal Berkshire hospital, Johnson & Johnson, and Sodexo. It is an excellent example of a local college working with big players in the energy, medical and food industries to provide high-quality schemes for stable, well-paid employment. It is proof that young people with special educational needs can thrive with the right support. We face one in eight young people being not in education, employment or training—the number is at an 11-year high, after 14 years of the Tories—and we need more supported internships to address the challenge.

Skills England will deliver opportunities across the country in key industries including green energy, construction and healthcare. That is vital for the Government’s five missions, and for communities like Bracknell. It is a step towards ending fragmentation. A less complex, more flexible skills system will deliver for young people, especially those with special educational needs. By bringing together the constituent parts of the skills architecture, Skills England will create a system that is fit for purpose, responsive to the needs of employers and businesses, and capable of driving economic growth in the years to come. It will lay the ground for a better system.

There is a need to move fast. As the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) pointed out, the UK’s productivity is almost 40% below that of the US, and 20% below that of other major economies, such as France and Germany. A major reason for that is a lack of appropriate skills, so the Conservatives’ amendment 6, which would delay the creation of Skills England by a year, is nothing short of irresponsible. We need to work faster, not more slowly. The amendment is indicative of their approach to government: where there was a challenge, they ducked it; where a decision was needed, they put it off; and when a broken system needed fixing, they left it for the next lot. Well, the next lot are now in government and will not put off for tomorrow what needs to be done today.

We know that skills are a crucial driver of economic growth and the key to tackling productivity gaps, but our economy is changing rapidly in ways we cannot fully anticipate, so it is crucial that our education system equips young people with a broad range of the skills necessary for success in the jobs market of tomorrow. That is exactly what the Bill and Skills England will deliver.

Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)

Josh Dean Excerpts

Committee stage
Thursday 13th March 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Janet Daby]

I will begin again, Sir Christopher. I rise to speak to clauses 1 to 3. Clause 1 introduces schedule 1, which transfers statutory functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to the Secretary of State and makes minor and consequential amendments. It is our intention that functions currently delivered by IfATE will largely be exercised by Skills England on behalf of the Secretary of State. The functions are in chapter A1 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, and include the duty to map occupational groups, and the duty to approve and publish standards and apprenticeship assessment plans.

Under the terms of the 2009 Act, the Secretary of State will also have the power to delegate functions to other persons. We intend to establish Skills England as an executive agency of the Department for Education. Despite IfATE’s success in embedding employees in the processes for designing technical qualifications and apprenticeships, the wider skills system remains too fragmented and complex. It is insufficiently responsive to the present and future skill needs of the economy, and we have major skill gaps. Employers report that more than one third of UK vacancies in 2022 were due to skills shortages. To address this, and unlock the potential for skills that drive growth and widen opportunity, we will create a new and more ambitious organisation: Skills England.

Clause 1 will enable Skills England to take on and deliver functions currently delivered by IfATE, giving it some of the key tools it needs to tackle these challenges as part of its wider remit. Skills England will provide an authoritative assessment of skills needed in the economy, and use those data and insights to develop and maintain a comprehensive suite of technical qualifications and apprenticeships, as a result of some of the functions transferred by the Bill. It will then work with key stakeholders to ensure that the identified needs for available training are reflected in regions across the country. That will ensure that the system becomes more responsive and better able to quickly and efficiently supply the skills most needed by the economy.

Skills England will work closely with the Industrial Strategy Council, so that we have the skilled workforce needed to deliver a clear, long-term plan for the future economy. It will also work with the Migration Advisory Committee to ensure that growing the domestic skills pipeline reduces our reliance on overseas workers.

To summarise, clause 1 will enable Skills England to take on and deliver the functions currently held by IfATE, where appropriate, alongside other functions. That will address the fragmentation that is holding the skills system back and restricting improved workforce development and productivity gains. Without this clause, it would not be possible to transfer functions from IfATE to the Secretary of State so that they can be exercised broadly by Skills England in the service of employers, learners and others.

Clause 2 introduces schedule 2, which makes provision for the transfer of IfATE’s property, rights and liabilities to the Secretary of State. It will ensure the functional continuity of property, rights and liabilities, including the many contracts that are critical to the operation of the skills system. The transfer scheme that the clause makes possible will mitigate the risk of delay and a lack of service continuity, which is essential for a smooth transfer from IfATE to the Secretary of State and the subsequent creation of Skills England.

Without this clause, the co-ordination of the transfer of IfATE’s property, rights and liabilities to the Secretary of State would be less straightforward and more burdensome. Without a transfer scheme, each matter, including contracts and licences, would have to be considered and transferred individually, which would be more time-consuming and could have an impact on value for money, the continuity of services and the delivery of skills products. That could mean the reduction in the quality of service received by employers, learners and others with an interest in the skills system. The transfer scheme that the clause makes possible will mitigate the risk of delay and a lack of service continuity, creating the minimum possible disruption for system users.

Clause 3 abolishes IfATE and introduces schedule 3, which makes consequential amendments to existing primary legislation that are required as a consequence of abolishing IfATE. It essentially closes IfATE so that the Government can establish and empower Skills England. Skills England will build on IfATE’s work with employers in all sectors to shape technical education and apprenticeships.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I recently had the pleasure of visiting some fantastic apprentices at Hertford Regional college’s campus in Ware. I know that the college will be excited about the prospect of Skills England. Can the Minister say more about how soon we can expect it to come forward?

[Janet Daby]

It sounds as though that college is doing excellent work. The Bill is part of the process of delivering Skills England. It is our intention, following the Bill’s Royal Assent, to make commencement regulations promptly to bring into force the provisions that transfer IfATE’s functions, as well as the powers to transfer its assets and liabilities to the Secretary of State and to deliver those services through Skills England.

Skills England will be very different from IfATE, as I have mentioned. It will bring IfATE’s functions together with others that are not currently in statute to identify skills needs and to work with regional partners to ensure that they are being met. By bringing together those different functions in a single organisation, we can make a more responsive skills system that acts fast on the evidence to address skills gaps, uninterrupted by organisational boundaries, administrative hurdles and imperfect data flows. That would not be possible if the key functions were split across Skills England and IfATE. Clauses 1 to 3 are essential to achieving that transformation, so I commend them to the Committee.

Oral Answers to Questions

Josh Dean Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the plan for change mission entitled “Break Down Barriers to Opportunity”.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

13. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to implement the plan for change mission entitled “Break Down Barriers to Opportunity”.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bridget Phillipson]

In Wolverhampton West and across our country, this Labour Government are determined to ensure that background is no barrier to getting on in modern Britain. That is why we will reform the special educational needs and disabilities system to ensure that all our children get the support that they need to thrive. Alongside that, we have delivered the biggest ever uplift in the early years pupil premium. We are rolling out breakfast clubs in our primary schools and will be launching the first phase of primary-based nurseries, ensuring that all our children have access to fantastic early years education.

[Josh Dean]

Last week, I visited Hertfordshire and Essex high school in Bishop’s Stortford, Sele school in Hertford, and Hertford regional college in Ware. At each one, I met young people with exciting ambitions for the future. I welcome the action that the Government are taking to build our young people’s confidence and open up opportunities for them. As we break down the barriers to opportunity, will the Secretary of State set out in further detail how the Government are supporting young people in constituencies like mine to discover a subject that they are passionate about, develop a new skill and find the path that is right for them?

[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.

School Accountability and Intervention

Josh Dean Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend advocates very powerfully for the families in his area who have been struggling with a SEND system that is clearly in need of reform. The changes that Ofsted and the Department are proposing are designed to create a more inclusive and effective schools system for all children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. Indeed, we will continue to listen to their voices as we plan our reforms.

[Josh Dean (Hertford and Stortford) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her statement. I recently met headteachers in my community who detailed the challenges they face: SEND, recruitment and retention, and persistent absence. Will the Minister set out how the Government’s reforms will start to remedy those issues and break down the barriers to opportunity for children and young people in my constituency? Does she agree that the reforms are an important step in fixing the damage inflicted on our education system by the Conservative party over the past 14 years?

[Catherine McKinnell]

I absolutely recognise the challenges that my hon. Friend sets out. Many schools right across the system, whether local authority maintained or academies, face similar challenges. The report card system will be a really important reflection of a whole school’s experience, and will laser-focus on areas such as attendance and inclusion, creating toolkits to enable schools to know the standards they need to reach, but also enabling schools to work together collaboratively, supporting one another to achieve those outcomes for children. We are not in the game of punishing schools; we are in the game of supporting them to bring about the change that we know they want to see.